The Kitchen Is Headed in a Totally New Direction, According to Designers and Experts Alike

In case you missed it, one of the the biggest interiors shopping events unfolded last week in North Carolina. High Point Market is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, which is saying a lot because the world is a big place and there are a lot of brands, designers, and experts out there. Not only was Homeworthy there; our founder, Alison Kenworthy, hosted quite the riveting panel discussion with The National Kitchen & Bath Association.

Panelists included Jaque Bethke, founder of JAQUE Design; Rachel Burger, owner and lead designer at Studio 1950; Shae Wilder, National Trade Marketing Manager at BlueStar; and Jeanne Dahlen, Senior Vice President Sales and Customer Experience at BLANCO.

The panel covered all things kitchen, with a focus on what’s cool right now in the hearts of the home around the world, and we’ll be the first to say that some of those elements were not on our High Point Bingo card. The panel was dubbed, “The Working Core: Elevating the Kitchen’s Power Zones,” and the discussion focused on the rising trend of the “purpose-built kitchen,” if you will.

Think of it as the range and the sink serving as both the central workhorses and focal points. The conversation explored how materials, configuration, and smart workstation design turn the kitchen’s hardest-working zones into both highly functional and expressive spaces.What’s more, the panel wasn’t just about conversation, it also boasted a pretty impressive backdrop, with comprehensive vignettes to show-off the latest in kitchen and bath.

The conversation hovered around the kitchen as a whole, but with a specific pause over ranges and sinks, as those are the two elements home chefs drift between. Notably, BLANCO and BlueStar emphasize how fashion and function work together to create a kitchen you’d actually want to spend time in, rather than simply cook the meal and get out. The kitchen really is nothing without the range, and making sure the range is top-notch is paramount.

Photos by Autumn Hollified Creative.