There’s continued good news being reported from the nation’s
cabinet front, as the kitchen and bath industry enters the fourth
quarter of a year that remains not only robust, but ripe with
promise for the foreseeable future.
The positive developments are arriving in several forms, all of
which are reflected in this month’s issue of Kitchen & Bath
Design News.
First and foremost is the latest monthly report from the Kitchen
Cabinet Manufacturers Association, revealing that June kitchen
cabinet sales rose a whopping 24% over sales the same month in 2003
and that, year-to-date, cabinet sales are up nearly 19% over the
first six months of last year.
K&BDN has been reporting the results from the KCMA’s monthly
“Trend of Business” surveys for several years now, and June marks
nearly 100 consecutive months of cabinet industry growth an
achievement that’s as remarkable as it is a reflection of a housing
and remodeling sector that continues to shine in an otherwise
spotty and fragile economy.
There’s more to all this, however, than simply the
once-in-a-lifetime combination of economic, demographic and
lifestyle factors that’s currently driving the industry to
unprecedented heights.
Cabinet manufacturers and kitchen designers have obviously done
an excellent job, too helping to create a powerful wave of consumer
demand for upgraded cabinetry. In fact, as reported in this month’s
Consumer Buying Trends, American homeowners “have an obsession”
with their kitchens, and most wish to remodel the space in one way
or another. When asked what they most want to change about their
kitchen, their top choice, of course, was cabinets.
Much of what these consumers are looking for in cabinetry is
illustrated this month in K&BDN’s annual Kitchen Cabinet Style
and Design Guide, which has been expanded from past years to
accommodate industry growth. The guide, it’s hoped, will prove to
be a valuable year-round resource for kitchen designers seeking to
satisfy consumer demand with the latest and the best in
cabinetry.
Clearly, cabinets remain king in this industry the focal point
and most critical design element in today’s kitchens . . . and the
greatest profit opportunity for kitchen space planners.
It’s certainly encouraging that cabinet demand remains sky high,
and that manufacturers are meeting that demand with cabinetry
that’s proving to be such a turn-on for consumers.
Editor’s Note: The notion of innovative design remains very much
in the forefront of today’s kitchen and bath industry.
That same notion also been very much in the forefront of our
thinking as we developed plans to unveil a series of editorial and
graphic enhancements to Kitchen & Bath Design News.
Those enhancements begin with this month’s issue.
We hope you’ll notice, for example, that we’ve spruced up
K&BDN’s graphic presentation with the introduction of new type
fonts and other design elements aimed at improving the magazine’s
visual impact.
Even more importantly than our own design, however, is the fact
that K&BDN has added a number of editorial features aimed at
addressing the design-related issues facing our readers.
Expanding the regular design coverage K&BDN offers through
columnists and contributors like Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, Sarah
Reep, CKD, ASID, CMG, and Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, will be the
following:
- Well-known designer and product innovator Fu-Tung Cheng will
explore cutting-edge ideas for re-examining and reinventing
traditional techniques in kitchen design. Cheng’s first in a series
of “Design Inspirations” columns, exclusive to the design trade
through K&BDN, appears this month. - K&BDN this month also debuts “Take Five” , a new department
in which leading kitchen and bath designers will share their
insights and design philosophy with readers. This month, the focus
of the department is well-known New York designer Florence Perchuk,
CKD. - Also exclusive to K&BDN, a new department, “Pro to Pro”,
will serve as an interactive forum for a wide range of topics
relevant to kitchen and bath designers. - Lastly, “Winner’s Circle” will regularly spotlight kitchens,
baths, showrooms and related projects that have been honored for
their outstanding design and creative use of product. - Our expanded emphasis on design, we hope, will serve K&BDN
readers well and will complement our monthly coverage of news,
trends, sales ideas, management techniques, new products and other
topics critical to business success.