Shaker Style Kitchens

Redesigning your kitchen can be a wonderful experience when you have the patience, time and money to do the job right. If you cannot afford to hire an interior designer or kitchen remodeler to redesign your kitchen, then you need to research exactly how to do it yourself. There is a wide variety of kitchens styles and decor available. Which one you choose should be one that reflects your tastes, personality and lifestyle.

The first step is having an idea of exactly what you want to see in your kitchen. When doing it yourself it pays to make a list of the style and what is involved in achieving this style for your kitchen. Learn about the many different style of kitchen cabinets, flooring, wall designs and accessories that are available. A popular style of kitchen are Shaker style kitchens.

Shaker style kitchens are efficient, elegant and simple. When you walk into this style of kitchen, the first thing, you feel is the harmony as you stand there and see the clean, sharp lines and natural woods. Shaker style kitchens tend to be plain in appearance, however, you don’t need to follow the style exactly. All you need to do is take just a few of the elements that appeal to you and use them to create your personality and lifestyle.

You have the option of using either dark or light colors, however, bright colors are the most popular. The woodwork is always painted with colors of orange, red, brown, mustard yellow, green and deep blue. These are traditional Shaker style colors. You can use these colors alone or combine them with other Shaker colors.

Highly polished wood floors are also part of the Shaker style, however, many homes use natural stone or even terra cotta tiles as well. Woven wool rugs and rag rugs are also used to further compliment the wood floors. Be sure to choose earth tones such as mustard yellow or terra cotta.

The furniture used in Shaker style kitchens are plain and simple. Sofas and chairs are covered in simple fabrics that are plain or have a small checkered pattern. Pedestal tables and side tables are also very common to this style.

The kitchen cabinets are more for people that prefer the traditional or contemporary styles. The Shaker style is simple and conservative in appearance. Many people that love this style often choose a cross between contemporary and country when decorating their kitchens. By choosing to add this style of kitchen cabinets you are combining these two styles.

When it comes to window treatments, the Shaker style kitchen has curtain that hang free. This allows an abundance of sunlight into the kitchen. Wooden window shutters are also used and opened wide during the day. Never use heavy fabrics for the Shaker style but instead use light cotton with loop headings then suspend them from either wooden or wrought iron poles. The fabrics that are used are cotton, wool, flax, and silk. The patterns chosen are plain or checked in natural colors.