If cost is no object when designing or redesigning a kitchen, new “must haves” include an induction cooktop whose entire surface is a “burner,” a built-in coffeemaker with its own dedicated plumbing and a steam oven in your gourmet range.

And for the wine connoisseur, there is a wine refrigerator/storage unit with UV protection, microprocessor controlled temperature, alarm system and WiFi key.

But you can create or update a kitchen at many price levels without sacrificing style.

Frank Morris Jr. at Granite State Cabinetry and David Souter at Baron's Major Appliances offered some guidance on kitchen trends in colors, appliances and flooring.

The two companies — Granite State Cabinetry in Bedford and Baron's, in Manchester and five other locations — are sponsors of the eighth annual Palace Theatre Kitchen Tour Sunday, June 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The June 3 fundraiser includes self-guided tours of three homes in Bedford and three in Manchester, lunch and a late afternoon appetizer and wine tasting with cooking demonstrations by New Hampshire chefs.

Morris said at least 50 percent of the kitchens now have white painted cabinets versus a stained wood. “It's a light, clean, refreshing look,” said Morris, with the added benefit of making the room look larger.

Glass-front cabinets are also popular, especially for display. Perhaps surprising is a trend to open shelving. “We are doing a lot of open shelves, taking the doors off,” said Morris. The dishes themselves are the decoration.

It may be called Granite State Cabinetry, but Morris said the company can remove walls, move plumbing, do electrical work in a remodeling project. The trend is to open up space in older homes, sometimes taking down a dining room wall and eliminating the formal dining room.

The goal is one large flowing space. “Now we are able to put in a large island,” he said, as big as 4 by 6 feet, so there is room for everyone to sit. “It's using your space more efficiently,” said Morris.

In flooring, it's pretty much a 50-50 split between wood and tile, although the new tiles — ceramic or porcelain — come in many sizes. Some are as large 6-by-36 or 6-by-48 inches and look like a wood plank, he said.

When it comes to countertops in kitchens with white cabinets, people are choosing marble for its light color. “White on white, like crazy,” he said. But while marble is great for bathroom counters, Morris said Calcutta or Carrera marble is a somewhat crazy choice for a kitchen counter, he said. “It's softer and more porous and susceptible to scratching.” In fact, he said, customers who insist on marble in the kitchen have to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks.

Nothing looks exactly like marble, he said, but other materials that are better choices are available for a fraction of the cost.

While white painted cabinets are hugely popular now, Morris said gray — paint and stain — is gaining ground. And just as there are many shades of white, there are many shades of gray.

Gray is also coming back in fixtures. “Fifteen to twenty years ago, Kohler had “Ice Gray,” he said. “I'm seeing it again.” In fact, he said he had an Ice Gray sink ready to send to a job site.

But whether the cabinetry is white, gray or some shade of wood stain, the appliances are overwhelmingly stainless steel, said David Souter of Baron's.

The most popular refrigerator is the French door model with a freezer drawer at the bottom. “It makes total sense,” said Souter, “The open box is more efficient,” he said, than the older side-by-side model.

A specialty refrigerator that goes under the counter is the wine or beverage refrigerator. Souter said there are racks for wine and shelves for beer. Some refrigerators are zoned for coldness, but without zoning, since it's colder near the condenser, the white wine goes on the upper shelves.

The popularity of double ovens has led to an efficient all-in-one appliance that's poised to gain market share. Instead of a cooktop and two cabinet-space-gobbling wall ovens, he said, everything is fitted into one 30-inch range, gas or electric, with convection available.

Souter said people initially expect to use the larger oven more often, but end up using the faster heating, more efficient smaller oven 80 to 85 percent of the time.

Souter said one company also has a solution to a problem you may not realize you have: getting rid of the microwave that hovers over the range or occupies precious counter space.

“More people dislike the way a microwave looks,” he said. So Sharp, which popularized the microwave turntable, now makes an microwave drawer that fits under the counter, perfect for the island.

Tickets for Sunday's Palace Theatre Kitchen Tour are $45 in advance online at www.palacetheatre.org, at the box office at 80 Hanover St., or by phone at 668-5588. Tickets can be purchased for $50 on the day of the tour at Granite State Cabinetry, 384 Route 101, Bedford.