Kitchen design is constantly changing. My parents’ current house was built 21 years ago and the kitchen is typical of those built in the early 1990s: pastel linoleum floors, oak cabinets, blue laminate countertops, and a cream-colored porcelain sink. Though modern at the time, these days it has an old-fangled feel that bothers my mom who would like it to be updated.

These days, kitchen designs revolve around open spaces, granite countertops, and islands. Houzz.com keeps up with these fashions and concocted a list of the top kitchen remodeling trends of 2013 which was gleaned from a Kitchen Remodeling Survey administered to 7,500 homeowners who were in the middle of or contemplating a kitchen remodel. On surprising thing: people weren’t focusing on enlarging their spaces, rather they wanted to merge their kitchens with nearby living areas to create an open concept feel.

Stainless steel, once thought to be an industrial material, is now invading kitchens everywhere. Stainless steel appliances throughout the kitchen give it a cohesive feel with the added bonus of seeing your own reflection anywhere you turn. Houzz said, “65 percent of homeowners are incorporating stainless steel into their new kitchen design” and those who can’t afford a complete redo of all appliances tend to be “combining them with white, colored, or appliances integrated into cabinetry.

Stainless steel sinks are especially popular with high arcing faucets that allow clearance for large pots and dishes.

Not only are homeowners replacing their old black or white stoves with stainless steel varieties, they are also looking for chef’s stoves. These are gas burning stoves with up to 6 burners. The gas burners allow for more precise temperature control, though you do need to be careful of gas leaks and the proximity of flammable items to the stove.

While bright colors are popular in living spaces like bedrooms and family rooms, 74 percent of people are going with lighter, more classical color schemes for their kitchens these days. This doesn’t mean they choose variations of white or gray, but they might mix a butter yellow with aquamarine or mint green with pale purple rather than bolder colors.

People were split on flooring preferences. Hardwood won out, but just by a little. Houzz reported, “While 35 percent of respondents said hardwood would be their flooring choice, tile came in close second at 32 percent.” Either way, linoleum is out.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/kitchen-remodeling-trends_n_4164094.html