Kitchen & Bath Business October 2021 - 16

TRENDS
Order in the Home
A
A place for everything and everything within
reach are top of mind for today's consumers
T THE BEGINNING of the pandemic, storage and organization became
even more important as homeowners needed more space for all the
food they were preparing at home. Th is grew into improved refrigeration
to preserve all those ingredients, dedicated pantries for dry storage
and mudrooms doubling as landing zones for groceries and a place to
stash masks and hand sanitizer.
Fast forward 18 months, and storage and organization are still at the top
of most homeowner wish lists, but they want more of it. Th ey also want customizable
solutions for their family needs and the way they use their kitchen
and bath spaces.
" I know I sound like a broken record, but everyone wants to be better
organized, and they need help with it, " said Rob Jenkins, director of OEM
sales & marketing for Rev-A-Shelf.
Consumers are paying more attention to detail these days, and they are
more selective in their choices. Th ey are also willing to spend more to get
exactly what they want.
DETERMINING STORAGE NEEDS FOR THE BEST RESULTS
According to designer Meredith Weiss of Commack, N.Y.-based Merri
Interiors, she looks through her clients' cabinets before the project begins to
establish what they have to store and what they might be able to do without.
She doesn't want them to pare down if they don't need to but will make suggestions
in case they can to come up with the ideal solution.
Designer Laura Eagan with Goodyear, Ariz.-based Estrella Cabinetry says
a couple in their 30s with a few children will have diff erent storage needs than
empty nesters. Her goal is to create universal spaces that evolve with growing
needs, not something that will be outdated in fi ve years.
16
OUTFITTING THE MULTIPURPOSE KITCHEN
ABOVE LEFT Designer Meredith
Weiss of Merri Interiors likes to
maximize storage by adding
shallow but tall cabinets that
still off er the built-in look when
there isn't enough square
footage for a standard depth.
Photo by Nicole Larson
ABOVE RIGHT The Libero
Touchless Automatic Door
Opener from RICHELIEU automatically
triggers the release
and opening of the cabinet
for no-mess access to the
wastebin. It's easy to install,
is ideal for base cabinets with
no bottom frame and features
a top-mount wastebin and
bottom deep drawers. Libero
can be activated by waving
your foot in front of the sensor
in the toe kick or by voice
activation, and it comes with
a safety feature that identifi es
obstacles via a friction clutch
system to avoid unintended
openings. Price is $342.69.
www.richelieu.com/us/en/
By CHELSIE BUTLER
Weiss said her clients do not want anything on
their countertops; everything needs to have its
place. Some of her everyday ideas include organizing
into segments with things like cutlery dividers
and knife blocks. She also loves to use spice pullouts
on either side of the main cooking appliance -
everything her clients need to cook a meal or clean
up after should be easily within reach. Her clients
are also asking for storage drawers for plates with
peg dividers that are easily accessible to children
so they can help set the table or put dishes away.
Eagan's clients are asking for built-in butler's
pantries and are taking space from the rest of the
overall kitchen or from a nearby room to include
them. She calls these pantries the workhorse of
the kitchen, as they are being used to store smaller
appliances like coff ee makers and microwaves, and
some even house a secondary wall oven and sink.
According to Marisa Sanchez, senior product
manager for organizers at Hardware Resources,
drawer organization and trash pullouts are becoming
standard and not just an upgrade. And
Angela O'Neill, director of marketing for Wellborn
Cabinet, says larder cabinets that sit
on the countertop are great for housing
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/ OCTOBER 2021 / KBBONLINE.COM / Th e offi cial publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

http://www.richelieu.com/us/en/ http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business October 2021

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