Traditional kitchens, which are typically constructed with natural materials and embrace a warm color scheme, have always been very popular in the United States. Some people confuse traditional kitchens with country or “Old World” styles, but in truth, traditional kitchen design means the use of warm colors, natural elements, and intricate design. Traditional kitchens tend to be eclectic. They may include hand-carved wood trim, designs such as fruits or butterflies, and muted colored tiles.
How can you achieve the traditional design in your kitchen? Below are a few tips for infusing your kitchen with traditional style.
Furniture
Period style furniture is going to boost the look of a traditional luxury kitchen in the most spot-on way. Modern pieces or pieces that have no period style look to them will take away from the overall traditional feel of the kitchen, so rather than using those types of pieces, get a few period pieces that you really admire. You can even make an unadorned piece feel more traditional by adding period-style molding around the border.
Flooring
Many of our traditional high-end kitchen projects and designs include a pattern in the flooring, even when the flooring is made of wood. Some design ideas might include:
- Basket weave for wood flooring
- Random pattern for wood flooring
- Embracing irregular shapes in natural stone flooring
- Creating an irregular pattern with natural stone flooring
Seating Area
You’re going to want to embrace warm and natural elements in your seating area. For a truly traditional look, try a corner nook instead of a freestanding table. Add warm patterned fabric to benches to place around the table. In the fabric, you’re going to want to embrace the key elements of traditional luxury design – bringing the warmth of nature and tradition in.
Accessorize
Use the knobs and handles of your cabinets and doors to enhance the traditional style of the room. Intricately designed knobs and handles that match the overall period feel of the room can create focal points for the kitchen.
Embrace Detail
In the molding around the room, on the cabinets, on the legs of furniture, and in your hardware such as faucets and light fixtures, make sure you’re embracing detailed design. The most defining characteristic of traditional design is its embrace of intricacy. You have a lot of opportunities to infuse the kitchen with this quality – use each one to the best of its ability.
Color
Traditional design tends to embrace a soft color palette such as:
- Cream
- Taupe
- White
- Light Gray
- Grey
The hues of these colors could be described as “muted”. Traditional design shies away from anything that could be considered stark or bold.
Windows
The goal of a traditional design is to create a feeling in the luxury kitchen space that is very homey and comforting. Windows help this by providing light and, if possible, a seating area. A bay window is a perfect addition to a traditional kitchen design. It offers another opportunity to incorporate patterns through fabric, and it’s a really defining element of classic traditional design.