Distinguished, elegant, magnificent, and well balanced look
identifies today's traditional kitchen. Traditional style kitchen combines
elements of European and American 18th- and early 19th-century design.
Fine-crafted details like carved wood molding,
corbels, and
furniture onlays not
only add personality to the traditional kitchen but transform every day tasks
and commonplace chores into social occasions or shared activities with friend
and family. People's appetite for life is reflected in the spirit of their
home. The heart of that home has always been the kitchen that deserves to be as
beautiful as the spirit of the owner. Your kitchen will inevitably make a
statement, that is why it is important that you stay true to your own aesthetic
sensibility. And remember, it isn't money you spend on your kitchen,
but the attention you pay to the details, architectural embellishments, and the
private passions expressed in your design that makes your kitchen uniquely
yours.
From the architectural embellishments to kitchen lighting
and finishing touches, all the elements of
kitchen design should work together to make a fulfilling whole.
For a Traditional kitchen choose cherry or mahogany wood cabinetry.
Kitchen cabinets
crafted from these types of hardwood can have a clear finish or can be glazed to
achieve an aged look.
Painted white kitchen cabinets are appropriate for
traditional kitchen design; but lately, off-white colored cabinets in antiqued
finish seem to take a center stage. Maybe because soft off-white colors brighten up the kitchen, and an antiqued finish contributes to relaxed and cozy
atmosphere; or maybe because an antique finish highlights the beautiful details on
hand-carved moldings and other kitchen embellishments transforming the inanimate
hand-crafted objects into animate objects of your affection.
Kitchen cabinet details like fluted pilasters, wood trim created with
decorative panel molding, corner blocks with hand-carved
wood rosettes, and embellished
wood crown molding
distinguish traditional kitchen design. For the
cabinet's door style, a raised panels with slightly arched top is the most popular.
Complying with principles of Green
Design, in you kitchen use the best organic materials for their intrinsic
integrity and enduring superiority.
In order to bring your kitchen to loving
vitality you need to use materials that are real rather than fake whenever
possible. There is no substitute for wood, marble, granite, cotton and silk. An elegant
countertop fabricated from marble or granite fits well into traditional setting. For kitchen island
adornments you might
consider beautiful hand-carved door panels
and kitchen island legs. They can be used not just as a door
panels but for the decoration of the kitchen island's front as well.
Corbels and brackets are one of the
traditional kitchen embellishments and should not be looked at just as a
functional kitchen hardware. They are very popular in traditional kitchens and
used widely for decorative purposes as well as for
kitchen counter support
or under the kitchen hood. Corbels and brackets are available in wide variety of
sizes and classical designs. It is a wonderful opportunity to express yourself
through tasteful application of onlayed wood carvings and corbels in your
kitchen.
You might be happy with the layout of your kitchen and already have
good quality cabinets, but have a feeling that your kitchen lacks character
and not fully expresses who you are. In this case you can give your kitchen a
makeover without going into a large remodeling project.
You don't have to
replace your kitchen cabinetry to get fine furniture-quality details. Instead,
add decorative frieze wood molding,
pierced wood molding, or
wooden crown molding on the top of existing cabinets and stain
or paint it to mach existing finish. Likewise, you can replace old
hardware with
reproduction polished-brass door and drawer knobs or pulls for a finishing
touch. Antique brass or pewter hardware and fittings will add an Old World touch.
(see also kitchen cabinets updates).
Another way to add character to traditional kitchen is to add an open display shelves, by doing so
you will gain not just a unique look by maximize your kitchen storage as well.
If you already have open kitchen shelves you can
embellish them using decorative molding.
