Traditional Style Kitchen Remodeling Services

Traditional kitchens are known for details, uniqueness, and functionality. They come from an older school of thought in design that emphasized the small over the large. Although traditional kitchens lack the simplicity and accessibility of contemporary kitchens, they allow more opportunities for self-expression. They also tend to be easier to build and use, since appliances can be selected for their usefulness and price, instead of their geometric shapes. Traditional kitchens also tend to have more furniture and more cupboard space, making them great for bringing an extended family or a wide group of friends together.

Designing the Traditional Look

Grandma’s kitchen might not have had a designer, but the best new traditional kitchens do! Although traditional kitchens tend to have more varied looks than contemporary ones, this doesn’t mean that traditional kitchens are chaotic. Rather, their varying lines and eye-catching details offer many opportunities to apply design principles, such as:

• Symmetry. Symmetry is actually incredibly difficult to pull off in most rooms without looking awkward or chintzy. However, in traditional kitchens, the numerous details make it easy to introduce symmetry into cabinets or appliances, giving the room a sense of completeness and calm.
• Fields of Color. Traditional kitchens use color to push or pull certain details. The most common schemes tend to use push colors like dark blue on the walls, or pull colors like yellow and brown, to make cabinets and counters pop out and attract the eye.
• Bold, Complex Textures. Although textures are important in all kitchens, they are particularly powerful in traditional kitchens. Wood grain works like a pull color by drawing the eye to particular cabinets or furniture. It creates interest and liveliness in a kitchen. Hammered metal can be used to add detail to surfaces and ceilings, and can bring the room together by matching metal elements in different parts of the room.
• Non-Square Angles. Giving up the emphasis on straight lines frees up the designer to use angles outside of the typical 90 degrees. These angles allow for different geometric patterns and shapes that can help focus the room on particular cabinets or focal points.

Choosing the Right Traditional Look

The traditional look is so versatile that it can be difficult to decide on the best look for you. The key decisions are all related to the balance between functionality and beauty. Decisions will include:

We’ve found that people have many different ideas about how the perfect traditional kitchen should look. The good news is that the detail and flexibility of the style allows for anyone’s kitchen dreams to come true.