I don't know, but we went through the jewel tones (don't even remember when that was, really), then neutrals, and brights, maybe we'll be going back to pastels next. I don't think I've seen those since the early 80's. Oops, I mean I HEARD they used to like them back then, since I am obviously much to young to have any personal knowledge or memory of that long ago time...

Sie

The younger folks I know who are buying their first homes and having kids fall into three camps, generally speaking:

1) stainless or ORB
2) bright colors, so white appliances are their neutrals
3) retro

I keep waiting for them to get over wenge - I'm tired of all that dark wood. Enough already!

I don't know about for kitchens, but home decor in general is showing lots of pale blues, from ice to cerulean. Usually paired with chocolate browns (a classic combination but a trend which will soon die), or clear yellows (a style which dates back at least to the powdered wig era). Always with chalk whites.

To paraphrase a cliche, (pale) blue is the new (sage) green.

I saw something a couple of months ago that said the coming trend in appliances will be painted bright custom colors in automotive finishes. Showed a few pics, like candy purple with an orange and yellow flame job. Ok on my Harley but not on my fridge.

Oh, but think of the how intriguing that would be. It's the kind of visual that makes people's brains itch :) A cooler with flames! Like that poster that says something like blue black yellow white green.

Fun, but slept on for most it'll mostly translate into something more like actual auto colors, with a lot of discussion of what brown or beige goes best with the cabinets, or what gray-green picks up the fleck in the granite. We actually haven't had color, bright or pastel, as a feature in the kitchen for a LONG time, so I imagine it's past time for some to come back, but not in appliances so much as backsplashes. Keep the stone counter, lose the greige tile. I personally would love to see a sumptuous range of pattern colors and styles in composite counters and sheet vinyl; the possibilities there are enormous and just waiting for a market to bloom. How about a large elegant swirling pattern inspired by something at the Museum of Modern Art? With a celadon or cobalt stove as accent? Or maybe buttermilk to harmonize up the background would be better?

I'm going to be redoing a kitchen in our vacation home when we retire there. I've picked up several kitchen magazines, and find myself draw to 2 styles.

One is the classic all white kitchen with the black and white checkerboard floor, the other is an Asian style with simple dark wood cabinets and slate or soapstone counters.

In both cases, I liked the look of appliances covered with wood cladding to match the cabinets.

I haven't liked granite and stainless since I first saw them, too cold and industrial for me.

Our vacation home kitchen is very basic, white roper refrigerater and electric stove, no dishwasher, verybasic oak finish over mystery wood cabinets, ugly off white laminate coutertops, white "tile" sheet vynal. It's fine for a week or 2 at a time, but will be a clean sweep once we move there permanently.

Since my mixer, blender, toaster oven and other small appliances are in white, I think it more likely we'll go with a white kitchen.

Green materials seems to be the trend - bamboo, stainless steel, energy efficient appliances (which seems to point to Euro brands). So maybe the new color will also be green?

I've noticed that nostalgia hits 20,30 or 40 years later. I know what the '50s look like, I know what the '70s look like, but what did the '60s look like? Did the market just skip that decade?

I don't know about colour-schemes, but while poking around HD and Lowes recently I saw some cabinet door fronts tagged as "new", many of which seem to be focusing on woods with elaborate graining and patterns eg burled, and even marquetry inlay in a couple of them. Perhaps that's the next trend in cabinetry?

Also, I've seen a lot of pale-metal appliances, variously labelled "Titanium" or "Ice" or some other metallic white. Significantly lighter than stainless, but metallic and clearly not enamelled white. However, if things are going lighter again, maybe my budget-enforced white appliances won't seem quite so utilitarian in a couple of years! lol

I think the trend is going to be to a european system where the kitchen isn't fitted and actually doesn't even come with the house. You take it with you when you move. I think the other trend that goes along with that is that big $$$$$ kitchens are OUT and smaller cozy kitchens on a sensible budget are in. And what we'll end up seeing is that the difference between the two camps will widen - people will either spend next to nothing or they'll break the bank, because there will always be those of us who need to have the kitchen be where we spend out money.

I think given the current housing situation, more kitchens will be redecorated than remodelled.

I'm thinking simple, clean lined cabinetry and the spread of RAL colors to most appliances. New appliance colors are interesting, but having each manufacturer do their own thing isn't going to work well.

jy_md, you'll laugh :) High-end '60's finishes were stainless steel and black glass for appliances, cabinet matched wood panels for DW and fridge, accent tiles on the backsplash, custom tables to match the countertops and vinyl covered chairs. :) Also, tiled or formica countertops, stainless steel prep sinks and pullout fitments.

Interesting question!

I see blue!

OK, I haven't looked at Le Crueset since we got our wedding presents, and then it was orange. (figure out the timeline yourselves ">) But they are now selling them in a gorgeous blue. I almost bought a range (that wasn't slide in) just because the interior was a blue enamel.

I have a new washer and dryer in 'titanium' and love it, though I've never been a stainless steel fan. My two newest small appliances, are both a mix of titanium and SS.

I predict that plate glass backsplashes are going to become popular, replacing a lot of mosaic tile.

Prepare for an anti-white cabinet backlash. When anything becomes this common, its bound to fall out of favor at some point.

Part of this regional. Lets face it, country white cabinets in a rural NE kitchen will never be out style, neither will natural wood craftsman cabinets in CA, or Contemporary Cabinets in NY City. Industrial will always have a place, too. Those are all classics that fit with the architecture in the those areas. People who love those areas usually love the style historically found in that type of setting, also.

Black, white and Stainless Steel will remain the "neutrals" and colors from olive green to bright red will be trends that will let people make spaces look "current", but will also look dated first.

Certain color combinations will ebb and flow in popularity but always have a following, like blue and white, black, and earth tones like creams, beiges and browns.
Right now, you will find some of the youngest looking for bright colors, reds, brights greens, and yellows, look just a little older and you will find a large number who are still drawn to "retro" looks, look a little farther and beiges and browns, simple lines and low contrast is still appealing to a lot of people.

The biggest "trends" right now I think are maple or cherry cabinets, shaker style, tumbled stone backsplashes and inexpensive granites, which have made granite possible for a whole new catagory of people.

I think shaker style stained cabinets are much more common than white. I like both.

I bet at some time in the future, people will tire of the neutral wood cabinets, and maybe paint them all over in brighter or pastel colors but keep the counters solid or neutral, and "busy" granites will "out". Maybe everyone will "have to" have bright red or navy blue or dark green cabinets and white counter tops, or Pastel pink, lt greens, lavender and baby blues and yellows, and everyone will be raving about how white laminate can be bleached of any stain and you can drop or bang a piece of glass on it and it doesn't break the glass and climb on the counters and never crack a counter top again! :)

Maybe someone will find a way to seal marble and limestone and other appealing natural stones to make them more practical for use by most people in the kitchen, and they will be the rage. I would probably join them. Remember when most granite counter tops were black or one of a few other limited colors, and people sealed stone counter tops repeatedly and continued to do so on a regular basis as maintenance before better sealers were widely used? I remember when most people wouldn't get stone counter tops because of the maintenance and that was pretty recently.

Sue

Technology is opening some new doors. We can get backsplashes now that are customized with glass molded to order, or pictures we supply. This could explode into a whole new genre of customized surfaces. Kitchens today are surprisingly uniform - cherry/ss/granite/tumbled stone. It's time for a lot more uniqueness. First only the rich will do it, because it isn't very easy to sell a house with a backsplash of tiles that have your grandkids faces. It's going to take time to work out the possibilities, but I think it will spread. Kitchens will get a lot more interesting in personal ways, which will help offset the environmental and economic changes that are coming.

Peak oil is going to make shipping granite and exotic timber really expensive sooner than we think. Counters from recycled glass or paper (Richlite) will become a requirement for the thinking and caring homeowner. True linoleum will look smart, wood will look wasteful.

In the suburbs, we'll all need bigger pantries because we won't be able to afford to drive to the grocery store very often.

We'll all be discussing ways to replace xenon/halogen/incandescent with LEDs and fluorescent.

Sinks will evolve to accommodate water shortages and our big old farm sinks will look wasteful.

The boomers are starting to downsize into smaller urban dwellings. Right now my KD friend at Lowe's tells me that the big lavish kitchens with lots of fancy woodwork are in the many suburban 'starter castles' that have sprung up recently. The focus is going to change to what urban Lowe's sell - smaller, more contemporary or sleek kitchens, or smaller kitchens that match the urban house's style - which is seldom French Provincial Grande, around here at least.

Oh, I hope Janwad's right--uniqueness/individuality of style a coming trend. Regarding simpler kitchens, I predict an upturn in carpenters being called in to update looks by removing handsome but dust-catching cabinet details that have lost their appeal.

And although I hope Sue's right about personal color, she's on to something else for sure: There's a big unsatisfied market out there--me in it--for pale stones that don't stain. I would LOVE a matt limestone counter, or a pale soapstone...

i think those of you who predict a trend to smaller, less permanent, less expensive, more "green" kitchens are correct. but it will be a while....people are still into the bigger is better mindset.

and the backlash against so many white cabinets and light wood cabinets has already begun, which means it will go too.(i'm one of those newly dark cab girls and there are really very few of us on this board still).

i'm just about to pick a couple of pretty pendants for my kitchen but i am SURE they will be unpopular in the near future (unfortunately). i say this because i remember when i was looking for a house to buy 20 years ago, i walked into a kitchen that was done in the 50s with aqua blue pendants with a shape similar to some of the more modern ones that are out there now....and i thought they were just soooooooooo hideous and dated.

hopefully, we will have a little more of an egalitarian attitude in the future.....in that, people's kitchen can really be what they want, not so much what is in vogue.

I second rosi. "There's a big unsatisfied market out there--me in it--for pale stones that don't stain. I would LOVE a matte limestone counter, or a pale soapstone."

My mother is sure when people get tired of the cherry and maple that Oak will come back!

Sue

Interestingly, in at least one European country - the UK - "fitted kitchens" are still all the rage and, in fact, barring the details, the kitchen styles are not at all unlike what we're seeing in the US.

Check out B&Q (kind of like Home Depot)
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C(10057)/categories%3C(10058)/categories%3C(8960062)&fh_reftheme=promo_83953717,seeall,//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C(10057)/categories%3C(10058)&fh_refview=summary&ts=1200861695355

MFI (once the cheapest of the cheap - there was a famous comedy sketch about The LIon the Witch and the MFI Wardrobe which was all about the cupboard collapsing - but they seem to have improved from what I see here)
http://www.mfi.co.uk/products/3080-yourkitchen

And for ueberhigh end stuff (drool)
http://www.smallbone.co.uk/

sue_ct, I was tired of cherry & maple, so I got oak, lol! Am really enjoying it too :)

I don't know so much about colors and materials, but there seems to be more of a trend these days heading toward "hideaway" appliances, both major and what's now countertop. I have a feeling you're going to start seeing things in kitchens that were usually saved for James Bond sets-- walls that move aside to reveal the major appliances, small appliances either built into the backsplash, or with "garages" in the backsplash or unti the countertop. Seems to me, the more upscale the home I work in, the more "sterile" the kitchens are beginning to look. It's too bad, to, IMO. To me, the kitchen is supposed to be an extension, so to speak, of the owner's personality.

Ya know - I don't really care. I am just doing my kitchen and - duh - am getting stainless appliances. Will they be out? Probably in a few years. Do I care? NO. The next people can replace them with whatever. Right now, I am living with almond 20 year old builders' appliances - so what? My mother had avocado green in her brand new 1971 house and there is harvest gold (still) in her Fla. ap't, built in the 1970s. If I replace the harvest appliances it will be because they don't work.

I had a beautiful gray fridge, dw, and glossy cabinets with no handles in the early 80's and hated leaving them - but I was probably the only one on the planet who had that color; it didn't last long. It was sleek and beautiful and I still miss it.

Do I want to live with red? pink? yellow? turquoise? appliances? NO thank you. I don't care what the next thing is - it'll be too late for me, anyway.

I am getting a soapstone counter because I love it.
Hardwood floors because they are easy.
The woman at the tile store said "glass tiles will be so OUT." Do I care? I don't even know if I'm getting glass tiles, but who is she to tell me they will be OUT? Bah.
Rayna
who is grouch and tired of all this trendy crap and just wants a clean, uncluttered, simple and functional kitchen.

Excellent attitude. To hell with what everyone else thinks!! It's all about what YOU want!! Good for you!! :-)