If you have ever renovated, updated, or simply added some extra storage or accessories to your kitchen, you have probably at least considered IKEA. Their low-cost, stylish kitchens simply cannot be beat for price. The new IKEA 2013 catalog is just out, so we paged through to see where IKEA kitchen design is headed this year — and whether there were some trends and ideas to swipe from the pages of the catalog.
And no this post is not sponsored by IKEA! We just like to look at what they release each year. As they said in the Apartment Therapy post, IKEA has a way of making simple things exciting, and their influence over kitchen design has become rather huge.
Kitchens According to IKEA's 2013 Catalog
1. Industrial-style stainless steel for everyone.
The RUBRIK stainless steel doors aren't a new addition this year (they've been out for at least a couple years) but IKEA put them front and center this year, along with a new faux-industrial-style pendant lamp, black and oversized.
2. Glass storage is officially in.
I love the low prices of IKEA's food storage sets, but swore never to buy them again, because of the terrible plastic and low quality. Well, IKEA has jumped on the glass storage trend with these admittedly awesome glass baking dishes with silicone lids. These are multi-functional, good-looking, and well-priced.
3. Kitchens should be open.
I noticed, more than ever before, that IKEA showed kitchens being wide open to the dining or living area. This has been a trend overall in American homes, of course, but I've never seen it dominate an IKEA spread quite so much. Nearly every kitchen had an island, that primary feature of an open kitchen.
4. Black and white are timeless and current...but turquoise is also having a moment.
IKEA likes their bright pops of color, but these were somewhat absent in this round of kitchen catalog. Instead, in both tabletop and kitchens themselves, there was a lot of timeless, classic black and white. I did spy, though, several instances of turquoise, which seems to be having a moment and feels very fresh against the crisp black and white.
5. Kitchen carts are the answer.
I also noticed several instances and good examples of the kitchen cart — an easy way to add simple storage and even extra countertop space in a small kitchen.
See the whole catalog: 2013 USA IKEA Catalog
Related: Do You Have an IKEA Kitchen Appliance? Share Your IKEA Appliance Reviews!
(Images: IKEA)
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Why is stainless steel the be all and end all of appliances. It just gets covered in fingerprints in ten seconds flat. I guess people are still smarting from yellow or avacado fridges and ranges to try anything else. My wife and I got white appliances and I think they work well in our kitchen.
Wow! That all stainless kitchen is gorgeous!
Oooh, I'm excited for those glass containers. I have the snaplock glassware from Costco, but the silicone lids lending themselves to oven-safe recipes open a whole new range of possibilities and convenience...
Those stainless cabs would be great for an industrial space. I think they would be cool with a butcher block island and colored appliances.
I love stainless. As an accent, or in places where durability is paramount. But I'm looking forward to the end of "stainless stainless everywhere!" as a design aesthetic.
@Battra92 - People always say this about stainless steel, but do all of those people have kids? I don't, and I never get fingerprints all over my appliances.
Stainless steel is great. I like it as a neutral because when you're redesigning a kitchen or want to replace cabinets, sometimes you want to go in a new direction and the appliances might be too costly to replace to fit that idea. Stainless is a lot easier to adapt than white or black.
Kitchens in the attic are in this year. Now I have to install a dumbwaiter...
Stainless steel is popular because commercial kitchens are stainless. It comes with the "celebrity chef" movement.
That said, the stainless steel cabinets aren't really stainless - they are stainless laminate. We have the IKEA stainless laminate countertop edges and they look good but don't have the durability of stainless. They also don't have the fingerprints which is a bonus.
Those stainless kitchens in the IKEA showroom are always covered in fingerprints. For a kitchen without kids though, they look pretty sexy.
Before you buy your IKEA cabinets though, it is worth it to contact a local cabinet maker, especially if you can repurpose some of your existing cabinet boxes.
Those local guys are hurting in this recession, and their prices have come down a lot.
I wonder if the open kitchen thing is ever going to fade? While I don't like a kitchen that is off in another room, having everything in one big room means the mess, odors, smoke and grease, sounds of cooking and cleaning are all fully exposed. I can't imagine that is the best option for a lot of households.
I'm in love with that little kitchen cart... trying to decide if I need it... I might get it regardless.
@Parnassus, I think that as long as people love cooking/entertaining and don't see the kitchen as a utilitarian area, kitchens will be open to the house.
@Parnassus - I checked with a local cabinet refacer ... $7,000 for materials. Then I checked with Cabinet Discounters ... $10,000 for cabinets. No thanks! Ikea it is!
And I don't really like open kitchens, either. At least not as open as it is in the photo. I'd prefer a semi-open kitchen. ours is open to the dining room, but not to the rest of the house.
i think the ikea white kitchen appliances are so sleek. love them.
Is anyone else having trouble with the link to the catalog? I keep getting a 404.
I am going to get clobbered for saying this but I have never been a fan of kitchen islands.I can't pin point why mind you.
I love stainless steel when mixed with wood but we had a stainless steel dishwasher and fridge in our place and it had to be cleaned constantly from the kids going to town on it and even regular handprints from us opening them up. More importantly, you can't hang kids artwork on it.
I don't understand the love for open kitchens. I don't mind a kitchen being open to an eating area, but I don't like kitchens open to the living room--too noisy, smelly and messy.
Why do people always blame fingerprints on kids. Do adults not have fingerprints too or do they use gloves to open the fridge?
I like open kitchens and farmhouse kitchens. More people can help, or just sit around to keep company, and the cook doesn't have to be secluded. We used to have a small separate kitchen and our farmhouse kitchen now is the best part of the house. The fireplace is also there, and a peasant style sofa.. everyone loves to be in the kitchen . We had guests yesterday and didn't really spend much time in the living room. If the living room suddenly disappeared we wouldn't miss it much. But I'm in love with small houses and cabins.. (Our house is 1200 sf.)
The all stainless-kitchen trend has to do with celeb chefs, yes, but also with the current craze for industrial style in general. I like the look of it, if you live in a loft or have actually bought the appliances and counters cheaply at a restaurant kitchen supply warehouse or recycled from an old restaurant.. I love kitchens that are made with real wood and stainless steel, and look like some creativity was to recycle stuff, and that possibly lack upper cabinets or even all cabinet doors..
Our kitchen looks a lot like number 3, but without the upper cabinets. I wish we had considered Ikea instead of being persuaded to pay a fortune for custom cabinets.
As for open kitchens, I like mine because it encourages everyone to join in with cooking and cleaning. When you're cooking every day for 10-15 people as I do during holidays, you don't want to be hidden in a separate kitchen!
@House Voyeur - I say kids because there's a difference between fingerprints on a handle and fingerprints "all over" an appliance, or one being "covered" in them. The only part of the dishwasher I usually touch is the handle, but a lot of kids tend to just touch things that are their height, which means the lower part of a fridge or the dishwasher below the handle.
@Battra92 - That's exactly what bothers me about a stainless kitchen. I'm not very into industrial chic, but in cerain rooms suca as bathrooms and kitchens, I really appreciate the look and feel of an industrial and sterile style. HOWEVER, stainless steel, as sterile as it might be always look dirty to me because of the fingerprints on it! Such a shame. Ultimatly when I redone my kitchen I chose sleek white with stainless accents fot that "professional" look. That said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first kitchen. I always feel like a good kitchen is a healthy mix of stainless, white, black and wood, and that kitchen has it all.
Just last week someone admired my set of three medium nesting bowls in plain black stoneware. They're a great size for serving, storing, or eating a bowl of cereal or soup when you are a bit too hungry for the normal dishware bowl.
I got them on my very first visit to an IKEA store, Pittsburgh, PA, 1986. I can't even remember what I paid, but whatever it was, I guarantee they're setting a record in my kitchen in the use vs. cost category.