I think it is more the style of the cabinet and the other elements in the kitchen (appliance finishes, flooring, counters) that determines whether the kitchen will fit the style of the house. I think white is pretty classic and it can fit in a traditional home or a modern home, again depending on the styling of the cabinet.

I think that the location of the home can determine whether to go white or not. I am a wood person, but I live in a cold climate and in the winter I pretty much spend most of my waking hours in the kitchen. For me, white would make me feel cold. Wood makes me feel warmer.

However, if I lived in a hot climate, or by the seashore, I could really see liking one of those white kitchens with the marble counters and backsplashes. The feel of those kitchens is fresh and cool, and in that environment , that is probably just what I would like.

Someone else actually called it a dialogue first, and I was agreeing :)

I will talk about a couple other houses on the street where I grew up because virtually all the houses had the kitchens they were built with, whenever that happened to be.

In the first house we lived in (and in several of my neighbors'), the kitchens were orange-y shellac'd ply cabinets with deco-streamline pulls (1940s)--and the other woodwork in the house was that same finish with Art Deco chrome and glass doorknobs. One 1955 house had (and still has) a birch kitchen with large saucer knobs, the 1955ish colonial revival house had a cherry "country kitchen" with copper accents. And, then my parents "new" house (1969) had a white "country kitchen" with black iron hardware and SS.

So all these houses had kitchens that fit with the house because they were built together.

The the 1955 colonial revival, and my parent's 1969 colonial revival could have any kind of traditional kitchen cabinet from any style-period subsequent to the time they were built, (including, probably, the 2000s white kitchen)--partly because the houses are revival architecture anyway. Both of them would look a little odd with a granite/slab doored/ bar pulled kitchen mostly because of the contrast with the formality of the rest of the house.

The other 1940s and 1950s vernacular houses (a mix of whatever was "contemporary" to the time with the same basic trim and hardware that was put in any house of the era) -- could look fine with any style of kitchen that came after what they had...Except the White kitchen that is a riff on 1910-1920s--because nothing else in those houses references anything from the past. They would probably look great with a contemporary kitchen because the original houses were "modern" at the time they were built---as opposed to the colonial revival houses.

It may seem that I am contradicting myself when I say a house can have any kind of kitchen style that is popular after the period of the house (as a natural evolution)--and then turn around and tell you what it *can't have.
But the 2000s white kitchen is a revival style. So, since it is referencing the past, it isnt always so compatible with a house that's from a period that clearly post-dates the reference.

To give an extreme example, I recently went to a real estate open house in a 1975ish high rise. Think the Bob Newhart show. Brown, with architectural bronze window frames and balconies/smoked glass. The apartment was a small one bedroom.

The brand new kitchen (which was part of this 70s-scaled living space) was a pale yellow Clive Christian paneled and corbeled, columned, mantled, and carved extravaganza with a double ogee edged granite and onyx counter...complete with the $8000 Subzero with the glass door. It could have been beautiful if it were in a kitchen the size of the entire apartment in a house that was architecturally compatible. But the rest of the apartment was waiting for Bob and Emily Hartley to walk in.

The problem arises when a particular room is considered in isolation (and they do this on design TV all the time). I am not suggesting that because the apartment was from the dark brown brutalist period that it has to have a brooding brown 70s kitchen--but there were a lot of better choices in the 2000s that would have been a better fit.

The problem arises when a particular room is considered in isolation...

Okay, that explains perfectly! I was wondering if my kitchen fit my house, and I think it does. Whew! lol.

When we first built the house the kitchen had dark cabinets and wood-grain look laminate countertops. I remember loving it. But as time went on the kitchen just kept getting smaller and smaller. Mostly because it wasn't all that large, just a standard size kitchen at the time. And we also had kitchen carpet. Oh, that got so gross and was replaced in no time!

I would love to see people post their white kitchens in this topic. I'm having a gosh awful time accessorizing mine.

If you all would post pictures I'd appreciate it. I know there's a kitchen gallery, but those pictures don't really show the kitchen once it's been "lived in" and the final accessories added. Although accessorizing is an ongoing thing.

I read the other post, but would prefer to post here. I live in CT in a colonial home, and a white kitchen would fit perfectly.....not! Due to the weak northeast light entering the windows (especially in this dreary winter), and my family's propensity to drip food/drink all over the place and not notice it, it would not fit in my home at all. Sometimes, no matter how much you love a certain design feature, ya just can't have it :(

Our kitchen fits our house. We have alot of warm wood pieces, hardwood floors (not in the kitchen), etc. IMO, a white kitchen would be too cool, or too stark for our house. Plus, we are both wood lovers. Our kitchen has never seemed dark or dreary because of wall and tile color, and lots of light (windows).

While I have seen white kitchens I think are pretty in other people's homes, I have never wanted one. HOWEVER, if we were to build again I might be swayed to painted cabinets with a glazed, distressed look. I'd go with a light shade on my cabinets (not sure if I'd do more of a creme or an actual color, perhaps a pale gray) and I'd do an island in probably a darker color. I'd do wood countertops on the island for sure - and possibly the other countertops. I'd get my wood fix and have something different and something my style too. Hee!!

Does this kitchen fit this house?

I read the post and started worrying that maybe my
kitchen does not fit my house.

The back splash is going to be changed to mini tiles
and there will be curtains once I figure what goes
in here.

I love my white kitchen. I used to have a modern slab
cabinet cherry with granite which was nice too but
I like my white. Old fashioned I guess.

thanks for your help and thanks for this topic.
~boxerpups

Well, there are white kitchens and then there are off-white kitchens!... I never would have considered myself a White Kitchen Type, but I guess I am. We took out a dark cherry/Uba Tuba granite kitchen and put in an off-white cabinet (w/ cherry island) kitchen w/ Wild West granite(med. green) counters. Wood floors. I think it goes with my house, but I also thought the cherry kitchen fit in just fine as well. My house is a center-entrance Colonial built in the 1920s. Now as I write, we are replacing the kitchen in our summer cottage -- getting rid of orangey oak 80s cabinets and beige formica and replacing it with white wood cabinets and honed black counters!

A pic of my off-white kitchen.

PS The stove and hood look more white in this pic, but they really almost exactly match the creamy off-white cabinets.

Boxerpups is that your house!? Beautiful.

I always wanted to brighten up my kitchen by changing the cabinets to white. You know when someone else redid the kitchen, but it's not what you would have done. Perfectly nice cabinets, but too dark for a small, dark kitchen.

I have a small, New England cape from the 50's.

Here is my new, partly finished, white kitchen. I accessorize with the things that I love. Yellow ware, antique blue onion canisters, antique magazine covers. If you fill you kitchen with things that have meaning to you, it will be warm and welcoming.

Boxerpups, your house is essentially a contemporary house with nods to the traditional. Its an American Vernacular style of house from the end of the 20th c. that doesn't really have a name yet:) (Just like the name Mid-Century Modern came much later).

I would call your kitchen "transitional" which means that it fits right in. Since the interior of your house is probably contemporary (scale wise), no matter what the detailing, and the facade could really be changed out to other historical references, you could pretty much put a white kitchen, a stained kitchen anything that was transitional and did not reference a pure style "too" much. (A full on "Craftsman" or "MCM" or "Tuscan" would be too specific.) However, if the facade of the house were vaguely "Tuscan" as it might be the Southwest...a vaquely Tuscan transitional kitchen could work. Since your house references "traditional" or "colonial" (which it references but isn't) --your transitional kitchen with traditional touches such as the dentil moulding is just fine.

Sueb, your kitchen is also a good fit for your house: more "modern" than the house itself, but a nice transitional reference to the colonial revival.

Remember this is all my opinion, but it is informed by looking at a lot of source materials.

Yours too, prill, we were cross posting, but your kitchen is very fitting to your house. That board-style door is perfect, and I wish people used it more...I could see it in knotty pine too, although I know that would be dark:)

Thank you Prill, yes it's my house.
Are you covered with snow? We have some coming down now.

And Pamplist,
You are a wonder, truly thank you for your help. I have
always wondered what this house was. It is funny because
I see myself as traditional but married to a contemporary
guy. I guess this is us.
I would love to see kitchens and the outside of their
homes to see if they match. I never thought of any of
this until this wonderful post.
Thank OP..Poster.
~boxerpups

Here are my outside and inside.

(This pic is especially for those still under construction, hopefully you'll appreciate)

Thanks everyone for showing pictures of your kitchens! Mine is below which I'm sure everyone is getting tired of looking at! lol.

I've accessorized differently, but it's still a work in progress.

I'll be gone all day tomorrow but I expect to come home to more beautiful pictures! :)

Seg honey...that kitchen is far too inappropriate when you take into consideration your current "facilities" situation (I notice you're going with a very sleek and compact restroom there in front of the house....) :oP

(Otherwise it's gorgeous....are you there often? I could scoop it up when you're out of town and replace mine heh heh

Oakey I love that floor. It's like butterscotch carmels waiting to be licked up....ok maybe I'm hungry...

Every once in a while you see a pearl of wisdom that spits out into a thread about whatever....this is one of my favoriates:

"If you fill you kitchen with things that have meaning to you, it will be warm and welcoming."

I've just moved into a furnished and accessorized home so I'm sensative to this right now...everything was theirs, not mine, nor something I loved so when I came home I felt I was entering a hotel daily. Every day as I open boxes and put my stuff out...I start to feel more at home :)

And I don't even have a kitchen to turn white LOL

Seg

That is a gorgeous kitchen! Very warm and welcoming.

I was the one who talked about the kitchen having a dialogue with the house over on kitchens. My degree is in historic preservation, so I am very aware and in tune with the architecture, history, and historical references to architectural styles. When you "listen" to a house, AND follow your heart, your spaces will always read as inviting, warm, and appropriate.

Appropriate can be such a loaded term though- I often find that some people think that term is used to undermine another person's choices, but it means so many things. It means considering the size and scale, proportion, light and color, architectural ornament or lack thereof, line and weight, materials and finishes, location (compass direction, rural/subs/urban, region), age of the home and age of the occupants, and function. When adding onto an existing home, or just changing the current one, I think palimpset hit the nail right on the head: one cannot consider a room in isolation. It must, flow, blend, mesh, etc. with the rest of the house.

I love that Seg has an extra bath so nicely decorated for
the holidays. And to think her guests can come use the
bathroom try to search the medicine cabinet and never
have to enter her home. This would be perfect for nosy
Aunt Betty. And no one has to have her sit a the dinner
table.
We should all be so lucky.
~boxerpups

I love seeing all these beautiful spaces. My house is very similar to Boxerpups, so I am glad to know what that style is! I don't have a single room that is painted white or off-white. I love to be surrounded by colors. But then I don't accessorize like a lot of people seem to do. I enjoy picking out the big stuff functional stuff, but I am at a loss when it comes to the small touches. I think white kitchens are gorgeous and elegant, but I would feel awkward in such a refined space.

I am tearing out my builder grade hickory kitchen to make room for the larger appliances that I want for cooking. I would say I am doing a transitional/traditional kitchen with stained woods. So, hopefully my kitchen will fit my house, but we are pushing out the back outer wall to make it fit! Lookin for my happy place:)!

Ok I want to play too. Not sure what the name of the style of my house is on the exterior but I think my kitchen and interior flows well with my homes exterior.

{{gwi:1587932}}

What an interesting thread!

I have to agree with Amberly and palimpset. It's so important to tie the whole house together. IMHO the exceptions would be a kid's bedroom (I've been newly convinced of this by my teen daughter :) and possibly a private room off the main circulation area, such as a studio or (in my case!) master bathroom. But even there, nods to the rest of the house are important.

I love white kitchens, especially the cozy, simpler farmhouse type. Maybe someday we'll have an actual old farmhouse, and I can have my white kitchen. But it just never would have worked in our current house (1956 brick ranch.) The house's original style (horizontally-divided windows, front door was probably one of those with the diagonal 3 small windows, etc) had already been diluted by a PO trying to colonial-ize it with 6/6 windows, shutters, and a refaced kitchen in raised panel whitewashed oak. That felt as wrong as a white country kitchen would have. Since we didn't want to revert to the overtly 50's style (can you even get those windows anymore?) we strove to find a style that didn't fight the 50's lines. Our solution is a sort of "modern cottage" which I guess is called transitional (???).

Since we designed the kitchen first, it's leading the other renovations. We chose simple shaker-style natural cherry with no columns or elaborate moldings; marble counters and a big cherry-topped island. A Tuscan or heavily ornamentd white kitchen never would have worked in this home. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb and just felt really wrong. I'm glad that wasn't what I had my heart set on!!!

FWIW, my last kitchen was actually quite different from the rest of the home, but it DID work. I personally feel that inserting clean-lined modern in an older home with strong character can work beautifully. Perhaps because I grew up in a Victorian 1880's home, fairly grand with it's woodwork, but our furniture was a mix of modern classics (Alvar Aalto, 60's scandinavian, Marcel Breur, etc. and old family heirloom antiques. The kitchen (by my Dad, an architect who went to school in the 60's) was quite modern with slab-birch cabinets. This mixture worked so well!!!

In our last home, we did something similar. It was a 1920's Sears kit house, hip-roofed foursquare with hardwood floors and old doublehung windows with top divided glass, built-ins, and nice trim. Our furniture was modern (50's and 60's scandinavian mostly) and the kitchen, when we redid it, was Ikea slabfront birch like my childhood kitchen. But we didn't delete the old details in the room, moldings and window grids, so it didn't look like we were trying to change the house.

I think it's easier to mix styles like this when you put new/stark/modern into an antique (40's or older?) home. It is done all the time in Europe where slick glossy Italian kitchens are installed in fantastically detailed very old homes. I also prefer modern done this way, rather than totally new and stark, because the house's architectural details soften the hardness of the modern.

The worst thing, IMHO (and my apologies if any readers here have this! There is something to be said for just doing what makes you happy, too!) is when a style that's completely foreign and has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the home, is inserted into it. Such as when an elaborate, glazed, massively crown-molded kitchen -or a very rustic French Country- is built in an otherwise unremarkable builder-grade 80's house. Ugh.

WOW! What gorgeous kitchens (and gorgeous homes)! I love this topic!

Our home is a mish-mash of styles, I'm afraid. I don't really know what to call it. I usually say it's Southern Victorian, but I've also heard that it has Georgian influences. I'm sure it's probably breaking all the rules! It's still not entirely finished, as we will be adding "gingerbread trim", porch skirting and more landscaping sometime in the near future. And we cheated in our kitchen, as it is half cream/half stained. It may be trendy, but I couldn't see having a cream island knowing the kids would use it so much (and I really wanted a cream kitchen).

Here's the house:

And here's the kitchen/nook:

I think "inserted" is the correct word staceyneil.

With the mid-to-large development house (or for that matter a high-rise apartment building), the exterior may have little to do with the interior, by nature. I may be mistaken, but both Boxer's and Roseabbey's house are probably available from the planner with a different facade that doesn't really change the footprint of the house. For example, Boxer's could easily have a Tudor Revival facade.

In these cases (and especially in the large highrise), the interior can kind of become anything, because it's a blank slate. However, the more it varies from the overall spirit of the house, the more comprehensive it has to be. If the outside of your house is vaguely 'tuscan', you don't need to have a 'tuscan' kitchen (and the builder probably didn't supply one)--but if you are going 'craftsman', it better be more than just the kitchen that is addressed.

So, the 1980s neo-Chrysler building in my city that used to be offices and is now residences can have any kind of interior the owner wants, it doesn't need to be Deco. Likewise, people who live in The Dakota don't have Gothic kitchens.

I can think of two examples of the outside varying from the inside--one effective, one not so much. Both from Architectural Digest:

The first was a low-rise condominium with a vaguely Colonial Revival Exterior (White clapboard, red brick and shutters). The condos started contemporary inside (vaulted ceiling), but had vaguely colonial detailing (fluted trim and six panel doors). The homeowners gutted and did a completely contemporary interior including an entire wall of Core-Ten steel (thick steel plates that oxidize and rust). It was so comprehensive that it worked. It was also more true to the actual interior volumes than the colonial exterior.

The flip side was a 19th c farmhouse in upstate NY that was restored on the exterior to Shaker simplicity--nice, although probably revisionist: a bit too 19th c shaker.

But, the homeowners also admired Green & Green. So the downstairs of the house completely replicated what was going on the the Gamble House. On top of this they had a collection of American Deco furniture. The juxtaposition of the six-over-six windows, the horizontal banded paneling and the cobalt plush furniture was all very jarring.

Palimpest, our house was a custom from the get go. My husband and I drew sketches of the exterior and layout we wanted for this house, no builder or planner was involved here,truly custom, that is why I not sure what the exterior implies as to style of house...is there such a thing as a "mutt" home?

Interesting thread. I agree with pal and others. When we gutted the 1980 kitchen in our 1920s house 3 years ago, we put in a 1920s style kitchen. Nothing else would have looked right to me. And it won't ever be dated and need remodeling.

"I love that Seg has an extra bath so nicely decorated for
the holidays. ..."

:-) But I never really worried (until this thread) that its, uh, architectural style was a misfit with the rest of the house. Next time I'll ask for a two-holer with the crescent moon cutout and everything.

You all are amazing! I have learned more about kitchens in this post than in all of the odds and ends of courses I have taken at the local community college! oh, and about bathrooms too :^)
Thank you so much for posting Oakley and to the rest of you for being so thoughtful and smart!
J

Boxer's, Roseabbey's, and Hoosiergirl's would be all be classified right now by many as American Eclectic or maybe American Vernacular Eclectic. And since they are all different, you can see that its not very descriptive. Boxers has New England Farmhouse and Colonial references, Hoosier's has Classical, Victorian, and vaguely Gothic references, and Roseabbey's is mostly Contemporary at its core--and all the kitchens are transitional, essentially--which is eclectic.

I think Segbrown's house has the strongest interior-exterior connection, but I think that this is because it has the simplest "identity", if that makes any sense.

All of you have such beautiful homes! Thank you for sharing. I love looking at pictures.
Segbrown-I especially admire your beautiful home as it looks VERY similar to the house I grew up in.

I couldn't resist jumping on board here. I've always wondered what style my home is. It's obviously a split level colonial, but not a colonial revival-so is it really a colonial?

Anyhow, I'm not sure our new kitchen matches the style of the home. What do you think?

BTW-I have always loved white kitchens. The house I grew up in had white cabinetry and, well, living in the PNW can be so depressing because of the weather my eyes crave "light".
We will be painting the house this summer and the shutters and door are black now

Your kitchen is very similar to one done by Candice Olson. I remember seeing it a while back...what is your regret about the footprint? Moving the door?

Your house is pretty much a pure split which is a mid-20th century invention...the "colonial" only resides in the shutters and the door surround.

In essence I think this is the kind of paired down esthetic that works in these houses. The shaker door has kind of transcended its roots: a true shaker door would have a small wooden knob that had a tenon through the door. Now we see them with bar pulls, and it works.

Despite the fact that its a white kitchen with soapstone, it could also be a maple kitchen with granite and it would still work. I think the white works better (in Your house) because the other woodwork in the house is painted.

Palimpsest-Thanks for your response. I have french doors in DR but did not want kids going in and out of the DR doors and so insisted keeping a door in the kitchen. I should have left the L shape, added a peninsula in which I would have put bar stools on the other side, and completely taken down the wall between DR and kitchen. Now I have a raised bar that takes up space in the DR and it's a small DR at that. The raised bar is also small, not big enough to seat all three of my kids. Also, to make matters worse our table extends to a square. I've made the one eating space in my home small and never feel like having people over to entertain because of this. Sorry for the rant.
Also, I thouht mabey my house was called "colonial" because of the pillars and ornate stair rail and perhaps the firepalce?-No?

I guess in answer to the original post I am not sure what type of house suits a white kitchen. Perhaps I should have done mid century modern. I just did what I wanted and think it turned out fine.

Megpie:

The original builders did put colonial details throughout the house it appears (stairwell and mantle, for example). The height and a half porch roof is kinda "southern plantation" which I guess existed in the colonial period:)

Americans like traditional details but modern floorplans, thats why it all gets mixed.

I think the white kitchen is very suited to your house...you could have done MCM but that may not have worked with the other details you have. --I think your new kitchen fits in better, perhaps, than the old one. I am sorry the floorplan is not working how you expected because it certainly looks nice:)

This has been so informative to me. I have been wondering about the direction I should take my kitchen in. We moved into a 1969 Tudor Revival in the midwest. The floor plan is relatively open, with a formal living and dining room. However, the kitchen is one large rectangle that also includes the family room and a fireplace. I am thinking about painted cabinets, possible a warm gray, with white trim. Do you think this look could work or should I try to focus on a Tudor look? And what is a Tudor look? Any ideas or suggestions would be wonderful!

Andrea

{{gwi:1596640}}

Megpie,
I love your kitchen and your house is wonderful.
All the little details in your kitchen are stunning.
I think I told you this over in kitchens but if I did not
I'll say it again.
You have a gorgeous kitchen.
~boxerpups

Atwhitten,

A "modern" Tudor Revival house from the first time around (1910s-1940, roughly) would have had whatever "sanitary kitchen" was going into the houses at the time. (There were Victorian houses that were Tudor, Elizabethan, Tudorbethan mixes--and the kitchen would have been a victorian service area that was utilitarian most likely)

The Tudor Revival of c.1970 is sometimes called "Mock Tudor", perhaps because the scale is that of a modern house with the historic wrappings.

Is the original 1969 kitchen in the house? What does it look like? What is the style of the fireplace? Does the house have dark woodwork? Are there any beamed ceilings or references like that on the interior?

Such pretty kitchens. :) Oakley, love your kitchen floor. Have you ever seen kgwlisa's checkerboard? Gorgeous.

Amberley and Pal, I've enjoyed reading your take on things.

Megpie, your kitchen is very pretty. I hate to hear it hasn't worked out for you as planned in day to day living.

During construction, DH was afraid we were going to end up without a kitchen. I lost count of kitchen designers, showrooms and custom cabinetmakers I called visits or tried to work with... but I was determined the kitchen turn out exactly like I envisioned. We don't move often (last time was 20+ years ago) and it's visible to numerous areas, so I wanted it like I wanted it. Is that too much for a girl to ask?! lol

I don't post pictures of the complete front of our home, but it's called a European cottage by our architect. We live in a horse community, so everyone has acreage. It's my "farmhouse." This is the garage, stone goes across front of/on front veranda and sidewalks. House is a mortar washed brick (like the portion of wall you see):

Interior and exterior have stone, cedar beams and copper. I think the kitchen blends in well:

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen photos

Thanks for the follow up. The mock tudor sounds right. All of the woodwork is painted white. We have a kono bamboo floor throughout. No beams, the fireplace is surrounded with a built-in bookcase on each side. The kitchen is original as far as layout, but appliances have been updated in the late 80's, as well as the cabinets being painted a lovely peach.

Since we moved in, we painted the hallway aganthus green by bm, and the dining room is bm mushroom cap. The living room hasn't been tackled yet. I think we might be okay with a french gray. I want it to be traditional, but with a hint of modern glamour.

Thanks,
Andrea

Wow...beautiful homes and kitchens everyone!

I also have a white kitchen...very simple. I would have done it differently had I been the owner when home was being built.ie.full-height cabinets, some glass doors (I still could do), marble counters and shaker-style doors.
Oh...and while I'm at it, I'd still like to blow out the back wall and have double french doors/windows all along the back. (Extend the space into /outdoor 'living' room)
Sigh...

Anyways, style of home...Georgian??

I just now had time to read the whole thread and look at all the great pics. I too think that the kitchen takes on the desired look as you accessorize with your special things. I had never done a kitchen design and never lived in a Victorian so I am pleased that the kitchen in this 1890 Bungalow turned out as well as it did. I have lots of N.O. art on the walls now and the touches of green and yellow are all French from my DS1 and DIL when they were there visiting. Very eclectic look throughout the whole house. But I like it so that is what ends up being the most important. A couple pics starting outside and then inside:

front porch in Spring :

{{gwi:643970}}

front porch in Summer:

back garden outside sunroom/kitchen:

{{gwi:699484}}

kitchen views:

without island:

{{gwi:612431}}

with island ( really speaks to the Victorian busy cooking feeling I wanted )

through kitchen and out through sunroom to the backgarden ( shows flow)

I love this thread... it's inspiring to peep at other people's houses, isn't it? I especially like Lisa's kitchen, but I can't pick a favorite, they are all lovely.

Trailrunner... I've always loved your kitchen, it definitely looks welcoming and like someplace I'd want to hang out! I wanted to ask you specifically about your island, though. Is that a John Boos worktable? How do you decide to use that instead of an island built of cabinetry? I'm considering using one as an island in my upcoming remodel, but I can't make up my mind whether to use one with the shelf underneath, or no shelf, with a center support, so stools can be pushed underneath. Do you use yours mainly as work space, or do you eat around it also? Thanks!

This is great fun and very educational. Thanks Oakley, for posting, and Pal for the crash course!

When I moved to Florida, my dream was to have one of the Med Revival houses built in the 20's. But they were expensive and the layouts were not too functional for families. But, I was infected by the psuedo-Tuscan kitchen bug in the process. What I really thought I wanted was kind of a down-market shabby European look. And I hoped I could tweak the exterior of wherever I lived into looking a bit European.

I ended up living here:

Luckily for me, our renovation was stalled for a year due to illness. Having the time to really think things through, I realized I needed to "have the dialogue" with the house and started to look at slab doors...not so easy to find in 2005, if you can imagine. I realized I needed to just run with the more contemporary feeling of he house -- not try to make it into something it wasn't. This is what I ended up with and I think the conversation was successful.

I too am loving this thread. It's great to see what everyone has done on the inside related to the outside. Seems more complete than just the regular finished photos.

I love it, too, and Segbrown, I have to tell you that I drool when I see your kitchen! I'd love to see more photos. (I think I'd love your whole house from the sneak peek of the family room above.)

This is a very educational topic and is really eyeopening. Amy that entrance area and then the kitchen do flow beautifully. I haven't seen one kitchen that doesn't "look" like it belongs ! Great fun.

amanda: it is a Tabco work table which is way way less expensive than the John Boos tables but has a wonderful maple top. They are commercial tables. I wanted a work table made from reclaimed heart pine, which I already owned. I couldn't get anyone local to make me one. I posted on the Kitchen forum trying to find one already made and locally I asked everyone I knew. The already made ones were way too expensive and someone to use my wood ended up being impossible.

I didn't want anything that couldn't be moved, just in case I had need to open the area again for whatever reason or in the case of a special table I would want to take it with me if I moved ( god forbid !)

I love having the shelf as that is where I keep some cookbooks and also my cutting boards and salad spinner and a couple large cast iron pots.

We do have 2 stools that we pull up to it for conversation and also eating. They do not go under an overhang but still they are not really in the way. I can also move them and put them at the coffee counter and they go completely under it. We are just us 2 most days so it isn't a problem. You need to probably look at your traffic flow as well as clearance for walking and see what you decide. If this was a more modern setting and I had wider clearances I probably would have a fixed island...there was one in the kitchen when we bought the house. But when I opened the fireplace and added the gas stove it made it closer and I think if I were selling the house I would remove the island work table. Hope this helps your decision. c

Thanks, hoosiergirl. We are so happy with how it turned out. My reveal was in this thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: segbrown kitchen

Thanks so much for the link, Segbrown! I loved viewing your beautiful home!!

I'm loving ALL of the kitchens posted and am drooling over some of the homes,lol. The homes are so different than what we have here in the Toronto area.

Segron-I also wanted to comment that I just absolutely love your large island, the glass cabinets and the large apron sink. Beautiful! (not to mention your home makes me homesick for the Can East Coast where I grew up...similiar style)

Trailrunner-I just love your large front porch! I could see hanging out there all the time...mmm...a good book and a bevvie...is summer almost here, lol??

As you can see in all these great and various kitchens, I think the white shaker (or stained shaker door, too) has become a real crossover: its simplicity allows it to be used in a lot of different houses successfully, and its the combination of Other materials and finishes that makes it traditional, transitional or contemporary.

Amyrsq, your new kitchen probably has a better dialogue with the house than the original, because the materials and appliances are sleeker than they were 50 years ago. Early modernism predated some of the materials that were key to pulling the look off. Even in your kitchen, though the slab door is perfect, a shaker door would work, if it were in the same finishes you have chosen. I think shaker is a chameleon.

Pal, I never saw the original kitchen in my Florida house. I think I got some later incarnation from the 80's complete with cabinets over the peninsula, a dropped ceiling and gobs of fluorescents. Even though I was happy to rip out this kitchen, it was probably still more appropriate than anything resembling Med Revival would have been.

Oakleyok- White kitchens can encompass so many styles and types of homes.

For me, a white (or light cream) kitchen is perfect for a little farmhouse in the country. It's a simple house, with a living room that has a big rose colored brick fireplace. A room for living, with the TV, games, comfy seating, lots of bookshelves and storage and a place for the Christmas tree. There's a bedroom on the main floor and a couple upstairs. There's a porch on the back and the kitchen is a country kitchen, where everyone gathers to eat, talk, cook, etc.

I plan to have the cabinets painted a warm white/cream color with antique brass pulls. The island will be beadboard painted a soft blue. I'd like a tile backsplash with white and blue ceramic tiles...kind of french or dutch looking. The countertops would be blue solid/surface, with the same thing in white on the island. Wood floors are great, but I want a nice quality vinyl that looks like wood (remember, I'm living on a farm here).

I dream of having a little dark blue wood stove (with the glass insert door) in the corner and an L-shaped banquette with widows above, by the stove. A big wooden round table (there's an antique pedestal table saved for this) with a couple of wooden chairs cozy up to the banquette. Fabric valances will soften the windows and a few different patterns will be on the banquette for pillows, chair seat covers, stool covers at the island, etc. A big bookcase holds cookbooks, baskets and china. Plants and potted herbs are here and there and a large window over the sink looks out onto the glass/screen porch. To me, that's the kind of home that has a white kitchen :)