White Kitchens - White Kitchen Photos 2

White Kitchens - Kitchen Photos 2

White Kitchens make splendid kitchens. They reflect light creating an amazing ambiance in a room. They are great for small areas with a lack of light due to their reflective qualities. If you want a clean, timeless colour then white is perfect.

White Kitchens - White Kitchen Photos 1

White Kitchens - Kitchen Photos 1

White Kitchens make beautiful kitchens. They make a kitchen bright, clean and radiant. They are great for small areas with a lack of light as they enhance the lower level of light to make a room look much brighter than a darker coloured kitchen could.

White Kitchens

Return of the White Kitchen

The white kitchen was extremely popular for about ten to fifteen years way back in the nineties and eighties. However, in the years since the turn of the millennium, the white kitchen fell out of favor and took a decidedly back seat to stained wood. Yet the versatility of a white kitchen with it's clean appeal and soothing look has never really gone away. Instead, it is making a return with some new twists that make it look fresher, up to date and more appealing than ever.

White vs. white
The first place to change in the white kitchen is the kind of white used on the cabinets. White is no longer just white. Now, white cabinets range in whiteness from bright white to antiqued white. Both look fresh and current, but with a different appeal. If the bright white kitchen appeals to you, then the whiteness, just like it was in the eighties and nineties, is the key. Sheer white cabinets look especially good in vintage style kitchens. White cabinets with Craftsman style frames look beautiful in bright white. Cabinets with old fashioned cup style drawer pulls make a beautiful pairing. Add the nostalgia of white marble countertops and you have a winning combination.

To keep the kitchen extra vintage-looking, have appliances such as the dishwasher and refrigerator dressed with cabinet doors and this will make them blend into the kitchen and not detract from the look. But if a fresher, more current style is what you're after, add shiny stainless appliances and your kitchen will be up-to-the-moment gorgeous with a slight contemporary feel. It's this pairing of stainless with white that creates a nice contrast of color with sparkle. Having stainless appliances with white cabinets makes the white kitchen up to date versus the monochromatic - and dated -- look of white cabinets with white appliances. If you have a white kitchen in need of updating, adding new stainless appliance might be all it takes to bring your kitchen out of the nineties and eighties and into the 2000's.

White with color
Another way to update that all-white kitchen is to add a touch of color to your cabinets. If you have an all-white kitchen and a white island, consider replacing the island with a wood cabinet island or simply paint the island a contrasting color. Another distinguishing feature of the white kitchens of today is the attention to detail. Cabinets today have more detail and much, much more moulding. The crown moulding at the top of the cabinets makes the kitchen more current and is a mark of quality cabinetry. Adding crown moulding to the top of older cabinets is an inexpensive option that will help make this room more current and the cabinets more substantial, but the cabinets still need a finishing touch. This can be done with a toned down shade of white paint on the cabinets and a wash of stain in the crevices of the design. Adding the layer of stain brings out the details in the cabinets and makes it look more today and not so bright.

A standard
White kitchens are gorgeous. If a new kitchen is in your remodeling plans consider a white one for their overall appeal and interest. And, if you're updating a white kitchen, simply creating more attention to detail - such as adding new pulls, changing old solid surface and laminate counters to natural stone, adding mouldings, and some color, can make about a twenty year difference in the look of your kitchen.

By Kathryn Weber

Kitchen Design Trends

The Latest Kitchen Design Trends

Are you considering renovating your kitchen? Are you ready to change the old for the new? Are you looking for the fad kitchen design ideas for your working place? Typically every year, new ideas come and go as they are meant to be but it does not mean that you need to change your kitchen designs year after year. Renovation can be very costly so people are advised to get fad designs that will last a very long time. Listed below are some of the tips on kitchen design ideas.

Bright is right - Instead of the classic neutral wall painting, the trend for this year are bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. This may shock you. However, the kitchen is one part of your house that can be painted and look good with this type of paint.

Mess is out, Neat is in - Before, the use of refrigerator magnets are tolerated. They look cute. The countertop is filled with mess like the kitchen utensils, the walls full of hanging pots or pans. Well, this year the mess should be all but cleared out! Classic and clean kitchen countertops and refrigerator doors are in trend.

Vintage is back - The old style of mortar and pestle on the counter top is one good way to imitate the old design. You can simply alter the old style appliances with the modern and more efficient ones. The premise for this kind of look is the minimalism and cleanliness.

Kitchen for a chef - If you would like to go for this kind of look, you may want to look at what most restaurants look like today. This is because they usually update their kitchens regularly because for them, kitchen creates a mood for chefs. If your kitchen is seen on the dining room, this look will look good for your house.

Elegant look

• Flooring - For the kind of materials for the flooring, the best is to look for ones that come in sleek design like white ceramic, porcelain tiles, natural stone.
• Countertops - Use porcelain or the glass backsplashes which is still in trend. This classic design is one of the many designs that may never come out of trend.
• Cabinets - Installing organizing racks inside your cabinet is one of what modern kitchens have. Cabinets seen are mostly made from cherry wood and maple wood. The cabinet doors on the other hand are made of glass, nickel or aluminum. This is what is in for kitchen trends.
• Appliances - In modern houses, the appliances are mostly built under the counter or dishwashers hiding inside the drawer. The best thing about this technique is that does not just make the room to appear clean, it also allows more storage and promotes multipurpose tops.

When renovating your kitchen, make sure that you plan it out thoroughly and decide according to your needs and not the trend. Always remember that kitchen renovation is done once or a just a couple of times at the most in a person's lifetime. Therefore, your kitchen design idea you should choose for your kitchen should be based on elegant design as this type lasts longer than most.

By Richard McIntyre