Designing For Different Generations

An article written by Anita Shaw, titled Bridging the Gap, reminds kitchen and bath designers that each generation has a different personality and specific needs. Below are the highlights but to view the article in its entirety, click here.

Bridging the Gap
By Antia Shaw
May 2011

Many different issues and elements influence which trends rise and fall and which products meet with success or failure among today’s consumers. Environment, income and individual personality all play a major role in influencing kitchen and bath design, as does another element – what generation the client belongs to (see related Editorial).

“There are different priorities from one generation to the next.”

Marston identifies the four main generations with purchasing power in today’s marketplace: The Matures are 66 and older, the Baby Boomers range in age from 47 to 65, Generation Xers are 32 to 46 years old, and the Millennials, or Generation Y, are under 30.

When selling to members of the Mature group, Marston advises that you emphasize your expertise, and make things easy for them. “They believe in dedication and sacrifice, and that experience is the best teacher,” he comments.

Baby Boomers are a core group – 80 million strong. They are the biggest generation of consumers, and their success is visible. “They are workaholics and are defined by their work, and they love their trophies,” he reports. They are interested in high-end amenities such as state-of-the-art kitchens.

The two younger generations are less focused on the team mentality of the older groups and more in tune with the idea of the “unique individual,” Marston notes.

“GenXers are the first generation that was told that they were special and unique,” he stresses. He warns that they exhaustively research everything, and are very difficult to please. “They educate themselves and don’t trust others to teach them. However, once they make the decision to trust you, they are very loyal,” Marston adds.

The last of the group – the Millennials – are only now coming into their buying power (see Inside Today's Showroom). They are an optimistic group, according to Marston, though they are busy and stressed. “The future is very short term to them, and they have huge goals,” he notes. They also want instant gratification, he stresses.

An island with a casual dining area, as seen in this kitchen by Gail Bolling of The Kitchen Co., is an important design element for today’s young family.

Janel Davenport of Janel Davenport Kitchen & Bath Design created this bamboo kitchen for a young, trendy client who was concerned about environmental issues.

Cleaner lines and transitional styling, teamed with traditional touches as shown in this Bolling kitchen, are popular with members of all generations.

In this kitchen, Rebecca Zaveloff, CKD of KitchenLab showcases a mix of materials that combine for a distinctive look for the homeowner.

Zaveloff believes a kitchen design, such as the one shown here, should reflect a timeless, classic quality rather than an overly trendy aesthetic.