By Carole Hawkins, [email protected]
Is it time to build houses with quartz countertops instead of granite? Do homebuyers want a classic look or a modern one? Is grey the new white, or is black is the new grey?
National trends can sometimes precede local ones. Or sometimes, they never take hold at all.
Here’s what suppliers say are actually the hot sellers for cabinets, countertops, appliances and floors in Jacksonville.
Minimalist cabinets
The Shaker style and beach cottage look are popular right now, said Tim Deck, CEO of First Coast Supply. That means white or light painted colors, with clean simple lines.
“We’re selling less of the ornate, old world-style cabinetry, which was what was popular a few years ago,” he said. “It’s more of a transitional look. It’s simple, but with enough detail that it’s not stark.”
Upscale appliances
During the hard bottom of the downturn, it was price that mattered most, Deck said. But now, full-featured appliances are making a comeback.
That includes built-in “disappearing” appliances, which blend into the surrounding cabinetry. For example, a refrigerator is faced with the same type of wood as cabinets and fitted with handles that match the rest of the kitchen hardware, creating a more fluid and integrated look.
“They’ve been around for years, but it’s more popular than it’s ever been,” Deck said.
In new appliances, steam ovens are finding their way into more kitchens. Used for healthier cooking, a convection steam oven can sauté, simmer, boil, bake and roast food.
Also, built-in automatic coffee makers are gaining a fan base. The Cadillac version of that is a Wolf Coffee System – a coffee barista built into the wall. The device grinds coffee beans and uses a pressurized brewing process to create a frothy cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, macchiato, or simply hot water for tea.
“It’s literally Starbucks quality right at home,” Deck said. “We sell a lot of these.”
It’s not cheap though. Costs range from $2,300 to $3,500.
Quartz countertops
In countertops, quartz and quartzite are still a long way out from replacing granite, said Deck. But, they are gaining traction.
Quartz and quartzite are not the same. Quartz is a man-made product that combines ground quartz with resins, polymers and pigments. It’s durable and stain resistant, with a price that compares to granite. Because it’s man-made, it can be designed for a wide range of colors and textured looks, including stone.
Quartzite is a natural cut stone that has the appearance of marble, but is much more durable. Marble is beautiful and people see it a lot in magazines, Deck said, but it is soft and it will stain. Quartzite is harder and denser, too tough to stain, chip or scratch.
“You can set your hottest pan on it and not leave a mark,” Deck said. “You could dull your sharpest knife on it without leaving a scratch. It’s an anvil.”
Rustic wood floors
Hard surface floors have been on the rise for over a decade, said Mark Barlow of Abbey Carpet & Floor on Philips Highway. And for hardwood flooring, the hand-scraped, distressed look is what’s in. One type is oil-rubbed flooring, instead of the usual smooth polyurethane coated planks. The floor needs to be re-oiled every couple of years, but it ages better. Scratches and scuffs can be repaired with a Brillo pad, soap and rejuvenating oil.
Planks are getting wider too, growing from the traditional 2 or 3 inches to as wide as 8 inches. Also, grey-stained flooring is trending.
“For years it was all warm colors,” Barlow said. “It’s a whole different, more modern look.”
Ceramic tile, stone look
In tile, rectangle shapes are now popular. Also, the sizes are getting larger – instead of 4x4-inch tiles on walls and 12x12-inch tiles on floors, customers are now opting for 12x24- and 13x20-inch tile designs.
Ceramic tiles are benefiting, too, from new coloring process that uses inkjet printing. It gives the tile a cleaner pattern with more definition, Barlow said.
“They can truly imitate natural stone now,” he said. “They used to not be able to do that.”
Wood-patterned tiles also are popular.
Vinyl ‘planks’
Like tile, vinyl floors have a new print pattern that look like wood.
The vinyl planks are manufactured tongue and groove, so they can be clicked together. They can be installed to “float” on a subfloor without glue.
Soft carpets and area rugs
The carpets customers are drawn to today have softer yarn and a more pleasant feel, Barlow said.
Also, shag carpeting has re-emerged. Today, it’s a product called frieze. The long-strand carpet has thinner yarn with more of a twist than shag, giving it a slightly shorter and denser pile.
Hard-surfaced floors rose in popularity around the same time area rugs got cheaper, Barlow said. Today instead of buying a $5,000 wool rug that needs professional cleaning, customers can get a $250 polypropylene area rug and replace it every couple of years.
“There are some manufacturers who produce nothing but area rugs today,” Barlow said. “They’ve gotten so inexpensive, instead of carpet, people get hard-surface floors and cover them with area rugs.”