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Remodeling Guide

Remodeling Home
Remodeling Intro
Kitchen Colors
Kitchen Styles
Kitchen Layouts
Designing around Limitations
Tips for Hiring a Contractor
Shopping for Accessories
A Feng Shui Kitchen
Kitchen Redo For Less
Fireplace Accessory Info
Preparing Your Fireplace
Designing a Home Bar
Increase Kitchen Storage
Organize Your Laundry Room
Creating Your Own Wine Cellar
Bathroom Storage Options
Kitchen Islands and Kitchen Carts
Accessorizing Your Bathroom
Outdoor Living
Outdoor Kitchens
Cabinet Hardware
Kitchen Sinks and Faucets
Bathroom Ventilation
Create Your Own Mudroom
Baker's Racks
Keeping Trash in Order
Bathroom Sinks and Faucets
Father's Day Gifts
Feng Shui For the Garden
A 4th of July Celebration
Choose the Right Bar Stool
Choosing a Countertop
Pot Racks
Range Hoods
Choosing a Bath Vanity
Turn Your Closet Into a Pantry
Cabinet Lighting
Installing a Bathroom Fan
Choosing a Medicine Cabinet
Outdoor Fireplaces
Built-In Ironing Boards
Lazy Susans

  
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Choosing a Kitchen Style
TRADITIONAL KITCHENS | COUNTRY KITCHENS | CONTEMPORARY KITCHENS

You have the freedom to pick and choose between hundreds of cabinets, countertops, range hoods, and pot racks in order to create your own unique kitchen.  However, if you're not sure where to begin or do not know how various appliances and furnishings work in accordance with one another, pictures of existing kitchen styles can be a great source of ideas.  Within each style, home owners have incredible freedom to personalize their settings.  There is not just one pot rack, for example, that must be used in a rustic kitchen.  There are many magazines available that are dedicated to all kinds of kitchen styles.  Each month, they feature dozens of decorating options, most of which can be found in the Kitchen Accessories Unlimited online catalog.

The purpose behind this tutorial is to help familiarize you with various styles.  By learning more and more about design, you will eventually discover the style that best suits your personality, home, and family. 

Traditional Style Kitchen
One of the great advantages of having a traditional kitchen is that it may never go out of style.  There may be appliances and furnishings you wish to change after a period of time.  However, in a traditional kitchen, various items are interchangeable.  You can dramatically change the look and feel of a traditional kitchen by making small changes.  Common traditional styles include black and white checkered flooring, wood floors (either patterned or striped), cherry wood cabinetry with green marble counters, and even all-white designs with blue accents.  When choosing appliances, black and stainless steel work with both cherry and white cabinetry.  Some people opt for the all-white look, matching white appliances with white cabinets, walls, and flooring.

Curtains and tablecloths in traditional style kitchens commonly feature floral or fruit designs.  Other popular designs include plaid and stripes.  These patterns are often found on seat cushions, table mats, and floor mats located near sinks and ovens.  These items are perfect examples of the interchangeability within the traditional kitchen.  Because wood finishes and white cabinetry match nearly all fabrics, people can change their curtains and other fabrics at any time and completely revamp the way their kitchens look without spending lots of money.

Cabinet knobs, backsplashes, pot racks, and lighting put the finishing touches on traditional kitchens.  Brass knobs look sharp on cherry cabinetry, and stainless steel handles make an excellent match for white cabinets and drawers.  Knobs come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.  There are knobs that feature Buddha figurines, Las Vegas gambling dice, Tuscan leaves, and thousands of other designs.  Because knobs are relatively small, traditional kitchens can feature rather eccentric cabinet knobs.  Hanging copper cookware from an attractive pot rack, and either recessed lighting or hanging chandeliers adds fullness to the traditional kitchen.  BACK TO TOP

Country Style Kitchens
Country style decorating is the hottest trend in home design, especially for the kitchen.  Country warmth, safety, and comfort are the hallmarks of this style.  Numerous patterns and mismatched furniture, carpeting, and cabinetry make the country kitchen visually stimulating.  Rather than coordination and symmetry, the goal of the country style kitchen is overall effect.  The idea is to make things looks as though there is no rhyme or reason behind their placement.  Country style kitchens exemplify controlled chaos, and the result is a homey atmosphere.

Many country kitchens feature wooden workstations or pot racks that do not match other furnishings.  This is considered acceptable, so long as the finishes do not clash.  Various types of wood can compliment one another in the same way that harmonious colors do.  Even the chairs situated around a kitchen table need not be identical.  In fact, having mismatched chairs augments the feeling of hominess, as it gives the impression that a special chair has been pulled up for each individual at the table. 

Colors mean everything in a country kitchen.  Warmly colored, unpolished (or polish that's not overdone) woods, such as maple and pine, are common.  Combine these woods with whites, cream colors, or light browns as the backdrop colors, and you are on your way to a magazine-quality kitchen.  Natural greens, bright blues, and reds provide accents.  Stainless steel in the form of hanging lights or chef workstations works well in this setting.  Plaids and checkered patterns on seat cushions add to the country motif.  BACK TO TOP

Contemporary Style Kitchens
Contemporary kitchens are known for their spaciousness, sleekness, and efficiency.  Designers place great emphasis on lighting.  Recessed-ceiling, over-cabinet, and under-cabinet lights are commonplace.  Halogen lights provide the clearest and most attractive lighting.  The windows in a contemporary kitchen are often kept bare.  Fabrics that allow light to pass through can be used as curtains.  Silk, cheesecloth, and other sheer fabrics work well with this style.

White, black, and stainless steel appliances all fit into the contemporary style kitchen.  Some designers believe that black appliances appear sophisticated.  Stainless steel adds a modern, high-tech look, and white is the most traditional.  Contemporary cabinets are made of woods paler than cherry wood, a signature of the traditional kitchen.  Light blues, clear reds, and other bright colors are regulars in contemporary kitchens. 

Contemporary kitchens are known for their usefulness.  Some people purchase glass refrigerators, which allow them to survey their food options without opening their refrigerator doors.  No-frills cabinetry and simplicity provide a tidy look.  Contemporary cabinets have very little lacework.  Some people even use plain aluminum cabinets that are painted white, giving their kitchens slightly retro appearances.  However, this style should not be confused with minimalism.  Green plants, hanging art, and the occasional eclectic piece of furniture or lighting often adorn the contemporary kitchen.  BACK TO TOP


These are the three most common and prevalent styles of kitchens, although there are several others.  One style is not superior to another, but most people have a preference.  Which is your favorite, and which would be most appropriate for your family?  We invite you to browse through the Kitchen Accessories Unlimited online catalog and view our wide selection of products.  Many people do not know exactly what they want until the see the products for themselves.  Enjoy!