Of late, numerous articles and blog posts have bemoaned the pervasiveness of the white kitchen, heralding its impending fall from grace as darker and more colorful kitchens gain popularity. But, wait. White kitchens are trendy? I always assumed a basic white kitchen was a classic and timeless choice, not a trendy one. Happily, the wonderful Barbara Sallick, Founder of Waterworks and true visionary of design, seems to agree with me. "A white kitchen is timeless," she said during our phone interview last week.
Since before she launched Waterworks back in the 1970s, Barbara has loved white kitchens and bathrooms. “I think of white as a color and I adore white in all of many ramifications and shades and palettes,” she explains. “If you think of white as a color you start to feel a little different about how, why and where you use it. White is like a chameleon". While she admits that white kitchens are hot at the moment and are not suitable for every home, she doesn't consider them "trendy". “A white kitchen can be sterile and modern or warm and soft; it can be casual or formal. You can make a white kitchen anything you want. With a faux Tuscan kitchen, on the other hand, you are stuck in one style.“
As for me, I love white kitchens. Maybe it is because I have always had white kitchens (even in the 70s, when my parents were frowned upon for getting white slab cabinets, white laminate countertops and white appliances). Maybe white kitchens are just my thing. Or maybe I am more influenced by trends than I think I am? Maybe I am just another cog in the big wheel of the collective aesthetic unconscious, integrating popular styles into my own evolving taste without realizing it. Maybe it's only possible to know you are part of a trend in retrospect. Or maybe it doesn't matter. Perhaps all that matters is that you design a kitchen to fit your unique aesthetics and lifestyle. As long as the design is solid and the details well executed, your kitchen will make you happy.
That said, I still stand by my love of white kitchens for the following reasons:
• White cabinets (as long as they aren't too ornate and embellished) and paint are light and uplifting and can make even the smallest kitchens appear spacious.
• White kitchens are the perfect stage in which to draw attention to a kitchen's details: beautiful fixtures, innovative lighting, sumptuous rugs, funky knobs and handles--all of which can be easily updated as needed.
• All colors and textures look good with white. If you want to go nuts with color, get a red fridge, bright blue pendant lamps, or a dramatic modern rug.
• Simple, minimalist white cabinets (like the 1979 ones in my childhood home and the 1985 ones in my current home) really don’t look dated. They just look vaguely foreign or high-tech.
• White walls can easily be painted over down the road.
• White tiles with off-white grout may not remain super trendy but they do have historical precedence (especially subway tiles). Adding a bold backsplash can spice up uniformly white tiling should you find it too monochromatic.
• In the words of Barbara Sallick: “All food looks really beautiful in a white kitchen. So do all those pots and accessories."
Meanwhile, look out for more wonderful insights from Waterworks' Barbara Sallick in future posts!
Images:
FIRST ROW
• 1 - 3 Piippa. Sleek, simple minimalist kitchens feel clean and pure and perpetually futuristic.
• 4 Elle Decor. This kitchen's white foundation makes the streak of bright blue tile look even more vibrant and dramatic.
• 5 Elle Decor.
SECOND ROW
• 6 Elle Decor. Funky accessories come to life in this white classic kitchen.
• 7 House Beautiful. A simple white kitchen serves as the backdrop for bursts of personality and originality that can easily be changed over time to adapt to evolving tastes.
• 8 House Beautiful.
• 9 House Beautiful. Many elements of this room are very trendy these days (modern Bertoia stools, industrial-style pendant lamps, stainless steel appliances) but the bones of the kitchen are nevertheless classic.
• 10 A Living Concept.
Hyper minimalist. Our kitchen in the 70s looked a bit like this (only much smaller and less fancy).
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I love white kitchens too, including some of the ones pictured here. Looking at the post title, though, I was hoping this would be a roundup of white kitchens from design mags from different decades. I'd love to see that!
Love these, especially #9!
I love a white kitchen. Looks bright and airy. Looks great with bright pops of color in small appliances and accessories.
They look beautiful...but then the ship's computer takes over and tries to kill you.
Mr. Modtomic
TOTALLY agree with you and Barbara! We just finished remodeling our 1940 house's kitchen in white with butcher block countertops and white subway tile. Some of our visitors comment on how amazing the kitchen looks for such an old house. That's the ultimate compliment...when it's new but fits perfectly into the age/design of the house. Plus, it's bright and cheery and we can paint the walls whatever color we want (right now they're gray).
-Teresa
Looks are not what's great about a white kitchen, it's the utility. You know what needs to be cleaned, it's a neutral context for preparing diverse styles of food, and the color is widely available so you can replace pieces as needed. There's nothing wrong with the "look," but it exists because it's useful, not because of it's appearance.
They just look vaguely foreign or high-tech.
... huh?
I like a creamy kitchen.
Another reason white is timeless: it also defies class and income. Us poor folk can slap a beautiful coat of Ben Moore "Mayonnaise" semi-gloss over some butt ugly faux-oak fiberboard cabinets and suddenly it's a cute, classic kitchen. Doesn't work with most other colors, because color trends change so quickly.
One thing to be aware of before painting a kitchen white is the slant of the trim on the cupboards. If there's a straight ledge that food can hit on the cupboard doors it'll rapidly become grimy and difficult to clean. Same principle applies when installing new baseboards: if there's a flat ledge on top avoid avoid avoid. It supposed to be slanted so dust doesn't collect.
White or ivory kitchens are my absolute favorites because they truly are timeless. Love!
I love white kitchens. Beautiful! I can't wait until I own my own house, the first thing I will do is put a gorgeous white kitchen and bathroom in!
I have a beautiful white kitchen. Solid white, the only color is from what I keep on the counters and the metal fixtures and sink. I love the way this kitchen looks when it is clean, but it is a pain to keep that way. If I drip water on the floor and step on it, I now have tracks all over the tile. If I spill a drop of red wine on the counter, it need to soak in bleach before cleaning. So, if you are looking at a white kitchen, I *highly* recommend adding some textures to the finishes and maybe not going with white ceramic tile on the floor.
White kitchens are classic. My grandparents have a prefab kitchen from like the 40s or 50s. White metal cabinets, black formica tops, chrome trim. You can still find them at architectural salvage places.
I plan to paint my golden oak cabinets white eventually. The structure of them is sound, so it doesn't make sense to replace them, but the golden oak is just so dated. White is timeless.
I've been waiting at least a decade for the granite-and-stainless trend to die.
White is perfect. It can be anything you want it to be. Antique, vintage, mid-century mod, hi-tech, french, italian, american, retro diner, coastal, metro, midwest.
And you can SEE what you're doing in a white kitchen.
So im building a new country home and i love white cabinets. Im struggling with the wall color though. Do i match the walls to the cabinets or choose different whites. Floors are a dark hard wood and the island will be walnut. Its not going together on my head very well.