Most of the homes where I grew up were in the same style and it seemed like every one of them had a white kitchen. Most of the homes were built in the 20s-40s. The counters and backsplashes would be considered dated today though.

jjdcl -- I was also envisioning a white kitchen as being the tradition. Maybe soapstone or butcher block rather than granite on the counters?

A raised panel door (NOT shaker) with some detail (but not too much) in either cherry wood or white paint would be appropriate as a modern intepretation. Counters could be a combination of butcherblock, a dark granite, or a nice laminate in a contrasting color, like a plain burgundy or simple cream. Appliances are simple, and often industrial in nature. It's a traditional, unfussy, not too high dollar look, without trying for the "Peacock OTK". True Southern Colonial kitchens aren't about the home owner's style in the kitchen at all. They are about a production kitchen that a hired cook can create nice meals in. Thus the laminate suggestion and the unfussiest pro style appliances that you can find.

@carygirl - we live in the south, with the colonial type architecture that is standard to our area.

Our house has a dark oak flooring and matching dark stained oak raised panel cabinets. Those cabinets are going, along with the 24" deep soffits from which they hang, as soon as we sort out all the details for our kitchen renovation.

We are going to put in taller, painted cabinets - mostly likely stay with the raised panel style door - in a cream or ivory color. Our island will probably be painted a dark color, as is the current popular look.

FWIW, every antebellum home I've walked through on a tour has had painted cabinets. Our ca. 1898 Victorian cottage that we moved from, 18 years ago, had painted white cabs when we bought it and I kept them that way.

The painted cream color will lighten up the kitchen from the dark wood floors and cut the heavy, dark 'wood element' in the space. An adjacent room has medium stained birch raised panel paneling on the walls, so there is an overdose of wood in this area of the house.

KWO nailed it:

" Southern Colonial kitchens aren't about the home owner's style in the kitchen at all. They are about a production kitchen that a hired cook can create nice meals in. Thus the laminate suggestion and the unfussiest pro style appliances that you can find.

See the novel, The Help.

Unless we're talking a Colonial period kitchen, and then we're talking no cabs or built-ins.

L.

Liriodendron - I was thinking the EXACT same thing as I was reading down this thread.

"The Help" Kitchen, some unfitted pieces, pops of color, and fabulous linoleum checkerboard floors, in fashion right now

Thank you all for your responses. Sounds like white painted cabinets would work, and I do like the beadboard backsplash.

Sadly, there is no hired cook, only me. But I would like to upgrade from laminate which I have had for many years now. Would a quartz be all wrong with beadboard?

I think that a partial overlay raised panel in white would be the best choice for a traditional Southern home over full overlay.

Something like this Kraftmaid doorstyle.

And for a counter to go with that style, something that actually looks kinda like a solid color laminate could work as well. None of the speckledy faux granite looks or the new ones with movement trying to imitate marble. Plain solid color.

Silestone Koan looks kinda like traditional cordovan leather.
{{!gwi}}

Silestone Gedatsu could be a nice quiet tie in to the oak floors.
{{gwi:1587666}}

For something fun, the Rosso Monza could work with some Coca Cola memorbilia scattered about and some of that Coke bottle green added with maybe more Jadeite collectibles or a painted Hoosier baking center.
{{!gwi}}

Thanks GreenDesign, that's very helpful. The rest of the built-in cabinets in the house are partial overlay, so that would tie in well.

I'll look at some solid colors in quartz and laminate.

I put in quartz in our semi-colonial (average midwestern home). I went with one that was pretty neutral as my home can't warrant the OTK and I don't really want dark wood. It has ivory, some browns, and taupe in it. I have ivory raised panel doors (I just painted in BM Ivory white). I think it looks nice, actually. But, I seriously considered just plain white/ivory corian as an upgrade to my laminate. There are some that are just plain colors like others mention, but at least you feel you got an upgrade. My cheapo quartz from lowes (cheaper than any granite we could afford- which is on sale again - LG silver lake was 2800 for 43 sf - $50sf. The plain white corian was just 1900. Laminate in oiled soapstone was 1700!). In my home, I was planning on a grey cabinet (plain grey- BM chelsea) with ivory corian. But, the dark grey seemed out of place. We have oak floors and for some reason, I didn't like it as much as just ivory. We did grey green cabs in our last house, that I loved. Look at the color hancock gray. It's in the historical section and really pretty and I think is something you'd find in our kitchens. Had I not painted our cabs ivory, I'd really consider it again. Our appliances are stainless. Our knobs and pulls... ahhh, if I can find a brushed brass I actually like and afford. If not, just polished nickel as I think that brushed seems to run kind of modern. I tried to follow what marcolo and so many others in the design around this series. If you can find it on, I believe colonial design, it was really helpful. Our house is very traditional and it seems work with it. I do tend to like more modern, however. If I hadn't found this goldmine forum over two years ago, I'd probably have some very close version of OTK dripping with trim and columns and other junk I can't stand now. We couldn't afford that, but I'm sure it would look like a low level version. :p
Thanks!
Kim

If I am not mistaken, "The Help" kitchen has counters of robins' egg blue! Or are some of the counter white? I guess robins' egg blue would be over the top? I can't get over that linoleum checkerboard floor. I want it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

If I am not mistaken, "The Help" kitchen has counters of robins' egg blue! Or are some of the counter white? I guess robins' egg blue would be over the top? I can't get over that linoleum checkerboard floor. I want it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Kim -- thanks for all the good info. The neutral quartz is sounding like a good option. I didn't see the design around post on colonial design, but will look for it. You're correct that this forum is a goldmine!

akchicago -- Don't think my DH would go for the robins' egg blue on the counters! But I definitely remember kitchens like that with the same floors and countertops from my younger days.