Kitchen Design
The Story Behind the Most Popular New Photo on Houzz in 2018
The project’s designers and photographer share details about the kitchen that resonated with our community
This Trending Now series features the most-saved photos uploaded to Houzz in 2018.
Justin and Tyler Sachs had talked about doing a gray-and-walnut kitchen for months, but it wasn’t until a client insisted that she wanted anything but white in her new kitchen that the New Jersey brothers and designers behind Stonington Cabinetry & Designs finally brought their idea to life. It turned out their completed kitchen would strike a chord with people beyond the homeowner they designed it for.
A photograph of the New Jersey project was the most popular photo uploaded to Houzz in 2018. Here, Justin Sachs, along with the photographer, Chris Veith, tells us why the photo — and the kitchen design as a whole — resonated so much with the Houzz community.
Justin and Tyler Sachs had talked about doing a gray-and-walnut kitchen for months, but it wasn’t until a client insisted that she wanted anything but white in her new kitchen that the New Jersey brothers and designers behind Stonington Cabinetry & Designs finally brought their idea to life. It turned out their completed kitchen would strike a chord with people beyond the homeowner they designed it for.
A photograph of the New Jersey project was the most popular photo uploaded to Houzz in 2018. Here, Justin Sachs, along with the photographer, Chris Veith, tells us why the photo — and the kitchen design as a whole — resonated so much with the Houzz community.
Other Desirable Design Choices
The popularity of the previous kitchen photo naturally led people to other photos of the project, and these show a collection of details that people can’t seem to get enough of. For example, the combination of gray and white accents and warm wood, such as the custom-painted cabinets and the walnut on the island, vent hood and open shelving, continue to show up in the most popular new kitchen photos on Houzz.
The popularity of the previous kitchen photo naturally led people to other photos of the project, and these show a collection of details that people can’t seem to get enough of. For example, the combination of gray and white accents and warm wood, such as the custom-painted cabinets and the walnut on the island, vent hood and open shelving, continue to show up in the most popular new kitchen photos on Houzz.
Other touches, like the white subway tile backsplash, the polished nickel pendant lights and the dark walnut-stained oak floors round out the elegant but comfortable look.
“It’s doing something that somebody would consider trendy but it’s pulling it off in a way that wouldn’t be trendy,” Sachs says. “It’s just got a very distinguished style to it.”
“It’s doing something that somebody would consider trendy but it’s pulling it off in a way that wouldn’t be trendy,” Sachs says. “It’s just got a very distinguished style to it.”
Your turn: What were your favorite details in this year’s most popular photo? Tell us in the Comments.
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More on Houzz
The Top 10 Kitchen Photos of 2018
Everything You Need to Know About Working With a Kitchen Designer
Shop for kitchen accessories on Houzz
Find a kitchen designer near you
The design details that the Sachses and their client chose may have stood out both for their beauty and for how in tune they are with the styles many pros and renovating homeowners have been loving lately.
The Sachses and Veith said they found the homeowner’s desire to move away from the popular all-white kitchen refreshing. Other renovating homeowners have expressed interest in making a similar pivot. Though white cabinets are still a favorite, gray is now the top wall color choice, according to the 2018 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. (Stonington used Benjamin Moore Shoreline here.) Renovating homeowners are also opting for features such as Shaker-style cabinets, L-shaped layouts and engineered quartz counters more than in years past — and this kitchen highlights all three.
A Thoughtfully Staged Shot
The most-saved photo itself was driven largely by the abundance of natural light in the space and the kitchen’s soaring ceilings, Veith says.
“I imagined the horizontal photos would be more popular for this one, but the vertical just shows looking right down the aisle seeing basically every beautiful part of the kitchen, and it seems so tall in the vertical shot,” he says. “I think that has a lot to do with it: You get this feeling of the kitchen being so large.”
When people are drawn to an interior design photo, Veith says, they often focus solely on the room design and overlook the composition of the photo itself, but in a case like this, both elements come into play. Though muted, the color palette of this kitchen comes through powerfully in photos, Veith says, even more so than if the room had a bright, glaring color scheme. “It’s bold,” he says. “It’s not like a black or dark kitchen, but it was this beautiful in-between that was both soft and pretty sharp and punchy.”
Homey details such as cutting boards and vases that the Stonington team incorporated for the shoot make a big difference too. “It just gives [the space] a layer of usability so people can see themselves inhabiting it,” Sachs says.
A Team Effort
Other than the kitchen features and the photo quality itself, the image reflects the importance of a homeowner, home design professional and professional photographer working together toward a common goal: to make the most of a beautiful room and share it with others.
“One of the biggest takeaways is that getting a photographer who can really understand the space and understand how to get the photo that shows the space in its best light is really important for interior designers and everyone in this industry,” Veith says.
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