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The Colors of 2021

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Image by Pantone Color

The Pantone Institute has broken tradition. Instead of naming a single color of the year, it has named two colors of the year – Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow. Both colors connote a feeling of strength and hope, according to Pantone. There are good reasons why the Institute selected these two colors because they offer the promise of something happy and friendly according to Pantone. “We need to feel that everything is going to be better, it is something essential for the human soul. In a context in which people seek to strengthen themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome a situation of sustained uncertainty, encouraging and full of life tones satisfy our search for vitality,” Pantone explained.

The Pantone color of the year historically trends in fashion and beauty and furniture, design and décor items. Pantone selects the year’s color based on an in-depth study of trends and market analysis of the entertainment industry, art, fashion, popular tourist destinations and all areas of design. This year, Pantone also considered the general mood of the world population.

How can Ultimate Gray and Illuminating yellow enhance the look and feel of a new dream kitchen, bath, or other room in your home? Give us a call or make an appointment to visit our showroom either in-person or virtually.

What Will Trend in 2021?

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As an increasing number of homeowners in Indianapolis become more adept and comfortable working from home, the kitchen continues to grow in importance as the most significant, functional, and enjoyable room in the home. Today’s kitchens are multifunctional, serving as classrooms, offices, studies, and break rooms, as well as the main room in the home to gather, spend quality time, prepare meals, and dine.

With the continuous evolution of the kitchen’s role, here is what we expect to trend in the coming year:

Open Shelving

Design responding to the new roles that kitchens serve. 2021 kitchen designs will incorporate artwork, decorative pottery, cookbooks, collectibles and other items that reflect the owner’s personality and design preferences. That is one reason why we expect open shelving to continue growing in popularity because it allows homeowners to display ceramics, sculptures, plates, cookware, and other important items.

Dark Cabinets

Walnut cabinets are expected to come to the forefront in 2021 as well as darker-toned kitchens. Walnut is soothing, offers warmth and connotes luxury. Don’t be surprised if you see black walls, cabinets and countertops in design publications and social media sites. Black also connotes luxury, and in cabinetry, it can provide a rustic vibe.

Paint

The painted kitchen will make its mark in 2021. Painted walls and cabinets are easy to maintain and offer an unlimited palette of color and design options. And if you don’t like or tire of the look, repainting is easy and cost-effective.

Marble

Marble is making a big comeback as a countertop and backsplash material. We are also seeing an increase in wood finishes, such as lighter-toned wood to complement the warmer tones of stone countertops.

Storage

Storage is becoming a necessity as working and schooling from home persists. Demand for pantries in kitchens will increase for several reasons. They serve as a central storage area for food stuffs, and that can free up wall space for open shelving, artwork, or be left bare.

Touch-to-Open Technology

Ease of use will trend in 2021. Everything from touch-open cabinets and drawers that eliminate the need for cabinet hardware to voice-activated faucets, and digital kitchen assistants that help homeowners plan meals, order groceries and inventory supplies, will make using a kitchen much easier and more enjoyable.

Sinks

Sinks are becoming design statements in addition to the functionality they provide. Sink workstations help improve the efficiency and space in a kitchen, providing additional countertop space and making it easier for homeowners to prepare meals.

Distinct Zones

Because of the need for private areas to work, attend school or simply relax, open floor plan spaces will be repurposed to provide distinct zones. Use of screens, interior windows, freestanding furniture, cabinets and plants will break up space to provide separate zones for cooking, entertaining and working.

Smart Appliances

Smart appliances, faucets, lighting, thermostats, locks and doorbells will continue to advance and gain popularity.

What trends in 2021 make the most sense for your new dream kitchen? Let’s have a conversation. Give us a call or make an appointment to visit our showroom ither in-person or virtually.

Home Design Trends for the Coming Year

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What does the new year hold for design trends? Houzz.com recently predicted ten trends that it expects for 2021. Many of the trends are popular because homeowners in Indianapolis and across the United States are working from home, schooling from home, and continuing to spend most of their days at home.

Multifunctional Kitchen

One trend that we expect not only to continue but also to grow is the multifunctional kitchen. The kitchen is no longer just an area for preparing and eating meals or a central gathering hub. The kitchen now serves as a home office, classroom, study, catering center, and refuge. We expect an increasing number of homeowners in Indianapolis to be attracted to new kitchens that offer defined areas for baking, meal preparation, and snacking or doing homework.

Lighting

As homeowners in Indianapolis are spending more time in their kitchens, they have discovered the need for both functional and aesthetic lighting. Sconces fit both bills. Not only can sconces make a distinctive fashion statement in your kitchen, but they are also an excellent source of task lighting to illuminate a range, the sink area, or an island.

A Space to Unwind

Similar to kitchens, bathrooms no longer serve utilitarian purposes. COVID-19 has emphasized health and well-being, and homeowners in Indianapolis are discovering they can convert their master baths into wellness centers and personal refuges for rest, relaxation, and a place to wash away the stresses of the day.

Remote Living

Remote work and school are not expected to end anytime in the near future and should continue through most of 2021. Homeowners in Indianapolis are expected to look to talented designers to create nooks and dedicated spaces for home offices, work nooks and back yard space that can double as a work area or classroom.

Open Floor Plans

Open floor plans that were declining before the outbreak of COVID-19 are expected to continue to wane into 2021. Family members in Indianapolis who found themselves having concurrent video conferences quickly discovered the downside of not having walls. Open space is not going away entirely; however, an increasing number of homeowners in Indianapolis are drawn to sliding doors, interior windows, and partitions that can create private spaces.

Extended Living

Backyards are being viewed in an entirely new and exciting light. Homeowners in Indianapolis understand the benefit of extending living and working space to outdoor areas. We are seeing designs that include enclosed decks, backyard cottages, and even accessory dwelling units that serve as home offices, fitness centers, yoga studios, classrooms, and wellness centers.

Color Schemes

Color schemes expected to trend in 2021 are shades of brown that include warm taupes, beiges, sand and other earth tones. White continues to be the dominant color for kitchens and baths. Adding a splash of brown as an accent color helps to warm a space.

Tiles

Homeowners in Indianapolis that want to expand their space’s functionality should consider large-format rectangular tiles. Larger format tiles make a smaller space look larger, and they have fewer grout lines, which means less cleaning and cleaner lines. Tile styles that are expected to trends in 2021 include herringbone, stacked and brick, predicts Houzz.

If you want to make your home more functional and more beautiful, please give us a call or make an appointment to visit our showroom either virtually or in-person.

Design Resources

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Our innovative and interactive website allows users to do a variety of things from checking in-stock products to virtually designing a room.

In this video, we take a look at our design resources section on our website. This section allows homeowners to access helpful tools for designing their space. 

On the design resources page, you will find a variety of virtual tools to choose from. The design book is your personal catalog of design ideas that you loved and saved. In fact, you can upload your own room and design it virtually from our easy-to-use platform.

Also in the video, we take a closer look at the helpful tool, Measure It. Measure It is an effective and efficient tool for measuring your space to determine the amount of flooring you will need.

As always, we recommend consulting our professional sales representatives before ordering to ensure that you factor in waste.

Thanks for watching and be sure to stay tuned for more Design Resource videos!

What You Need to Know about The New Tariff

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Trump’s Tariff

One of our government’s primary responsibility is to ensure the economic growth of our country.  The government has many different ways of analyzing and managing our nation’s finances.  Currency values and trade play a crucial role in our nationals financial economic. Establishing tariffs is one way the government can help influence domestic investments. By adding tariffs to foreign goods, it influences the consumers to buy more domestic goods. 

What is a Tariff

A tariff is an increase taxed placed on imported and exported goods to manipulate the buying market towards more domestic purchases.  This means that international flooring prices in the United States will be increased to help keep money inside our nation. These tariffs are set to restrict consumers from wanting to buy foreign products and make domestic purchases more appealing.  Many foreign flooring products have had a competitive advantage on low pricing because of the cheap labor outside the states; however, now with the new tariff on international floors, a forced tax puts these floorings at a significant pricing disadvantage.

Domestic Advantages

This artificial inflation promotes consumers to purchase domestic flooring.   There are many great, reputable domestic flooring companies like Armstrong and Shaw Flooring. Buying from these domestic companies helps support our nation’s economic growth. Domestic flooring companies will benefit primarily from the reduction of competitive foreign flooring industries because of artificial inflation.   

How This Affects You

A lot of flooring is imported into the United States, so unfortunately many prices have increased in hard surface flooring category as well as carpeting.  Choosing the floor you want is always an option; however, domestic flooring will be at a much more competitive price range.  These tariffs will significantly impact foreign goods.  There is a 10% increase effective immediately as well as a 25% increase at the start of the new year.  We want to inform our customers of the change as well as offer a better understanding as to why our prices will increase on foreign goods. 

Ultimately, the choice of flooring you want in your home is up to you.   Understanding the new tariff and how it affects you though is vital to help you in your purchasing process. Whether you choose to invest in domestic or foreign flooring, we look to make your buying process as uncomplicated as possible.  We offer financing through Synchrony Financial to help you get your dream floors. We also offer many different options of flooring for your home to assure you find the perfect flooring for your home today. If you have any further questions or need assistance, we would be happy to help! Call or visit us for more information.