Eurocucina2016

At Kitchen Mania we're CRAZY about Kitchens! We think that it's imperative to keep up with the latest trends and that's why we attend kitchen shows all around the world. This April was Eurocucina2016 in Milan, Italy. Eurocucina is a major kitchen show held every two years. Eurocucina brings together top manufacturers, designers and professionals in the industry. This year Eurocucina had 130 exhibitors and attracted 311,781 visitors from 160 countries. Carl and Cathy spent 3 days at this world class show.

We asked them a few questions about their experience: 

What are the top 5 kitchen trends that are coming out of Europe?

1. Mixing materials and textures - concrete bench tops, wood grains, layers, polished and matte metals. These looks are clearly inspired by nature and technology to give the kitchen a real contemporary country feel.
2. Cantilever - Sleek thin bench tops combined with thick cantilevered elements (often in different materials) to really blur the lines between the kitchen and living areas. See this for yourself in our showrooms!
3. Integrated cooktops and range hoods - island bench top cooking is now an option without having a bulky range hood suspended from the ceiling. We saw incredibly effective in-bench extractor systems and smart bench tops that were ideal for this purpose.
4. Natural, sustainable living - Kitchens with integrated vege patches and plant growing systems. Innovations in sustainable living.
5. Moody and masculine palette - Gun metal greys, blacks and charcoals, earthy greens and browns, wood grain, stone, concrete and marble finishes. The results were simply stunning.

 What were your personal highlights from Eurocucina2016?

Carl: Having time to talk to suppliers about their new products and seeing how they will work in the New Zealand market.

Cathy: Being able to see the latest developments and trends in one place at one time.

What did you find most interesting at Eurocucina2016?

Carl: Twists on the traditional use of materials - differing combinations of materials such as concrete, wood and metal being used together. I also found the use of different levels in kitchens really interesting - cantilever benches, moving work tops creating new and interesting work spaces. AND hidden kitchens! there were lots of fantastic cupboards and tops that literally hide the kitchen away - the perfect solution for modern studio apartment living.

Cathy: Spaces to grow real herbs within the kitchen space - Free standing or floor to ceiling shelving units to create different areas within the kitchen - decorative and functional at the same time.

What would you like to see becoming popular in New Zealand Kitchens?

Carl and Cathy:

We'd love to see all of the above becoming popular in New Zealand kitchens. The trends featured at Eurocucina2016 will be embraced by New Zealanders. Moving away from the traditional idea of kitchens being merely places to cook - they are now considered the hub of the living area and thus have diverse functions and can now utilise many differing materials, spaces and surfaces to cope with the array of activities taking place within the home.