The best way to not have a dated kitchen is to match the style of kitchen to the style and age of the house.

I agree with the comments... I do think many homes can pose a challenge to hit that "match" because they are not built as any particular style? Ours is a cheesy 70s "contemporary" which was originally built with some very ornate raised panel built ins...which struck me as unexpected (sorry, don't have photos). The shag carpet, brown wood trim, peach paint, black bathroom and mirrored walls all made "sense" (but we have removed them). Subsequent owners seemed to want a more colonial feel and put in fixtures that reflected that....we removed those too. Our house wouldn't look right with the sleek modern photo posted above, but trying to hit the right balance is challenge! And yes, my kitchen remodel (now 13 years old) wansn't stylish back then, looks even less so now...with the passage of time, everything will look dated. Whether its in an historic and classic way -- haha! Only time will tell.

What style kitchen fits with a brick front, hip roof, built in 1980 colonial style house? In my mind there is more than one option but I"m curious what others would say.

Most of us would not want a kitchen at all resembling a 100-year old kitchen, for example.

I have trouble imagining a kitchen that would truly not seem dated at all in 20 years. I think it's just a fact that these very expensive spaces are not likely to age well.

I agree. I have an old house. I have painted cabinets and a marble countertop. I have uppers with glass doors. More of a Butler's pantry look than a kitchen but it does fit my 1920s house and I've even had people on tour make the comment that we have the "original" kitchen (obviously they were not experts) and although it isn't (it's that builder's grade 80s oak cabinets which we DID NOT put in but which we DID paint!) it feels like it "belongs"!

I think when you take a house and make it something it's not -- a Tuscan style kitchen in a raised ranch it is trendy and while everyone may oooh and aah over it in the beginning it tires easily.

I think the trend for no uppers only shelves will not last. I don't know about you but how can you reach and use those items on the top shelf easily and if you're not reaching them you're not washing them and even the dishes in my upper cabinets get cruddy when I don't use them (and I don't use them much).

And people tend to "style" those shelves -- six plates, four cups, a figurine or two, 4 glasses when you can have ALL of your dishes in a cabinet with doors -- may not look as "stylish" but isn't function important?

I also think the trend for big pendants over islands or peninsulas will not last. I'm not saying you might not have lights over them just that they won't be two big honking pendants.

But I'm very traditional and old fashioned in my designs perhaps because I live in a traditional old fashioned house.

If something like this is the house, then Modern will always work. Its part of the architecture.

All of these 60 year old kitchens still look perfect in a house like the above.

Storybook is so right about things that get overdone. Then the combo of overdone and natural wear and tear can make a space look tired. I am most fond of kitchens / spaces that have a little originality, even if it is not my style - at least it shows some creativity.

When I was younger, designers encouraged keeping expensive hard to change surfaces neutral and adding color and style with easier to change art, accessories, wall color and window treatments. What I don't like about the gray trend is how much has been done with hard to change surfaces - gray floors, gray counters, gray back splash, gray cabinets - though some of the grays that read green or blue I actually really like. The current minimalism keeps window treatments and decor at a minimum, further making some spaces feel gloomy. Gray can be pretty in small doses - but I am glad i don't have gray cabinets and floors - especially after this particularly gloomy winter.

jhmarie--I think the people with the gray floors and counters think they are are choosing neutrals.

Gray is neutral but man is it a depressing color up here in the northern latitudes. Gray floors would be tolerable for me, but I couldn't live with gray cabinets or gray walls, I'd be walking around in a perpetual funk.

I grew up in an old house with solid wood painted cabinets. Very plain, very solid. They were painted several times to match kitchen redos in wall coverings and flooring and also the lighting ceiling and table and chairs that were in there. You would have to pay a pretty penny for custom made solid hardwood cabinets these days. I think the idea of neutral, paintable cabinets and neutral countertops has "gone out of style" specifically because it was too flexible and so contractors and their pal interior designers had to come up with the moniker "dated" so that everyone would want to tear them out and replace them with veneer stuff that can't be easily painted. Heck they don't even make the good paint anymore . . . and when folks get sick of that stuff they will have to tear it all out again. If I had an older home with the original kitchen cabinets made out of real wood, no way in heck would I ever tear them out. A million ways to change them up. The wood grain look is bound to come back soon so that everyone will have to get new veneer cabinets. Although maybe not, because the first thing they can do is put upper cabinets in all the kitchens with dusty dirty open shelving.

Changing out a 20 year old backsplash or counter does not necessarily break the bank, but it would be nice if cabinets could be designed to last decades. I do think that white or wood in shaker or raised panels are in their way timeless - sometimes more or less in style, but one can work with either. One cannot work with a bad layout.

I hope the "science" of what makes a good layout can be decided on and stick around. My layout is from the 70's and works great. (Ice, water, stone, fire - meaning: fridge, sink, prep space, range) I was binge watching old This Old House episodes a while back. The kitchen designers often introduced "new" and better kitchen layouts. For a while the "station" idea - a cooking station, a washing station, a prep station - all in their own separate space - and a hassle to move items from one station to another. Then the cooktop in the (usually small) island phase - so one could assist with homework while browning beef (the age of multitasking) - producing greasy homework, burnt beef and smelly kitchen due to poor ventilation:) Then the huge kitchen phase (still in this a bit) where one burns off many calories running from fridge to sink to range all at least 15 ft. apart - and often running around a barrier island at the same time:)

If the layout is good, it is not nearly as expensive to change things up.

Yeah, layout tends to be the bigger problem. At least in the mid-Atlantic, there seems to be a recurring theme where homes built from about the late 1970s until the mid 1980s may be fairly spacious, 2500 ft.² or more, but have these tiny, unworkable kitchens.

To the point where two people can’t fit in there at the same time and do anything.

Some things are cheap and tacky the moment they're put in because they're mass-produced, although they have the gloss of the new that somewhat hides that. If something is done simply, with good materials and restrained colors, it will stand the test of time for a much longer period.

Yes, it does depend on the style of the house, and the style in which it is decorated. I have a lot of period antique English furniture, and wood cabinets in my kitchen would just look like cheap reproduction hotel furniture from the 80's. I've always preferred a painted cabinet but then I have never lived in a truly contemporary-styled house; I might like wood there.

I don't see Shaker cabinets going anywhere as they are a classic. My first Shaker cabinets were under bookcases we put in a room when we remodeled in 1985 - we could not afford true raised panel doors like the ones in the LR of this 1948 house. I now also have Shaker doors in my kitchen and I love them.

I wanted a white kitchen, but with my full-west exposure and my enormous bay window over the sink, it would have been blinding. So mine are gray. It's the only place in my house that is gray, and I did NOT do gray flooring/countertops etc. My hardwood floors are the same medium brown as the rest of the entire house. I used a light gray (SW Repose Gray), and lots and lots of bright white - Glacier White Corian countertops, woodwork, ceiling. My backsplash is white Carrera marble large subway tiles - they tie the gray cabinets and white countertops together. The walls are Repose Gray 1/2 strength as it's a small, somewhat choppy kitchen and it unifies the room. I have used lots of polished metal in this room for warmth - polished copper, polished brass, polished chrome on my 1948 stove. Only the stainless is brushed. Brass and copper can really warm up a room!

We've had a long, rainy dark winter here, but I never feel "down" when I walk into my kitchen as it has good lighting (that big bay window does help, even when it's overcast), and the white countertops and brown wood floors make an enormous difference. So does the fact that the rest of my house has lots and lots of color and warmth.

Will it be considered "dated" someday? Who knows! It will depend on the taste of the buyers, but I can promise you it won't date itself the way Golden Oak cathedral cabinets and avocado green or harvest gold appliances have, or even those mini-mosaic backsplash tiles that lasted about 2 years being "the latest thing". Even HGTV doesn't use them anymore!

"Modern" is not the correct word that you want to use. Modern will always be a true style. However, trends and prominent colors tend to come and go. Don't confuse them.

that was my confusion too

was "modern" used as in "modern style", or did it mean to say "popular now"?

because as a style it's here to stay. along many others. it's like genres in literature-can be it novel or ballad or short story or fable..which is dated? none is. they use different forms to convey ideas. they only use words as their tools, while styles in design convey ideas not with words, but with objects and relations between them, and various other things,

as in "popular now"-I'm with everybody who said already that the more it goes with the house (with some rare exceptions) the more staying power it will have.

And it can seem quirky and the color will be lilac, or yellow, yet if does work with the overall concept with the house, it won't look out of place. For years.

Or it can be as neutral as people think it to be (and people think differently of colors depending on where they live..geography influences the background they see day after day, so many colors others would consider vivid, seem perfectly tame to them. They'll also have different cultural context in which they'll explain colors)-and still have no business being in house X, because house X would like other neutral, other material, etc.

Some things ring wrong from the beginning-because the house (or can be a condo or apartment doesn't matter) is wriggled into something it is not and doesn't want to be.

I think if same exact things weren't installed everywhere without regard to the house or where it stands, it would not end so irritating for many within short X years.

And if you didn't live through some trend maybe less chance to be irritated about particular details too. It doesn't bore you because you haven't had a chance to be bored with it. I didn't live through harvest gold and avocado -so my reaction would be not "oh so dated" but "wow, cool, green refrigerator". On condition it looks nice in that kitchen..and still works..))

Good design is always good design. If you follow the principles of design it will always look attractive, even as the trends change.

I do think it’s worth noting, however, that things do get old and worn and trends are changing faster than ever. I don’t believe we are designing 30 year spaces anymore. The layout of a kitchen might be the same for 30 years (or longer) but the aestetic will change in much shorter periods of time. I think “refresh” is a term we will hear more of in the coming years as homeowners seek to keep up with the latest trends.

As much as predicting what will be in and out is always a bit of a crap shoot, I don't think it's really about color.

This white kitchen will be dated soon, if it isn't already. Shiplap, "reclaimed" wood hood, chicken wire in the glass fronts of the cabs. And flat 'crown' molding that doesn't seem to be bringing much to the party:

This blue kitchen probably has pretty good staying power, although the pendants are the first thing that will probably need to go:

This two-tone navy and white kitchen doesn't have the same timeless quality, even though the individual elements are supposedly "timeless." Piling on shaker, navy, white, farmhouse sink, subway tile, grey toned floors and "freshening it up" with the modern brass hardware says more "we tried to fit all the trends of 2018 into one kitchen!":

This green kitchen is hard to even date. It also has a farmhouse sink, but that's appropriate to the 1800 date of the house. A narrow applied molding dresses up the cabinets and distinguishes them from the ubiquitous Shaker profile (and is often a bit easier to clean):

This green kitchen, a little less so. Again, ALL the trends got thrown against the wall - brass fixtures, geometric tile, waterfall countertop, herringbone floors, etc:

Whereas, staying true to this kitchen's Georgian townhouse keeps it classic. again, the light fixtures will end up being the first thing to go, later, while the rest of it has more staying power:

Or how about this JoAnna Gaines creation? SO many things will date this kitchen - the grey color, the long subway tiles, the brass lanterns, two islands. Anybody wanna bet on a 'farmhouse' sink just out of sight of the camera to the right?

And I'm not saying that ALL of these kitchens aren't lovely, because they are all pretty to look at.

@mxk3: "Gray is neutral but man is it a depressing color up here in the northern latitudes."

Every time I see someone post an all-white or all-gray kitchen, I have to put on an extra sweater and seek sunshine. All I can think about is being in a white-out. So many of them are lovely and well done, yet I shiver to look at them. I've been waiting a long time for this fad to run its course!

Then again, maybe I've just spent too much time skiing in blizzards...

Another poster who was confused by the use of the word "modern". Based on comments, i'm assuming you mean "kitchens that are popular in 2019" -- and not the "modern style" kitchens.

I actually disagree with Holly's take above. I think one of THE defining features of kitchens from the last 3 years is the colored cabinets. Blue cabinets, tuxedo cabinets, different colored islands. I think this is going to be one of the fastest (and most difficult to change) things that will date all those kitchens. Yes, i also agree the white ones she posted are going to be quickly dated because of the pendants and chicken wire, etc etc. But those are easy fixes. Cabinets are hard fixes. For a not-insane-amount-of-money, you can swap out everything *except* cabinets. Once you have to paint or swap out the cabinets, you are stuck doing a full kitchen reno. So while the pendants will absolutely date those white kitchens to 2018 (and possibly date them much faster than the pale blue cabinets in the second photo), in 10 years you can spend $5000 to update that white kitchen and end up with what will look like a pretty new kitchen. Whilst the blue kitchen will forever be blue and pegged to 2019.

Point is, when i think of old kitchen styles, the color is the thing that most jumps out. 1950s? I think of white/blue/pink. 1970s? Brown cabinets and avocado/mustard accents. 1980s? White cabinets with brown handles, and blue royal doulton accents. 1990s and early 2000s were the years of dark tuscan cabinets and kitchens that oozed brown. Then white, and then grey, and now colors.

Second point is: All kitchens look dated at some point. It's inevitable. But certain kitchens allow you to update them more easily than others.

I'm going to invent cabinets that can change colors at the press of a button...It will cost $100k, but that's like 5 paint jobs...

Not sure why the trend towards white porcelain sinks. I have one and hate it. They scratch and require constant cleaning (like scrubbing with soft cleanser two/three times a day) to keep looking nice. I also hate wood veneer cabinets, they absorb grime no matter how much you clean them, and it's only a matter of time before you have to replace at least the doors.

Cracks me up to see the "dated" looks of my youth come back as the hot new trends. The aforementioned white porcelain sink being a case in point. I'm already seeing a trend towards colored porcelain sinks in kitchens, so bathroom tile and fixtures can't be far behind . . . (joking, sort of).

I don’t much understand folks who paint cherry cabinets or rip out a counter in good condition or take out cabinets to add open shelving to make a kitchen fit a particular trendy aesthetic. I can understand redoing a kitchen to make it work better if the traffic patterns are bad or the fridge is poorly placed or cabinets are damaged or one wants to add an appliance that is missing.

I’m drinking coffee and practicing cornet (the acoustics are awesome with the coffered ceiling) in our 2018/19 gray/blue kitchen with satin brass hardware and big ass pendants. It’s beautiful and my wife is happy. But I just made breakfast for us and did dishes before she went to work, so life is good (did I say that I have a 15-min walk to my office across a beautiful college campus?). What do I care if it is dated in 5 or 20 years when I’m 75 (although I will be paying on it for awhile)? Plus with the trim/windows/exterior it does blend nicely with our nearly 100-year old colonial revival.

My point is, find something that gives you joy and spend your $$ on it! It’s good for the economy and you can’t take it with you!!! If you have to redo it in 20 years, you get to enjoy the agony & ecstasy of living through a kitchen project. If there is a next time for us at least we won’t have to live through a big demo and addition.

Gray kitchen, but lots of "kitchen jewelry" with the faucets, lights, and hardware. Oh, and the CornuFe range.

Walls and cabinets are gray, but this is the most light-filled and bright kitchen that we've ever had.

Walls may be gray, but artwork is important for adding color.

I wish there was more push to designing kitchens that suit the aesthetics of the house not to suit the latest fads and design trends. I think we're seeing more modern style kitchens because MCM homes have been rather popular lately. Not everyone's house was built with that architecture, but you can choose it for your interior if so desired, and I think it can look really odd in a very traditional house (or vice versa).

The house we just bought has very faddish bathrooms and kitchen (dated from the 1970s, 2000s and 20-teens--and NONE of these spaces really suit the house but the 1970s bathroom is the most interesting and the one I find the most tolerable) and I'm still wondering why I thought they weren't that bad... because they ARE that bad. So I'm sure that is at least one reason why "perfectly good" will be ripped out in homes. Perfectly good can be perfectly ugly.

Very interesting thread. I love reading all your comments and opinions and love seeing your kitchens as well as examples of timeless kitchens,

Anglophilia, I'd love to see a link to photos of your kitchen. It must be gorgeous.

I redid the kitchen in my main house in 2002. To me, it feels like I just redid it. My heritage cabinets should last forever Not only does it function so well for me, it's totally my personality with a lot of art incorporated into the actual design. I love functional art. I have exotic woods incorporated into the cabinetry, appliance panels and furniture. Instead of plain glass in an upper cabinet, I had a glass artist do stained glass panels, inset with crystals, amber and semi precious stones. Some of my handles were made by an artist out of copper. My lighting is blown glass pendants done by a glass artist, I have art glass pieces (including a Chihuly studio piece) displayed on shelves throughout. I love the movement and natural inclusions of my granite. Every time I walk into that kitchen, it makes me feel happy. Cooking and entertaining are a pleasure.

I often wonder if others would now see it as dated (the cabinetry is maple and bubinga) and horror of horrors, granite counters and limestone floors. If I had to sell the house, would new buyers rip it out and put in white or grey kitchen with quartz counters?

On the other hand, in my beach house kitchen reno, I will be doing white cabinetry (replacing the existing white cabinetry because the current layout is awful. The house is white both inside and out, so white works.

Will my kitchen look dated? I think perhaps it already does when I read through the comments here . What matters to me is that I’m pleased with my remodel with painted oak cabinets and removing a desk that never was used and an island that made it difficult to get around. It is a better layout and the function. I love that my family can be together in the kitchen and make a meal with the improved layout. I love to see my grand daughter sitting at my new peninsula and having a snack. I lived with a dated oak kitchen for years, if I’m now in a dated kitchen because of how I had it remodeled, it’s OK. I am happy with it.

If I am not going to sell my house for 20 years and I’m happy with it, do I need to make choices that appeal to others? I am curious about why it matters if something looks dated?

I can't completely agree that the moment one needs/wants to re-paint their cabinetes he's looking at a full reno

sometimes probably yes. Maybe even often.

other times, not neccessarily. Depends on other components of a kitchen.

Off the top of my head, I can think of another completely different 3-4 colors I'd be able to paint my kitchen now, instead of the current color, without changing any other element.

Not that I'd want to, but theoretically, I can.

What I wouln't be able to do-is to go with a "cold" look vs "warm",

But the chance I'd suddenly decide to go with shades of colors I don't prefer on bigger surfaces, never did, and never will, approximates zero.

People usually have certain affinities. I'd be surprized to learn that it can swing with a trend, in a completely different direction.

If it was stain I love-why I'd change the stain? Unless the cabinets have to be changed because of a flood, or old age, or something.

How I think of kitchens in terms of a big timeline is also probaly different. Colors don't jump out at me as something I associate kitchens of this or that decade with.. my first thought was "late nineties-I have a countertop!"

You have beautiful kitchens..I do hope Anglophilia posts hers, I always love seeing it, it's wonderful.

Great question and thread! I agree kitchens should more match the home than the trend.

I think eventually every kitchen looks dated no way around it although I agree some kitchens will date much quicker. I am building a craftsman bungalow one level. I have been looking up pictures to try and keep to that style as much as possible. I also would love to have a kitchen that will last awhile and I wonder how my plum island will hold up in the next 10 years!

Everything ages, but some things age gracefully, and some don't. We avoided the suggestion of a completely inappropriate trendy (or has that trend thankfully already passed) "barn door" for our bathroom remodel and went with what matched the rest of the house.

This is standard advice:

The best way to not have a dated kitchen is to match the style of kitchen to the style and age of the house.

What if your house was built in the 70s and you are not a fan of Brady Bunch Decor?

Yup ^^^^ Lots of people live in houses that have no real style too. Just whatever suburban builders were picking out of plan books. Then what?

Hey, that Brady’s kitchen is groovy. If only we had a live-in uniform-wearing maid like Alice. BTW, what did Mrs. Brady do? I don't recall her working.

I think the cabinets in the Brady house are great. It's the orange and green scheme that dates it, and the green can be easily changed. Of course, the layout could be improved.

I agree, the Brady kitchen has some nice elements and some dated elements. But overall it has a "modern" style that appears dated. So it's likely that a portion of current modern kitchens WILL appear dated.

If avocado atomic chairs and day-glo orange Formica countertops (with matching backsplash) is your thing, go for it!

I'm taking out my era-appropriate harvest gold countertops/sink/wc/shower and 'Mediterranean' tile/sunburst cathedral cabinet doors/Lauan plywood doors with matching hammered 'copper' hardware/woodtone laminate/curlicued wrought iron fixtures/stained glass -- no apologies.

Are you a set designer for "Two and a Half Men" Thor? :)

I dislike the colors orange and avocado green, always have. But change out those, and that kitchen would be close to on trend. But since the wood is brown and not grey stained, I guess they'd have to be ripped out. You could probably get away with the chairs if you painted them white and paired them with a new trestle table. Brick would have to be painted white too. Or covered in shiplap.

Are you a set designer for "Two and a Half Men" Thor? :)

We had the same builder, but they updated a lot :-D

Okay - here is the original "reveal" of my kitchen. I'm sure many are sick and tired of seeing this! Ha! It's huge - I had to do it in three parts.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779243/finally-my-kitchen-reveal-work-completed-in-aug-2016

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779258/kitchen-reveal-continued

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779267/kitchen-reveal-continued-part-3

I love my kitchen! It works so very, very well for me. My house was built in 1948. The kitchen is an enclosed one. Both suit me very well. I have no table space in the kitchen (nor an island with stools!), but right next to the kitchen is a breakfast room.

The wall on the left is common with the kitchen. So, why didn't I just tear out this wall? Many reasons! First of all, there is electrical and gas in this wall. Second, I have a 1948 O'Keefe & Merritt stove that can only go on this wall due to venting the hood. It happens to be a straight shot to the 2nd floor furnace closet so it goes up there and right out the roof. The only other place it could go would be next to the sink but that's where the door to the back garden is. Just turn those double windows into french doors? Can't as they open onto concrete stairs going from that kitchen door down to the terrace. My house is on a fall-away lot. If it were a flat lot, SO many things would be possible! There was a deck on the house when we bought it (old concrete steps were underneath. It was in terrible condition, the railings were unsafe - dog kept leaping off the deck through the railing, to chase a squirrel or chipmunk and it was 6 ft off the ground. Silly fool was going to break his neck, if that continued. I really prefer the terrace esthetically, though I must admit that a well done deck would be more functional as I could have put the stove where the door it and turned this into doors out onto the deck, and of course, removed the wall.

But removing that wall would have been difficult as at the end it opens onto a hall that goes across the house, past this breakfast room. In the corner of the breakfast room, is a built-in cabinet that holds all my enormous collection of dishes. Where would they go? Also, that hall wall, is a load-bearing wall - no way one could get a long, huge beam into this house at this point. The next room after the breakfast room, is a full bath that serves the guest room that is at the end of the hall. It just wasn't meant to be without gutting my entire house. I have neither the money, nor the inclination to do this in order to not have to walk a few steps to my breakfast room.

No, my house is not a house that would suit a young family with small children. It really cannot be this. It will not be an easy house to sell - it took the previous owner 3 years to find us as a buyer. First floor guest room is too small to be a master. Library is at the end of the hall - no open concept possible. Building out off the back would be double the cost as it's above ground.

Selling it will be my children's problem someday, not mine. I'll either be in a nursing home or in the ground!

Okay - here is the original "reveal" of my kitchen. I'm sure many are sick and tired of seeing this! Ha! It's huge - I had to do it in three parts.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779243/finally-my-kitchen-reveal-work-completed-in-aug-2016

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779258/kitchen-reveal-continued

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4779267/kitchen-reveal-continued-part-3

I love my kitchen! It works so very, very well for me. My house was built in 1948. The kitchen is an enclosed one. Both suit me very well. I have no table space in the kitchen (nor an island with stools!), but right next to the kitchen is a breakfast room.

The wall on the left is common with the kitchen. So, why didn't I just tear out this wall? Many reasons! First of all, there is electrical and gas in this wall. Second, I have a 1948 O'Keefe & Merritt stove that can only go on this wall due to venting the hood. It happens to be a straight shot to the 2nd floor furnace closet so it goes up there and right out the roof. The only other place it could go would be next to the sink but that's where the door to the back garden is. Just turn those double windows into french doors? Can't as they open onto concrete stairs going from that kitchen door down to the terrace. My house is on a fall-away lot. If it were a flat lot, SO many things would be possible! There was a deck on the house when we bought it (old concrete steps were underneath. It was in terrible condition, the railings were unsafe - dog kept leaping off the deck through the railing, to chase a squirrel or chipmunk and it was 6 ft off the ground. Silly fool was going to break his neck, if that continued. I really prefer the terrace esthetically, though I must admit that a well done deck would be more functional as I could have put the stove where the door it and turned this into doors out onto the deck, and of course, removed the wall.

But removing that wall would have been difficult as at the end it opens onto a hall that goes across the house, past this breakfast room. In the corner of the breakfast room, is a built-in cabinet that holds all my enormous collection of dishes. Where would they go? Also, that hall wall, is a load-bearing wall - no way one could get a long, huge beam into this house at this point. The next room after the breakfast room, is a full bath that serves the guest room that is at the end of the hall. It just wasn't meant to be without gutting my entire house. I have neither the money, nor the inclination to do this in order to not have to walk a few steps to my breakfast room.

No, my house is not a house that would suit a young family with small children. It really cannot be this. It will not be an easy house to sell - it took the previous owner 3 years to find us as a buyer. First floor guest room is too small to be a master. Library is at the end of the hall - no open concept possible. Building out off the back would be double the cost as it's above ground.

Selling it will be my children's problem someday, not mine. I'll either be in a nursing home or in the ground!

Oh that range!!!! I have range envy.

Thank you for posting. lots of beautiful and interesting things and ideas.

Oh that range!!!! I have range envy.

Thank you for posting. lots of beautiful and interesting things and ideas.

Ang I can't believe I missed your kitchen reveal!! I have always envied your eating nook though. Now I have even more envy! As someone who is now living in a modern cottage style house that is way too "open concept" for my taste, I can testify that not everyone loves or wants that look. I long for more and larger actual separate rooms and more CLOSED storage space, so your built-in bookshelves would be right up my alley. Plus I like the solid build, solid materials and energy efficiency of an older home. Our 1992 house has dust and dander blowing, inefficient, loud forced air heat, (yes we have filters out the wazoo and change them out regularly) wonky electric and uneven walls and ceilings that are cracking. Cheap narrow wood trim and particleboard subflooring with nasty carpet and cheap veneer wood flooring. I long for a home with the quiet of plaster walls, real quality wood, and radiant heat that has stood the test of time.

Plus somebody who really likes to cook would snap that kitchen up in a heartbeat with all those cool custom features. Gives me hope for my kitchen. Some day soon my carpenter husband is going to customize the insides of some of my current cabinets. Maybe when we eventually put in the gas stove and vent hood, which will require some serious re-arranging.

Waverley can we see pics of your kitchen? It sounds absolutely amazing!

I built a new style craftsman house that some folks thought was original. That was my goal. To have a house that on first glance folks thought could have been updated from the 19-teens of the last century.

My kitchen looks like I "updated" the kitchen to work with the house while keeping to the feel of the "original" house. My perimeter is white shaker full overlay to give the feel that they were "added" later, while my built in fireplace wall and room dividers are inset cabinets to look like they were always here.

My island is quarter sawn dark oak which mimics a lot of styles of today, yet the island matches my built in fireplace wall.

What I'm trying to say is I built the kitchen to work with the house and not fight it. Again work with your house style. Don't try and fight it.

I will also agree that if you're happy with your kitchen, in the long run that is all that matters. Every single time I walk into my kitchen, look at my stained glass backsplash and run my hands over my quartzite, I grin and am so thankful I got to create a kitchen that makes me happy.

What if your house was built in the 70s and you are not a fan of Brady Bunch Decor?

Chances are you don't like the colors of the Brady kitchen but things like the slab doors can work. You can make it an "updated" 70's look and add in some funky touches that make it your own. Better than trying to make it look like every other white/gray kitchen.

Now, it's the question of trends being "over" and staying true to yourself. :)

I say get what you like most. Most of us (including me) have likes and dislikes that are heavily shaped by others in social media, advertising and trends. When you want to know what your REAL likes are, you may need to do some research. Try looking up all kinds --i mean ALL kinds of kitchens-- modern, medieval style kitchens in a castle, country cabin kitchens, 70's kitchens, 30's style kitchens, tuscan countryside kitchens, industrial kitchens, and the like. Pay attention to how you FEEL when you look at each picture. Imagine yourself in it. You might find that what you actually like is the complete opposite of your first impulse. Trends don't matter-- what you like and who you are matters!

cpartist. I am at my " vacation" house doing some renovations down here and don't have any decent photos with me. I could scan some of the magazine photos that were taken at a a photo shoot shortly after it was finished, but the set designer put in some accessories which I hate. So when I get back home in a few weeks, I'll try get some decent photos. I had to laugh at the time. When she was accessorizing for the photo shot, she said, ( of my chihuly in its display case), Get this plastic thing out of here. I gulped and said, You mean, my CHIHULY????? She then proceeded to put out some fake plastic flowers and some sh**ty ceramic mugs in colors completely wrong for the kitchen. And some cheap kettle crap on the stove ( right near my instant hot water dispenser.......).

I'm a bit reluctant to post pics because I'm sure there are some who will say. Oh, its got maple cabinets! And granite! It's so dated! You should paint it ll white and grey and put in quartz counter tops.

But I love it!

I also love your kitchen which is so true to yourself and your house.

I will be waiting to see Waverly's kitchen as well. Especially a picture of the Chihuly!

I think as long as the triangle is achieved between sink, stove and refrigerator with some room (as much as can fit!) for all that goes with cooking up a storm, and not installing any 'trends' that overwhelm (columns), a kitchen can remain in style. When my parents moved into their house in the 50's they enlarged the kitchen, and then proceeded to paint the cabinetry (original to the 1930's house) green. One wall was wallpapered. That kitchen stayed on trend right through to shortly before their deaths. The green changed with the times - avocado, sage, apple. The wallpaper did also; small or large patterned. When the trend came for less intricate cabinet doors and wood tones the cabinet doors were replaced with more streamlined varnished birch - which played well off the now deep-avocado cabinets. The last change came when molding was back in style - we wished then they had saved the original doors, but the solid wood plain doors were easily changed up with some molding applied, then painted - white of course (lowers stayed green :-) )! And the floor vinyl went to linoleum and finally wood. After the first change none of these were intensive remodels over the course of 50 years.

My kitchen is painted with black cabinets. Upper cabinets are mostly glass-doored. One wall (thanks mom) is wallpapered with a large print containing a beautiful blue, which is repeated on the oven door and in the visible pantry. To achieve this was a major overhaul from the tiny kitchen before it. But I am confident that what we have done will last with a few coats of paint over the years. We didn't do anything that couldn't adjust with the times. The only mistake we made (as far we know so far lol) was to go with marble for all the countertops. We love it, but the fact is that quartz really is a great material!

To where you will walk into that kitchen and think “whoa, that’s dated” the same way we react now when we see a harvest gold refrigerator.

Actually, when I see a harvest gold fridge, I think: Wow, RETRO! I like. (Btw, not yet ready to run into the avocado green ones with the same attitude quite yet....)

I wish monochrome kitchens would go away, so seeing good shades of blue or green (etc.) will never look "dated" to me. Grey is depressing, and my winter here was long and wearying to some degree, I want color to cheer me (much as I appreciate all four seasons). If I want white, I can look outside. I've had white landscaping since November 16th. (White or gray as a non-dominant feature can be lovely. In the right circumstances, these can be lovely as a more dominant color, too.)

"Dated" is a state of mind. I knew people who changed their musical preferences solely by what was new, instead of adding in new stuff to their old musical playlist repertoire. Never understood that either.

EDIT: It is snowing again right now. Won't stay on the roads, but that white stuff IS coming down!