Knowing basic style categories helps you search for kitchen remodeling ideas.

Browse the Internet for kitchen inspiration, and you can be quickly overwhelmed. How do you sift through all the amazing ideas out there to find what’s right for you? Our designers broadly categorize kitchen styles into these categories:

Contemporary
Transitional
Traditional

CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN STYLE

Contemporary design inspiration: New. Sleek. Purposeful.

If this is your style, you like borrowing and adapting from minimalist Modern design, with a “less is more” approach.

Contemporary style is driven by material choices.

Very current product choices will help you achieve the Contemporary look—applied to a kitchen layout that feels open, free-flowing, and streamlined.

Cabinets feature simple lines, flat fronts, and little decoration, in white or gray paint, or dark or light stain, with subtle woodgrain texture. Countertops can be granite, marble, or future-forward choices such as composite and recycled glass. Hardware is kept to simple shapes, in classic finishes like chrome, brass, or nickel, or warmer metal tones like copper and oil-rubbed bronze. Backsplash and tile options range from ceramic and stone to vibrant glass tiles. Appliances and lighting are fashion-forward, bringing pops of color and subtle details.

TRANSITIONAL STYLE

Transitional design cues: Eclectic. Refined. Comfortable.

If this is your style, you like creatively mixing old and new. Do you picture an antique butcher block table next to sleek metal barstools? Then Transitional style, bridging both Contemporary and Traditional (below), is probably where you want to be.

Transitional style follows key principles.

This very expressive style is a little harder to pin down, because you can mix so many products and materials. Be aware of these guiding principles as you explore ideas.

Embrace natural + man-made textures, tones, and materials. Concrete countertops with stained wood cabinetry. Stainless steel appliances juxtaposed against corbels and trim made from architectural salvage.

Use a neutral palette to unify eclectic elements. Shades of white, ivory, beige, tan, gray, and natural blues and greens for a relaxed, coordinated feeling.

Add interest with texture. An intricately tiled backsplash, rattan chandelier, or rough stone floor—keeping lines and colors under control!

Choose cabinets “in between.” Neither overly modern nor classically inspired—flat fronts or light detailing, stained finishes or painted hardwood. With straightforward hardware.

TRADITIONAL STYLE

Traditional design cues: Elegant. Detailed. Classic.

If this is your style, you like a “rich,” detailed look. Don’t shy away from embellishment—etchings, carvings, decorative molding, edges, and trim. This is the “more is more” approach to kitchen design. Heirlooms and antique pieces can also serve as building blocks.

Traditional style unites past and present with details and materials.

Look for classic styles, materials and shapes, perhaps inspired by a period or place in history.

Wood cabinets have panel details, decorative inserts, glass, mullions, and accents, in stains or painted finishes (or both) for a “layered” look. Details flourish in old-fashioned hardware, decorative trim, molding, fluting, corbels, pilasters, hoods, and toe kicks. Rich-looking materials add authenticity, including granite, quartz, or even walnut countertops and eye-catching tiles and backsplashes. Colors are soft, natural creams, pastels, grays, and greens. Modern appliances blend in seamlessly, bringing a touch of the present. Mixing patterns, colors, fixtures, and natural materials brings it together without being “matchy-matchy.”

Bottom line: What you like is what’s important.

Still not sure? At Marsh Kitchen & Bath, experience has taught us that nobody’s style is ever completely pure. But whatever strikes you, bring it to us. Your kitchen will be beautifully done… in a style that’s uniquely you.