Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, trendspotting has been challenging as larger industry trade shows have been on hold or gone virtual. These shows are where vendors and manufacturers display their new wares, which can help drive trends. Having these points of inspiration somewhat on hold leaves limited sources to spot trends. Experts have primarily relied on the internet, social media, and sales trend data to spot what’s popular. That said, the Superior Cabinets Trends Experts have been scouring this data to bring you their 2022 Kitchen Trends.
Dark wood stains
Dark colours have been trending upwards for the past three to four years, so our trend experts have kept them on the list again for 2022. In mid-to-late 2021, they noticed an uptake in demand for darker wood stains like the English Tea Stain on Maple. While darker embellishments have been re-entering into the kitchen in smaller amounts, our experts feel it will be a while before people select an entire kitchen and island in a dark wood stain.
Green meets gray
Sherwin-Williams absolutely nailed the 2022 colour of the year, Evergreen Fog [SW 9130], which is classified as the perfect green-gray. Our trend experts thought it deserved a special mention for the 2022 kitchen trends as a great organic-inspired accent colour for walls, art, and decorative accessories. This colour will pair beautifully with dark cabinet colours like Fusion Briquette, also known as Urban Bronze, which was their colour of the year for 2021. Evergreen Fog will also pair wonderfully with light linens, tans, warm woods, and warm brown hues with orange undertones, much like a classic leather sofa.
Bold, dark painted colours
Our experts have identified and tracked a few dark and bold colours that some may want to keep their eye on. These dark-painted colors are trending hot, inspired by dark carbon, zinc, graphite, and charcoal elements. Many of these emerging dark paint colors have blue and green undertones, which is no surprise to the trend experts.
Three-toned kitchens
It’s rare to see an entire kitchen in one colour or a single stain finish right now. Three-toned kitchens became more accepted in late 2020. They have almost become a standard in 2021 and are expected to continue this way into 2022. The question is, will trends evolve to four-toned kitchens or back to just one? Time will tell.
Lighter wood stains
The kitchen trend experts would classify these trending lighter wood stains as natural-looking but without the yellow and gold colours of the natural wood. This stain genre lends towards a sleek mid-century modern feeling, which has been climbing in popularity for a few years now. Other trending styles that are influencing these wood stains would be Art Deco, Organic Modern, Boho Chic, Eclectic, and Transitional styles. The Superior Cabinets portfolio and development team is working on a few stains in this category on Maple and Hickory, so stay tuned.
Silver drawer slides
Metal drawer slides come in a multitude of colours, depending on the manufacturer. Silver/Grey drawer slides were hot around 2015-2018 until white and anthracite black metal drawer slides came on the scene. 2021 was the year of grey silver metal drawer slides, heavily influenced by global supply chain constraints on other coloured slides, and 2022 will be no different.
That said, twice as many homeowners chose Silver Grey over Anthracite Black. Many felt the neutral grey colour was better for blending in rather than making a bold style statement. Our experts have also heard from client feedback that they visibly show less dust, which is always a good thing. This shows you that trends can be influenced by more than style and customer demand.
Decorative graphite hardware
The Graphite finish for cabinet handles and knobs started becoming popular in 2021. Our experts feel this finish hasn’t yet peaked, and there is still more growth for it in 2022, as it is an excellent option for two and even three-toned kitchens.
Check back in the new year for part two, focusing on 2022 Kitchen Style Trends!
Shahan Fancy is the Director of Marketing at Superior Cabinets.