A patterned granite can be the focal piece of your kitchen, or a solid quartz can help to unite a busier look. In Your Home: Again, this trend is all about contrast. There’s no middle ground,” Nash continues. “You either have really wild patterned granites, or you’re going to have the really, really plain quartzes. So I’m seeing more granite in log home building than quartz, because the rest of the space is pretty organic.” “Though I will say within the log home community, they tend to go for more natural finishes. “Quartz tends to be the reigning king right now,” agrees Nash. “In cottages, a natural-looking counter is preferred,” says Katsis, with many clients opting for “practical quartz counters that look like real stone.” Don’t be afraid to go bold with bright white or striking black. In Your Home: Kitchen trends in cabinetry are all about playing up on contrast. “Gone are the days of knotty pine for kitchens.” Though white is a lot more popular than grey for log homes.” Usually it’s a painted finish, a cream color – not a stark white but an off-white – or a grey. “I’ve never done a wood cabinet in a log home. So any time you have a lot of wood in the structure, you want to counterbalance that with something that is solid,” Nash explains. “The thing about log homes is, you’re going to have a lot of wood in there. In Nash’s work designing log home kitchens, she’s found that “the black trend is more regional,” but “white and grey are way more popular” than before. What is fairly common is the mix of black with natural wood color.” They are going more for the clean, finished look. “With the kitchens I would say they are going more towards the contemporary. “Black is definitely trending right now,” says Matt. In Your Home: While wood flooring helps to keep your home design consistent, slate flooring can provide a welcome and more modern contrast. “With the log homes they do like the feel of the wood continuing throughout.” While slate may be trending right now, many owners still stick with wood throughout the house, Matt says. They’re not going towards the marble or anything like that – it’s not going to fit.” “Usually if they’re not doing the wood, they’re going to be doing a natural stone, and it’s usually slate. Nash agrees that lately it’s all about slate. With log home kitchen floors, says Matt, many of our clients “will primarily lean more towards the tiles or ceramics.” The all-wood look is becoming “way less popular,” says Katsis. In Your Home: Your kitchen isn’t just for cooking! When choosing your design options, think of your kitchen as the heart of your home.
Basically their entire kitchen was an island!” The last log home I did had a 12 foot long island. For log homes, she says, “one of the difficult aspects is trying finding wall space for cabinetry. Natasha Nash, Designer at Laurysen Kitchens, has the same experience with keeping kitchens large, open, and a continuous part of the home. “Really, more counter space is what people are looking for so they can have a working area.” “If anything, people would rather have the larger kitchen,” says our head designer, Matt.
“Most clients are not dreaming of a massive mansion anymore, but rather a smart, well-designed home that works for them.” “I wouldn’t say the trend is towards smaller kitchens,” says Katsis. There is a recent trend towards smaller floor plans as a whole, but not necessarily smaller kitchens. Open floor plans have always ruled for log homes, but Louie Katsis, Certified Kitchen Designer at Olympic Kitchens, says that kitchens are becoming more and more “active living centers,” where “the line between living/dining and kitchen are blurred.”