Really nice kitchens! Here's the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: [Classic Kitchens[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-elements-of-classic-kitchen-style-stsetivw-vs~1353248?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u55&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery2)

I'm so glad I took a look at this. I had an inspiration photo I had saved for a long time but then threw it out. Thought we were going in a different direction.

Anyway, I've spent hours online looking for this kitchen and there it was. The Neutral palettes photo of dark cabs with green subway tile is now saved in my ideabook.

Thanks for posting!

Hilarious. plllog will especially appreciate the laughable analogy with t-shirts and jeans.

Classic? Really? I don't know, most of those seem so cold.

Uh oh, there's that "timeless" word again. Someone should send her that previous GW thread about it....

I just saw that article and immediately came here to post about the "Classic" & "Timeless" references! Next time someone asks the timeless question we can just point them to this article :-)

"Classic?", "Timeless?", but cold and, to me, utterly boring.

Please note before taking umbrage: I'm not saying that white-cabbed kitchens, and in particular, the GW versions of the Classic 'n Timeless, OTK are cold and boring. They are not. But the examples shown in the Houzz article seem deliberately selected to be cold and boring in the aggregate, though individual elements in each one appeal.

And in particular, the claim that soapstone and marble could be deemed "classic and timeless" is absurd. If ever there were signature elements of the kitchen design period from about the begining of 2002 through to the present, it would be first soapstone and, more recently, marble countertops. Yes, these stones have appeared in kitchens before, in other places and times, but not as they are used so "classicly and timelessly" today. The earlier prevailing cultural norms, and just as importantly, the technology (mining, transportation, fabrication methods, etc.) just weren't there before the current period.

L.

The more you read, the more you wonder if the poor girl was dropped on her head. I guess D students have to work somewhere.

This is why it's so important not to read industry propaganda if you are renovating a kitchen. Either the same woman, or her counterpart, was writing an identical article ten years ago telling everyone that tumbled marble backslashes were timeless, neutral and ageless. It's whatever gets her a commission check at the moment.

I second every thing Liriodrendron said.

Gosh, I have to agree. I love white kitchens, but I sure don't love those and they all might as well have the date stamped all over them.

Well, see, they are doing a series on kitchens....they happened to call this section of the series "classic" not realizing that it would infuriate GWers who insist this is the most trite and overdone kitchen style EVER! :) IT appears they are also going to do a modern and a traditional section as well. I imagine the modern won't get any GW hate, but it will be interesting to see what the traditional looks like and if it will invoke as much disgust and insults to the author. The second I saw that piece in my inbox this morning...I knew many on here would explode at the use of the word "classic" to describe white kitchens. ;)
(I will go back to unloading my DW in my not-timeless, non-classic white kitchen now...waiting for it to become hopelessly dated! )

wow white kitchen owners are a touchy bunch:) I do not see wood kitchen owners or modern kitchen owners taking such an emotional stand when an element or a preconceived notion about their kitchens are disliked. Nini, you kitchen received many positive reviews from GW members. The feelings about this article are not the feelings about YOUR kitchen which altho not classic, cause none are, is still lovely. All kitchens will date and not all people will love them even when the style is in trend.

Those are very nice kitchens...the style has just saturated the market and some are tired of it. That doesn't mean it's not a classic style, in the same way any neutral can be a classic.

I like color, but black, white and wood is never going to go completely out of style. You can always change the accent colors and have a fresh look.

Many have compared them to the 'little black dress' which seems appropriate. The only thing I would point out...not all little black dresses stand up to the test of time. Many are dated, depending on the cut, sleeve, neckline, etc. I have a black dress from the 1940s (my grandmother's best friend only wore it a few time and then gave it to me...many years later) that I love. I will never tire of it and I have never found another black dress I like as much. That would be my kitchen.

So, if you have found your kitchen...and you love it...enjoy it! Don't care what anyone else says and smile, every morning, when you walk into YOUR kitchen! :)

Part of the problem with the ease in which folks are now "published" is the quality of what is written has fallen so far. I first read this last night, and if I am recollecting the right article, it even had a typo. No editor?

I am not going to read it again to look for the typo, once was bad enough. Even if it didn't have a typo, what a yawner. Even those casually interested in kitchens would have learned nothing at all. It was a regurgitation, and dated at that.

I do think that the kitchens looked bad partly because there were so many so alike. I think any , on its own, would garner polite applause here. One or two were quite nice (albeit due to natural advantages like a cavernous beamed ceiling or a sweeping view).

I was all ready to hate the author's website, designinabag. I have to say though, i looked at some of the combos and liked them.

WKL (White Kitchen Lover) here. But this article makes my teeth itch.

I second every word from commenter 'lala' on that page.

Lanval, I got the feeling that lala was an incognito GWer!

Purplepansies, I thought the very same thing! :) Love your username, btw - reminds me that spring planting is just around the corner.

Seems like these so called Professional designers make a lot of bad choices.

I promise lala is not me. OK, somebody, fess up!

mtnrdredux, I didn't realize that was the kitchen in a bag lady. I agree--I actually think some of her combos are nice. It's a lesson in the pitfalls of commercial writing on the Web. There are millions of vacuous articles like this all over the place, and they're there only to capture your click when you're searching for something. Money has infected a lot of online writing, which is why some people have grown to disdain blogs like Young House Love, which seem to have morphed from personal story to product placement opportunity. Money changes everything.

Funny, I was just looking at Pipdog's thread and thinking how that's an example of a kitchen that's as close to classic as kitchens can get, because it's totally at home now, today, without trying to be a blank slate. What a contrast to all those empty shell kitchens.

Here is a link that might be useful: pipdog's thread

Too funny, Marcolo. Lala is DEFINITELY a Gw'er. Not acerbic enough to be Marcolo (love you Marcolo) and not polite enough to be Palimpsest.

Given how much time it takes to do a blog, I can't fault people (YoungHouseLove) for trying to turn it into a business, but it has to be done very carefully. As for vacuous content, I hope people learn from all the krap there is out there why they should be willing to pay for the written word.

Oeaangirl -- yes, they do! And when you are a design neophyte you think it's just you. Worse yet, the professionals make VERY EXPENSIVE mistakes! Make sure you listen and learn, but assert yourself too.

I think the problem is trying to make "classic" a design choice on it's own. Couldn't you refer to a classic Craftsman design, or a classic Shaker design? You could have classic French Country, or a classic Mongolian yurt:-)

Any design that will withstand the ever-changing whims of the "Design World" would seem to me to be "classic".

Or am I missing something??

I think the problem is trying to make "classic" a design choice on it's own. Couldn't you refer to a classic Craftsman design, or a classic Shaker design? You could have classic French Country, or a classic Mongolian yurt:-)

Any design that will withstand the ever-changing whims of the "Design World" would seem to me to be "classic".

Or am I missing something??

Next DAT - Mongolian Yurt, no utilities.

: )

Would certainly make the layout easier.

Of course, when you google Yurt kitchens you actually get something. And that something takes you somewhere else interesting, to what is almost an online class in interior design. Oh minus the instructor.

Here is a link that might be useful: for amateur design geeks

{{!gwi}}

Can we please make it broader than just Mongolian -- can I do an Uzbeki yurt?

Why the hate for the classic kitchen? Can someone explain this to me?

Full disclosure: I have black counters, white cabs, stainless appliances. I know it's boring (I prefer 'tasteful') - you can see my wild, colorful house on the thread about 'Seen your kitchen, what does the rest of your house look like?' I went with the OTK mostly because I got decision fatigue with the hundreds of choices my kitchen reno demanded, all of them expensive and irreversible. Okay, I got cautious.

I guess the criticism reminds me of how I feel when I page through the freebie shelter magazines here in Fairfield County... there's a 'look' everyone wants: sleek upholstery, a palette of taupe and stone and beige, the obligatory glass bowl of green apples, the coral pieces on the mantel. About as original as the black and white kitchen.

But I don't HATE it - some of the decor (all of it done by pros) is beautiful, and people who need help designing (not everyone is as sophisticated as the group on GW) can take inspiration from it (i.e. copy it).

Isn't that a good thing?

It's not classic. Period, full stop.

There was lots of discussion in this thread.

marcolo - why does your dismissal of a certain style carry more weight than someone else's endorsement?

Both seem equally doctrinaire, to me.

Well, I guess they would seem that way, if facts meant nothing.

The author of that drivel calls "classic" a tile style that was not even manufactured between the late 1920s and around the year 2000. Countertop materials that were fairly rarely used in kitchens until a movie came out in 2003. Door styles that would have seemed completely out of date in 1994.

If you are going to call something classic, you have to prove it, using facts. I just disproved it, using facts. So yes, my dismissal carries more weight.

So let me get this straight...

You object to the term 'classic' to describe the kitchen with dark counters, white cabs, subway tile and stainless appliances, not the style itself, for the sin of boring?

Euginie, I have no issue with trendy white and black kitchens, although not my fav, I appreciate it is a popular style. I think many of the people posting in this very thread have white kitchens and the others have often complimented other members' white and black kitchens. The issue is the term "classic". Don't you think people in the 70s thought their trendy avacado kitchens would last the test of time? Or do you think they spent their hard earned money on something they Knew to be a passing trend. Oak kitchen designers hoped and probally believed their kitchens were ,for oak has been used thru the ages just like white paint. Enjoy your beautiful kitchen now but accept that it will date. ..do you stop loving your partner when they wrinkle and no longer look great in the hip new style or do you love them for who they were and accept them for who they are now. Nothing stays new and beautiful for ever this encludes classic white kitchens too.

Yes, I think I understand.

People seem to use 'classic', 'timeless' and 'traditional' interchangeably, though they are not the same.

You can drive a classic (i.e. vintage) car, or a new car with 'classic' style.

I think we all want 'timeless,' for reasons posters have elaborated on in previous threads. No one wants the dreaded 'dated.'

And yet, some people refer to 'classic mid-century modern,' which I guess means a style that adheres to the traditional grammar of that style. Some of it is even timeless. Avocado appliances not so much.

Perhaps marcolo can nail down the terminology.

Well, maybe safe is a better word than classic. Neutrals are safe, like Eugenie said...all the expensive choices, make for more cautious decisions, when it comes to the kitchen.

Neutrals are easy to live with, easy to sell to others (if you have to move) and easy to change out the accessories. You can bring in lots of colors for the holidays, or just a 'bowl of green apples' for everyday :)

That being said...I love color and would never pick such a neutral/safe kitchen. Of course, there is some concern that my 'fairy tale cottage' kitchen may turn out to be a too colorful hobbit home, with bunnies! (LOL)

As for the yurt...why not? Sarah Richardson did a very cute yurt, on one of her shows. {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans

You can drive a classic (i.e. vintage) car, or a new car with 'classic' style.

I smiled reading that because it reminds me of a compliment I got last fall. I drive a 1995 Ford Mustang convertible. I had always wanted a Mustang convertible, and when the re-design came out in 1994 and they had added features reminscent of the "classic" Mustang, I bought it.

Last fall, when I took it for its annual inspection, after he ran the tests, the mechanic came out and said to his buddy "Did you know, that's a 1995. I thought it was a 2005!"

I looovvve my new old-classic Mustang!

-- Lee