Our top wine coolers...

If you want to make your kitchen stand out from the rest, there’s nothing like incorporating a luxury appliance into the design to make a statement.  We’ve noticed over the last year that wine coolers are increasingly popular with our clients so we thought we’d do a little review of the market and share our top 6 with you.

Samsung RW33EBSS1 Wine Cooler, Aluminium – great value and looks good!

Price - £299

Stores 33 bottles

Dimensions – H 850 x W 510 x D 550 mm

Samsung

Caple - Wi6114 – This is one of our favourites - reasonably priced, esthetically pleasing and very practical. 

Price - £460

Stores 46 bottles

Dimensions: H 865-885 x W 595 x D 583 mm

Caple




Rangemaster RWS38LSS/C – Perfect slimline wine cooler!

Price - £640

Stores 24 bottles

Dimensions – H 870 x W 378, D 600 mm

Rangemaster

Neff – K3670 – Neff always boasts great quality.  This appliance is more integrated into the cabinetry which makes is look very smart.

Price - £1,200

Stores 32 bottles

Dimensions - H 874 x W 538 W x D 542 mm

Neff 

Gaggenau RW 424.  It’s at the top end of the market and as you’d expect it looks very sleek and has a very high quality finish.

Price - £3,500

Stores 64 bottles

Dimensions – H 1225 x W 560 x 600 mm

Gaggenau 

Sub-Zero ICB427RG - Another top of the range product –full integrated and certainly looks the part!

Price - £7,782.

Stores – 78 bottles

Dimensions – H 2032 x W686 x 610 mm

Sub-Zero 

2013 Kitchen Trends

We've discovered some great little ideas and tips on "The Kitchen Think" blog.  We hope this article will give you a little bit more of an insight into the kitchen trends in 2013.  We're certainly seeing similar trends here at Maple & Gray.

If your plans for the New Year include buying a new kitchen, we’ve got the scoop on what’s ‘in’ for 2013. According to B&Q, the UK’s largest home improvement retailer, dark wood is on its way out, glass is on its way up while grey – in all its 50 shades – is coming on strong.

“Modern kitchen design trends for 2013 will reflect the growing popularity of cooking and eating at home,” says the retailer. “Saving money, improving health, having more fun entertaining and a love for homemade meals make cooking a hobby that requires professional, attractive and functional kitchen designs.”

They go on to say that cherrywood is in decline, while other solid woods such as birch, oak, walnut, bamboo and rustic finishes will be the new norms for cabinetry in 2013.

Walnut veneer

Another up-and-coming trend is for a more eclectic look with a mix of materials and finishes that combines dark and lighter tones. This can be applied to both cabinetry and worksurfaces – one of the most popular designs is for pale base cabinets with darker wall units or dark furniture on an island.

Mix it up

There’s been no getting away from the colour grey this year and in 2013 it’s going to be even bigger. It’s the new neutral for interiors and goes well with anything – modern, traditional, muted or colourful. Brian Dews, Kitchens & Appliances Trading Manager at B&Q says: “Grey is a comfort colour, and doesn’t have the upkeep of white.”

Shades of grey

Another huge trend for 2013 say B&Q will be wall murals, be it in the form of a tiled or textured wall, which works beautifully as a focal point behind white or pale cabinetry. They also forecast that designers will be replacing white and cream with green, using it as a new take on the old neutrals with a palette of colours built around it.

Green neutrals

Coloured glass splashbacks are also set to take kitchens by storm, as they create a sleek, contemporary look that’s so easy to clean. Polished chrome is also coming through for 2013. Brushed nickel is still the most popular hardware finish, but polished chrome is close behind. “It’s classic and always matches,” adds Brian Dews of B&Q. “LED lighting is also a real trend taking hold in kitchens across the country; it will be most popular for accent lighting, such as under cabinets.”

Striking splashbacks

Article by Hayley Gilbert

The Kitchen Think - 2013 Kitchen Trends

Heart inspired...

Well..... we couldn't let Valentine's day go passed without a mention!  We've found some lovely little heart inspired goodies which we hope will add a romantic touch to your day!

New week... new project

Happy Monday!  Well, it's a new week and we've got an exciting new kitchen project to get our teeth into. Materials arrived on Friday, the drawings are all ironed out and we've got a caffeine kick to get us going! Let's get cracking....

Bespoke solid oak cutlery tray

We've just fitted a gorgeous kitchen in Balham.  As always, we make bespoke cutlery trays for all of our kitchens and we always like to make sure that what we make is going to suit the needs of our client.  Our recent client sent us a sketch of what they liked and we produced an online design ahead of creating the real thing.  We thought we'd show you the various stages in the process.  The finished article looks very smart!