Kitchen Styles: Which One Is Right For You?

Personal style should dominate in your kitchen. Forget making it look like some Tuscan tomfoolery at the moment; fashion is out, you are in. But, how do you know the best way to incorporate your personality into your kitchen design?

For our purposes, let's divide the entire human race into four groups. Perhaps this is a tad simplistic, because we all know how complex a person you are, but we have no time for psychoanalysis here. Instead, a little quiz. Which of the following best describes you and your style?

1. 18th-century formality rules, the zenith of all styles, before and after. Your traditional kitchen gives you a connection to the past, a reassurance and orderliness.

2. Love those tear-jerkers? Have a soft spot in your heart for little bunnies? You are the romantic among us, home is where the heart is, as the saying goes and the heart of the home is the kitchen.

3. Are you a tad on the excitable side, like those hot peppers on the side and Tabasco colors? You are a pretty spicy, chica! Go for it!

4. Like to linger over a meal? Your idea of a good time is a little chardonnay, from a very good year, naturally, after the perfect meal, with your feet on a cushy damask ottoman and your head in the clouds? You love luxury and are not ashamed to admit it.Great! Now we'll find out what your choice means about you and your personal design style.

Picked number 1? You're TRADITIONAL

The example of a traditional-style kitchen shown above probably best fits your style type. These spaces can differ in formality levels, however, they all have antecedents in terms of overall look and coloration. Look to differing styles of the past for the traditional home. English, French or American are good places to start.

If yearning for the simple life, like Marie Antoinette and her little cottage at Versailles, choose toile de juoy fabrics for the windows, a slight curve to the cabinet doors and a perhaps a rustic hickory finish. Use a more pastel color scheme, with high contrast, as in checkerboard patterns and the aforementioned toile.

If Paul Revere sets your heart afire, look to accents of pewter on a darker ground cabinet color. Delft blue with silver and white, or perhaps the colors of the Green Mountain Boys and the British uniform, red and green (as in apples with stems) will make the statement you want.

Traditional English has color tones relating to stiff-upper-lippedness; royal blues and crimson reds, the colors of the Union Jack, straight and formal and reassuring.