What Is Your Kitchen Style?

What style would you choose for your new kitchen? Do you have an overall style for your home? Is it classic, contemporary, transitional, farmhouse? Do you want to update your overall style or keep it the same? Making a big design decision like this is not easy. Unique Perspective Kitchens is here to help you…producing the perfect kitchen for each client is our mission.

A kitchen is a place where families come together and memories are created, where creativity is fostered, a place where we feel warmth. And that is why it is so important for your kitchen to be a reflection of who you are.

Below you will learn about some of the most popular kitchen styles that are defining the look and feel of homes today. By Homestratosphere.com

TRADITIONAL

Hallmark design elements:

Elegant and timeless aesthetic
Modern American look and feel
Clean, comforting, inviting
Traditional + contemporary elements

Defined by its clean, comforting, and inviting aesthetic, a traditional kitchen makes use of classic design elements and an abundance of fresh colors to create a look that is elegantly timeless.

White tiles, paint, and accenting are commonly used in traditional kitchens for a crisp and clean contrast that provides visual appeal and a sparkling vitality.

In keeping with the timeless appeal, detailing like paneled or glass cupboard doors are often utilized, along with personally requisite details such as coordinating backsplashes, polished hardwood floors, modern stainless steel appliances, and gleaming marble countertops.

While traditional kitchens exhibit a casually nuanced overall feel and elegant look, the details can vary immensely.

Very often, the visually appealing and perfectly complementary color duo of crisp white and dark brown woods are employed. Smatterings of stainless steel and polished accents, vintage or period accents like handcrafted drawer pulls, or tailored upholstered seats can help to highly distinguish one traditional kitchen rom the next.

CONTEMPORARY

Hallmark style elements:

Modern and minimalist components
Artistic elements
Straight and horizontal lines
Uniquely bold simplicity

The contemporary style kitchen is a highly popular design concept that has been readily embraced by homeowners en masse. A kitchen styled in a contemporary fashion incorporates a mixture of new and old and casual yet polished elements to give a sleek aesthetic.

While traditional kitchens employ the use of classic design elements punctuated by sometimes ornate and vintage detailing for a more conventional and familiar appeal, a contemporary kitchen differs from its typically more artistic and minimalist approach. Contemporary kitchens are typically unadorned and free of excess detailing. Rather, the focus tends to be on artistic juxtaposition and the complementary relationship between materials, surfaces, and colors.

Modern trends for contemporary kitchens feature a lack of symmetry and aim for a more geometric look. Horizontal lines create a straightforward, user-friendly appeal. Unexpected details like concrete flooring, brushed silver knobs, strategically and artfully placed chrome and lacquer detailing, and tiny pops of color offer an industrial vibe softened by visual appeal.

When decorating a contemporary kitchen, the sky is truly the limit. There is no standard blueprint for a contemporary-styled kitchen; rather, the design is defined by minimalist decorating, a clean aesthetic, strong and bold color choices, and an emphasis on embracing the unexpected.

A contemporary kitchen can be truly inviting in the most unique ways. The styling mimics a Zen environment, free of clutter, adornment, and visual chaos. As such, the beauty in the materials chosen is given an opportunity to be visually distinct.

Polished granite countertops, for example, gleam in their unadorned expansiveness. Singularly punctuated by a bright and cheery bowl of fresh fruit or another simple vividly colored design choice, the countertop is presented in all of its simplicity, beauty, and splendor. In essence, a contemporary kitchen allows the materials from which it is constructed to stand out and shine while offering inviting physical and visual sensations that create a sense of calm, tranquility, and peace.

TRANSITIONAL

Hallmark Transitional Style Elements:

Traditional and contemporary design elements
Clean and simple minimalism
Inviting and engaging traditional style
Best of both worlds versatility

Transitional style kitchens encompass the best of both worlds by bringing together traditional and contemporary design concepts. The juxtaposition between traditional style and contemporary design is at the heart of the transitional style kitchen. Offering all the inviting comfort of a traditional kitchen space, transitional kitchens simultaneously show off the beautifully clean and simple minimalist design elements found in contemporary kitchen styles. While elements from both styles are apparent in transitional décor, sometimes elements from other styles are utilized as well.

Despite not having a strict definition in terms of what can and cannot be used in a transitional kitchen, it is generally agreed that the transitional style is a delicate balancing act in proportions, materials, and harmony.

Hallmark style elements:

Beachy and coastal vibe
Cool shades of blue; crisp white hues
Wicker, Seagrass, and sand
Airy; copious amounts of sunlight

Beach style kitchens offer a beachy and coastal feel right within the comforts of your own home. Cool shades of blue are paired with thematically appropriate accents like seagrass, wicker, and sand to create a vacation-themed setting that is relaxing, inspiring and fun.

Airily sheer window treatments atop large glass windows are common accoutrements that give kitchen dwellers plenty of warm sunlight to bask in and enjoy. Coastal themed flooring in lighter colors and unique finishes can be used to add to the beachy feeling of the kitchen, in addition to freshly whitewashed paint treatments to offer a casual yet elegant resort-like vibe. Beach style kitchens are a great way to engage in thematic inspiration! Use seashells, sea glass, and ocean related paraphernalia to create a calm and cool beach environment that makes you feel as if you are on vacation every day within your own kitchen.

Hallmark style elements:

Multifaceted approach
Highly personalized and curated
Visually stimulating
Rich colors and textures

The eclectic kitchen is an ultimate study in mixtures, contrasts, composition, and scale. Bold paint choices, intricate odds and ends, a personally curated collection of trinkets, and various textural elements are commonly incorporated within eclectic kitchens.

The eclecticism of the design concept is more a reflection of an individual’s multifaceted tastes, preferences, and personality, rather than a nonsensical mishmash of unrelated items.

Done correctly, the eclectically designed kitchen reflects a cool and easy confidence. Perfectly mismatched accoutrements and worldly adornments are tied together with centrally placed pops of color that provide a sense of consistency and thematic order. The end result is a highly-personalized kitchen with an effortless appeal, filled with rich color and texture that is both uniquely inviting and visually stimulating.

Hallmark style elements:

Sleekly sophisticated
Exotic and high-end materials
Clean lines and timeless silhouettes
Minimalist styling

Much like contemporary kitchen styles, a modern style kitchen embodies sleek sophistication and sexy appeal. Similar to contemporary styling, clutter, accoutrement, and adornment are kept to a bare minimum. Beautiful, bare expanses of polished countertop are accented with pops of color to emphasize high-quality materials and artistry. The lack of countertop decorating lets kitchen dwellers take in the full beauty and quality of the pieces that define and comprise the kitchen’s base aesthetic.

High-quality materials are in fact hallmarks of modern kitchens and typically include exotic materials which are luxurious to the touch and sight. Luxury is pervasive throughout the modern kitchen; classic and modern pieces are consistent with high quality and typically of simple construction with clean lines and timeless silhouettes for an enduring elegance and upscale feel.

Hallmark style elements:

Artisan Flair
Natural materials
Rustically appealing look and feel
Fine craftsmanship

There is an organic and earthy sensuality about a craftsman styled kitchen that is unique, inviting, and comforting at once.

The Craftsman style was popularized by the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement during the industrial revolution. It was during this time that home design and architecture, in general, became very artisanal in nature. Kitchen furniture, tabletops, and cabinets were hand built, constructed with the utmost of care, and designed to last a lifetime.

An abundance of natural materials, primarily in the form of natural woods in various hues of brown, are the cornerstone of every craftsman style kitchen.

Typical accents almost always include solidly built and expertly crafted cabinetry and counter tops. Often, intricate woodwork and stonework are incorporated throughout the kitchen to give an overall artisan feel to the environment.

Craftsman style kitchens are rustic and inviting in a warm and down-to-earth kind of way. The setting is suggestive of another time and place when life was simpler, and the kitchen a haven to cook and create hot and nourishing meals for friends and family alike.

FARMHOUSE

Hallmark style elements:

Intimate and cozy environment
Highly decorative
Brimming with details
Natural and premium materials

Farmhouse style kitchens are designed with country-style flair and thematic farmhouse elements. The overall look and feel of a farmhouse style kitchen can range from natural and organically rustic to a more contemporary style.

A very popular design concept, farmhouse style kitchens offer a distinctly intimate cozy look and feel. Decorative adornments are highly utilized; woven baskets and delicate china sets are often proudly put on display.

Unlike minimalist or modern kitchens, the farmhouse kitchen is brimming with personal details. Common design notes include things like vintage door knobs and pulls, hand painted dishes and other very individual character details.

From the ceiling to the flooring, expect a farmhouse style kitchen to be a study in visual appeal. Exposed wooden beams, unexpected brick accents, and vivid pops of radiant color are all fantastic components in this kind of kitchen style, along with fresh flowers, baskets of fruit, and country style knickknacks.

There is an undeniable emphasis on natural woods, which may or may not be mixed in texture and tone, along with the judicious use of copper pots and accents, woven basketry and other items, glassware and vases, farm-style seating and sturdily built wooden countertops that offer functionality and beauty all at once.

RUSTIC

Hallmark Style Elements:

A multifaceted approach to decorating
An abundance of wood and stone
Eclectic styling with a nod to nature
Comfortable and earthy appeal

Rustic styled kitchens are versatile in their multifaceted appeal and approach. Eclectic in nature, this style of decoration has limitless options for decorators and homeowners alike.

A rustic kitchen features an abundance of wood and stone with commonly used design components such as handwoven tapestries, distressed finishes, unfinished surfaces, and textured pieces featuring natural fibers.

Similar in concept to Craftsman and farmhouse kitchens, rustic kitchen spaces differ in that they encompass an eclectic approach while maintaining a nod to its nature-oriented roots. Reminiscent of log cabin interiors, a rustic style kitchen evokes themes of simplicity, practicality, and nature.

MEDITERRANEAN

Hallmark style elements:

Classical Grecian style notes
Intricate and high-quality details
Old-world opulence
Bold colors paired with earthy neutrals

Mediterranean style kitchens have classically Grecian styling notes that are reminiscent of the art, culture and geographical beauty of this ancient locale.

Purposefully designed to invoke the beauty and complexity of Greek design, Mediterranean style kitchens incorporate bold colors, earth tones, glazing techniques, and fantastically unique textured walls that harken to a more primitive time and place in the world.

Visual interest is of paramount importance in a Mediterranean style kitchen; often you will find décor featuring terra cotta accents, intricate tile mosaics, gorgeously unique backsplashes, and furniture constructed from the finest quality hardwoods. It is important to note that the tile mosaics and textured walls are almost always defining parts of a Mediterranean style kitchen.

Unlike the simpler aesthetics of a modern or contemporary kitchen, the Mediterranean style kitchen features a plenitude of curves, creativity, and a distinct old-world opulence.

ASIAN

Hallmark style elements:

Natural materials
Efficient use of space
Subtle use of decorative touches
Incorporates curves.

INDUSTRIAL

Hallmark style elements:

Lots of brick, metals and wood
Open concept
Darker lighting
Common in loft condos and apartments (although more detached homeowners are opting for the industrial style kitchen).