Transitional Kitchen Designing

Transitional kitchens fall in between contemporary and traditional designs. The hallmarks of a transitional kitchen are natural materials, clean lines, crisp cabinets, tons of texture, little colour, and a little bit of fancy detail. Done right, they combine the clean look of contemporary kitchens with the warm look of traditional kitchens.

The Transitional Lines

Transitional kitchens borrow most from contemporary kitchens when it comes to lines. Well-defined and straight lines make transitional kitchens easy to obtain that sleek look. Although details exist, a visitor can still get a great sense of the space without stopping to examine any one part.

As in the contemporary style, making these lines work takes effort. Designers need to plan cabinets around the dimensions of the room as well as the dimensions of appliances. All elements of the kitchen, walls, counters, and cabinets, need to work together to create a unified whole. A designer needs to be careful with every purchase to make sure that it does not cause a break in any line.

The Transitional Materials

Transitional kitchens need to be much more conservative with colour than traditional kitchens. This is because colour can be too distracting and emotive, thus interfering with the overall simplicity of the room. To keep it simple, typically only neutral tones are used.

Yet, these kitchens can be made more detailed through the use of varied textures. The best textures come from the natural materials common in traditional kitchens: wood and stone. Cabinets should be painted or stained wood. This gives the cabinets a rustic texture distinct from modern lacquer. Counters look best in stone, while tiled backsplashes can have varied looks from stone and ceramic. A good transitional kitchen should be tactile: guests should want to run their hands over everything.

Adding the Little Touches

Transitional kitchens really shine in little touches that play with both the contemporary and modern styles. Light wood chairs take guests back into the past, a little extra brushed metal in one corner brings guests back into the contemporary era. Some millwork near the ceiling provides a softer touch that can be offset with modern light fixtures. Exposed wooden rafters might look traditional up close, but from a distance their long clean lines look modern. These little touches make every transitional kitchen unique and fascinating. The goal is to make a kitchen as visually interesting as possible, while still maintaining a clean and crisp overall feel.

As you can imagine, this is a difficult balance for general contractors. To really make a transitional kitchen (that doesn’t just look like a contemporary of traditional kitchen), it is imperative to hire a specialized designer with a lot of experience in this style of kitchen.