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HOME KITCHEN DESIGN STYLES

Kitchen cabinet styles are an extension of furniture designs, so maybe looking around your home at what furniture you have now will give you a few clues as to your likes and dislikes. So what is your kitchen style? 

If ‘style” is an expression of our inner being, outwardly exposed for the world to view and the way we live is dependent on our values, then your kitchen style should reflect your lifestyle and values. See if any of these kitchen cabinets designs seem to express your inner soul!

Shaker & Mission Style Kitchen Cabinets

Arts & Craft style of furniture began in Europe in the late 1800, some say as a rebellion against the popular Victorian styles which were very pretentious with over the top ornamentation.  The Arts & Craft style was based on the principal fundamentals of usefulness, sturdiness and simplicity, incorporating features such as unpainted woods, absence of unnecessary lines or ornamentation. 

Mission Furniture and Shaker Furniture are often described as Arts & Craft style.  Mission furniture design originated in a church in San Francisco in the late 1800's, that took its design characteristics from furniture common in spanish missions of the area... thus the name "mission furniture".

Elements found in Mission Furniture are exposed joinery, use of multiple uniformly sized slats, and brackets called corbels used to reinforce the joinery. Where we see this design element in kitchen cabinets is repetitive slats in bar stools and glass paneled doors.

Shaker style reflects the Shaker religious sect's belief system of producing well crafted very plain furniture, with many of the same square "boxy" design elements of mission furniture.  Shaker furniture was utilitarian but made skillfully with great precision, as an expression of their love for god. Unnecessary design elements were considered a waste of god-given time. In terms of kitchen renovation this translates into shaker kitchen cabinet doors that tend to be very square with flat panel inserts, rails and stiles, plain flat crown mouldings, no arch top or raised panels. Curves are out, square is in!

In kitchen cabinetry the Arts & Craft style is often referred to as contemporary style and described as simple, functional and durable. 

Country Kitchen Cabinets

Country French style has a relaxed, casual elegance to it.  Often whitewashed or distressed, or traditionally finished in either dark or lighter woods often with knotty doors and more rustic features.

Deep carvings in curvilinear arches and other ascents distinguish this style.  In kitchen cabinetry terms it is often called vintage or simply country. Described as Old World Charm, fine craftsmanship and hand finish.

Country kitchens often incorporate wood chopping blocks with colonial turned legs to create a butcher block island. Some are portable and designed to be moved around the kitchen, others have the chopping block incorporated into a full island with additional counter space, and under mounted cupboards and eating space supported with the same colonial legs.

Modern Kitchen Cabinets

Modern style furniture came into being soon after World War II.  Sleek sophisticated design defined as streamlined, clean and simplistic.  Matched sets came into fashion with this modern style as seen in sets or suites of bedroom, dining room and living room furniture.

Smooth clean lines of wood, metals, synthetics and leather came together in this era of mass production by machinery.  Modern furniture took its origins from styles such a Mission and Shaker.  In today’s kitchen style it is often called Urban, and described as modern, clean and sometimes exotic looking with designs driven by new man-made textures and materials.

Traditional Style:

For traditional style kitchen cabinetry think comfortable, casual refined elegance.  Not defined by any set of features rather from a number of styles, such as Chippendale, Queen Ann, Victorian and others.  Repetitive patterns and unifying themes such as raised panels are prevalent, wood hues tend to be mid range to very dark.     

Transitional Kitchen Cabinets:

Transitional is a blend of two styles; modern and traditional.  But, it is not as bold as modern and not as ornamented as traditional.

An Eclectic style embraces two or more styles in separate cabinetry in one kitchen, such as modern wall cabinets with a country styled island.  So you may see traditional, modern or other influences in one kitchen design.  Eclectic creates a fresh harmonious look by pairing complementary colors, woods and textures, that's the trick! Bottom line is that verbiage like transitional and eclectic make it possible to mix and match almost any style and with the right blend of colour, textures and details create kitchen renovation ideas that reflect your sense of design and fit into one of these categories :).  

The kitchen is the heart of your home.  You will always find friends and family hovering around the kitchen area.  So, at the end of the day what matters is what appeals the most to you and your family with characteristics that complement your lifestyle.

 

More Information

Ideas for Kitchen Renovation: From the 5 step design process to picking kitchen appliances here's the information.