How to See Hot New Trends in Kitchen Remodeling

David Lupberger: Hi! I am David Lupberger with servicemagic.com. Ask almost anyone what the most important room is in the house, its the kitchen. When it comes to resale, an updated kitchen will almost always make your home more appealing.

Today we're talking about the latest gadgets and styles in kitchen renovation. When people think of remodeling, the kitchen almost always gets most of the attention, and rightfully so.

Skip Carson: The kitchen is the absolute center of the household. Everything happens around the kitchen.

David Lupberger: Skip Carson of DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen knows firsthand the importance of, not only having an updated kitchen, but also what homeowners should expect and demand in the contractor they hire.

Skip Carson: They gain more comfort with us, is that as we take kind of what they're trying to do culturally, and what their budget is, and we try to make the two work. That's how we make decisions.

David Lupberger: Having the right contractor, with all the right knowledge of all the options makes the process easier, and professional kitchen designers, like Deborah Rash, keep up on all the latest trends and styles.

Deborah Rash: Clients come in, they're on the Internet, they know about the different materials. They're looking for a cleaner, simpler look. Like with cabinetry, they're looking for fewer lines, less to collect dust to have to clean. With countertops, they like the solid surface, because it's less to maintain. All of the ecologically green products, they're very interested in.

Virginia Carscallen: I love it. We both love it. And everyone loves it here.

David Lupberger: Virginia Carscallen and her husband Chuck, recently renovated their 1963 kitchen into a 21 Century masterpiece. With Skip Carson's help, they built their dream kitchen.

Virginia Carscallen: One of the things I really like about the kitchen is this pull-out cabinet here; has the vinegars, oils, right by the stove. I love garages, you can hide everything in there. This is for my husband, all of his coffee stuff is stored here.

David Lupberger: Cabinets, countertops, and flooring are really just the first part of planning a good kitchen renovation. For many people, the real fun begins when they begin to discover all the technologies that are part of kitchen appliances.

I am here with Tama Patton, of Discount Cabinet & Appliances here in Denver, and she is going to tell us some more about these latest advances in kitchen technology. Tama, you were telling me that refrigeration is leading the way.

Tama Patton: Yes, it is. One of the great things about refrigeration and the developments over the last couple of years is that you can customize your kitchen with refrigeration capabilities.

So for example, we've got what we have here, we call refrigerator drawers. They're under countertop, they can be put in an island, or they can be put against a wall, but the beauty is that if you've got a specific area that you'd like to prep for your cooking, you can go ahead and put this refrigeration right underneath it. You can access your materials, your fruits, your vegetables, your meats, whatever, have access to it. You can also put your kids' drinks in there, so after school if they want to grab snacks and drinks, they don't have to open up the big refrigerator, and that way you can save energy.

Trends for 2008 include built-in refrigeration. You've got capabilities now of doing 84 inch tall, which, that's what these are. It is cabinet depth, so it doesn't stick out my kitchen too far. You can do all refrigerators. You can do all freezers. You can put stainless panels on them. You can put wooden panels on them, so you hide them completely.

The other trends that are very popular right now are the built-in coffee systems. You can do an espresso, a cappuccino, a coffee Americana with built-in applications.

The other trends that we've got are home entertainment, and actually you've got Internet capabilities in appliances, where you can actually watch Internet cooking shows.

Last but not least, in cooking, you have steam-assist wall ovens and steam-assist ranges, and that just adds to the quality, and steam is a very health way, and it refreshes your food, its very popular.

David Lupberger: As you can see when it comes to your kitchen, there are so many choices that almost anything is possible.

To find a pre-screened kitchen remodeler, or any other home service professional, check out servicemagic.com, Home Improvement. Hassle-Free!