Every autumn, a selection of our talented designers get to explore the newest kitchen design ideas and trends before anyone else – with a visit to the Hacker factory. This year, we had designers attend from each one of our showrooms all visiting with one aim: to bring the hottest design ideas back home.
This year’s visit to the Hacker factory, in Germany, proved to be as inspirational as ever. Our designers soaked up fantastic new colour combinations and creative kitchen ideas – and learnt about the latest in furnishings and products too.
The key trend apparent across all kitchen designs was the concept of ‘Living Spaces’. The kitchen is no longer a place to simply cook and dine; it’s the heart of the home – the place where families socialise and friends gather. With this in mind, many of Hacker’s kitchen designs featured sociable areas and furnishings. There were fully functional family areas, open plan designs, multi-use kitchen island spaces and fireplaces to snuggle up by too.
About the ‘Living Spaces’ trend, Simon Thomas, Designer at the Colne Showroom, says:
“Everything about the kitchen design was tailored to the family. There was an area for every need as well as lots of innovative products. Clever storage was a key feature too – with plenty of hidden storage options in cupboards, ideal for families.”
Another obvious trend was colour. While today’s kitchens tend to feature neutral colours and monochrome colour schemes, the 2017 kitchen is set to be more experimental. Aquamarine was a key accent colour used throughout many of the designs and combined with muted shades of white and grey. Metallics featured too, especially in the high-end designs.
About this year’s visit, Lou Roberts, Designer at the Blackburn Showroom, says:
“The annual tour is a great way to get some insight into next year’s trends. It’s always nice to see something a little different.
“The design ideas really are inspirational and definitely make sure that our team stay on top with the latest products and fashions.”
Keep a look out for new designs hitting all our showrooms in 2017. And, if you want to be the first to show off the latest in kitchen trends, get in touch with the design team.
