As a global leader in premium surface design and manufacturing, we aspire to create products that cater to the evolving needs of people worldwide. So, with that in mind, let's examine what's in store for the kitchens of tomorrow.
Anticipating the future is ingrained in the Caesarstone DNA. Benefiting from our extensive knowledge and experience, we strive to understand how our customers will live, work and enjoy life in the future, so that we can best accommodate their decisions and actions in our forthcoming offering.
No one can accurately predict what's coming. Especially not after the pandemic. Yet that should not stop us from making educated assumptions regarding the behaviors of homeowners and office workers in the future. Over the past decade, our product design department as collaborated with Lidewij Edelkoort, a world-renowned trend forecaster, curator and publisher. Collaborating with Edelkoort, who is widely considered a pioneer in the field of trend forecasting, has helped focus our understanding of how the present will impact the future. Together, we have embarked on a mutual journey that is constantly reframing the story of home and commercial design for new generations.
Edelkoort's insights in the field of interior design have been invaluable to the global design community. For example, she and her team have anticipated the growing popularity of concrete-inspired designs, as well as the shift towards darker surface colours. Many designers were deeply influenced by "Form Follows Food" – the now iconic book jointly penned by Caesarstone and Edelkoort, which highlights the dominance of the kitchen in today's home and demonstrates how culinary trends influence wider design movements.
Emerging trends for tomorrow's kitchens
Trend forecasting is incredibly important for architects and designers, because it helps them foresee their customers' future needs without neglecting their present. With trend forecasting, designers can create designs that treat the house and its inhabitants as evolving entities.
Trend forecasting is of great value in today's post-pandemic world, which has everyone in pursuit of new personal and collective realities. For example, we have all experienced working from home in unprecedented volume – but what implications does that have on our future? Will we want to continue to work from home, and if so, then how? How are hybrid workstyles, which were crafted on-the-go during the outset of the pandemic, slowly translating into conscious lifestyle and design choices?
In a recent filmed discussion with Caesarstone, Lidewij Edelkoort talked about the massive revolution that our kitchens have experienced over the past decades, transforming from small rooms into lavish spaces centered at the core of the house. While she does not think kitchens will continue to grow, Edelkoort uses the word "liberating" to describe the way kitchens are expected to change in the future. Speaking about liberty, Edelkoort refers to the role of the kitchen as a place that can effectively blur boundaries between comfort and functionality, indoors and outdoors, and more.
Collaborating with Edelkoort has reinforced our belief in the relevance of our surfaces. At Caesarstone, we feel that new shifts in design trends will provide designers with more freedom – especially when it comes to integrating new materials. An emphasis on aesthetics will be placed in areas where functionality reigns supreme, and vice versa. The versatile attributes of our porcelain and quartz collections are ideal for an era of positive ambiguity, offering a truly unique blend of comfort, beauty and comprehensive practicality.
More time at home
Lidewij Edelkoort forecasts that in the future, we will spend more time at home and within the proximity of our house. This trend correlates with statistics that point out that more and more people worldwide are applying a "15 minutes from home" routine to all or most of everything they do. This ongoing dynamic with our house directly affects our relationships with our kitchens. Little by little, people who have become accustomed to working in their kitchens are designing custom workspaces in their homes – allowing the kitchen to become, as Edelkoort states, a "canteen" for the workspace instead of the workspace itself. According to Edelkoort, this creates more space for the kitchen's original cooking and hosting qualities – while also making room for "cozy" fantasies such as putting a coach or lounge chairs in the kitchen.
So, if the concept of working from home is slowly leaving the confines of the kitchen, what does that mean for designers? For starters, more flexibility. As your customers become more open to new possibilities, you will have a larger palate of materials to play with. You can start by integrating versatile new materials such as porcelain surfaces, which can be designed to give off a rough "old world" look, or a highly refined vibe it you're aiming for a modern feel. Porcelain can be used to evoke the qualities of other materials, both organic and engineered, without losing the technical benefits of an easy-care surface for the home.
Launched in 2022, our Porcelain Collection is the epitome of kitchen freedom. Your customers can choose from a myriad of textures, colours and designs. Want a look inspired by a nature? Prefer an industrial finish? Looking for something in between? Whatever vision you and your customers choose to create with Caesarstone Porcelain, you will be getting a surface that combines beauty and functionality in effortless fashion.
Blurring the boundaries
Another interesting Lidewij Edelkoort forecast is the increased integration of kitchen and garden. The concept of the kitchen as an indoor space is slowly dissolving as people wish to spend more time outside, close to their homegrown plants and spices. We see the massive movement of people from urban environments to smaller towns and rural environments as a key factor in this ongoing change. This transition also correlates with a heightened awareness of Caesarstone's responsibility for the well-being of our planet, which is embodied in our wider business practices, which seek to protect our wider environment and are detailed extensively in our comprehensive ESG report.
As more people move out of the city, many who choose to stay are interested in cultivating small gardens. Therefore, it's not surprising that outdoor kitchens are taking both cities and rural areas by storm. Designers are responding by creating spaces that combine urban elegance with rustic charm. Caesarstone's Porcelain Collection, for example, can complement the outdoor kitchen's rugged look, while providing the durability homeowners are looking for in an outdoor surface. The natural appearance of our porcelain surfaces can sometimes guise its sophistication: this advanced material is manufactured in high-tech fashion to provide heat resistance and long-lasting endurance.
A quartz surface can also be a great choice for a modern outdoor kitchen. In fact, due to the nature of the quartz mineral, the existence of outdoor quartz surfaces is far from trivial. Our highly innovative Outdoor Quartz Collection includes three UV resistant surface designs that are inspired by concrete and serve as ideal companions to surrounding natural outdoor elements. Exhibiting excellent weather durability, the performance of our outdoor quartz surfaces is rivaled only by their beauty.
Sustainability matters
The discourse of sustainability affects more and more people with every passing year. Due to its constant use of nourishing resources, the kitchen is at the heart of any environmental discussion. But sustainability goes beyond the food we eat and the materials we recycle. Homeowners can impact their environment by choosing durable surfaces that have a longer lifespan and comply with green building standards.
As designers and architects, you can use your knowledge to educate your customers on the environmental value of kitchen materials. Built to last and manufactured with full transparency, our porcelain and quartz surface collections are equally beautiful and sustainable.
Change is coming
If there is one thing Lidewij Edelkoort is sure of, it is that the pandemic has caused a disruption in global society. As Edelkoort points out, once we have adapted to extreme living conditions, there is no going back. The migration to rural areas, the desire to remain close to home – these are just a few of fascinating trends that encompass our new world.
It is an exciting time to be working in the design industry. We are walking in uncharted territory, and there is no limit to what our creativity can bring to life. As designers, you can choose to embrace change and work together with your customers to reimagine their kitchens, their homes, and their lives. Caesarstone will be there to support and inspire, every step of the way.
