Taking a page from clothing fashions, kitchen designs come and go with the passing of time. What was once trendy and avant-garde can just as quickly become yesterday's news; or worse, fashion faux pas. While there are many kitchen design ideas and styles that have surfaced over the years, several have remained as popular themes that have a strong influence in the aesthetic of the entire home. There are several basic themes, each with their corresponding styles. Below are the major ones:



Traditional: Embodies the archaic and refined look of classical European architecture and design. Heavily influenced by the Greco-Roman classical period, kitchens possessing a traditional theme benefit from the formal lines these styles bring.

Transitional: This theme fuses the crispness of traditional themes without the complexities and intricacies, and in doing so, bring together the new and the old into functional styles.

Rustic: Kitchens that feature the rustic style harness and harmonize the organic elements of nature into a theme that is both earthy and style conscious.

Country: Leveraging the open spaces of the countryside, the country theme, which includes, among many others, the French Country style, can be found in both suburban and rural areas. This theme features the application of bold colors, particularly in cabinets, pantries and kitchen furniture.

Modern: Born out of the simplistic modernist movement of 20th Century Germany, and fueled by the Bauhaus movement, modern themes have made a big impact on the American kitchen. Simple lines and precise symmetry are key traits of this popular theme.

Post Modern: This theme resists the strict reliance on precise geometry of the modern theme and breaks any rule it sees fit in delivering skewed yet functional art.

With respect to kitchen design ideas, here are a few things to spice up your kitchen:

Paint your Cabinets

If you want to pep up your kitchen cabinets, try some color. Select a color that compliments your countertop and general theme of your

kitchen designs style. If you have wood cabinets, you must first begin with some sanding to create surface uniformity and a paint-ready texture. Then prime. Then paint. Two or three coats are optimal.

Add shelves

So you've encountered one of the most common problems in the kitchen today; you need more countertop space. If toasters, microwaves and a myriad of other kitchen appliances and products, dominate your countertop, you can add shelving to create more space and improve the function of your kitchen.

Accent your kitchen with food

Kitchens store food. So why not accentuate the most important room in the home with its most important feature? You have many options here, from paintings or photography of pasta and wine, to sculptures of fruit or vegetables. Get creative and be free with your use of color.

When searching for the latest kitchen ideas, the Internet can be an excellent resource. There are multitudes of kitchen-oriented websites that can be found simply by performing searches on popular search engines, such as Google, Yahoo or MSN. Some of these sites feature a kitchen photo gallery where you may peruse the latest kitchen design pictures. If you seek inspiration for a kitchen remodel, there are also kitchen plans that you may access on some of these sites. Such plans are instrumental in the early stages of those types of projects, and the more information you can obtain before commencing the better. Finally, kitchen showrooms and home centers are also helpful in this process as many of them have charts and kits especially designed for kitchen remodels.