Anyone who visits our site regularly or follows us on Facebook or Instagram will know that last month we introduced, not one, but two brand new kitchen projects to our portfolio.
The first was a modern-take on the shaker style kitchen created for a home in Wimbledon.
And the second was a country cottage style kitchen made for a home in Kingswood, near Banstead, Surrey.
Although both were technically shaker kitchens, these designs were quite different and illustrate how much seemingly minor style choices can effect the overall look of a space.
To give a bit of a better idea of what we mean, let’s take a look and compare some of the features from each of these kitchen designs.
Crown Molding or No Crown Molding?
A great example of how these two designs differ is in the design of the cabinetry. For the modern shaker kitchen, the look is simplified with no crown moldings – while a more traditional style of shaker cabinetry was opted for in the Kingswood kitchen, with all the cornices and coving you’d expect from a country cottage style kitchen.
Handles: Classic or Contemporary
In the Kingswood kitchen, things were kept traditional where the brassware was concerned – with the choice of burnished brass cup and ball handles. In the Wimbledon kitchen, large inset handles with a brushed stainless steel finish were chosen to complement the contemporary theme.
Selecting a Splashback
While the metro tile splashback in the modern shaker kitchen, coupled with the Prima Heart Ash shelf and breakfast bar and lighting give the kitchen some cosmopolitan character, the luxurious quartz composite of the Kingswood kitchen seamlessly transitions from worktop to splashback, providing a rich contrast to the pared-back style of cabinetry. The subtle grey marbling of this surface is made more prominent alongside the grey cabinet colour.
Choosing a Kitchen Cabinet Colour
Both kitchens employ a distinct colour scheme through the handpainted cabinets that makes these kitchens stand out. This is where the Kingswood kitchen diverges from tradition slightly with the choice of the more modern lead grey colour scheme. Conversely in the modern shaker kitchen, the pale green cabinets represent a more classical choice for a country style kitchen.
And What About Pantry Cabinets?
The one area where both these kitchens match is in the pantry cabinet department. Despite the difference in size of these kitchens, both homeowners wanted a pantry/breakfast cabinet – and we were glad to oblige, designing both with space saving pocket doors, a countertop, handle-less drawer storage, display shelving and automatic interior lighting.
Mix and Match Modern & Traditional
Of course, there are other factors that played a part in the designs of this kitchens – things like budget and the size, dimensions and layout of the area available. But, what’s clear from comparing these two kitchen designs is how well the shaker style lends itself to mixing and matching styles.
It’s one of the reasons why, no matter how many we make, no two Brayer Design kitchens are ever the same – and that suits us just fine.
