by Jan Rutgers
Last week I posted about an appliance display I visited at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show earlier this year.
G.E. Appliances showcased their premium brand, Monogram through displays of 3 unique lifestyle displays.
They were:
- Villa Monogram Farm
- Villa Monogram Mountain
- Villa Monogram Beach
Each of these displays highlighted great design ideas the Kitchen designer would want to incorporate into their designs.
And in my opinion, these appliance manufacturer’s displays will be influencing Kitchen Design in the future.
Read on to see additional displays and highlights from that booth.
More Great Ideas
As mentioned above, the G.E. Monogram had additional Kitchen displays with inspiring ideas.
I was not able to determine any specific names for these displays but I’m sure you will agree, they are breaking the mold when it comes to contemporary Kitchen Design.
Green with Envy
This Kitchen display played with the color green in a variety of shades from forest green to chartreuse.
It evoked the moody color schemes I saw a EuroCucina a few years ago, but was lightened up with hits of white.
The white trim on the cabinet doors reminded me of the glazing or chalking technique from several years ago, but this interpretation was much crisper.
The metal of choice for this display was copper and it was featured in the appliance handles & knobs as well as in the bar stool trim.
An additional metal in the form of brushed bars was also introduced on the back wall as supports for some glass shelves.
You could easily miss this detail because there was a lot going on, on that back wall!
The appliances featured in the display were in a deep dark green tone that was a unique appliance finish.
Most colored appliances have a strong shine to them while these ones had more of a matt finish.
The copper handles was also an interesting accent since we traditionally would see these handles as stainless steel or maybe matt black.
The show stopper appliance in this display was the custom hood.
It was constructed from multiple small mosaic tiles in a pattern that reminded me of wind through tree tops or deep grasses.
I cannot confirm what the inspiration for this tile design was, but it was a show stopper.
You also could not miss the chartreuse and white striped floor that directed you eye down the middle of the display to the cooking zone.
Overall quite the monochromatic color scheme!
Channeling the Disco
This display was a real showstopper.
It’s lightness was opposite of the green Kitchen, and it definitely channeled the late 70’s disco era.
Of course the 3 disco balls hanging over the island set the tone, but the bright color scheme was a standout approach.
The color scheme was a unique mix of yellow, purple and orange.
It was used in an offset tile design in the cooking zone and as a wall paper backdrop on the walls either side of the refrigerator.
The white appliances were the perfect choice for this Kitchen full of color.
This display also featured a lot of arches which was refreshing since so much Kitchen design in the past several years has been so square and angular.
An arch was used to encase the range and form a type of hearth, and black framed arched glass doors enclosed two pantry units.
I always love a touch of black in a room and these glass doors along with the high arch black faucet are the perfect touch.
Another place that arches showed up was on the wood cabinet fronts as handles.
This was an inspiring installation that worked really well with the overall feel of this Kitchen space.
A couple more details of note included the cabinets recessed into the wall instead of being proud of the wall and the display niches this produced.
From a practical point of view the back of the island with the wood insert between the two strips of painted white material would be very durable and stand up to feet kicking the back of the island.
This is probably too much color for most consumer’s dream Kitchen but lots of ideas to steel here.
Attainable Texture
This last Kitchen I wanted to highlight is probably the most consumer friendly one.
While at first glance it may seem “boring” compared to the others, it actually is full of subtle texture.
The food storage zone consisted of a four door refrigerator in a traditional stainless steel, surrounded by rattan styled cabinet doors.
The open weave of these doors would actually be great for a pantry since it would allow air flow around dry good for a type of ventilation.
The custom hood was a simple design slats of wood providing an accent around a square painted hood.
This slat wood detail was repeated across the back wall forming a light valance above the sink area.
Just enough detail without being too much.
The rest rest of the Kitchen cabinetry featured a very simple “skinny” shaker door in a light wood.
One of my favorite details was the circular wood countertop that was cantilevered off the corner of the island.
I envisioned many uses for this counter.
It would be a great place to pull up a couple of stools for an informal meal, it would be a perfect counter for staging a bar, and I could even see it acting as a built in charcuterie board.
Overall, this was a very approachable display that I could see working in many consumers homes.
Design Highlights
Just like last week displays, these three Kitchens were full of ideas that are convincing me that appliance manufacturers are ones to watch for emerging trends.
Here are some design details I thought were note worthy:
- Don’t be afraid of color in your Kitchen designs
- Consider matching your appliance color to your cabinets
- Mix metals in the space for added interest
- Use white for appliances when strong colors are used in the Kitchen design
- Arches are a great way to soften the hard lines of a Kitchen
- Recessing cabinets into the wall for an interesting look
- Experiment with mosaic tiles on your hood designs
- When working with a neutral scheme, introduce texture for interest
- Think about how elements can be multi-purpose in a Kitchen design
- Insert a bit of black into a design
- Play with shapes in your Kitchen designs
- Have some fun!
I hope you found this exploration of these three Kitchen displays from KBIS 2022 inspiring.
I am just about to book my flight to KBIS 2023 and I’m excited to see what the appliance manufactures have in store for us this year.
If appliances is something you would like to learn more about, be sure to register for my upcoming FREE Appliance workshop. I hope to have dates for it soon.
And as always, if you have a comment about this blog post on anything else, please weigh in below.
Jan Rutgers has been designing kitchens and products for over 25 years and is a recipient of Kitchen & Bath Design News’ Top Innovators in 2020 for the Kitchen & Bath Industry. She has designed more than 1000 kitchens learning valuable skills with each one! Her experience in Kitchen Design, Millwork Manufacturing and Product Development has led her to create VESTABUL SCHOOL OF DESIGN where she educates and mentors people passionate about the Kitchen Design Industry.
