As long as they relate to each other in general spirit, I do not think they have to be the same at all.

No.

In fact even the bathrooms dont have to match each other.

I would go crazy with the bathrooms... everyone has their own style. Personally, I like my bathrooms to be different from the kitchen/dining/living rooms. I definitely have fun with bathrooms when it comes to sink selection, countertop surfaces, and wall/bath tiles. Have fun! :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: bathrooms matching kitchens?

kwortman, your "link that might be useful" is sucking any bit of credibility your advice might have on these forums right down the drain and into the septic tank...

I go back and forth on this issue. My style is a relaxed traditional/country style. My kitchen is French country. I am going to remodel the hall bathroom which is visible from the kitchen/family/dining great room. So part of me wants to keep it traditional, but part of me likes the European IKEA Godmorgan vanity because of its storage footprint. The traditional vanities just don't have nearly the room of the Euro vanities. And, once you do make a choice of vanity, it does constrain the other choices.

I don't think the bathroom and kitchen cabinets have to match or be from the same cabinet company. Having said that, I agree with you that you don't want a "hodgepodge".

I would pick what you like for the bathroom, but also think long term.

If the bathroom is off the kitchen it should have the same paint, or at least a close complementary color. But vanities don't have to match the kitchen cabinetry.

In bathrooms in areas away from the kitchen you can (and should) change the paint color from the kitchen. Too much sameness is not a good idea.

Greg

Thank you all for the encouragement. The furniture in our bedrooms is very eclectic and nothing like what we have in the living and dining rooms. (Master bedroom is Bernhardt Paris collection: Art Deco inspired, lots of curves, dark red cherry veneers and nickel accents.) When we furnished our first house, we bought furniture for the rooms one at a time as we saw stuff we liked that was high quality construction and on sale for a good price. I have friends whose houses are very cohesively decorated in the same style throughout the whole house, so I sometimes wonder if we made a mistake. However, I do like each individual room, and the bedrooms are not visible from the formal entertaining spaces and vice versa.

I think my concern with the kitchen and baths in this house is more about re-sale than our personal taste. We've made a larger investment this time, so it worries me more.

The kitchen and bathrooms are not close to each other. The house is long and narrow (like the lot). The guest bath is at the east/front end of the house. The kitchen is about two-thirds of the way down, and the master suite, including our bath, is at the far west end of the house, facing the backyard and the ocean. It sounds like you all think I am safe to go different directions with the 3 rooms since they are not visible from each other.

I do like the idea of doing something fun and modern in the bathrooms. I also like the style of the Godmorgan vanities. We might do something similar, but will probably go custom to get a taller 38" high vanity with more storage for our bath since we are tall (and there is only room for a 42" wide vanity).

Greg, your comment about the paint colors is interesting. You would hate the current color scheme, or I should say lack of color, in this house. The former owners painted every room Navajo White, so we have to work on that.

For installed items like kitchen cabinets or bath fixtures, I'd pick a general style that suits the whole house. Not that the same colors or finishes or materials need to be used in all the rooms. But mixing a ultra modern kitchen with a Victorian bath may someday hurt resale. Better to express your personal tastes with furniture, paint and other things easily or cheaply changed.

I would love it if my house did not look like it was all decorated on the same day or even the same year. A home evolves over time and what one does in it and what one owns should reflect growth.
I have mostly old antiques, anywhere from 200+ -70 years old.
Our house was built in 1950 as a tract house with no character and none added over the years. There were no cool MCM touches or if there were, they were taken out for very bland cheap finishes throughout.
We are going with a lot of clean lines and a 1930-1940s vibe. Kinda Deco, sorta modern, as if someone from then owned old stuff but was modernizing as they went along.
I love each piece of old furniture and would never part with any of it, but am decorating in a different style that will work with it somehow. I'd hate to feel locked into a look or time period with no room for creativity.
I'd also hate to be matchy matchy and have my chance at decorating begin and end with one look. Doing more than one room gives me a chance to use several pretty colors, different tile choices and unique schemes. Our palette will work well together as we recently put all our paint choices in a grouping on the table and nothing clashed or was out of place. Yet we will have many different shades working different vibes as you go through our house (currently white from p.o.'s, ugh).
I just wish I had more rooms and esp more kitchens to decorate as I love putting it all together. If I had to make one choice of wall color, one cab color or one floor choice, that would take a lot of fun out.
Our only uniform themes will be the use of chrome for hardware & fixtures and white for moldings. We will be putting a contemporary couch set in our new den, yet also have a more traditional living room and entirely different style couches and seating there. Our coffee and end tables will have nothing in common between the 2 rooms either.
The den floor will be a tile with a pattern in it (a faux tile area rug) and the living room will have wood floors.
It may sound hodge podge to someone else, but when it comes together, I just can visualize how comfortable and homey it will be.
I'd be mortified if someone thought I copied a JC Penny's catalog or even the Restoration hardware catalog I drool over, lol.
This is your chance to make your home personal and special. Have some fun and throw a little quirky in, but mostly enjoy the decorating because we are lucky to be able to do it and you may not get many more big re-dos once it is done!