Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

Sleek modern kitchens were all the rage a couple of years ago. But now, homeowners are re-creating the Happy Days right at home. Retro styles from the 50s and 60s are making a comeback in the kitchen. Just make sure you combine the old with the new. Using too many vintage touches can make your kitchen go from looking trendy to outdated.

Here are some of the most popular vintage trends for the kitchen. Discover some ways that you can incorporate them into your design scheme.

Funky Flooring

Hardwood is no longer the ideal kitchen flooring material. Funky pattern tiles and vintage black-and-white linoleum are currently making a comeback in the kitchen. You can play with a variety of colors and textures to create a vintage look. Some good things to try include red and cream tiles, checkerboard black and white patterns and colorful speckled flooring. Think about something that you would be likely to see in your grandparents’ homes.

Pastels

Pastel decor dominated the 1950s. They give off a soft but dynamic feeling that reminds one of a retro American diner.

Some classic pastel combinations include:

• Sea foam green with soft pink
• Buttery yellow and soft pink
• Lime green with cream white
• Robin’s egg blue and mint

You can add touches of pastel to your accessories, walls or curtains. Dish towels and other fabrics are also great ways to incorporate these colors into your kitchen.

Retro Appliances

There is no need to give up your modern-day efficiency to have vintage appliances. You can have modern performance and timeless design. Many kitchen appliance manufacturers are getting in on the retro trend. Ranges, refrigerators and dishwashers are now available in a variety of period-inspired designs. Try a pastel colored-range or a refrigerator with a stamped-metal body and chrome trim.

Vintage Wallpapers

Vintage wallpaper reflects a bygone era in an interesting, fun way. Want a 50s look? Try polka dot patterned wallpaper. For a look straight from the 1960s, redo your kitchen walls with a busy print. Or try repetitive geometric designs in bright colors like turquoise and pink. Vintage wallpapers are available through many large online retailers or Etsy and similar sites.  

Nostalgic details and salvage finds can help give your kitchen personality and flair. You won’t have to sacrifice modern convenience with today’s vintage kitchen appliances and accessories.

Whether sleek and modern or vintage and retro is your preferred style, be sure to give your trusted real estate professional your list of must-haves!

There’s perhaps no better indicator that we are living in the technology age than Smart gadgets infiltrating the kitchen. Whether they are little conveniences or big-ticket items, the chef in every home can benefit from the devices that help improve cooking, storage and food preparation. These are some of the next generation kitchen items that are making life a little easier and homes a tad more valuable.

Samsung Family Hub Smart Fridge Provides Constant Contact

This big-ticket Samsung line has definitely taken refrigeration to the next level. It features a touchscreen that you can connect to with handheld devices to connect with your unit. One of the key features is that it enjoys an embedded camera and you can literally look at what is on your shelves while shopping for the evening meal. The days of being one ingredient short are over.

But beyond the shopping aid, the Family Hub lets you know when food is expiring, provides recipe suggestions, plays music and can utilize an Internet of Things method of ordering items for you. The Smart fridge has all the bells and whistles that can help improve your quality of life.

Smart Ovens Are Trending

Star Trek: Next Generation fans may recall Capt. Jean-Luc Picard ordering tea by simply saying “Earl Grey, hot.” The days of voice-activated meals may be closer than you think.

The latest lines of Smart ovens are integrating WiFi and connecting to recipe apps as well as that friendly home bot Alexa. Amazon reported that Alexa will be integrated into the kitchen and laundry room going forward. Several lines of Smart ovens on the market are already set up for tech-oriented homes. This Smart kitchen trend is likely to be popular with Millennial homebuyers who are flooding the real estate market.

Tech-Savvy Toaster Ovens Rule

The sometimes-forgotten toaster oven could be making a comeback in a huge way. Some of the new lines, such as Breville’s Smart Oven and Smart Oven Pro could double for a full-sized unit. Reviews on the brand tout the device’s ability to cook a 13-inch pizza or 14-pound turkey.

But the next generation aspect of these Smart ovens are things such as the “air fry” capabilities. It also features 13 pre-programmable cooking options including dehydrate. Those college dorm room days of crumb-filled toaster ovens heating up pre-cooked frozen foods are last generation.

Futuristic PancakeBot Amazes

Tech buffs often see 3-D printers as the device that could make the largest difference in terms of machinery and even ending hunger. The 3-D technology has been put to use making amazing and artistic pancakes of all shapes and sizes. You simply program it with a computer image to create the pancake design you desire, pour in the batter and serve.

The next generation of Smart kitchens are shifting the way home cooks function. In terms of property values, integrating Smart technologies appear to be highly sought after and can be a difference-maker in home sales.

If high-tech kitchen gadgets are on your list of must-haves, be sure to let your trusted real estate agent know so they can help you find the right home for you.

Have you ever walked into your kitchen and instantly felt hungry?

Rarely do people think about the colors that they choose to paint their kitchens. They are often too busy worrying about whether the kitchen will match the rest of the home, or whether the colors will be satisfactory to the rest of the household.

However, as much as you might want to have a special color in your kitchen, your brain is very likely wired in a way to react in ways that you may not have intended! When painting and decorating your kitchen, you may want to think about the process in a way many people do not — how the colors you choose will affect the way in which you eat. 

Colors affect a lot of our subconscious thinking. As behavioral psychologists have documented, the presence of specific colors your the kitchen can change your eating habits and your cravings for food.

Here are some examples :

Red: The color red increases your appetite. This is why so many restaurants paint their walls red. Although associated with romance and passion, red is also a color which promotes hunger. Furthermore, it has been noted that the color red in your kitchen can influence high blood pressure.

Orange: The color orange is a “stimulating” color; increasing oxygen supply to the brain and providing a mental boost. An orange-themed kitchen may stimulate your appetite, therefore, and make over-eating more likely.

Gray: Gray can be an ideal appetite-suppressing color for your kitchen. This is because, psychologically, gray is calming and relaxing, and it neutralizes anxiety. Gray can arrest binge eating and impulsive snacking. It’s also a color which home stagers recommend for its neutrality.

Blue: The color blue is calming, which can slow your eating speed, and prevent you from over-eating. When decorating your kitchen and dining room, therefore, using blue wallpaper or blue paint; and blue placemats, for example, can result in “slower” eating and fewer feelings of fullness.

And there’s more about blue! There are very few foods that are naturally blue outside of blueberries and some varieties of potatoes. So over time your subconscious mind has trained itself to be wary of any food that is blue. Some weight loss programs suggest eating on a blue plate and even putting a blue light in your refrigerator!

So if you’re concerned about the amount you or your family is eating, painting your kitchen blue may very well help curb the appetite.

Whether you’re a home buyer, a home seller, or just getting ready to remodel, consider the influence of colors in your home. They do more than just “match the next room” — they affect your food and drink cravings as well.