January is a month for making changes - and when it comes to our homes there's no bigger change than replacing the kitchen. Karen Wilson finds out the latest trends from a North-East expert at the forefront of cutting edge kitchen design. ***********
 Whether you have a budget of £3,000 or £50,000, if you're looking for a new kitchen then you've probably been seduced by all manner of innovative new gadgets from drop-down TVs and pull-out ironing boards to soft-close drawers and the latest composite worktops. Today's kitchens would put James Bond's `Q' to shame as they have evolved to meet the needs of today's consumers. Angela Marie Goodwin, who is product and marketing manager at Grange Interiors and studied interior and spacial design at university, is well-placed to comment on the latest looks. She's visited countless design shows in her time and is about to jet off to Paris to come up with some cutting-edge kitchen ideas for Conran Partners and City Lofts, who are converting an 18th Century property into 32 apartments. She says: "People want innovative design, combined with functionality. "The majority of buyers are going for clean lines and rich colours with tonal contrasts such as mixing walnut wood with white gloss or coffee. "Our best seller is probably shaker-style solid wood painted in cream, combined with timber or granite worktops. The high-gloss slab style doors are also popular, along with the dark burgundy and aubergine shades." Spending on kitchens is also increasing. Customers of Grange Interiors tend can splash out anything from £6,000 to £48,000, although the typical spend is around £18,000 to £25,000. So it's no wonder that customers are demanding ever more sophisticated and higher quality materials. The trend for eclecticism, which is rife within the wider world of home interiors, has also influenced kitchen design. And although it's far from a Boho style mish-mash, it's certainly true to say that people are mixing and matching materials and colours in their kitchens. For instance, the choice in worktops is now far more extensive. "The new glass worktops have been very well-received," says Angela. "People are mixing materials a lot. For instance, the zodiac worktop, which is a mixture of quartz crystal and resin, looks like concrete but with sparkly glass flecks within it. Corian is also very popular." Angela says that square-edged worktops are very in vogue. "But they're either very thick or very thin," she says. What's more, buyers are ditching tiles in favour of other materials such as glass, or they're choosing to continue their granite worktops as splashbacks. There's no doubt that lifestyle changes over the last 20 years have had a major impact on changing kitchen designs. Research by UK appliance manufacturer Electrolux, in conjunction with the Future Foundation, showed that 50% of consumers now entertained in the kitchen, while stainless steel ovens now represented nearly 70% of the market. As a result, ovens and hobs have to be stylish, while dishwashers, fridges and washing machines have to be hidden and quiet. Soft close doors without handles all add to the streamlined look, so you can entertain your friends without feeling like you're sitting in the kitchen. Multi-functional lighting has also become more important and consumers are using dimable LED lights combined with more focused task lighting to change the ambience, depending on whether they're cooking, enjoying a glass of wine, having a dinner party or helping the kids with their homework. "We're even looking into developing a full glass kitchen which can be illuminated using different coloured lighting," says Angela. Making the best use of space is also a high priority for consumers Angela says: "People want to make the most of the space available with storage solutions such as magic corners. Other clever space-saving ideas include cable-tidy socket points that pop-up out of work tops and clip-on drainers, which are put away after use." So what new innovations lie in store for the kitchen of the future? Angela says hidden kitchens will catch on, especially for open-plan spaces. "It looks like a wall," she says. "You wouldn't know the kitchen was there until the doors fold back." Even more cutting edge, as they're not on the market yet, are motorised drawers that open and close automatically when you touch them. The height of laziness you might think. But one day we might all have them.
Grange Interiors is on Front Street, Tynemouth. Tel: (0191) 257-3898.
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