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Country Kitchen or Modern? Six Design Considerations to Help You Decide

Remodeling your kitchen is exciting, but it can also be difficult to decide exactly what you want. Will a cozy country kitchen become the heart of your home, or is a sleek, modern kitchen more your style? Since you’re investing time and money into your remodeling project, you understandably want to make sure you choose a design you’ll love for years to come. Here are six design considerations to help you decide.

1. Overall Feel

First, you need to consider the overall feeling you want from your kitchen. Do you find sleek, clean, horizontal lines exhilirating? Or would you prefer a cozier, more rustic style that invites your family and friends to sit and have a long chat over meals? Do you like to have everything out of sight, or do you enjoy displaying pots, canisters, utensils, and decorative items?

If you would rather have a sleek, streamlined kitchen, a modern style is best for you. In contrast, if you’d like your kitchen to feel warm and cozy, a country style is a better choice.

2. Range

Your range is often a focal point in the kitchen, so you’ll want it to match the overall design. A cast iron range cooker is the quintessential choice for a country kitchen, but you can also create a country style with a brightly-colored range, or well-chosen neutral colors. On the other hand, stainless steel is the go-to option for a modern kitchen.

Remember, your range hood will also factor into the look of your kitchen. That’s why we offer custom range hoods and vents to match your cabinets and overall design.

3. Colors

Colors play a big part in creating the style you’re looking for. A modern kitchen typically uses black, grey, or white, in combination with stainless steel appliances. On the other hand, a country kitchen may make use of white elements for an airy feel, add brighter colors like blues or yellows, or focus on the wooden elements, by featuring glazed or stained maple, hickory, or oak.

4. Lighting

Your choice of lighting will also impact your kitchen’s style. Modern kitchens typically feature bright lighting that accentuates the sleek lines and smooth surfaces of the kitchen. Additionally, modern kitchens typically have few fixtures, so recessed lighting is often a good choice. Conversely, country kitchens often opt for warmer lighting, decorative fixtures, and plenty of natural light.

5. Accents and Hardware

Your choice of accents and hardware can make or break your look. If you prefer a minamalist style, a modern kitchen will work well for you. Modern kitchens typically include slim, sleek hardware and few, if any, accents. On the other hand, if you enjoy decorative accents and hardware, a country kitchen is the perfect choice. You’ll be able to add tons of charm through decorative accents and hardware like wrought iron fixtures, wire mesh, a butler’s sink, brass rails, and colored tiles.

6. Cabinets

Cabinets may be the most important design element in your kitchen. They take up much of your kitchen’s space, so getting them right is crucial. If you’ve decided that you prefer a modern, sleek look, you’ll typically want cabinets that have flat surfaces to create a streamlined effect. You may choose not to include visible hardware, or opt for thin, horizontal cabinet pulls that follow the same sleek lines as the rest of your kitchen.

More partial to a provincial or farmhouse atmosphere? Raised panel doors, decorative glass panels, and wire mesh will all add to the country appeal of your kitchen. Consider featuring a custom pantry with barn doors, or a cold larder to infuse your kitchen with old-time country charm.

Whether you choose to have a country kitchen or a modern one, Edgewood Cabinetry is here to help. We’ll work with you to help you design cabinets that fit perfectly with the style you want to achieve.  And with our plethora of custom options, you can be certain your kitchen cabinets will offer every functional element you need in a style you love. Contact us here to get started.

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Less is More in Modern Kitchen Designs

You’ve probably seen those ads on television, with the table that gets smaller when the man pushes on it, or the car weaving its way through the legs of dinosaurs. It seems that American companies are finally catching on to the fact that Americans are no longer focused on “bigger is better” like we used to be. There are a number of reasons for this trend, ranging from our still-struggling economy to concerns for the environment and sustainability. Regardless of the reasons, there is no question that today, less is more.
For example, statistics show that, after decades of building ever-larger homes, Americans are now saying that they prefer their homes to be a little smaller. Not tiny, of course, but it seems that the cost of building, maintaining, heating and cooling “McMansions” is finally getting the American homeowner’s attention. This does not, however, mean that the home of the future will shrink to the homes of 100 years ago. What we are recognizing, as a culture, and in the building industry, is that we now have the tools and awareness to be much more efficient with what we design, craft and build.
This is certainly true when it comes to kitchen cabinets. In recent years we’ve begun installing just about everything inside of those cabinets, from pull-out trash cans and spice racks to complicated shift and slide systems that allow every inch of cabinet space in the deep back corner of a kitchen to be totally filled and completely accessible. This means that cabinets are capable of holding much more than they used to, while still being strong, beautiful and a pleasing focal point to any kitchen.
Counter space has also been transformed by these efforts. Many of the appliances and dry goods storage bins that used to live on kitchen counters now fit into specifically designed spaces within cabinets and cupboards. With sufficient counter space now available for use in food preparation and cooking, kitchens do not need to grow any larger, and can sometimes even shrink slightly in size.
To learn about the “more” we are putting into our custom kitchen cabinets, contact us today.

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