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decorative lighting, she says. For example, lights mounted
underneath the counters help cooks focus on tasks and fol-
low recipes. A series of dimmable pendant lights over the
dining table creates a warm glow for meals.
“It’s kind of neat to have the different heights and colors
of light in the kitchen,” Whitlock says. “It can really change
the mood.” The end result is a warm and inviting gathering
place that’s great for working and entertaining.
Marriott’s new open-plan kitchen is actually smaller,
Kinney says, but it seems bigger because it’s a more effi-
cient use of space. The company has made units with small
footprints into dramatic spaces by extending flooring from
the living area right out to the patio and installing walls that
slide back where there was once only a sliding glass door.
The communal barbecue area has also become an extension of the
resort kitchen at Marriott Vacation Club resorts, Kinney says. These
“outdoor kitchens” are popular with owners who like to socialize while
grilling steaks, burgers, or fresh seafood for dinner. Some stay to eat
their dinner outdoors. “So, it’s a cooking environment. It just happens
to be outside the villa,” Kinney adds. “We’ve expanded the grill areas at
all our resorts. They weren’t as prevalent way back, but are becoming
more the mainstay.”
Warming Things Up
The transitional-style kitchen — a mix of materials, textures, and design
styles — grabbed the top spot in the 2014 NKBA design trends survey,
but sleek contemporary and homey Shaker were close behind. All three
styles lend themselves to using wood cabinets and floors. Wood tones
can range from pale maple to dark cherry, and some designers are mix-
ing complementary wood grains and stains as they would accent col-
ors in the same kitchen.
Kitchen hardware also has taken on a warm glow. “Oil-rubbed
bronze is big,” Whitlock reports. Other popular metals are satin nickel
and copper, all metals with antimicrobial properties. Faucets match
decorative handles, knobs, and towel bars and have fingerprint-
resistant finishes.
Many luxury fractional residences feature “invisible” appliances
such as the refrigerator and dishwasher hidden behind built-in cabinet
doors and microwave ovens tucked inside drawers. “You look at the
kitchen and you don’t see any appliances,” Whitlock says. These
upscale units are also more likely to have professional-grade appli-
ances such as a six-burner stove and hands-free faucet like Moen’s
MotionSense, designed to be activated with a simple wave of the hand.
Not only do they help control the spread of germs, they’re also
designed to use less water without sacrificing performance.
Upscale kitchens are also more likely to include premium materials
such as hand-hammered copper and enameled lava, along with little
luxuries that might include temperature-controlled wine storage and a
TV/DVD/CD player with a screen that flips down from under a cabinet
and swivels so it can be seen from any angle.
Whitlock’s firm has developed a few tricks for creating a custom
look in less-expensive timeshare units. “We’ve been mixing off-the-
shelf, ready-made cabinets and then throwing what we call splurge
money into custom-made chunky table legs, or maybe adding glass to
the upper cabinets, or custom lighting,” she says.
Comfort, Convenience, Togetherness
It all comes down to balance. “People start to say, ‘Gee, I’m on vaca-
tion. I don’t want to do as much as I do at home as far as making big
dinners,’” Kinney notes. The MarketPlace convenience stores on-site
at most Marriott Vacation Club resorts, house popular food and bever-
age operations and some roast chickens for family dinners.
Grocery prestocking is a popular service in luxury fractional resorts.
Welk Resorts in Escondido, California, plays to the renewed interest in
healthy eating by offering on-site farmer’s markets on Monday after-
noons, where owners can stock up on locally grown fresh fruits and
vegetables and artisanal products from more than 100 vendors.
And, of course, the personal touch is priceless. “When we outfit our
kitchen pack,” says Whitlock, “which includes all the dishes and
kitchen utensils, we’ve been throwing in everything you need to make a
pizza, such as pizza pie pan and pizza wheel cutter and suggest that a
cool welcoming gift would be a baggie of fresh dough and a mix of
ingredients along with a note saying, ‘Welcome! Have a pizza on us.’
That’s the kind of thing we’ve been talking to our developers about.”
She adds, “Even if no one touches a single appliance, “we’re trying to
create a comfortable place to spend together.”
Joyce Hadley Copeland, based in Tucson, Arizona, contributes regularly to
travel and hospitality publications and websites.
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Hidden Appliances:
Wood cabinetry panels disguise the fridge,
dishwasher, and other appliances.
Faucets:
One-handled, high-arc pull-down fixtures are especially
trendy in oil-rubbed bronze.
TRENDS
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
APRIL – JUNE 2015
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