In the world of kitchen furniture design there has always been two categories, traditional, or classic, and contemporary. Over the years as the market has evolved the boundaries have been pushed further and further apart and there is now an increasingly fine line between what exactly defines a traditional or contemporary kitchen.
Historically wood finishes have been associated with the design and manufacture of more classical kitchens and in contrast contemporary kitchens conventionally feature more minimal materials with brighter, and predominantly plain finishes.

The association of natural timbers in the manufacture and design of traditional kitchens changed several years ago in Milan, when exotic woods, like zebrano and walnut, were displayed in modern styling. This trend has continued to grow in popularity and today blending traditional and contemporary looks together is very prominent in the market. The current trend combines dark timbers with bright high gloss finishes that stretch the boundaries of design even further. "The availability of a wide choice of flat veneers to contrast with lacquer has brought wood into the contemporary kitchen," comments Tim Hutchinson, marketing director, Waterline. "Kitchens in dark wood combined with high gloss lacquer are currently on trend."

The reinvention of wood finishes has been made far more possible by the availability of unsual finishes like zebrano, wenge and walnut. This broad range of materials has increased the popularity of veneer finishes as they are more consistent than solid wood. Originally introduced to the market as a cheaper alternative to solid doors, through the development of manufacturing techniques veneers have become a vital aspect of furniture design. "With the recent trend for curves in kitchen design many doors have to be veneered in order to allow the curves to be manufactured," says Wayne Dance md, In House. "A veneer also has more consistency than solid wood. Woods such as maple comprise of a large variation in grain and colour therefore the same piece of tree over and over again by slicing thin slivers of veneer and ensuring stability in both grain and colour."

There are also ecological benefits to be gained from the use of wood veneers as many of these newly popular woods are extremely slow growing. Poggenpohl has taken this a step further as md Martin Gill explains; "Poggenpohl has developed its own zebrano structure veneer that is made from strips of different coloured wood pieces, to protect this slow growing tree."

To a consumer one of the most important points of consideration, when investing in a new kitchen, is whether the design they choose will still be regarded as stylish in five or 10 years time.  "Although the definition of a classic or contemporary kitchen involves a certain element of subjectivity whatever their particular taste, consumers are really looking for kitchens that will stand the tests of time, and will not date easily," says Terry Ball, md, William Ball. "This is where timber kitchens really come into their own."

"Wood has enduring appeal and can lend itself easily to both contemporary and traditional applications," says Gill, of Poggenpohl. "There is a huge variety of soft and hard woods each with its own individual character and different treatments and forms ensure that they blend with an overall room scheme, whatever its style."

"We haven't seen a return to the full wood kitchen, but there has been a significant move towards combinations of colours and textures this season," says Jim Gettings, md of AFG Kitchens, UK distributor of Miele kitchens. "Consumers are becoming more experimental, opting for a bolder mix and match effect, and we will continue to see kitchen furniture that teams gloss finishes with accent pieces of exotic wood."

Consumer demand and their ever growing interest in property and home improvements will continue to drive this design trend forward. The property market is highly competitive and consumers are striving for individuality and ways to make their property stand out from the crowd.

Inside Analysis

German kitchens are a key driver for trends in the UK. The German market is currently going through major developments so we asked Mark Evans, of Nolte UK to review the country for us.

The export statistics for Germany show the new and emerging markets with 70-100% growth in the past two years especially in countries like Turkey and Canada. What is very interesting is that the more established markets like the UK have still achieved a growth in the same time period of nearly 20%. As a country, we are the fifth largest importer of German kitchens with close to a 10% share of the total German import value.

In more specific terms for Nolte Kuchen, the past five years has seen a huge increase of 47% in export sales. This has meant their business mix has shifted from 85% home market and 15% export to 73% home market and 27% export.

A wider market has dictated more global branding and marketing of the product as well as an excellent design capability and product range to meet worldwide consumer requirements.

The increased specification of our kitchens has seen a consequent rise in the average value of a kitchen of more than 75% over the past five years. This is not related to the product being more expensive as, in most cases, price increases have averaged at approximately 2%, it is the order specification that has become far more complex.

Kitchens are now very much a part of our living space and this has resulted in more demand for dining and seating areas to be incorporated in our kitchen designs. In addition, a contemporary kitchen needs to offer more storage solutions in less space and therefore the more expensive pull-out units tend to be used to maximise this concept.
The first part of 2008 has seen sales level against last year but 2007 was a record year and consequently, a levelling off would not necessarily indicate consumer pessimism. If sales are analysed over the past five years then we have seen growth of nearly 40% in consumer sales.

The UK market did see an influx of German kitchen products about three to four years ago, at a time when their home market was in the depths of recession. For us, these competitors have had minimal impact as they tend to saturate an area with their product and cannot offer the backup and experience of a 50 year old manufacturer and a 25 year old UK importer.

UK market share of German exports is a complicated area to try and quantify. In many cases, small German producers have very little home market and invest all their time and efforts in exporting to the UK.