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Designing a kitchen tailored to your preferences is key to a successful project. With so many options available, it’s important to think about what you want the characteristics of your kitchen to be. Do you want it to look like the original kitchen in your 1920’s Arts and Crafts home? Do you want it to be uncomplicated, clean, and sleek? Or would you rather it be, bold, sassy, and up-to-date with current trends? Maybe you would like to have it all? To help you to understand kitchen styles this blog will explain three different style labels: Traditional, Contemporary, and Transitional. This may help you to better explain to your kitchen designer what your preferences are.
Traditional Kitchen Design
Traditional kitchens are generally known for their older architectural features originating from the 18th, 19th, and 20th century European and American design. If the design is tied to a particular era such as the Victorian or a particular place such as France, these kitchens are also referred to as Period Kitchens. Contrary to the kitchen styles of the present, traditional kitchens favor detail and ornamentation to create an awe-inspiring and luxurious space.
Some of the key factors that distinguish traditional kitchens from other designs are framed cabinets with inset doors, these doors often have raised center panels, multi-step crown, and base molding, more detailed ranges, and custom range hoods, somewhat ornate decorative lighting, counters made of marble, limestone or soapstone and backsplashes in stone from a simple subway format, mosaic details or ceramic tile with hand-painted patterns.
All original furniture and cabinetry throughout history were framed cabinets where the doors are set into the front frame. Full overlay doors are considered more modern and came about in the 1970s with the invention of European hinges. Raised panels were also more prevalent in period furniture and cabinet designs. Historically, various types of molding, served specific structural functions, such as supporting, binding, or separating surfaces. The “modern” range was invented in 1790. It was more ornate and sometimes painted. Some manufacturers such as La Cornue and Aga have recreated this look which is a perfect addition to a traditional kitchen. Custom range hoods are most important to traditional kitchen design because they are often the main focal point in the room. Some of these include carved stone hoods, ornate metal hoods, plaster hoods, or wood hoods. And finally, decorative lighting helps to set the mood in the kitchen. The styles can include lanterns, various types of chandeliers, pendants, sconces or ceiling-mounted fixtures. Traditional kitchens typically use natural materials since historically, this was all that was available. These are often a combination of materials like stained wood, metals, and patterned stone which give the room a comfortable layered look. Embracing the natural imperfections of wood and stone, traditional kitchen designs are a stark contrast from contemporary kitchens which often use man-made materials that are clean and uncomplicated.
Modern and Contemporary Kitchen Design
It is often thought that Modern and Contemporary are the same design style probably because they do share a few similarities however the outcome is quite different.
They share the same aesthetic of a more minimalist feel, they both utilize clean, architectural lines and they are designed to keep the space more open.
Where these two design styles differ is that Modern Design refers to an era that has passed and Contemporary Design pertains to what is happening now and in the future.
Modern: Mid-Century Modern design was born in the 1950s and ’60s and is presently one of the most popular modern design styles that, in the last 5 years or so, has made a comeback for both furniture and kitchens. Another example of Modern would be the Art Deco design of the 1920s or the technicolor decade of the 1970s.
A popular cabinet door style is one which has a very narrow frame, unlike the 2-3” frames used in traditional kitchens, these frames are ¾-1 ¼”. Another door style can be just a simple flat door, whether painted or natural wood, with a handle that works with the Mid-Century Modern look.
Modern design typically features earthier elements, natural wood finishes. The colors used in Modern design use an earthier hue in colors like avocado green, harvest gold, browns, and turquoise. Contemporary: The word ‘contemporary’ means, “pertaining to this current time”. Kitchens designed in this style have a ‘State of the Art’ look and feel to them.
Contemporary incorporates more crisp details like flat cabinet doors that can be either a matte finish or more likely a high gloss finish squared-off countertops. We see more cutting edge details like glass which, for backsplashes, is sometimes back painted in an accent color. Other materials are various metals, more simplified range hoods and decorative lighting.
This design is not so much about each particular material attracting attention but rather more neutral colors and shapes put together in a pleasing composition, sometimes incorporating an accent color which, unlike the earthy tones of Modern design, are more saturated and pure.
These two design styles can work well together so their various elements can be mixed and matched. I often refer to this as ‘Warm Contemporary”.