White cabinets and light kitchen surfaces have been hugely popular for the past few years, with 43% of homeowners choosing white kitchen cabinets for their remodel in the past year. (Wood cabinets came in second at 25%, and grey was third at 11%, according to Houzz.com.)

The light color scheme is still going strong, but homeowners are now warming things up with colorful accents and earthier tones.



Wood: Designers are choosing wood more frequently for wine racks, select cabinet faces, and kitchen islands to provide an earthy contrast in light kitchens.

Greige, Pastels, and Dark Blue: Greige (a warm grey/beige) is back, along with pastels and dark slate blue for kitchen cabinets. 

Alabaster and Oyster White: Shades of off-white can maintain the white cabinet look while giving it a softer feel.



More than half of recently upgraded faucets contained some kind of technology such as touch-free activation or water efficiency, according to Houzz.com. Homeowners also looked for new features that create better functionality, such as a 360-degree swivel range and magnetic docking, according to FreshHome.com.

Click here to see a rundown of the latest kitchen faucet trends.



 

Take backsplashes to the base of cabinets and all the way to the ceiling, says designer Alison Pickart in MyDomaine. If that's not an option, she recommends making them at least 18 inches high rather than the standard 4-inch height that was popular for years.

A Houzz.com survey found that the winning backsplash style in 2019 was a classic offset brick pattern, usually in white or a shade of white.

Tip: Be careful when using multi-color tiles in full-height backsplashes. Too much repeated contrast over a large surface area can become overwhelming.



More and more kitchen designs are incorporating a hidden range hood rather than making the hood a centerpiece. This works especially well to reduce the impression of clutter in small kitchens.

Click here to see examples of concealed range hoods on Houzz.com.



Brushed nickel was the most popular hardware finish choice for kitchen remodels in 2019, according to Houzz.com, but the growing trend is to mix and match finishes from a growing selection of hardware options.


Photo courtesy of GE's cafecollection.com.

GE's Cafe Collection of appliance hardware (shown above) is an example of how companies are offering homeowners the ability to personalize their kitchens.

 

Shaker Cabinets:  The clean lines of this classic style fit well with the growing movement towards Scandinavian minimalism.

Engineered Quartz:  In 2019 quartz finally pulled ahead of other materials to take first place in the choice for kitchen countertops, according to the Houzz.com survey.

Tip: Engineered quartz is not the same as quartzite, which is a natural stone and requires more maintenance.

Stainless Steel Appliances: Stainless steel is still the most popular choice for appliances, chosen in 69% of remodels, according to Houzz.com. Their survey shows that black stainless steel is a growing trend, used in 10% of kitchen designs in 2019.

- U.S. home prices rose 3.1 percent year-to-year in June, according to a recent S&P/Case-Shiller report.  They rose 3.6 percent year-to-year in July, according to CoreLogic, a data and analytics company.

- The national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is around 3.75 percent.

The July Pending Home Sales Index increased .3 percent year-to-year, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Sometimes real estate-related, sometimes not... these are assorted links that come in handy:

6 Fantastic Laundry Rooms
Examples of professionally designed laundry rooms, including a pet-friendly version with a dog bathing station and pull-out food bowls (example #2).

World Nomads Travel Insurance
Cost-effective travel insurance that covers a wide range of sports and recreation activities, as well as cancelled trips and travel delays. 

Crisp Apple and Kohlrabi Salad Recipe
A delicious and unique fall salad featuring Honeycrisp apple and tarragon.

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When employees of an excavating company in Vermont realized they had cut down a tree containing a nest of baby woodpeckers, they decided to save the day in an ingenious way... and it worked!

Workers for Ormond Bushey and Sons used duct tape to attach the section containing the nest to another tree, then watched with the delighted homeowner as the mother returned to feed the babies.