Here is a list off the top of my head of the trends that I observed at KBIS. Since I am at the airport now with a 3 hour delay, (update: it was a 7 hour delay, getting home at 3 AM rather than the projected 7:45 pm, adding this to the mishaps below post) with my power cord packed (why did I do that?) I am unable right now to work with my images. Nevertheless, here is what I observed as coming on strong for kitchens '07 and beyond. I will take some of these one by one and expand on them in the days ahead, with images and notes. Here's what's happening!

 

Trough sinks - long, narrow, multi use sinks....secondary sinks

Organically shaped sinks - maybe long and curvy, seeing even more

Sinks with multiple functions - more than ever, more accessories, flexibility

Brown metals - a rainbow of brown metals from mid to dark colors

Black - Black is HUGE...more to follow

Dark colors - meaning dark wood finishes in cabinetry

Tile walls - strong trend for wall coverings

Light countertops - sandy, earthy, subtle, casual

Thicker counters - anything from 2" to 7"!

Green - meaning eco friendly everything and anything and everywhere. Take care here, as I suspect one small piece of a product being declared as eco friendly may be valid marketing material...there's green, and then there's green...find your green values and then do your research accordingly

Larger sinks - single bowl large sinks, even going larger than last year

Less retro - retro 40s appliances seemed to have had a very short life in the past few years, did not see much of that this year

More contemporary styling, soft, easy to live with - soft contemporary is very big

Traditional alive and well - traditional styling is alive and well...don't believe all the hot, sleek, kitchens you see elsewhere. That's only part of the kitchen trend story. Important, hot news is being made in traditional styling as well.

Wood variety - more authentic wood finishes celebrating unique wood grain and knots and natural wild grain

Earthy rustic - a new, sort of contemporary, rustic look

Appliances in various sizes - huge trend, appliances in various sizes for any reason, any situation

Technology in appliances everywhere...lots of bio fresh type of technology, keeping food fresher longer

Hoods - dynamic, innovative, interesting kitchen hoods. Huge.

Purple - seen in more quiet, smoky, or somewhat mid tones, not too strong. You'll see it soon if you don't see it now.

UPDATE 5/11:  I nearly forgot...big trend, lots of open shelving in the kitchen, whether everywhere or just in some spots, it's there.  

I'll expand on these and other trends that come to me. We'll also talk about trends in general...should we care, considering a kitchen is a designed space, with products that are going to have to last, and look good, for 15-20 years? It's sort of a paradox for a professional kitchen designer, at least for me, and I'd like to talk about this. Have no fear, from my perspective, the excitement of trend watching and looking for hot, current, new, products is definitely a "sport" so to speak, but there are underlying issues to consider as well, considering the design/product decisions are financially large, and permanent. I actually can't wait to sink my teeth into this issue, coming at it from several points. But, till then, there it is, above!