Classic Kitchen Design
![Kitchen Design](/uploads/2/6/1/0/26100278/8535222.jpg?592)
If you ever think of the term traditional and you think boring, you should probably update your lexicon! Traditional while considered Old World styling is all about one thing; the details. In a modern kitchen you might have something like a regular slab of marble as a countertop. In a traditional kitchen you are going to see a lot of custom cut designs and ledges on the corners of the countertops that really add a certain sense of detail. Details in a traditional kitchen are also going to deal with; luxury materials, eye catching features, and functionality. If you always loved or always wanted a traditional, kitchen but you needed some start up ideas to get you going, take a gander at the below where I show you some of the best details, features and materials to use in a traditional design kitchen.
Architecture Is Everything
In a modern kitchen you might see a lot of straight edged lines, maybe a few curves, but nothing to really gawk at. The opposite is true for a traditional kitchen. In this type of kitchen you are going to be seeing a lot of architectural designs and features. You are going to see some embellishment or some type of an adornment everywhere you look. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the kitchen cabinets and its custom knobs or if it’s the lighting, everything is going to have a certain sense of detail and style. A traditional kitchen is also going to have some sort of traditional architecture, this can include things like crown molding on the ceiling, arch ways, raised panel cabinets (very popular and necessary!), custom hoods, furniture styled cabinets like hutches and of course legs on the island. Not only are you going to see these items, but they are going to be very detailed such as the texture or the material in the hood, or the shape or styling of the custom molding on the ceiling. Nothing is just placed in the room to be... there. It all comes together and it’s all detailed.
Antiqued Cabinet Finishes and Glazed Finishes
A traditional kitchen is other worldly, and because of this and the age of traditionalism- it’s one of the oldest and most popular designs by the way, you are going to see a lot of people putting antique techniques to good use on things like kitchen cabinets. You can either do this yourself by finding a garage sale or auction sale with some old pieces, refinishing them, repainting them, re-staining them, etc. or you can find a company that will do all this hard work for you. A lot of the companies out there will build their own cabinets and hutches and give them old world details, paint jobs, knobs, etc. You simply buy the finished product and place it in your kitchen - this does cost a little more, but it might be worth it to get it from a woodworker that knows how to do a project like this. If you are looking to redo your kitchen in a traditional style you may want to have a chat with a kitchen remodeling expert to help get you started with ideas.
Textured Cabinet Doors and Inserts
Since this is a type of design or style that is all about the details, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the cabinets and the inserts are going to be textured. As far as the cabinets go, you are going to see a lot of raised wood designs; none of those smooth surfaces in terms of cabinet doors are going to be seen in a traditional kitchen. You are going to start to see also, that cabinet inserts are very popular. These come in all sorts of designs, styles and materials. If you really want to go that extra mile you can also get etched glass panes that give you the same look and feel, but it’s the real thing, and not an insert. Personally, I like the etched glass option better because it’s a little less cheap looking, and also the etched glass looks really pretty when looking through the glass and into the cabinets to see the traditional server ware, utensils, cups, etc.
Luxury Counter Materials
Things like Formica, vinyl and regular old wood will not be seen in a traditional kitchen. Instead, you will see higher end materials being used such as Calcutta marble slabs, granite, and walnut butcher blocks - these are all three very beautiful materials and anyone would be lucky to have them on their countertops, even a Modern lover like me can appreciate these materials for what they are and how they look! Another popular style with these natural stone countertops are finishes in both honed and non-shiny finishes. Polished stones are not really a traditional aspect, though they do show up sometimes in a traditional kitchen, maybe just not as much.
Architecture Is Everything
In a modern kitchen you might see a lot of straight edged lines, maybe a few curves, but nothing to really gawk at. The opposite is true for a traditional kitchen. In this type of kitchen you are going to be seeing a lot of architectural designs and features. You are going to see some embellishment or some type of an adornment everywhere you look. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the kitchen cabinets and its custom knobs or if it’s the lighting, everything is going to have a certain sense of detail and style. A traditional kitchen is also going to have some sort of traditional architecture, this can include things like crown molding on the ceiling, arch ways, raised panel cabinets (very popular and necessary!), custom hoods, furniture styled cabinets like hutches and of course legs on the island. Not only are you going to see these items, but they are going to be very detailed such as the texture or the material in the hood, or the shape or styling of the custom molding on the ceiling. Nothing is just placed in the room to be... there. It all comes together and it’s all detailed.
Antiqued Cabinet Finishes and Glazed Finishes
A traditional kitchen is other worldly, and because of this and the age of traditionalism- it’s one of the oldest and most popular designs by the way, you are going to see a lot of people putting antique techniques to good use on things like kitchen cabinets. You can either do this yourself by finding a garage sale or auction sale with some old pieces, refinishing them, repainting them, re-staining them, etc. or you can find a company that will do all this hard work for you. A lot of the companies out there will build their own cabinets and hutches and give them old world details, paint jobs, knobs, etc. You simply buy the finished product and place it in your kitchen - this does cost a little more, but it might be worth it to get it from a woodworker that knows how to do a project like this. If you are looking to redo your kitchen in a traditional style you may want to have a chat with a kitchen remodeling expert to help get you started with ideas.
Textured Cabinet Doors and Inserts
Since this is a type of design or style that is all about the details, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the cabinets and the inserts are going to be textured. As far as the cabinets go, you are going to see a lot of raised wood designs; none of those smooth surfaces in terms of cabinet doors are going to be seen in a traditional kitchen. You are going to start to see also, that cabinet inserts are very popular. These come in all sorts of designs, styles and materials. If you really want to go that extra mile you can also get etched glass panes that give you the same look and feel, but it’s the real thing, and not an insert. Personally, I like the etched glass option better because it’s a little less cheap looking, and also the etched glass looks really pretty when looking through the glass and into the cabinets to see the traditional server ware, utensils, cups, etc.
Luxury Counter Materials
Things like Formica, vinyl and regular old wood will not be seen in a traditional kitchen. Instead, you will see higher end materials being used such as Calcutta marble slabs, granite, and walnut butcher blocks - these are all three very beautiful materials and anyone would be lucky to have them on their countertops, even a Modern lover like me can appreciate these materials for what they are and how they look! Another popular style with these natural stone countertops are finishes in both honed and non-shiny finishes. Polished stones are not really a traditional aspect, though they do show up sometimes in a traditional kitchen, maybe just not as much.