The funny thing is, I LIKE all of these things, still--unlike the "Tuscan" kitchen, which I've always loathed. They're just getting a little stale, and I want to mix them up and throw in not-so-easy solutions.

Anyone else? What do you think is the "future dating trends" of the future?

I'd add stainless to the list, but I think it'll last as a mainstream trend. I think the time of highly figured granite has mostly come and gone--counters are going subtle and monochrome, for the most part. I wouldn't call it dated. I don't think it ever will be, as it wasn't a big enough trend to begin with, but it isn't on the edge anymore, either. Many of the custom colored appliances are in colors that will get dated, though, as awesome as they are to see (but not to live with...).

If you see something as overdone, are you doing it, too, or mixing it up a little?

One of my main goals in our remake (besides haing an oven that works - ours has been dead for 2 years) - is to open up the area between the kitchen and dining room by rmeoving the peninsula lunch bar. I have read several here that have added a peninsual to divide up their space.

Perhaps the grass really is always greener on the other side?

I ultimately want a kitchen similar to that in the movie The Good Son with Macualay Culkin. A nice classic Maine white kitchen. Rustic, classic and beautiful with wide planked floors, white cabinets, beautiful french doors, farmhouse chairs......

I don't care anyway, because I have designed the space for me and my family. I am annoyed though, that after I decide on said putty cabinets, that I am seeing them more and more...

But, when the house and the kitchen speak in unison, I don;t care how "trendy" a white kitchen is- it will just fit, and WILL be timeless.

I'm not sure if this has always been the case, but it seems now that there are so many different styles out there, and white kitchen is just one. We think of the 60s-70s as teal blue tile, then harvest gold/avocado/brown appliances, shag rugs, etc. and maybe there are some "trends" that will date the kitchens of today. But what I see more than anything else is retro or vintage, classic looks with modern improvements (including contemporary design). I'm no expert, just my own interpretation.

I just read an article yesterday on a wood countertop website about what a relatively new concept kitchen cabinets are, maybe since the 40s or 50s. Thus, countertop material was never really a consideration until then; you would typically have wood work surfaces, which were usually tables or stand-alone pieces of furniture, or maybe slate or some locally-available metal. So for the most part, the mere presence of kitchen cabinets will date a kitchen to no earlier than the 50s. (But one article does not make me an expert and there may be others who have evidence to the contrary.)

Before that, people had cabinets made for the room.
Early 1920's example. 1909 example.

In 2001, when I chose cabinets for the new lake house, I discovered that light maple looked "old fashioned" to me -- as warmfridge said, "I won't be my mother" -- and I was extremely tired of dark cabinets. Photos of white kitchens were very appealing, and that's what I did -- although they weren't quite as "everywhere" then as they are now.

Last year when we built this house, we did white again. I still react the same to dark and to light woods as I did in 2001. Maybe I'll get tired of white, maybe it will look out of date in 10 years . . . but I'm living in the present, and enjoying the white cabinets.

I have no need to be trendy -- the white cabinets are more of choice against what I was tired of. I was not planning to get ss appliances, hardwood floors, and granite countertops. However, ss looked best with our color scheme, and I found a granite I loved for the island -- and put hardwood in the den and diningroom. So much for bucking the trends.

While I prefer something with more color and warmth, I certainly wouldn't rip out a white kitchen unless it wasn't functional. What I don't understand is all the gray. How drab can you get. I have seen very few kitchens with enough light and space that could pull off a gray color.

What I really like it when a kitchen (and house) reflects its location. That you can which is the Mid-Atlantic beach house and which is the Montana timber house and which is the southwestern ranch house and which is the New England salt box.

I love the flexibility of a white kitchen. Different paint and accessorites can give it a whole new look with minimal work and expense. I think it will outlast a lot of other trends going on, considering the fact that I'm seeing new construction modeled after what our house naturally looks like :)

My parents did an all white kitchen (cabinets, floors, and black and white 60s flowered wallpaper not meant for a kitchen) in 1968-69 and people would actually knock on the door and ask to see it because it ws *so different than the norm where they lived.

In the design world it was probably already a tired idea if you lived in a major metropolitan area, but it was the first white kitchen where they lived in decades.

Its still white, and if they had the original wallpaper it would probably be a "fresher" look than the 80s wallpaper thats there now.

Whoever said that the kitchen has to have a dialogue with the house hit the nail right on the head. That 1969 white kitchen still works in that house because it fits the house. (You may remember that I posted pics of this house year ago and people guessed the kitchen date ranging from 1950 to 1990--now that is a successful design IMO: one that confuses the H377 out of people in terms of its date)

But back to the dialogue with the house. There are some houses that the millennium white kitchen will look great in forever, (although not trendy) and there are some houses where it looks ok now (because its trendy), but will look tired down the road because it lacks that dialogue with the house.

I happen to love white kitchens. I have never had one of my own, and I've only designed one for someone else. Most of the houses I have to work with are not white kitchen houses. If my next house is a good fit for a white kitchen thats what it will get even if the trend is back to cathedral arch oak doors and brass. And I won't personally be offended if someone is tired of it, because I don't get tired of things I really like:)

I want a white kitchen because when I look at kitchens, weather on this forum, in magazines, etc. it is the white kitchens that make me pause and sigh. I have seen many beautiful kitchens that I would be proud to own, but they just don’t make me sigh like the white ones with marble do. And you want to know the funny part? Before taking the time to actually look at photos of kitchens, I would have never guessed I would like white/marble.

I have no idea what my house would prefer. I have a 3300 sq. ft. single story built in 1992. I consider it a "Ranch" style. The ceilings are 9 ft and there is pretty good natural lighting – there will be more when we replace the windows with larger ones. This does not have an open floor plan, though the flow through the house is great. We are considering removing the wall between the kitchen eat-in area and family room to make it more of a great room.

Who cares? Get what you like. It'll be dated before you're done with it anyway.

Jeri said: " it is the white kitchens that make me pause and sigh."

Me too. When I saw Katieob's kitchen, I literally gasped at its clean beauty.

I see plenty of things here that are NMS, but I don't say anything because it doesn't matter one whit what I think about someone else's taste.

The big issue: What's a girl to do who lives in the land of subdivisions dating from the 50's to current??? If you bought a house in the late 90's through about 2005, your choices (for front facades) were usually: Mediterranean/Spanish Stucco or some poor knock off of craftsman...mostly all stucco choices. The kitchens were mostly "tuscan style". Newer homes (not that they are building many these days) have started to incorporate some other styles, but it is still predominantly the stucco.

I live in a house built in 1989 with a mass California builder's idea of new england facade on a more contemporary floor plan/layout. So, what did I do? I embraced it (easy to do when you love the new england syle and live in a coastal community). Would I have done this kind of kitchen in mediterranean stucco with a front courtyard...no way, it just wouldn't look right.

BTW, the cabinet guy and my GC both commented that my kitchen/house was a nice break from working on the tuscan styled kitchens.

So, I love white kitchens will never tire of them, but they have to be in the right house! I appreciate a well layed out kitchen any day (love the zones) and especially appreciate the looks if it goes with the rest of the house.

Despite the fact that my dog thinks her name is "what a beautiful dog" because she hears it so much she looks like a pile of rags in photos. The point is if you only looked at the media you would think most dogs are light colored. If you take a walk in the real world you know it's not true.

I think kitchens are the same. White kitchens photograph beautifully, much more so than oak tones in particular, so you see them in print more. In real life, I don't think they are so overdone so I don't think they are going away anytime soon.

Everyone knows what they like, and when i walk into my white kitchen, it makes me feel good all over. I really love being in there even over a year later. I've always felt this way in a white kitchen. Its just what i'm attracted to. Some people like stained cabinets and get that "warm and cozy" feeling when they walk in. It just doesn't do this for me. Not to say that its ugly, its just not what excites me.

As far as being dated, that does not bother me either. In ten years or so, it would be easy enough to update backsplash, colors, theme, or whatever, but the white I do not think will ever be gone. As long as you like the white, it can be updated. If i had liked oak cabinets in the first place, i would have kept them and just updated my counters, backsplash, lighting, paint, etc... and saved alot of money. There are alot of people who still love their oak cabs and always have. The kitchens i see with oak are not the same oak kitchens from the '80's. The same can be said for kitchens with white cabinets in the future. If you like them, you can keep them and just do what ever else is being done at the time to make it feel new and updated.

and this statement is also spot on It's magazine kitchen fatigue, not white kitchen fatigue.

Magazines, ads for sure, tend to show kitchens without any/much personalization. An advertising ploy so the readers can place themselves and their personalization into that kitchen? Probably so.

I also want to apologize to anyone who may have misread my post. As soon as I hit enter, I thought I should have worded that differently! The first photo I referred to is still "elegant and classic," as Jane described in her post. A beautiful kitchen. I posted it has cold feeling "imo" - which is really only the opposite of being warm, and I am (always have been) drawn to warm tones and textures. The design and thought process that went into it, as in many things in the decorating world that I would not do in my own home, I can still appreciate and see the beauty.

I think it's important also to know your own tendencies. Some people like to redecorate every 5 years, others buy something and keep it forever, or at least until it breaks or they move from an adobe to a Georgian. (And I'm making NO value judgments between the two types, as sometimes happens. People are just different.)

I happen to like almost all the furniture I have ever bought. When I was first married, and very young, we had a mixture of hand-me-downs and very traditional American cherry (lived in Virginia at the time, no wonder). But when we bought our first house and had to furnish more, which was just a few years later, we got rid of the more formal cherry and went more cottage/European pine/traditional upholstery. I'm still using it.

Same thing (I hope) with the white kitchen. The very first kitchen page I ever tore from a magazine/catalog was a white kitchen with wood floors, glass-front cabinets, red rush seat stools, and blue/red/yellow accessories.

I already had red rush seat chairs, and 10 years later, I finally have a white kitchen with wood floors, glass-front cabinets, *black* rush seat stools, a red tea kettle, a blue mixer, etc.

I was mildly concerned about the proliferation of white kitchens, but not very. I figured if I liked something for more than 10 years already, there is a good bet that it's a keeper. Plus, I really don't see any IN PERSON. There are a lot in magazines, and a lot on here, and a lot in Greenwich CT and Newport Beach CA, but is anyone else actually tired of going into them? All the kitchens I ever "go into" are brown.

So hang onto your tear sheets, and go through them every so often to see if you still like what you liked 18 years ago... it's very educational when you're about to spend a bunch of money.

There are white kitchens that make me sigh and white kitchens that make me think: not another white kitchen! But I think it is less the color of the kitchen that makes those kitchens seem overdone and more the design of that kitchen doesn't resonate with me. So, I guess my official take is, yes, the style of kitchen you describe I think can date you, but if that is the style that works with your home, it'll always look amazing. If you had a circa 1960 home, a "dated" kitchen from that time would look fantastic (although I would want new appliances)

Here is a link you might find inspiring

Like others have said some white kitchens are fantasitc where everything just comes together in a beautiful way. I hope ine turns out as well.

Turn of the century style:

Contemporary style:

Retro 50's style:

So you just have to pick what you love and go with that. Many people love the look of wood, while others love a white painted kitchen. It only takes one person to fall in love with and buy your house no matter what HGTV tries to sell us on. So go with what you love and then someone else will love it too, it just might take a little longer. But look at those folks who refused to update their mid-century homes only to find that people are now clamoring to own one!

Kat :)

Today's white "British cottage" kitchen looks to me much like the little 1920s servantless kitchens in the U.S. that I visited in my own childhood. Cramped little places with lots of coats of white gloss paint added over the years. I don't know whose cottage the press thinks the current style echoes. Grandma's kitchen was bigger, but then, she had a large house designed for servants. Those urban spaces of my memory were designed for a cook who did not cook very much--the 1920s and 30s goal for those who could afford servants who wouldn't take care of fine woodwork. By the 1940s, Grandma got the house through a Depression-era short sale, I think. There was even a speaking tube from the upper story down to the kitchen so the servants would know what the old owner wanted for breakfast. But Grandma the widow was the only adult in the house until she took in boarders. She couldn't afford to repaint, but I ask myself, "What color would she have painted it?" White was good because you could do touch-ups and halfmeasures easily.

Coincidentally, the white tile and white furniture is also reminiscent of the early 20th century era of cleanliness in hospitals, etc. The owners invested in furniture and walls that would be obviously sanitary when cleaned up--it satisfied the customer and the hospital honchos that all would be sterile literally. And today's "bin pulls" look to me straight out of old hardware stores or Hoosier kitchen units. If they're cute to you, heck buy them. I won't.

P.S. there was always a table in the middle of this square kitchen. It served as eating surface, work surface, whatever. Grandma was so proud of her 1950s chrome set--gray and white pseudo-leather on the chairs and a matching laminate top on the table.

I would have just known that I wanted something light, and bright, and timeless, where I could keep the basics for years and years and totally change the look with paint and accessories.

I don't know anyone in real life who has a white kitchen, although they are so prevalent here. Like someone else mentioned, all of the kitchens owned by friends and family are dark stained cabinets, formica or corian, almond or white appliances, and lots of brown.

JMHO
Lynn

And, Morton5, thanks so much! I do hope you know those are my same sentiments exactly whenever I see your kitchen! :-)

As far as classic goes, the have been a number of times when white kitchens were virtually unheard of in new houses. There is no such thing as classic anymore. I mean, even white appliances to "dated" to many people in a nicer kitchen, and how more classic can you get than a white fridge????

Oak was THE classic style when I was growing up. There was nothing considered more classic than raised cathedral panel in honey oak. And how many people who are design-conscious are putting in those today? Not one. Square panels, yes, particularly quartersawn. Arched and honey oak, no. I'm hoping white kitchens (and they WILL become unusual, if not "out of style) won't go the same direction as honey oak--or pickled oak. (I have nothing good to say about pickled oak, but then I never did.)

There seems to be a paucity of well-designed traditional kitchens that aren't very close to what I described above. It's pretty sad when I'm going "Cool! They put in chrome handles instead of ORB knobs!" And I guess, also, there's a distinction between what I want to see--the more different and interesting the better--and what I want to live with--less of cool for coolness sake.

I think others feel it too--"can you stand another white kitchen?" and "yet another white kitchen" have been recent threads. Not that these particular kitchen aren't lovely, and not that I'd choose to live with unique over harmonious myself. But there's some sense of "sameness" to it. I remember my excitement when I saw my first "classic white" GW kitchen--it's the one with the red window trim, very Craftsman. I was so excited! I'd never liked the brown woods/brown granite/tumbled stone trend (sorry)--don't like tumbled stone in any form, and so much texture just made me tired. But after the 100th or so, even white doesn't seem as fresh.

The BEST, most enduring trend I've seen in my...oh, eight years, I think, on GW is the move toward more cohesive design in the kitchen. This is new at most levels of design--even the highest. Truly functional divisions began in the 1990s, with zoning, etc., but the visuals were vere...monotone, if that makes any sense. And kitchen still felt like walls of cabinets, period.

Gradually, aesthetics gained ground--and around 2003-5, there were a bunch of beautiful and thoroughly unusable kitchens that dominated a lot of design books and made inroads here, too. This, I HATED, with a true and burning passion. What's the point of kitchen with an 8' range if you can't cook in it? Sure, no uppers at all looks more living room-ish, but now where are your plates going to go because there aren't enough lowers to make up for it?! I longed for the days with no aesthetic vision at all if that was the alternative!

Then, over the past 4 years or so, there's been a lot more attention paid to both gorgeous design--in the broadest sense--and to functionality. Balance and vignettes working together to make a beautiful rhythm while each individual zone is fully functional--uppers or no! This truly fired my imagination, causing me to reject my no-aesthetics-for-aesthetics-sake stance and figure out how to make both high levels of functionality and flexibility work with a beautiful design. Considering that I've been mentally working through my "new kitchen" since before I ripped out my old kitchen for sale, that's a lot of time to pore over the plans. (And I won't even break ground on it until 2012--got to finish the bathrooms first.)

And that design? It has multiple white units in it! Some cream, some stained, charcoal.

So it's not meant as a blind white-kitchen-bashing attempt. It is, however, a bit of a lament for the diversity that was once the rule at GW.

"Ignore trends and go with what you like" is a rather ironic prescription if you like what you like because you've seen a lot of it (AKA, it's a trend).

Those stools are EXACTLY what I was envisioning for my kitchen island! Colors, rush top, cushion, EVERYTHING! Wrong height, though. :-(

Everyone (friends and rellies) wants to see our kitchen because it is new and "different". Maybe not to GWers or people that are TKO, but honestly, how many people are that interested in kitchens?

If it is what you dream, fits your vision and lifestyle, and fits your home, who cares if it is the trend or not?
I had already decided on my colors, my layout, and my vision before I started doing massive research and discovered that "my" vision was shared by many.

I just accept that we all have very good taste. ;^)

Or stating an opinion. Or asking others for their's. This is a public forum, no?

It seems to me that if someone gets emotionally invested in an anonymous poster's opinion such that you allow yourself to become offended or have hurt feelings merely because they have different tastes or viewpoints than yours, then perhaps participating in a public forum like this isn't in your best interest?

Personally, I can relate to the OP's opinions. Pretty much verbatim. And stated very well, I might add.

Back on subject, fwiw, I am starting to get interested in what I am reading is possibly the beginning of a trend: white and gold. That is, white kitchens with brass hardware. I 've already started a collection of photos to study this idea...who knows, I may latch onto it(sorry for the pun)...or I may not. :-)

I was actually thinking of unlaquered bright brass for some of my kitchen hardware, and letting it age naturally! Bail pulls, no less.

Everybody in here has probably seen thousands, and that means one is going to get tired of some of it. Its like the early phenomenon in TV. Many comedians were washed up because before TV, they could travel the circuit for a year with the same jokes. Tell it on TV, and 1 million people saw it, and then they told it --instant over exposure.

This thread, although the title is a bit negative is exploring trends and cultural phenomena, it seems like some people are *looking for a reason to be insulted by it. Its not a post about someone's finished kitchen followed by a list of things everyone hates about it. Its a general discussion about trend and where it is possibly headed. We are adults, not preschoolers where everyone is a winner and everyone gets a prize just for showing up. This isn't always supposed to be a place for mutual self-edification, it should be a place for discussion. If we are all going to agree with everyone else about everything whats the point?

That said, we are fortunate enough to have a little ski condo, and we redid that kitchen too, and I can indulge the part of me that likes stained wood, copper accents, pottery, kilims, dark leather, stone, and all that. (That sounds so 70s after I typed it!)

And, I was in Phoenix over the weekend, and decided I wanted a MCM wrapped in glass and built into the side of a mountain, so then I can do something totally different, etc. etc. (I can see how this gets expensive, lol)

don't mind me. i'll just sit here and wait for my WHITE kitchen. which should be finished by 2121 if i'm lucky. maybe it will be new and exciting by then?

When I first found this board in 2003 (lurked for years before I actually had the guts to register and post), the unassailable Holy Trinity was Natural Maple/Granite/Stainless Steel. I swear I thought if I saw one more kitchen with natural maple shaker cabinets, uba tuba or absolute black countertops , and stainless appliances, I was going to jump out a window (I'm usually on the ground floor, though, so it probably would have been more an expression of high drama than genuine desperation).

Most of those posters are now off enjoying their kitchens and are long gone (my kitchen project's been an uncommonly long time in the making), but I'm sure there are still a few around who remember that particular phase. . .

I have always planned on a white kitchen-- I have an old farmhouse that's filled with foot-wide, white molding and white built-in's everywhere, so there's really no escaping it, and anything else would look ridiculous.

Back then, I really felt like a fish out of water hanging out on this board, and frankly, among our friends that were re-doing kitchens. I live in the MidAtlantic, and white kitchens have been very common here since, well, the New Republic! All our friends were ripping out their vintage and/or original white kitchens and putting in maple/granite/stainless.

These days, as someone smack in the middle of a white kitchen install, I'm kind of enjoying the glut of white kitchens-- I get a TON of good ideas I can steal!

As is the way of things, though, the circle WILL keep rolling along, and I'm quite sure if I check back here in 2017, there will be someone posting a thread titled "Is Anyone Else Well and Truly Sick of Seeing _________?"

I am really kind of excited to see what _________is!

The funny thing is that I started out, before I found GW, thinking of white cabinets (though with turquoise, not black). After really going through all the options and possibilities I went for none of the above. :) It is possible to be a true individualist. It just takes courage, and a budget that allows one to get things that aren't volume priced.

Imagine how refreshing it has been for our family to look at the amazing photos of clean, crisp, and classy white kitchens on GardenWeb and on so many other wonderful design blogs!

When we designed our new kitchen, our architect was surprised by our desire to go white and recommended that we stick with the standard dark wood kitchen for resale value. We had a really hard time with other elements, too. None of the counter fabricators in our city sold soapstone, so we had to have it shipped from M. Teixeira in Denver. Likewise, every fabricator scoffed at us when we said we wanted a marble island...

While I understand that our kitchen might seem hum-drum boring in the Northeast, it is really unique in Kansas and it goes so well with our cottage-style home. We love it, even if some of friends and neighbors see it as "declasse" compared to the standard dark wood style.

When my parents were doing their kitchen (same time we did ours, 2009), my mom wanted marble but every. single. stone yard discouraged her. Some actually practically yelled at her, NO NO NOT MARBLE! Parents didn't have a kd on their side, and eventually went with a black granite. I kept telling them it would be fine, here's what to expect, but the "experts" kept scaring them.

I think if you want a brown kitchen -- which is totally FINE, by the way -- it's just easier to do in many regions without having to do your own research. You can go to a cabinet store and a stone yard and easily buy cherry or alder and granite, etc. If you want white or inset or marble, you might run into more resistance, so you research, and you end up right here at GW, and thus the seeming overload of white kitchens.

The trick with anything is to make a space that creates YOUR vision and that reflects something of your own feelings and personality. I think that's why it's so important to go with what you love.

My new kitchen is stained maple with granite, and it probably looks dated already to some. But for my home, it fits.

I love white kitchens and came very close to a white kitchen, but in the end, went with what "spoke to my house." :-)

Way to go Kitchens Board!

I happen to totally agree with the "white kitchen fatigue" sentiment but not necessarily for the same reasons others have stated. It's not that I don't like white kitchens. Lately both in the media and here on GW, there is such a proliferation of white kitchens that I feel a selfish pang of disappointment every time I open a new kitchen reveal post and see that it is another white kitchen. Again this is not because I don't LIKE the kitchens, it is because I am looking for something else. I am forever searching for more examples and inspiration of craftsman kitchens done in QS oak. Yes there are a few and I have ogled them to the wee hours of the night. Some things are just not as common on this forum as a white kitchen. Try looking for stained trim ideas! That's a real challenge.

White or not white kitchen aside, I appreciate all that I constantly learn from all the wonderful GW people and their posts. I have spent many many hours staring at orchidluvr's white kitchen even though there really isn't anything there that I can copy. The same can be said for elizpiz's and theanimala's recent reveals. None of those are stained wood like I am searching for, but they are so well put together that I just stare at them over and over.

So there it is...my opinion. I hope no one thought I was criticizing anyone else's opinion because that wasn't my intent. I hope this discussion continues. It looks like we might have another snow day this week and I need something good to read.

I think the opinion-bashing posts perplex me more. This is a discussion about a nationwide trend, not a particular person's kitchen. What, is nobody now allowed to say they prefer single-bowl sinks because the oppressed dual-bowl minority will be offended?

Onto the OP's question:

The folks who talked about the context of the house are right on. A white kitchen will seem more appropriate ten years from now in a 1920 house than in a 2010 house, all else being equal.

Even so, no color is "timeless." You can see page after page of 20th century kitchens on quite a few web sites, pulled right from the ads of the day, and almost none of them are white after about 1927 or so, until the 1980s. Trends come, trends go.

Good design always does last longer. Any idea, well executed, with thoughtful details, tends to pass the test of time better than slapdash efforts to keep up with the latest trends. And I think most people on this forum tend to put a lot of thought into their choices, anyway.

I think what really puts an expiration date on design is going whole hog into every trend that's of the moment, all at the exact same time. All white, plus subways, plus marble, plus stainless--yes, it's pretty, but it's going to be distinctly late Zeroes. Which may or may not matter to someone; if you like it, enjoy it!

I don't think white cabinets per se are about to go the way of avocado, but I see distinct signs of more color coming back into kitchens. Face it, color has been "out" a long time. We've hard stained cabs with dark granite, then white cabs with marble or soapstone, all with stainless steel appliances. I think a little color is long overdue.

Painted white wood cabinets in the kitchen and painted elaborate wood trim is an American Architecture vernacure. Another American vernacular is a single or two story ranch.... (although we didn't value it as much until recently when everyone started to call these mid century modern!) If the entire house goes well with the painted white kitchen, then the kitchen and the house can be stunningly beautiful. I think if the kitchen is well executed in the context of the house, it will endure. Otherwise, it is a fad....

I know that we all show pictures of the kitchen without the house in the pictures. It is all very deceiving. I often see trim and door styles in the kitchen that just does not work with the kitchen that is shown. I cringe and think what else is in the house.... Often, these are the types of kitchens that will look outdated the quickest because it screams "I was remodeled in the year X".

However, even if the remodel says that is was done in year X, if there is enough artistry, wimsy, uniqueness and personality, then it is a "great" kitchen from year X. It does not matter that it was done in a particular year, it still is a nice kitchen...

However, I looooooooooooooooove white kitchens. I do a lot of genealogy and anything with an older look (1920s older...) just sings to my heart. The inset white kitchen look just has a romantic, wonderful feeling. I hope this isn't just my heart having a crush on a trend! :)

No way am I "insulted" by a thread which questions the popularity of "white kitchens." (Although I do feel a bit of sensitivity towards those whose particular choice of kitchen design is up for group appraisal). Truth is, I am one who has outfitted her kitchen with white cabinets but then, in a clear departure from "trend", has added in bold color appliances (the latter being another "trend", I suppose, that many of you have criticized as one that will quickly become outdated).

I guess my general feeling is that we should all strive to listen to our own inner voices, assess our immediate circumstances and long term plans, and design our kitchens accordingly and in confidence. Lastly, and by all means within that process, I think we should solicit advice, feedback, support and challenges to our ideas in a way that also that work to discourage the passing of judgments on the personal choices made by others.

Just another 2 cents.

Not so some other "color" appliances. Some are just color for the sake of color. When a certain group of complex colored appliances first came out years ago my reaction was that they was going to get old. Sure enough, people who rushed to buy the exciting colors are getting rid of them now because they're tiresome. OTOH, good colors, chosen with love, not because of slick marketing and to be "different" will remain with us as we change--witness the what color is your KitchenAid thread, where everyone with strong colors still loved them.

In fact, now that I think of it, I think that's the problem with the Avocado Green/Harvest Gold group, and with the speckled rose pink group that came before. The brown and the turquoise didn't grow as tiresome as fast as the green, gold and pink. Remember when all the housewares were dusty blue or mauve? (Ugh! I searched for white.)

I think the least complex colors endure better. White, black, gray, brown, clear red, true blue, leaf green. All these are basic, natural colors without a lot of overtones and undertones of other colors in them. And a lot of the enduring KA mixers were these kinds of colors. Turquoise blue sounds like it would be complex as well, but it is actually a base molecule in dye, and a component color of light, as well as being the color of many skies and seas, so it's more basic than the paint mixing version might seem.

Marthavila's beautiful range (the red one in Alllson's link up topic) is also a deeply beautiful color, and not overly complex.

I have total Magazine White Kitchen overload - I'll bet 9 of the last 12 issues of House Beautiful and Traditional Home (my two main home-decor-porn subscriptions) feature white kitchens, marble countertops, stainless appliances and subway backsplash. But I LOVE the white kitchens I see here, including the ones that have most of those elements, because they were designed and created for real people. The magazine ones are to look at. The ones here, I admire their function as much as the look, especially when the proud kitchen owner is posting, "look how I solved that off-center sink problem....remember my pantry dilemna, here's how I figured it out." It personalizes the kitchen for me and that takes it out of the realm of 'another white kitchen', and makes it into a functional well-thought-out space that also is white.

However, I still think nothing beats our current kitchen, which could have had a cute retro 1930s vibe if the realtor in charge of fixing it up had any imagination. Instead, he took the 1930s cabinets and put in a travertine tile backsplash and rose granite counter and a stainless steel sink, then painted the cabinets to try to get them to look like cherry wood (unfortunately they kinda turned out pink...) This was in 2007, and might ring some bells as a very popular combo in the early-to-mid 2000s (still popular now, of course, and gorgeous when done "for real"---but somewhat ridiculous in this context!) I just find it bizarre that he (or the PO, not sure who was calling the shots) thought the kitchen needed to be as much as possible like the trendy kitchen of the time. For half of what they spent, they could have painted the cabs, put on on retro knobs, and slapped a laminate counter down that would have looked entirely at home amidst the 1930s partial inset cabinets and fixtures, and probably wouldn't have screamed "please renovate me!" quite so loudly. Ah, well.

Marthavila's beautiful red range with the beautiful hood...will someday go out of style. EVERYTHING will eventually go out of style. :o) My "timeless" kitchen will eventually reach it's 12'oclock :) Anyone saying anything else is kidding themselves.

The only thing that does not go out of style is something that never was in style :) or was already out. Even a new "old" kitchen will eventually date itself via the brand, style, etc of appliances as new and better/different appliances come along. There may be a day when we push a button for a "home cooked" meal ala star trek, and Martha's gorgeous stove will be seen in the same nostalgic light as the gorgeous cookstove in my new kitchen is. But no one will actually want to cook on it....they'll have buttons...perhaps, like me, they'll move martha's lovely piece into the wine room and stack bottles on it....but trust me, it will someday go out of style.

That said :) back to the OT...the title of the thread was offensive. You can't go beyond that. The topic was discussed somewhat well, but there were nice subtle insults that would make someone feel bad about posting their new white kitchen now, and that's unfortunate.

I'm toying with doing a Christopher Peacock kitchen in the victorian. After spending three years doing my other kitchen with crappy contractors, etc, the thought of turning it over to someone who knows how to do a 1800 kitchen that functions well today is very tempting. I'll be sure not to share if I do so given how much folks would be horrified at the boring result.

Isn't this range timeless??? Black cast iron, chrome finish...what's not to love? Ohhh actually using it right?

I think what gets people about the white kitchen phenomenon is that some of it is so doctrinaire. It's like a kit. You have to have subways, or calacatta, or soapstone, and bin pulls, and dark wood, and Christopher Peacock hardware, all in the same kitchen--actually, every kitchen. It got like a diner menu: "No substitutions!"

The reason why I'm saying this is that I remember specific threads here where a poster wanted to do something different with her backsplash--stone perhaps. Suddenly it was like she set off an alarm or something, and the code enforcers were all over her. No, it would be wrong, she simply had to do subways, or marble, or if she insisted on being daring, marble subways. The very thought of changing the formula set off waves of panic. She would hate it, she was warned.

Also, on several threads, I remember suggesting that posters paint their ceiling blue or green, and do the same on their walls. My idea was to add color, plus solve those weird strips of wall we all get between window trim and cabs by making them part of a bigger color block.

You would have thought I suggested going to a funeral in a red strapless cocktail dress. LOL.

Anyway. I don't think anybody's real, live white kitchen is going to provoke eye-rolls or look dated soon. As other posters have pointed out, there just aren't that many of them in the real world, unless you live in Connecticut, ground zero for hedge fund manager design. I think that's because the Peacock trend started to percolate out to the rest of us non-billionnaires too late, after the housing bubble started to cool, and fewer new homes (and kitchens) were being built.

The one thing that may change--in fact, I hope does change--is a too-limited view of what else should go into that white kitchen. I can't wait to see what people come up with next.

HEY! What about the rest of us who clearly stated we did not have white kitchen fatigue? I can’t get enough and hope to have one someday soon. Please share your Peacock kitchen as his kitchens are my inspiration.

Don't forget us! :-)

I don't even know what to say to that....

An antique isn't "timeless"--at least, most aren't, unless they're still produced today. (I'd call Chippendale timeless, for instance!) They're from a specific time period. It just doesn't negatively impact anymore because that period style is valued again. Truth is, though, color palettes seem to age the worst. Genuine 19th and 18th-c color palettes are, for the most part, VERY unappealing to most people today. I think "eyeball bleeding" might be an appropriate term!

There isn't going to be an autochef in my lifetime--and I'm 30. So I'm not worrying about that. The 1965 stainless steel wall ovens in my current kitchen looked timeless. Too bad they didn't work.

I've just started cooking through Child and Beck's Art of French Cooking. I'm curious how much better the mid-century palate stands up than your average historic, ahem, palette. :-) (Though I must say that Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian has quite "fresh" palette to my eyes, even if I could never deal with the clutter....) My neighbor bought the cookbook set months ago and hadn't touched it, so I borrowed it!

1. I'm in the NW and here in the NW and maybe whole West coast, we're behind. Here white is only just now coming in - especially the whole marble craze. Actually most people don't even know about that yet. Most people around here still think honed black granite w/ white cupboards is the new it thing.

2. I think when you live in an old house with nice enough original cupboards which happen to have been painted before you moved in, there are only so many colors you can choose from unless you're incredibly gifted re. interior decorating and/or have a lot of money to spend. When I moved in my original cupboards were painted BROWN. Since it's a 1913 craftsman house, I assume they were originally unpainted...but what do I know. Anyway, so when I moved in in 2000 I painted them white. Simple, fresh and happy looking, classic, safe.

3. Seems to me that the biggest trends now for countertops - besides marble - appear to be wood, metals (zinc and pewter are being seen more - or even just stainless, if it's in an older house, for a change) and then the environmental choices in general. Soapstone seems to have replaced honed absolute black granite in my neck of the woods for those who want to do black but are tired of the honed granite black...however I'm not sure it will ever catch on on the West coast as it has on the East coast. On the East coast it belongs there and is truly timeless/classic. Maybe it's my imagination but I can't help but notice there have been some blurbs here and there about a movement toward using materials appropriate for the region? If that's the case, over here I would think wood is the answer. And reclaimed wood is REALLY the answer since up here we're all about saving the environment. ;)

4. I was just discussing w/ a friend today the fact that the internet and media in general has ruined us all. Everything is new, nothing is new. Word travels too fast. We don't know who we are until someone else tells us who to be. Just tonight I saw an old hippy looking crazy skirt in a pile of old clothes. I thought, now why can't I just put that on and walk all over town just to wear something that spins around and is on the longer side, and just cause I feel like playing dress-up even though it's very unfashionable and would make me look a little crazy? I knew the answer: I wouldn't dare because I care too much what people think. I let others define me. No being 100% in the moment like a child full of experimentation and wonder. Can't get away with that. I take my hat off to those who can and do and not just in the name of fashion but in the name of not caring and of being in the moment with what feels good or pretty...just for what it is. Not the case w/ such long-term commitments as kitchens, I realize, but I still wonder how much of us even realize we're allowed to do what the hell we want, you know?

Sorry for the rant!

p.s. I agree with whoever it was who said the secret is too have something so neutral as white and then to make changes in wall color and accessories. It's not that you have to be neutral but it's fun to change things out every couple of years without having to pay so much for it. :)

brain fag, burnout, debility, dullness, enervation, ennui, exhaustion, faintness, fatigation, feebleness, heaviness, languor, lassitude, lethargy, listlessness, overtiredness, weakness, weariness

you might want to check again in your dictionary but terrified isn't typically one you'd see in an english vocabulary book.

How about saying this? Who else is sick of seeing white kitchens? Wouldn't that be nice? Can you not acknowledge that your title possibly could have been worded differently and in such a way as to not insult anyone who might want to post a finished white kitchen they're terribly proud of?

What you might say is "I'm sorry if I offended". Or you could post a title like "Anyone want to shake up the popular white kitchen?" "Anyone have great ideas on how to make a white kitchen pop in a less than traditional way?" etc. Instead of saying you're sick and tired of them?

Just a thought about something you could say "to that".

Antiques can be timeless. My range posted above is a black cast iron range with chrome decor, which is still being manufactured today or remanufactured with newer features. It's a pretty timeless piece of furniture that says "kitchen" to just about anyone in the world.

You continue to exert insult after insult....Let's see, Genuine 19th and 18th color palettes "eyeball bleeding" right? So burgundy, gold and green causes your eyes to bleed? They're actually pretty classic color palettes that are used over and over and over again. Green bronze and gold...another eyeball bleeder...to you anyhoo. I'm sitting here looking at samples of antique wall paper that are in these traditional 18th and 19th century palettes....what else is here...oh here's a silvery white, with brown and light aqua blue...never see that now a days do you?

You keep speaking of how most people feel, and you're wrong. Many people love white kitchens done in classic materials. Many people love aqua and brown, many people don't paint antique wood....So why not learn from the design ideals of today and yesterday verses insulting them? Why not have a discussion that dosen't make a person feel they can't post their finished white kitchen tomorrow?

I must admit I'm completely stumped as to what you're discussing in the last paragraph. I've read it several times and just don't know what the heck you're talking about....people's taste buds or the color and design of julia's kitchen....ya got me there.

Another interesting thing I recently heard from the place doing my granite (and they do tile and cabients and floor and other things kitchen) said that white cabinets always come into style during times of recession. It's going back to simplicity and things that are classic.

People don't like coming to the older parts because, except for the tracts where they only had a few models and the people haven't personalized much, all the houses are different styles side-by-side. And all of the kitchens are different.

The unifying element pre-1990 is tile. Very little laminate in older kitchens. Tile counters and backsplashes. Current kitchens do tend to have granite. So that's the unifying element.

I don't want "ways to make a white kitchen pop." I am not interested in "pop" at all. I'm interested, here, in the basic colors of the kitchen.

Like it or not, MOST people ARE painting trim in Craftsmans these days. I wouldn't, and I'm not recommending it. That wasn't my point. My point was that every home and garden show for the past 10 years and every home magazine shows "Craftsman redos" featuring white painted trim. I was horrified for a while--yes, this time I really was horrified--but now I shrug it off. I can see why people do it even if I don't agree with their choices. I don't insult them for it.

White kitchens are incredibly trendy right now. So yes, tons of people like them. That's part of being trendy. That is, in fact, my POINT. And the fact that you missed that indicates that you were too busy getting offended to pay attention to what I was actually saying. You chose to read that I hate white kitchens and I think that trim should be painted--neither of which, in fact, is true, and neither of which has a thing to do with what I AM saying!

Your range is "classic" in that it isn't out of style, but it isn't "classic" in that it does relay a very specific time period and style. If you put a lot of things that are "classic" in the first sense together without regard for the second, what you'd have would be a mess, not something, well, classic.

Have you read any actual period books on home decorating (those published IN the 19th century) or looked at real examples from the period, not just a modern "restoration"? It isn't the green and burgundy--it's the PINK and MUSTARD and blue-green and burgundy that most people would not live with today.

Green and gold for the colonial period? Sure, for the woodwork, if you were rich enough but didn't want faux English oak, but if you could afford it, don't forget the very, very brilliantly painted canvas rug and the wallpaper that doesn't make the slightest attempt to do what we'd consider matching today. (It wasn't a focus of the time. I shouldn't have to say this, but you probably think I'm saying that old is bad--what I mean is that tastes are different. No value judgment.)

I specialize in Victorian history, and what you're talking about are the nice little tamed-down colors meant to appeal to the modern eye--not the riot that followed the discovery of aniline dye, for instance. Fuschia and scarlet together? Oh, give us more, more, more! But let's make one of them plaid. And, oh, look as this awesome new patent turquoise! Wouldn't that just spruce up the yellow-green bedroom? How about mauve and magenta together? It's all the rage!

Of course, shiny brass lighting never goes out of style. Nope. Not ever. (I'm betting it'll be back in in 5 years...)

Almost all the preserved homes that you get to tour these days are incredibly stripped down and simplified from the colors and patterns they once would have had. We get history with a layer of whitewash over it--taking away all the stuff we'd find garish, yes, but also turning so many of the houses in to a sterile version of themselves.

I'd bet cold, hard cash that the average homeowner today would not choose more than 1 in 5 palettes that a late Victorian would have adored.

There's nothing classic about those palettes. They were all the rage for a while, and then they went out of style. (Be warned--pink and burgundy are making inroads!)

For the most agreeable (to modern tastes) Victorian reproduction wallpaper, I'd recommend William Morris. His palettes were very restrained and his patterns quite lovely--many monochromatic, too. http://www.historicstyle.com/williammorris/wallpapers/index.html This main picture is quite toned-down but still has hints of what a real Victorian would have done with the wallpaper and fabrics.

As far as my last paragraph goes:

I was making a pun with the fact that all "tastes" change. Palate/palette, see.

In case you don't know, cuisine, too, has its fashions. I have a lot of older cookbooks, and many of the older staple recipes are unappealing to the modern gourmand. (When's the last time someone under 60 has served an aspic salad?) Vegetable preparation and the preferred level of intensity and variety of flavors have changed drastically. For example, most modern Americans don't have fond thoughts of boiled vegetables. The Complete Robuchon is probably going to suit my modern preferences better, but going through Child is fun, too.

The movie was set in the early 1980s, when girls still sported Farrah Fawcett hair and carried around huge clunky Walkmans. Hated the movie, but the team did a great job of capturing the clothes, hair, cars, and even more impressively, the cinematography of the era. I can't explain it, but it was shot like a 1981 movie.

The one thing that stood out as an anachronism was the Victorian mansion that was the movie's main location. Beautiful multichromatic paint schemes, and a big white kitchen with soapstone countertops and subway tiles and a vintage-looking faucet and a huge stainless steel stove. You can tell the set designers tried to "junk it up" with pizza flyers and clutter to make it look less decorated, but there was absolutely no mistaking a 21st century kitchen. Because it wasn't a Victorian kitchen, it was an interpretation of Victorian that belongs specifically to the modern era. I remember what Victorian kitchens looked like in the 1980s: if they were original, they included a mishmash of unfitted and unattractive functional pieces from different decades. If they were not original, they were much more cutesy Victorian, with bits of lace and gingham and cookie jars with cats on them. None of them looked like a Christopher Peacock kitchen.

Here's what "Victorian" really looked like in the mid- late- 20th century (this is from the '70s):

Today we tend to go back to original patterns. Some are really pretty--William Morris is so big now, Prada is starting to use the prints in its clothing line. Others, I'm sorry, I find really, really ugly--I know, I've stripped it, years ago. It fell squarely into "what were they thinking?" territory. And even the pretty stuff, used the way Victorians really liked to use it, could be a bit, um, much:

Folks have reproduced original, Victorian-era books with decorating advice on the Web. It's all very interesting, but some of the recommendations make a frightening read!! And we have to remember, a lot of what we cherish as "Victorian" was despised by the Victorians themselves, because we lump 60 years together as a single era, while in fact tastes changed a great deal during that time.

I have probably been in 4 white kitchens in my life. I had only seen a couple of pics so when deciding to do white cabinets and a stained island, I thought I was marching to the tune of my own drummer. Ha, little did I know.

When someone told me marble would look good, I thought I was being edgy by getting something so retro. Ha again! :) I agree with what some people have said about white kitchens seeming to be a regional phenomenon.

Even though I hate to be trendy, a kitchen is such a huge expense, I was truly relieved to find GW and learn that so many of you love white kitchens. Seeing so many finished pictures was truly inspirational (so thank you!).

I think most people I come across love beautiful wood cabinets and think painted cabinets are a lot less expensive. I actually thought I was saving money by going the painted route which was a huge bonus.. my GC set me straight :(

About a month ago I discovered a Christopher Peacock kitchen that moved me (the refectory). I had never heard of the guy. I still haven't figured out why so many people don't like him. Maybe he's the trend leader? At those prices, I can't imagine he's been saturating the market, but who knows.

Like clkw, I had always assumed painted cabinets were cheaper than stained. We decided on stained because we wanted a change, and they turned out to be more affordable. When we redid our own kitchen, we took out the old painted cabinets (not original to our 1924 house) and put in stained maple. So as others have stated here, I guess I do have some "white kitchen fatigue." It's nice to see what's possible with stained cabinets, too.

I can't say I've watched many of the home makeover shows, so maybe they're doing it there---but I don't know of any homes in bungalow country where I live where a house with original trim had its trim painted any time in recent years. *Re*painted---sure, of course. And stripped and refinished, in many cases. But not painted for the first time. (And yes, you can tell with a little investigation, because trim that was painted before the mid-1970s has lead in it. If you find a house with no lead in the enamel paint, it may have had its first paint job after that point---but that's pretty rare.) At any rate, I wouldn't make a blanket generalization like that based on a photo in a magazine.

well...that's a buzz killer

When I eventually post I'll say...if you have White Kitchen fatigue don't bother looking

now back to the OP....Rey, you don't know me, and you're cracking me up. Honey I don't have a white kitchen, don't know that I will any day soon, though in our new house we will go period which means some white. My remodeled kitchen is eclectic beyond most eclectic kitchens with no white paint in site. But that does not mean I have no ability to appreciate a white kitchen done well, or a MCM (a style I don't want to live in but can enjoy the execution of) or modern. And I wouldn't post a thread title that said "Are ya'll as sick of MCM as I am?" because it would make the next person posting their MCM kitchen feel like poop and do so for no reason other than to exert how cool I am over how not cool they are for following the "trend".

What's wrong with following trends by the way? My son dresses like the trendiest of teens (he's 4, I just love cloths) and I enjoy seeing how cute he is in the outfits. Must I dress him in burlap to show I'm so cool I don't do what's trendy? What if I put in a tuscan kitchen when they were cool? There are some dang fine tuscan kitchens that were done on GW that are still droolworthy today...those danged trend followers. Country French is in, and almost on it's way out, so hurry quick you trend followers because you're gonna miss the bus....or maybe you just love country french and want to live with it for a while, despite the fact that you learned about it due to a "trend".

I don't drive a trendy car, live in a trendy house, or have a trendy kitchen...but thats just because I'm too lazy to keep up with the big trends or too cheap :oP But I can admire them without being rude.

You specialize in victorian decor....wow that's a bit shocking given your lack of love for history in homes (another thread). But fine, that's great. Do you specialize in all periods within the victorian period or have you just picked a few years? It was a long period my dear....very long and as stated above, changed within the period quite a bit.

I have a great love of the history of my victorian so before I do anything with it I'm learning how to think victorian, and pushing towards the victorian style loved by the original owner (masculine, very eastlake in style which we take our hints from the brasses and medallions as well as the woods he chose and his original furnishings and draperies). Have I read a period book LOL I have five stacked here by the bed and fell asleep reading Eastlake's book so it's on the floor somewhere. I collect antique decor books and have a library full of them as well as architecture books because I want to understand the period from it's many angles before I tackle the house. Morris is lovely yes, but I prefer Herter and Dresser in all their glory, and in original colors from the period. it's not all pumpkin and peacock if you really study all of the movements within the victorian period.

You narrow your "most people" into a group that fits everyone. You describe victoriana in a small window of time when it's a huge one. Read more books...Eastlake's take on victorian decor is fascinating and interesting and very "now" despite the fact that it was written back then.

Like it or not most people are not painting their craftsman woodwork. Read a few mags on craftsman decor now...you'll see that the woodwork is being brought back to it's glory. In the pacific northwest you don't see painted wood work in a restored craftsman terribly often, quite the opposite really. And in our town where history is deeply respected, it's very very uncommon.

I have probably been in 4 white kitchens in my life. I had only seen a couple of pics so when deciding to do white cabinets and a stained island, I thought I was marching to the tune of my own drummer. Ha, little did I know.

When someone told me marble would look good, I thought I was being edgy by getting something so retro. Ha again! :) I agree with what some people have said about white kitchens seeming to be a regional phenomenon.

Even though I hate to be trendy, a kitchen is such a huge expense, I was truly relieved to find GW and learn that so many of you love white kitchens. Seeing so many finished pictures was truly inspirational (so thank you!).

I think most people I come across love beautiful wood cabinets and think painted cabinets are a lot less expensive. I actually thought I was saving money by going the painted route which was a huge bonus.. my GC set me straight :(

About a month ago I discovered a Christopher Peacock kitchen that moved me (the refectory). I had never heard of the guy. I still haven't figured out why so many people don't like him. Maybe he's the trend leader? At those prices, I can't imagine he's been saturating the market, but who knows.

I don't wonder if others feel frustration or outright backlash against white kitchens. Every day, the first page of this forum has 4-6 threads about white kitchens. Take a look and I'm sure you'll see that they contain some implied or frankly derogatory remarks about non-white kitchens, in some cases directed at a particular poster rather than a style. Last week, someone posted a picture of her gorgeous new kitchen, and someone else responded that her granite was "dated."

I think discussion of trends is fair game. Personal attacks are not. And people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

$.02

Why? Did you design your kitchen so that the maximum number of people would like it? So that others would consider it new and trendy?

Or because you personally loved your choices?

If the latter, you have nothing to worry about.

I was reading further back (I have been missing some interesting posts because I am actively trying to avoid the non-constructive b1t(Hy ones)--and someone brought up colored appliances.

What I can't figure out is why appliances are not available in a variety of color options like cars are? Washers and dryers are getting pretty bold, but why not a midrange dishwasher for example? I suppose part of it is that cars are replaced more frequently, so more are sold every year and there can be more responsiveness to color trends.

Maybe 5 years ago I did a cosmetic facelift of a small house that had the original harvest gold fridge, DW and range. We stripped what was left of an early 90s facelift (that was probably behind the times when it was done). The kitchen cabinets were natural oak with cathedral arch uppers and square lowers, basic, inoffensive cabinets that were not quite contemporary enough for the rest of the house, but no biggie.

We were planning on leaving the appliances, but they started dying right as we finished up the project.

I have to say with the color palette going on in the whole house, harvest gold appliances would still have been the best bet; followed by bisque. The homeowner ended up getting a black DW and range and a white fridge. I probably would have stuck to one or the other (it ended up not mattering, she sold soon after). However, neither black nor white looked that great. Black was almost too dark, and a black fridge would have been overpowering. White was too stark in the run of cabinets, it was ok for the fridge. The client didnt like stainless and it would have read a little grey in the kitchen I suspect. If a color would have been available, gold, green, or even blue...they all would have been better options.

I love that they both bring beautiful things into the world. But Martha's aesthetic has become (at least attempts to seem) reachable. She has free content on the web, etc.

Just try to Google Image Peacock's kitchens. Hardly any authentic ones come up...because he won't allow photo sharing of his kitchens! Not sharing is so not my style!

I would love a totally white kitchen if I could afford it. I love love love the look...but I do find something oppressive in the TKO world of a mindset that kitchens must be solid wood and inset doors and white milk paint and vintage pendants and (well, you know). It's a monied aesthetic. But the oppression really comes from my own desire to own a piece of it. Basically, I think it comes down to kitchen envy ;P and I will be the first to admit I have it. To some degree. I do love seeing people's kitchens and love hearing about them being happy. That is the best!

I like a white kitchen because I am 35, middle class and living in our third house. We did small remodels on our first house's kitchen, gutted the second and hope to do another full remodel on this (our current, and hopefully final) house. I'm going with white because I think it is a neutral palate which will fare well if we ever have to sell. White subways, too. I wanted something else, but would the next owner want a aqua backsplash?

They might not want white subway, and they certainly could find cause to complain, but they also could find a way to work around the white. It's not, after all, aqua ;)

This HAD to be tongue in cheek, right?:

"clkw people don't like Christopher here because he does expensive kitchens. GW has been the expensive kitchen bashing forum of the internet for years. :oP"

Like so many issues that have been raised on this thread, I guess it's all a matter of perspective, but I am regularly blown away by the amount of money people spend on their kitchens on this board!

You won't see any complaints about it from me, because I get to see some great rooms and maybe swipe an idea or two for my budget remodel, but when some posters spend more on a range, or a run of cabinets, than I am on my entire kitchen, I'd call that an expensive kitchen!

A couple years back I was considering redoing my kitchen. I got a real estate agent to do a market analysis because I was thinking we might move in a couple years. At the time everyone was saying that every dollar spent on a kitchen remodel you get back in increased resale value on the house (this was at the peak of the boom). So I thought WooHoo! free kitchen! To my surprise, the real estate agent said that I would increase my resale value $10,000 max no matter what I did.

When I told her that I was thinking about doing white cabinets to replace my pickled oak ones, she was horrified. She told me that I would actually lose resale value with white cabinets, even expensive painted inset cabinets. This is compared to pickled oak!

People around here associate white cabinets with cheap white melamie in condos and most people are not TKO enough to know the difference. The PNW is very conservative in home design trends. We are as much as 10 years behind other areas of the country on some trends.

I drooled over white kitchens in magazines for several years until I realized that what looks good in pictures doesn't always work in real life. The pictures are shot at camera angles that create a nice composition. They are carefully staged; usually with a vase of flowers giving a bold splash of color in the foreground. We respond to simple, uncluttered composition in pictures but it can look boring and sterile in real life. Edit out the beautiful photography, lighting and staging and the "classic white kitchens" in magazines can look very institutional. I realized that I was responding not to the kitchens, but to the staging in those photos!

I think classic white kitchens are hard to pull off. They need careful attention to details and accessorizing to personalize them and bring them to life. For those of you that have created beautiful white kitchens, you have my admiration; I know its not easy.

I'm also the one who brought up Christopher Peacock. I don't dislike him or his work--he's a great designer! But I am heartily tired of all the media only showing his work and the knockoffs of his work. I like to see something different. I wasn't bashing him or his kitchens. I was bashing the magazines.

Palimpsest, colorless has been very in. I tried to buy a new car a year or two ago. Most cars come in red. And that's often the only color they offered. There would be two or three whites (metallic, pearl and cream). Black, charcoal and dark gray. Two or three silvers (titanium, silver, and steel), and a few more tinted silvers (bluish fog, greenish fog, goldish fog). And red.

I did counts of them coming down the street. And would perk up if I saw a blue. Even more on the occasional yellow, and I even loved that really ugly burnt persimmon because at least it had color.

LOL, too perfect.

It's been an interesting journey because I received my "kitchen education" from GW, and I thought GW really represented the world of kitchen design, but when I started venturing out beyond GW into brick and morter stores to further research options, I found that GW didn't represent this area. At the time I was looking into white cabinetry, soapstone, and wood countertop island and you would not believe the flood of resistance I got from every place I went to - for all 3 elements. I was actually ashamed to be considering any of the three - the pressure was that great.

And you are so right about camera angles. It was the biggest reason I nixed a white kitchen as a choice. Here in the PNW, I had no possibility of actually being in one to see how it felt in real life. The pics on here are gorgeous, but how does it feel?

I am guessing the beautiful renovated older homes in the city - especially the upscale ones around the Sound, Lake Washington, Magnolia, etc do have white kitchens, but they are a very upscale clientele - not mainstream, and unfortunately not really a part of my circle - I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to go into some of their kitchens for a peek! What a treat that would be. I just love their beautiful, old renovated homes.

I keep popping in to GW just to check out the new batch of kitchens. And I'm not ashamed to say that whenever I see the word "white" in the title, my heart does a little flutter.

Never been the case in Texas but was common in lots of CA and VERY common here on the East Coast. Good to hear they aren't doing it everywhere! :-) It certainly wouldn't have been my choice.

>You specialize in victorian decor....

Victorian HISTORY. Six books in seven languages, actually. I have done most research on 1855 to 1885, with forays into other areas. And yes, I have Eastlake's book. If I were going to actually decorate from a single period faithfully, though, I'd bump forward to Wharton's Gilded Age style.

I don't hate historic houses. I just realize that good houses and bad houses were built in the past as in the present, and that the good parts of good houses are worth preserving while bad houses (or bad parts of good houses) are not.

My great-grandfather's house is now a parking lot, and from what I hear of it, it's an improvement. It was a crappy house when it was built, and it did not improve with age. Being old doesn't make something that was crappy to begin with less crappy now.

Now, excuse me while I go off and architecturally abuse my 1960s house by increasing the size of the master bath so I can put a non-period jetted tub in it for my chronic pain. I suppose the use of some 4x4" bathroom tiles will get me some points back, but the fact that they are white and not smurf-blue would lose them for me all over again.

Me Too! So Please Everyone who has or wants a White Kitchen, Please keep posting them – your kitchen or inspiration photos – doesn’t matter. If anyone truly has white kitchen fatigue they don’t have to open the thread. :-)

I really love stained wood vs. painted but when I see a beautiful creamy white kitchen I do think it would be refreshing to have one some day - if I lived in the right kind of house for white. Alas, that is probably never going to be the case.

It seems like all kinds of things get over done and then everyone tires of whatever it is - until they haven't seen it much for about 30 years or so. Then it comes around again. I thought it was so interesting to see subway tile in that one 1900's kitchen photo - and here we are again with subway tile everywhere. I remember seeing a very old kitchen in a college classmates crappy apartment. It had ancient maple shaker cabinets with bin pulls. I thought that was so cool and something I'd want to have in my kitchen some day. Now we've been through that phase and it's passing out of style again.

Everything comes and goes - you need to just get what you want and accept that it's going to go out of style....unless money's no object and you can keep changing every time something new comes around.

I've been trying to design my white kitchen for about a year and I'm plum tired out from it all. I wish I could wave a magic wand and "presto" I'd have the white kitchen of my dreams!

unfortunately I'm not quite sure what exactly that wold look like.

This thread has been very beneficial for me, a lot of information has come out in the discussion to help me fine tune some of my ideas and also to realize why a few of them haven't seemed to be working like I hoped.

I've planned a white kitchen for my 1875 farmhouse from the start - before I even knew they were the current trend.

Cathy - who is glad to see so many other white kitchens for lots and lots of ideas (and to prove to my husband that a white kitchen can look good).

Really, there's nothing more wonderful than a white and inviting kitchen in an old farmhouse. Nothing says "HOME" in a more gracious way (ok well aside from Auntie V but she was from Georgia and half lit on Mint J's so she was always a bit over the top welcoming).

I read her post and immediately wondered whether I made a mistake by installing wall cabinets...and should have instead expanded my windows and followed the latest no uppers trend. I'm now anticipating a gardenweb post titled "who else has upper cabinet fatigue?" LOL!!!

At the end of the day, this debate is really silly, isn't it? There is so much marketing today by the home building, remodeling, design, and furniture manufacturing industries that is geared toward selling more product. Just think about the marketing strategies in place at companies such as the Williams Sonoma group (Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc.) and you can quickly see that product turnover is an underlying goal. Buy a few basic pieces that need to be replaced every 5-10 years and then change your accessories as frequently as possible to keep up with new fashions or colors. This year it's yellow, turquoise next?!!! The design mags reinforce these trends with the same underlying motive, don't they? What was in last year, is definitely out now... please throw out all of your coral motif accessories and sunburst mirrors and get ready for the next trend, right? How ridiculous!

What makes this post on white kitchens so troubling, though, is that we're not talking about an accessory trend where people have dropped a few hundred bucks. No, we're talking about very personal decisions involving sometimes years of financial sacrifice to gut and remodel with all new cabinets, appliances, counters, tile, floors, etc. So to hear that you may have been the unwitting victim of the latest trend could feel disheartening, right? And that's okay.

I am willing to admit that I do feel a little disheartened- but I still love my new white kitchen even if it does have upper cabinets :)

Once we're finished, I hope to post it on the forum!

I have to admit, as lovely as I think white/cream/ivory inset cabs are, I would never want them. I have to be practical - frameless all the way, with as much storage as I can cram into limited kitchen space (I have way too much stuff but use it all).

White cabs and granite would have looked lovely in my MIL's classic Mediterranean-style traditional home. In my home - too cold and glossy, though. I get 365 days/yr of direct sun coming in, we had to even change out the faucet from chrome to stainless because the glare was actually painful in summer. Mine is a small nondescript cottage with an urban interior, so clean-lined, contemporary, and neutral seems to work best.

Like others have said, you really need to match the kitchen to the house. Not necessarily a slavish attention to detail, but more a sympathetic segue.

My point is, SS isn't as new as everyone seems to think it is. ;o)

For those of you with White kitchens, please keep posting. They are beautiful and we love seeing them!!!

I actually have to voice my disappointment because when I finally posted my finished non-white kitchen, it was barely recognized or complimented - the complete opposite of what happens with all the white kitchens that get posted. It made me very sad that many of the "regulars" didn't post at all. I chalked it up to the fact that my kitchen just isn't the "norm" or maybe they didn't like it....

I still think it is beautiful and after-all, I did it for me and not for the compliments i might or might not receive here.....

Just my experience and my two cents.

We've tried in the past to figure out why some new kitchens get all the responses and equally lovely ones don't. The theories are that it depends on the time of day you post, if there are so many other threads they push yours off, if there just aren't enough people around when you post, whether you have the right title, if everyone is just busy elsewhere that night, etc. We never figured it out and concluded it was all of the above.

Did I see your kitchen? I don't remember, but I'm bad with names. I hope you'll post it again (or bump it if it was recent (I couldn't find it)). There seem to be a lot of people who want to see a non-white kitchen.

A week or so back I posted a sample board of my final (non-white) choices, and I got about 5 responses, 3 of which were positive and the rest neutral. I am used to about 38 gushingly positive responses to other's choices - but that didn't happen on mine. I was already on pins and needles about my choices, and the response just seemed to confirm that I should be terribly worried. When even the regulars, even people who have been involoved in your previous posts choose to not say anything, that's a very bad sign.

After reading this thread it all made sense - I don't have a white kitchen! It's a birch and hickory kitchen that fits here in the PNW - and it's "me". Not only that, but I did hire a fabulous designer to help with my choices and everyone in person unanimously agrees it's going to be beautiful, so I shouldn't be worried by the lack of response here. I just hadn't put 2 and 2 together enough to consider the white bias. Now I won't be as disappointed when I post my finished kitchen pictures if I only get a mediocre reaction.

FWIW, I really do love the look of the white kitchens - I have a couple white pieces in my kitchen which the designer said is what's really going to take the kitchen from really good to fabulous.

This thread helped me feel better. It's just unfortunate that there isn't more wood oriented folk here so that those of us who don't have white kitchen have more support.

All in all, white bias or not, this forum is a total gem, the best on the internet as far as kitchen research goes, and invaluable. Not only that, but it's filled with kind people and that is usually far from the norm on internet forums.

I too think this site is a GEM and I really appreciate all the assistance and support those on this forum have provided. It has been a godsend and I spent so much time looking up key topics as I put my kitchen together. I can certainly say that my kitchen would not be what it is without the advice and the history of posts.

I do love the White Kitchens and really like seeing how each person makes it "his or her own". It is really nice.

Let's also be sure to throw some support to the non-white kitchens like needsometips'......too!!! Remember that not everyone has the same tastes but we can all use some help and support:-) with our decisions - white kitchen or not!!!

Best of luck to all as you continue your reno!

:)

I had a medium stained kitchen for 20 years that I loved even though I have a white one now.

Seriously, I've been torn between a stained cabinet and a white painted one. This entire thread sounds so much like the thoughts I've been pondering. Except that most of you know what you like and go for it. Bravo to each of you - either way.

After I stopped feeling bad, I started to analyze it. By forum regulars, I'm guessing you mean old-timers (like myself) whose kitchens are already completed and come back to give advice to others? I am pretty sure during "my time" - meaning when I was planning and renovating - a lot of the regulars were doing white kitchens, or a mix of white/cream and stained (like my kitchen). I think this theory would ring true given many posters have said that this is a trend.

So if we have to take this as a fact, then it would naturally follow that people want to find other people that like the things they like. That is why I tend to view other posts with white kitchens...because it's what I like. Which is precisely why we come to this forum. Because renovation and decor is what we like. I always assumed that when people responded to someone's finished kitchen, it was to admire something that they liked. I assumed that people who responded to my kitchen liked white kitchens. And that people who didn't like white kitchens DID NOT respond to my post. And that people who responded to non-white kitchens like non-white kitchens. I assumed people who like glass backsplashes will respond to posts about glass backsplashes, and that people who like stained cabinets will respond to people with stained cabs.

I can tell you 3 of my favourite kitchens have either all stained or predominantly stained cabinets - Bosche, Margieb2 and Lsandler. But I LOVE white kitchens or predominantly white kitchens more...despite admiring these 3 kitchens I just mentioned. Did I think everyone should like what I like? Heck no.

So perhaps...it's just statistics. Because there are many regulars that like white kitchens, then posters with white kitchens will get more responses.

You also have to think about the habits of some of the regulars. We have (at least myself) have moved on to other hobbies. I poke into GW but I don't read every single post, which I used to do when I was renovating my kitchen. I'll say I only peek into 10% of the posts and they will always be ones that I'm either more interestedin, or feel I can contribute value to. I never meant to hurt your feelings by not responding to your kitchen.

So I think the reason why this post was started explains why your kitchen didn't get a lot of posts (aside from the other factors like posting in December). The original poster said lots of people are doing white kitchens - and lots of people are! That's why there's more interest in them.

Thank you for saying how you feel. I just want you to know that your kitchen's greatness has nothing to do with how many replies you received - but the general interests of people on this forum. And I think you've educated us because just because you are potentially in a minority, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't be recognized.

And please - post the link to your kitchen so I can see it's fabulousness!!!

You are all amazing and it is great that those of you who are done come back to help newbies. The amount of time you invest to help others is admirable.

For those who have asked, my finished kitchen post appears to be one of the missing ones. But I am in the FKB in the Coming Soon Kitchens section.

Thanks again to everyone and my apologies if I have offended anyone or come across in the wrong way.

There were a whole bunch of finished kitchens in December and I hardly saw any of them. December is dark and cold and busy and party and wrapping and bleary eyed.

sabjimata, when it rains every time you shower---you find the money! :-) Baths before kitchens for that very reason!

I used to post about how cherry was going to date itself and everyone said "oh no way" heh heh

Now when I read the TKO logs I'm less likely to look at a finished kitchen than I was earlier when I was trying to imagine what a finished kitchen looked like. I am much more likely to answer a layout question, use of whatever question, etc, from experience rather than ohh and ahhh over a new kitchen, not because I'm not thinking it's a lovely kitchen, but because that's just not my focus so much any more.

And unlike a normal kitchen remodeler, I like punishment so as I design my next two kitchen layouts I suppose I'll start spending more time on those (I used to design them for people on cheif architecht all the time) and because I'm thinking I want a period unfitted kitchen, I'll look at the good ones there....and the cycle will start all over again :)

Mind you, if it takes four years I'm gonna kill myself...but that's just a side note :oP

I have a white kitchen but I LOVE all kitchens. That is
why I come to GW: Kitchens. If anyone needs a picture of
a kitchen, I love going through my collection of all colors,
shapes, sizes of kitchens. Kitchens make me smile. I have
had the good fortune to be able to move with my husband
across the US and have had many different homes. I have
had ugly kitchens and beautiful kitchens. In oak, cherry
slab modern, walnut kitchen, bleached oak,
a plastic type tacky apt. dweller thermofoil that needed
to be trashed, metal cabinets, handmade wood doors (my
dad made these for the cabin), pickled pine or some soft
wood, and today I have white.

I enjoy kitchens. White or not they are fun to look at.
~boxerpups

As an illustration, I said in another post:
"I like them so much, I think I might get the same stools."

Not to drag this on, but Teresa, I looked at your post and responded to it. I kind of get why you felt the way you did - because your kitchen is gorgeous and if I were you, I'd probably wonder why nobody responded. But to you - and to others who commented that they did not get any responses to their finished kitchen post - I'd say don't get dismayed and don't take it personally. It could be the time of day or time of year. It could be the number of competing "finished kitchens" that were posted around the same time. It could be that people look but don't comment - because there was nothing they had any questions on.

I also know that people who tended to post BEFORE their kitchen is done, with questions and requests for help - tend to get more responses because others feel like they contributed to the poster's success. And it makes others excited to see the finished result. There's more of a "relationship" there for lack of a better word.

Anyway, I'm not really sure how to go on about this. Just that it bugs me and I'm not sure why. I wish I could make you and others feel better about it.