Neutral tones and white are big trends in kitchens for 2015, but vibrant colors still have their place.
 
Consumers planning new or renovated kitchens are looking for “anything in gray tones,” said Suzanne Reid, a designer for Markraft Cabinets who works in the company’s Design Center. “Grays are the new neutral” for 2015, she said, a quiet, understated successor to the browns, beiges and blacks that filled the “neutral” niche in recent years.
 
More vivid colors still find a place in accents, Reid explained, such as a free-standing island in an aquamarine, “ocean” or “Aegean mist” shade amid an otherwise gray-toned kitchen. “That would come across as more of a furniture piece, which would stand on its own,” Reid said. This approach gives the room “more of an “acquired feel,” with a unique centerpiece, rather than totally designed from scratch.
 
Outside the blue-green spectrum, other popular cabinet colors are muted reds. For example, Reid notes, the Pantone company’s color of the year is “marsala,” an off-red tone inspired by the wine of the same name.
 
Markraft’s showroom includes a kitchen layout combining cherry-wood cabinets in a warm ginger stain with base cabinets with soft yellow “vanilla bean” paint. Warm honey-tone stains on cherry and other woods are also popular.
 
Natural wood finishes are likely to be augmented with stains or colored glazes. A “driftwood” stain over natural-grain oak “gives you that beachy look,” Reid said. Another popular stain is “espresso,” a richer look “that bridges the gap between grays and black,” she said.
 
Lest you think everything is dark, however, whites and off-whites remain very much in fashion for kitchen cabinets, and never go out of style.
 
Warmer looks are in favor for metal parts, such as cabinet hardware, faucets and light fixtures. Copper, bronze and antique brass are in demand, Reid said, but brushed nickel is still the “go-to” look.
 
A trend toward lighter surfaces is affecting countertop choices, too. Reid sees strong interest in “anything that replicates Carrara marble,” which is white with flecks or streaks of gray and black. A number of granites have that look, as do some of the quartz composites.
 
Another lighter countertop option is what Reid describes as an earthy or buttery yellow, such as Markraft’s sample layout pairing Neptune Bordeaux granite with cherry-wood and painted cabinets.
 
MarKraft’s Design Center at 2705 Castle Creek Lane, just off Castle Hayne Road, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and evenings and Saturdays by appointment.
 
Since 1985, Markraft has specialized in cabinet and countertop design and installation in residential and commercial construction and custom remodeling. To learn more about Markraft, go to www.markraft.com. Contact Markraft at 910-762-1986 and like Markraft on Facebook at www.facebook.com/markraftcabinets.