The Traditional Kitchen
Traditional Kitchens are design styles in line with Victorian or Georgian-type homes. They have the characteristics of 18th, 19th and early 20th century homes. The kitchens have elegant characteristics such as cabinets made of mahogany or cherry and the fixtures in a traditional kitchen tend to be antiques.
The great thing about a traditional kitchen is it is very general. Fixtures are timeless and the decorations surrounding the kitchen can be changed to fit trends. A whole kitchen renovation isn’t necessary to give your home a new look.
Contemporary Kitchen
If you’re a minimalist who is all about shapes and lines, a contemporary kitchen could be the way to go. These kitchens tend to be more modern and have a lack of ornamentations. Everything is simple and styles encompass the 1940s up to the present day. Use of materials like stainless steel, linoleum and chrome keep the room clean and minimal.
The best part about a contemporary kitchen are the unique ideas you can throw in throughout the kitchen to easily.
One way to mix things up is to replace a typical range hood with one that is an out of the ordinary shape or color. The Italian company Barriviera Cappe has many modern hoods that could turn the most cookie cutter kitchen into a chic, contemporary haven.
Are you going with a black and white theme? Throw a polka-dotted hood up. Not a fan of the typical rectangular offerings?
Pick a K-shaped vent to air out your kitchen. The Appliancist has an entire list of some of the hoods offered by Barriviera Cappe. Replacing your hood is just one small adjustments that can be planned into your kitchen to make a big impact on the overall look.
Transitional Kitchen
A transitional kitchen is a mix of the traditional and contemporary kitchen. It’s an eclectic mix of natural and manufactured materials throughout the finishes in the room, combining a person’s creative design ideas with the practicalities of a traditional kitchen. Shades of a neutral color are common and many textures are used.
The kitchen might have traditional cabinets and countertops but adding in unique light fixtures and flooring can change the space to be transitional.
John Riha, former executive editor of Better Home and Gardens, advises people to use nontraditional elements in the kitchen and to not be afraid of adding quirky touches throughout the room, such as chalkboard painted walls or countertops.
Country
A country kitchen is a warm kitchen. It feels welcoming, and walking into it guests feel as if they should smell a fresh-baked apple pie. Colors are bright and details include wire and metal, florals, baskets and anything else that might say farmhouse or countryside. It’s a shabby chic look, but with a cleaner feeling. There might be a farmhouse-style sink and an herb garden in the window to add an authentic country-living feel.
One big way to create a country kitchen is to pay closer attention to the cabinets. Cottage style cabinets can include softer hued wood, paneling with feminine detailing and simple accents. Small changes such as painting the cabinets a light hue of a bright color can change a kitchen from modern to country.
Creating open shelving from the cabinets that already exist is a way to not only save money on replacing more traditional cabinets, but to showcase any china or beautiful stemware you may have. Better Home and Gardens has multiple ideas on how to create country kitchen cabinets ranging from using salvaged wood to adding in-crown molding. A handcrafted look is a core part of the country kitchen look and there are endless ways to make it work.
Practicalities to consider when designing your kitchen
Although designing a kitchen is about choosing what looks good and personal style preferences, a kitchen design can also make-or-break how useful that space will be to you. There is a multitude of elements to consider when designing a custom kitchen.
One of the very first things to consider is how you use your kitchen. Some people love to have friends and family gather in the space to cook and eat together, while others prefer to use the kitchen strictly for cooking and all dining is done in the dining room. If the kitchen is for entertainment, consider adding in a big island with stools for guests to sit while you cook.
Storage space is another important factor in kitchen design. If you buy groceries every day, it’s likely cabinet space doesn’t need to be overwhelming, whereas a person who buys in bulk likely would value a large pantry space.
A practical layout is also key. Try to keep in mind having three points, the sink, the stove/oven and the refrigerator. When cooking, these tend to be the three used parts of the kitchen. If multiple people are trying to cook and these three things are lined up in a row, having them in a triangle-like shape will allow you to efficiently move throughout the kitchen.
Detail is king in the kitchen
When it comes to making final decisions on your Colorado Springs custom kitchen design, remember that detail is king. Color trends throughout the kitchen are just as important as the marble countertops you’re debating on. Before you begin, don’t just make a list of the practicalities you want to remember, but make one of the design details you don’t want to forget about.
This will allow you to be confident in knowing that yourself and your designer aren’t missing anything that could later be a higher cost or an impossible renovation. Paying attention to the small details from the get-go will help you avoid long-term regret.
With costlier decisions, choose what is classic, and for less permanent decorations, be unique and don’t be afraid to follow a trend you see. If you’re hiring out a contractor for the job, be sure he or she is clear on the look you want. Print out pictures and find a theme that will make you happy now, and 10 years from now.