Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes. So, too, do today’s kitchen consumers, especially when it comes to their cabinets. That’s the opinion of manufacturers and kitchen dealers and designers recently surveyed by Kitchen & Bath Design News.

The trend isn’t just about maximizing every nook and cranny of interior cabinet space, however. It also means designing that interior space with style that’s meant to be seen and appreciated ­– every bit as much as exterior living spaces have been in the past.

“What’s behind these spaces is certainly becoming much more important,” says Philip Martin, business development manager for Häfele America Co., in Archdale, NC. “Cabinet consumers want these things as they entertain in their homes, and the kitchen industry is looking for more accessorization [and more complementary accessorization] as their consumers ask for it.”

It’s clear that the upscale kitchen consumer has had enough of rummaging into dark corners, no matter how well organized those corners might be. And kitchen dealers and manufacturers are stepping up – ready, willing and eager to help consumers throw open those cabinet doors and shed some light onto this traditionally hidden world.

While the storage aid and accessory segment of the market has traditionally allowed others in the industry to steer design trends, focusing instead on introducing new products and refining established ones that help the consumer organize and carve out kitchen space, it is beginning to understand the value of complementing these overall trends. “We’ve introduced a whole new series of products that comes in a range of warmer finishes,” says Martin. “This creates a pleasing look to the consumer, but at the same time [it still emphasizes] a very functional organization in the cabinetry.”

Joey Shimm, marketing director for Outwater Plastics Industries, in Bogota, NJ, sees the rising interest in overall design trends as a sign that the storage aid industry has come of age. “By and large, the most popular ‘industry standard’ items have remained principally unchanged since their introductions,” he says. “Thus, most of the product trends, aside from the occasional introduction of a new product, are primarily aesthetically inspired.”

THE MARTHA STEWART EFFECT

It’s not just about consumers choosing to spend more on their homes, agree manufacturers. They are also educating themselves, coming into the process armed with more refined opinions.