There is a new type of Atlanta home design trend in town, and we call it “Transitional.”  Whether you know it or not, you’ve most likely seen a lot of this style in the past year. Transitional is a nice blend of traditional and contemporary design.

According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), for the first time since they started tracking annual kitchen and design trends, traditional is no longer the most popular type of kitchen design. In both the kitchen and bathroom, transitional is now the most common design style.

Transitional styles consist of open floor plans that use posts, beams, varying ceiling heights and furnishings to distinguish different rooms within a home. Most surface materials contain very little details, so smooth cabinets and simple, solid countertops are common. Color comes into play with the use of tone on tone schemes. Whites combined with creams and touches of natural wood are good examples. Take a look at the “Everyday Hero” trend in PPG Porter Paints’ 2013-2014 Color Trends, and you will see some great examples of designs that look somewhat transitional as well as some excellent earthen colors to complement tone on tone whites and creams.

Ceilings are also a large part of transitional design. You may have noticed an interest in spending more time creating details with crown molding, coffered ceilings or even exaggerated ceiling beams. These ceilings provide an excellent canvas for color. Using rich earthen tones between crisp the crisp trim lines of a ceiling can really dress up a room.

I’ve found that there is a large consumer market that doesn’t want to be completely traditional for fear of looking old and matronly. On the other hand, when these consumers begin to invest in homes, they fear contemporary design as it may be too trendy for their style and they prefer a look that will stand the test of time. Due to this consumer group taking action, we now have a beautiful new design group!