Parada Kitchens is your spot for modern kitchen renovations in the Greater Toronto Area. But what exactly is a modern kitchen?
Despite what you may think, “Modern” and “Contemporary” refer to two distinct kitchen types. Modern, in this case, refers to a style from a specific time and place – the middle of the 20th century, when old traditional styles were being replaced by newer trends. Contemporary mostly means the style that’s happening right now – post-modern, if you will. So what elements are distinctly part of a modern kitchen design? Here’s a few of the big ones:
Flat-Panel Doors
Shaker cabinets and other recessed cabinet doors are more traditional looks that modern kitchens generally try to avoid. Instead, they go for solid and smooth slabs that create strong, flat lines without standing out on their own.
Frameless Cabinets
Keeping with the sleek cabinet design, modern kitchens often use frameless cabinets as opposed to flush-inset cabinets, meaning the door overlays the cabinet box itself. True frameless cabinets will have the door as the only front ornamentation, with a surrounding front frame. This also means that you’re going to have consistent spacing between the doors and drawers. When the doors are closed, you won’t be able to see the frame at all.
Lack of Ornamentation
Keeping with the simple theme, modern kitchens don’t go in for fancy ornamentation or design elements. You’re not going to see wild parings of texture and color or crazy tile shapes. Countertops won’t have patterns or veining, instead being solid colors. Similarly, any hardware in the kitchen is going to be sleek and simple, rather than fancy and drawing attention to itself.
Natural Elements
So with this lack of ornamentations and designed elements, what makes a natural kitchen beautiful? Usually, it’s from natural elements. If countertops have a pattern, it’s going to be the natural veining of marble as opposed to something artificial. Wood accents are selected for their natural grain, with oak being a particularly common choice. Untreated concrete walls and floors, as opposed to walls covered with wallpaper, add a blend between natural and industrial looks. Modern kitchens are all about the choice of materials, instead of the design elements.
If you would like to learn more, call Parada Kitchens today! We offer free consultations to help make your next kitchen a fantastic one.