Traditional kitchens here are based on the style of the home. And the popular style now is French country. We’ll do a rub-through for a finish. It leaves a little color in the crevices to look like the piece was once painted or so old that it has dust in the corners. We call it the restoration look. Traditional is home-and-hearth—not country but country estate. We might do special pairs of cabinet doors—left and right arched doors with very unobtrusive wood knobs in the same color as the cabinet finish or a forged iron knob for a casual effect or forged brass for a furniture feel. We’re doing furniture feet on the cabinets and extensive mouldings—rope, dentil, fluting, and others that can cost up to 25 percent of the budget.
Contemporary is a soft contemporary: Shaker style with a recessed panel door. The finish is very smooth, with no distressing and it relies on the wood grain itself to carry the door. We use not a clear stain but a light one. When mixed with slab doors, the grain runs the same way on doors and drawers. It’s a clean, uncluttered look. The hardware is completely different from traditional. It’s part of the artistic statement. We’re seeing stainless steel pulls and touch-and-release latches. Contemporary mouldings are minimal and uncluttered. And we’re seeing more glass doors in soft contemporary: austral glass, an art glass that you can’t quite see through; ribbed glass that’s like corduroy; stainless inserts that give the feel of glass; colored glass; brushed metallic laminate; silver dot laminate; and hammered copper.
People have stopped looking at just the fronts of cabinets. They want all these fabulous interior accessories. Plain rollout shelves left with the Model T. Now the interiors are organized for plates and pots and pans in heavy-duty rollouts. Any base cabinet with a door is expected to have rollout shelves. Recycle centers are also in big demand. Appliance garages don’t use tambour doors any more but doors that pull out flat and then push in at the top.
From Sally Ann Sullivan, Certified Kitchen Designer
Showcase Kitchens and Baths
Tulsa, Oklahoma
www.kitchenandbathshowcase.com