Blended styles complete recipe for modern kitchens

"It is only the modern that ever becomes old-fashioned." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish playwright, poet and author, "The Decay of Living." (1891)

Kitchens are truly the heart of the home, whether you are a foodie, gourmet cook or just like to hang out with friends and family. They also have become laboratories for modern design, with every sleek solid surface, finish and modern appliance imaginable.

While a lot of us enjoy the sterile, clean lines of the contemporary kitchen, others miss the cozy, comforting kitchen they knew as a child. More than likely it's the smell of freshly baked cookies or whatever aroma you remember from your childhood that you are missing. I'm sure it's not the old standalone stoves, the "sink in a cabinet" or old cracked linoleum floors that you miss. Everybody wants the modern appliances and trimmings that make cooking and working in the kitchen a joy.

Kitchens are just like every other room in your home. The décor can be made up of mixed patterns, finishes and materials. One style or one trend doesn't have to dominate.

In the world of modern kitchens, it is so easy to choose a cabinet collection or decorative finish that turns out to be a short-lived, passing-fancy fad and not the investment you envisioned.

But when it comes to creating a fashionable, yet modern kitchen that boasts high-quality, progressive technology and seamless design, there are many choices.

Traditional raised-panel doors on kitchen cabinetry will complement concrete countertops. Stainless appliances complement any style. Stainless and leather barstools look grand with any countertop material, from solid surfaces to butcher block. And sleek, clean-lined cabinetry is softened by wicker barstools pulled up to granite counters.

Hardware is another key to diversity in the kitchen. Traditional cabinet doors can be updated and made to look more contemporary with stainless, clean-lined handles.

Lighting also will mix in any design scheme. Tracks and pendants look great in a modern or more traditional room, but you also can soften up a totally contemporary kitchen with a beautiful chandelier over the island.

One of my favorite kitchen designers offers a little bit of something for everybody -- dark warm woods mixed with streamlined handles and modern lines.

Alno (www.ALNOusa.com) has been creating beautiful kitchen systems for more than 80 years. Its new line for 2009, according to its Web site, "offers everything from gleaming white cabinets for a minimalist aesthetic to warm and cozy wood-grain patterned fronts. Alno continues to introduce signature innovations illustrating that kitchen cabinets have become more than contemporary furniture, sporting sleek lines."

Alno lays claim to developing the perfect blend of high-tech elegance and open space kitchen design, resulting in an elevated level of fine living. It has even included LED lighting for drawers and shelving, smoked oak inserts for drawers and automatic opening devices for drawers. I love the description, which could be defining a work of art or a priceless gem: "the epitome of luxury; clean lines, elegant materials and intelligent functionality -- the vision of modern sophistication."

So take a look. Whatever your taste in kitchens, these images will provide great food for thought if you're in the market. You also can appreciate Alno's blend of contemporary and more traditional elements. And you can prove Oscar Wilde wrong -- modern doesn't have to become old-fashioned, just less modern.

Carolyn Muse Grant is a founder and past president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.