TRADITIONAL KITCHENS
Left sanded or painted traditional kitchens are mainly made of English or European oak, sometimes other woods. The roots of traditional kitchen design are in the kitchens of the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods. Those design elements which have stood the test of time may confer the term 'classic' to a particular kitchen. Today's traditional kitchens have all the storage and labour saving features you would expect of a contemporary kitchen. The picture at the top of this page is a typical traditional oak kitchen with white painted cabinetry, free standing dresser and a butler's sink. To read more about traditional kitchens and view what's available , click here.

CLASSIC KITCHENS
"Classic or period kitchens contain those interior design elements which have remained constant over the years and which have their origin in the architecture of the Georgian (1714 -1837), Victorian (1837-1901) and Edwardian (1901-1919) periods" To read more about classic kitchens, view an original Georgian kitchen and see the menu for today's contemporary designs, click here. .Click here to see a classic Cream Shaker kitchen. Other terms for classic and traditional kitchens are 'country' and 'farmhouse', though designers often have different interpretations. 'Farmhouse' in many minds means a typical French Farmhouse Kitchen with which the English have for so long had a love affair.

SOCIAL DIMENSION OF THE KITCHEN
In large kitchens the kitchen island has become the focal point of all social activity in the modern household. It's where food preparation is mainly confined because the Chef de la Maison now can stand looking outwards, thus enabling conversation with others whilst viewing all areas of the kitchen. The golden rules on positiioning still apply. You need to be within 9 feet or so of the sink. range-cooker and worktop.

Open Plan Living Space
Where the room is large and finally leads to the terrace and garden or to a view down the street, modern kitchens are often open plan, sub divided into other areas, a kitchen alcove and TV area with sofas being just two options. An open plan kitchen with walk-through areas and see-through areas, perhaps to the garden, is seen as highly desirable living space.. See "Open plan living is what modern families want" - Daily Telegraph 6th January 2012

Latter day 'Normans' from the City and elsewhere can view Farnham Castle's original kitchen fondly whilst building their own 'kitchen castles' in the rolling acres of Farnham's countryside or in the town itself.

If you are a Chef de la Maison or a new 'Norman' with kitchen ambitions please make contact. We'd love to help.

The montage below illustrates some of boats, planes and buildings whose shapes have influenced contemporary kitchen designers. Montage by John Trueman, Violet Designs

The picture above which welcomes you to this page on kitchen designs - if you're living in the Farnham area - is of Farnham Castle built in 1138 where the original Norman kitchens are, in their contemporary format, still churning out nice meals for visitors to the restaurant This is a good reference point from which to start our overview of design ideas, to get your creative juices working. so that you arrive at a suitable kitchen design for your own circumstances.

GEORGIAN & VICTORIAN FARNHAM
The Georgians and after them the Victorians and Edwardians did us a big favour. They built gorgeous houses with spacious interiors and high ceilings. In addition, large properties had huge gardens, ideal for today's homeowners extensions and conservatories. In 1848 the railway came to Farnham from London making it a commuter town for wealthy business men. In 1870 nearby Aldershot became the home of the Bristish Army. House building shot through the roof, as did passengers to Farnham Station The property boom gave us today's ideal living spaces for open plan modern kitchens

MODERN KITCHENS
Modern kitchens broadly fall into three categories:-
1. Modern Shaker Style Kitchens. These owe their simple, uncluttered appearance to the ethos which drove the early Shakers in 18th century America. Click here to read more about the Shakers, their religous ethos and view the classic Shaker kitchen styles.

The picture to the left illustrates a modern Shaker style kitchen. You'll notice the rounded cabinets, something the original Shakers would not have coutenanced as they did not believe in curvilinear kitchens or anything other than simple, straight or linear woodwork. Today Shaker kitchens combine the best design features of the traditional designs with rounded cabinets, modern worktops in granite and composite materials as well as traditional oak and other woods.

Popular, calming colours for the kitchen cabinets are cream, ivory white, pale blue and pink. The iconic Shaker 5-panelled doors are complemented by simple handles or rounded knobs. More can be read on this design on our Shaker Kitchens page - click here; but, importantly this kitchen design allows for customisation where you can add the stamp of your own personality to the finished kitchen.

2. Contemporary Kitchens.
A contemporary kitchen is a modern style which encapsulates the best design ideas of recent times with up-to-date interpretations. A lot of the shapes which have found their way into modern kitchens originated after World War 2 with the emergent jet plane and rocket age. Speed needed streamlined shapes. Streamlining is one of the modern kitchen designer's tenets. To read more about how kitchen shapes came about read this essay - click here.- and note the montage.

Contemporary kitchens are uncluttered, streamlined, simple, seamless in appearance, dust-trap free, labour saving, have Saponetta doors and generally simply coloured or with a monochrome effects.. Black, white and Burgundy red kitchens are popular. So is dark blue, but the more the kitchen becomes the social centre of the household the greater the priority on colours which are easy to live with, don't encourage over-eating or induce stress .Read more about the risks of overeating in the modern kitchen and what you can do about it, click here .

Lighting in a modern kitchen has thus become more important. Spotlights once in favour for lighting the cooking area have been mostly surplanted by pendants and halogens which have the pontential to create the right ambience for socialising. Read more on Pendant Light Ideas and the social issues here.

3. Ultra Modern Kitchens.
The difference between a contemporary kitchen and an ultra modern kitchen is essentially a matter of degree. The modern designer's ethos of hygiene, effortlessness and an illusion of unlimited space has given rise to labour saving appliances being grouped together - integrated is the term - for ease of access and then hidden away, yet accessable with easy-opening cupboards, drawers and tall storage. This priority applies to all modern kitchens.

Where ultra modern is different from contemporary is in its dramatic effect and refusal to allow a scintilla of 'unecessary' licence in the perfection of shape or form. Colours are often primary and very dramatic, woods dark and emphatically grained eg Wenge from tropical Africa, and splashbacks created in exciting new materials as well as glass. It's all about creating excitement whilst playing up to harmony, minimalism, open space and freedom from drudgery associated with pre-world war 2, Mrs Beeton era, labour intensve kitchens For more on ultra modern kitchens and to view over 100 modern and ultra modern designs, go here.