Old World Kitchen and Bathroom Decorating Ideas

Air Conditioning
Bathrooms
Cabinets
Carpet
Chimneys
Concrete
Countertops
Decks
Decorating
Doors
Driveways
Drywall
Electrical
Energy Savings
Fences
Fireplaces
Floors
Gardens
Garage Doors
Gutters
Heating
Insects
Inspections
Insulation
Kitchen
Landscaping
Lawns
Lighting
Miscellaneous
Painting/Staining
Patio
Plumbing
Remodeling
Retaining Walls
Roofing
Security Systems
Siding
Stucco
Trade Shows
Wallpaper
Windows

What Says 'Luxury' in Your Kitchen and Bath? Authentic Old World Style

(ARA) – Homeowners may want all the modern conveniences of a brand new home, but they don’t always want those conveniences to look new. Some homeowners crave the sense of history, provenance and tradition that come with a home that looks as if it has been passed down through generations.

Designs that pay homage to the Old World style of the United Kingdom, France and Italy are gaining popularity with American homeowners. Nowhere is the trend more noticeable than in kitchens and baths.

More than any other room in the house, the kitchen is the place where homeowners often choose to include hints of European Old World style.

It is usually a larger, roomier space, where family and friends congregate, that needs to feel warm and inviting. A touch of Old-World luxury mixed with function gives this room style that works for everyday use.

Recreating the Old-World style is also about quality; the desire to have finely crafted products in the home that have tried and true staying power. So the trend is a bit two-fold, the antique-like aesthetic of stately pieces and designs, as well as the unmatched quality of hand-crafted luxury products.

A handful of companies with long lineage in manufacturing kitchen and bath products, are finding new demand for their Old World quality wares. Americans who travel to Europe for business and pleasure are bringing Old World design details back with them, says Lou Rohl of ROHL Luxury Faucets and Fixtures.

“Many Americans come back from Europe with a renewed sense of style that is based upon Old-World traditions and ideas,” Rohl says. “They want to recreate exactly what they have seen abroad in their own kitchens or baths.”

Rohl, whose company has established itself in this niche design market, offers the following primer on companies and products that help Americans recreate an Old World feel in their modern homes:

Faucets and Fixtures

Cisal in Northern Italy, have been making faucets and fixtures for years, in the same province and with the same attention to detail and fine crafting that they have perfected over time.

Cisal was known a century ago for making brass bells. When the need for bell making had reached saturation, the town industry switched to creating incredible faucets and fixtures from brass. The town is now known in Italy as the “Village of Faucets.”

Ranges and Ovens

La Cornue ranges are almost like pieces of art in your kitchen and for the gourmand, a dream come true. In the same way, a ROHL Shaw’s fireclay apron sink speaks to legacy and heritage, while also providing authenticity mixed with sheer elegance. Crafted in the same town in Northern England for over 100 years and hand stamped by each artisan, these fireclay sinks are certainly not pretenders. The fireclay sink is a true fashion statement for the kitchen.

As for the bath, many homeowners want to recreate the experience they have had on their travels to five star resorts and decadent spas all over the world. Maybe they have stayed at the Relais & Châteaux’s Hotel Paradies in St. Moritz, only to have fallen in love with the spa amenities, and they just have to recreate that experience at home in their newly renovated master bath.

A gorgeous spa, like the one at the Hermosa Inn located in Scottsdale, Ariz., is inspired by Spanish Colonial architecture and aesthetics. Bringing that same atmosphere home to your own private bath oasis is coveted more and more in today’s market.

The Old-World heritage sentiment is one of the strongest threads that ties together true authentic luxury. Many homeowners seem committed to the “real thing,” not only to make their home a haven, but to have it exude good quality and substance, because it is most likely their largest investment.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Find Decorators & Designers Contractors. Get Up to 4 Quotes Now. It's Quick, Free, and Easy!

Related Advice and Tips: