Acclaim Renovations & Design weighs in on the hottest kitchen and bathroom design trends

By Patricia Nugent

The reality of folks searching for fixer-uppers only lives on your HGTV channel. Home buyers in today’s market simply don’t want to do much in terms of updating.

Local expert Denise Zervos, of Platinum Real Estate, says that two of the rooms they recommend updating before you go to sell—the bathroom and the kitchen—provide a hefty 102 percent and 98.5 percent respective return on your investment.

But rather than renovating just before you sell and handing all that luxurious living space over to someone else, why not pull the trigger a year or two in advance so you can enjoy it?

We reached out to Bob Gallese, founder and owner of Acclaim Renovations & Design, to talk about top renovation design trends.

“We’re seeing clean lines and open spaces for kitchens and baths, with simple, shaker-style cabinetry and recessed panels,” he says. “People are also choosing to go with a different, complementary color for their island, to treat it more like furniture.”

The hottest cabinet colors range from creams and grays to many shades of blue. “We are doing lots of glass doors and open cabinetry, too, which goes back to the open feeling,” he adds.

For counters, the wild movement made popular in many granites has changed over to cleaner, more reserved quartz with uniform appeal.

Lighting also plays a big role in design, and Bob reports people are opting for interesting mixes of light for task and ambiance, from under cabinet lights to spotlights and more.

Form should always follow function, right? So, designers are moving to more deep drawers and rollout shelves, which are great looking and easy to use.

“Apron or farm sinks are also a hot trend,” says Bob. “Since they jut out slightly from the cabinet face, it makes it easy to reach in and do the dishes. Faucets are easy to access as well, usually with larger single-stem operation.”

In master baths, he says clients are saying adios to the bathtub and opting for bigger power showers.

Acclaim Renovations & Design is located at 8550 East Avenue in Mentor. Call 440-974-8082 or visit AcclaimReno.com for more information and to view some amazing before-and-after galleries of room makeovers. The company has been awarded Contractor of the Year by NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry).