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OCTOBER 2015 | 51 Kitchens PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CAC CABINETRY & MILLWORK; MERIT KITCHENS Acrylic is making a strong showing in this year's kitchens, too. "Our recent projects have used acrylic and people like it. It's something different than before," says Mary Zhang, a representa- tive for CAC Cabinetry and Millwork. The high-gloss finish can make a room look bigger, the way it bounces light around. Valley Countertops' McGillvrey has seen the return of high-gloss painted doors, but he's wary about the trend: "I'm always concerned about putting something that is so difficult and expen- sive to change in a trendy style. In three to five years people might say, 'I don't like this anymore.' If you don't like coun- tertops five years from now, it's a simple change, not massive like cabinetry." These bold looks may well be a reaction to a low-risk era of kitchen design, where white melamine and wood have long been the standard. "Everyone got bored of that, and now we're seeing a lot of adventurism," suggests McGillvrey. The bold colours may come from a European influence, where the trend was spotted a few years ago. But even while bold colours are coming back into style, classic white kitchens will never truly disappear. "White kitchens are a big trend in the transitional style. Clients seem to like upgrades like glass or mirror to give the kitchen a distinctive look," says Di Vincenzo. The twist right now is 2D-colour edging that adds a hint of interest to otherwise monochromatic spaces. "You're seeing multicolour edges on solid doors and they're in wood grain, high gloss, metallic, solid colours. There's been a huge push," says Mark Skakun, principal of Excelsior Kitchens. Beyond that, the trend of mixing and matching cabinetry colours is growing. "A lot of people are doing two different colours, like white on the top and dark on the bottom, or a different colour countertop on the island with the outside perimeter a different colour," notes Sandy Theriault, design consultant for Floform. Up and down the West Coast, textured melamine and tex- tured laminates that resemble wood are being used by local builders and the results can fool almost anyone. "For the lay- person, they would think they're seeing real wood finished cabinets, it's that close," says Skakun. "The embossing that they do now is just unreal." "People are beginning to favour woods that don't look highly finished; they like wood that looks natural or slightly aged," adds Julie Johnstone, corporate designer for Merit Kitchens. Neutral, light and medium brown, and grey stains are trending, as is highly grained wood with knots and natural imperfec- tions. These classic finishes are being used in new ways. "Shaker is always hot, but now mixing Shaker with contempo- rary [designs], the slab doors within one design is popular," Johnstone says. However, in some part of North America, the popular Shaker door is slowly falling out of favour as modern, contemporary looks take over. "There's a trend going towards flat, glossy, ther- mofoil and acrylic cabinets," says KitchenCraft's Mercier. Thermofoil is a thermal plastic that wraps over engineered hardwood and is shrink-wrapped and glued; available in a variety of finishes, the cost-effective option provides ample opportu- nity for a custom look. "It's cost-effective and durable, and it can be any finish you want: white, plain, a white gloss, faux wood grains like driftwood, or even shiny patterns," says Mercier. Off-white and stains remain the most popular, but gunmetal blue has proved to be a surprisingly common choice. Cartier.indd 1 2015-09-08 12:35