If you're nostalgic at heart or just want your kitchen to feel trendy but aren't ready to take the stainless steel plunge, you should consider updating your kitchen with older, classic architectural elements. Decorating your kitchen combining your modern appliances with a rustic style will transform your kitchen overnight and create a comfortable, cozy atmosphere instantly for any home.
The Must-Have Antique Essentials
No matter what style kitchen you have, adding a few dated furniture or accent pieces will give any home a warm, old-fashioned feel. The essentials to creating an antique look revolve around attention to detail. Old world styles, whether Greek, Roman or Old English, focus on craftsmanship.
Most traditional kitchens feature elaborately designed woodwork and cabinetry with equally intricate cabinet knobs. Woodworking styles include raised panel doors, inlaid beaded panels, distressed wood, hand-hammered drawer pulls and even copper, peg and tin drawer handles.
Choose Your Style
Depending on your tastes, you may want to research the possibilities of old styles to determine which suites your home the best. Traditional Greek and Mediterranean kitchens incorporate earthy tones and materials such as clay and ceramics. To incorporate this look in your home, consider adding accent tiling or mosaic pieces to your otherwise plain walls. A perfect area to try your Greek style is the backsplash of your stovetop range.
The Roman style kitchens focus on the fireplace. Most modern homes no longer have fireplaces; instead, ovens and stovetops do all the baking and cooking. However, it's still possible to incorporate the Roman theme in even the most contemporary kitchens. Romans utilized clay bakery and cookware. Why not apply the Roman theme to your home? Choosing a few decorative clay pieces to hang above your countertop, island or stove top immediately adds an authentic touch to your otherwise ordinary kitchen style.
Another traditionally styled kitchen comes from the Old English. English cabinetry features open display racks, so you can display your china dishes. For a modern twist, install a backlight behind the cabinet to really vamp up the spotlight. Other cabinet options include wood cut outs with dark finishes such as bronzes and oils.
Finally, French country kitchens focus on the natural. It's not uncommon for French-styled kitchens to feature bare materials, especially on the walls and ceilings. So if you've got beams in your ceiling, show them off! By coating your existing materials with a dark finish, you can instantly create a rich accent to your kitchen. Be sure that your French country cabinet knobs match the finish of your ceilings or complement your wall palate. Additionally, French kitchens focus on colors. Typically, most kitchens incorporated light hues of off white, ivory, taupe and beige to complement the natural woodworking and tiles.
Match the Accessories
Once you've chosen the style of your liking, be sure to coordinate all aspects of your kitchen with this theme. For instance, a Greek influenced kitchen will not mesh with bright yellow paint. Elements to consider are your cabinet hardware, backsplashes, wood elements and even bar stools or seating areas. Match wood and cabinet finishes with complimentary drawer pulls to create a seamless style.
Light It Up
After you've completed the hard work of redesigning your kitchen into a classically adorned eatery, the proper lighting will showcase your efforts. Most commonly, track lighting is used to highlight accent pieces such as pottery, hanging cookware or ceramic tile work. Other options include tear drop or hanging light fixtures that provide dramatic shadows on your antiqued cabinetry.
Try the Cuisine
With all the hard work behind you, it's now time to host a debut for your new kitchen! Gather friends and family to show off your traditionally infused kitchen design. Whether your kitchen is Greek, Roman, English or French, to really boast your efforts, cook an authentic cuisine that matches your design.
Amanda works for Your Home Supply (YHS) the definitive website for home improvement tools, and gardening supplies. Your Home Supply offers a wide range of home hardware products to help customers with common household repairs, as well as decorative accessories for the home. Visit them now at http://www.YourHomeSupply.com
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