Photo of a mid-sized transitional l-shaped eat-in kitchen in San Francisco with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, green splashback, glass tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, medium hardwood floors and with island.

Sage Green Country Cottage Kitchen with Farmhouse Sink

Caves Kitchens

The maple cabinets and the farmhouse sink work together and present a warm and country touch to the kitchen. The window brings in the right amount of light to brighten the sage kitchen and reflect off the refinished oak floors. -Allison Caves, CKD Caves Kitchens

Tailored yet Casual Great Room Area

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Raquel Langworthy, Custom Creations Kitchens
This is an example of a mid-sized transitional u-shaped open plan kitchen in New York with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, blue splashback, glass tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, with island and brown floor.

Beach Street Residence

TINEKE TRIGGS

Suzanne Scott
Mid-sized transitional l-shaped kitchen in San Francisco with with island, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, grey splashback, mosaic tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, brown floor and a farmhouse sink.

Floating Walnut Shelves for Kitchen Storage

Jeff King & Company

Designer: Sazen Design / Photography: Paul Dyer
Mid-sized transitional kitchen in San Francisco with a drop-in sink, grey cabinets, flat-panel cabinets and soapstone benchtops.

Olympic Hills Second Story Addition

Model Remodel

Contemporary one-wall kitchen with large cooktop and dining island. © Cindy Apple Photography
Inspiration for a transitional galley eat-in kitchen in Seattle with an undermount sink, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, black splashback, mosaic tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, with island, black benchtop, shaker cabinets, dark hardwood floors and brown floor.

St Anthony Village Kitchen

Jen Seeger Design

Designed with Rosemary Merrill, AKBD, while at Casa Verde Design; Photo Credit: Andrea Rugg
Photo of a mid-sized transitional u-shaped separate kitchen in Minneapolis with an undermount sink, grey splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, with island, flat-panel cabinets, soapstone benchtops and medium hardwood floors.

Beautiful + Functional Family Kitchen

User

Built in walnut coffee station sits behind a pocket door. Pull out walnut tray makes it easy to access the coffee maker and a drawer below holds all the supplies. Photography by Eric Roth

Picturesque Parkside

M-Squared Contracting Inc.

Inspiration for an expansive transitional l-shaped open plan kitchen in Toronto with an undermount sink, recessed-panel cabinets, black cabinets, soapstone benchtops, white splashback, ceramic splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors, with island, brown floor and black benchtop.

Plymouth Meeting

Timeless Kitchen Cabinetry

Betsy Barron
This is an example of a large transitional l-shaped eat-in kitchen in Philadelphia with a single-bowl sink, white splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, light hardwood floors, with island, brown floor, soapstone benchtops and black benchtop.

Scandinavian Inspired Kitchen

2B Design, LLC

A colorful bright Scandinavian inspired kitchen with great details! Solid Alabaster pendant lighting, acrylic bar stools, soapstone counter tops and natural red birch ship lap island. Dining accented with purple velvet end chairs and lambs wool seats on bent wood chairs. A rolling table on the extra long bench provides a drop space for refreshments or laptop. All of this backed with Thibaut wallpaper and contemporary sconce lighting.

West Chelsea Townhouse

Suk Design Group LLP

Photographer: Jeffrey Kilmer
Mid-sized transitional galley kitchen in New York with an undermount sink, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, white splashback, marble splashback, with island, brown floor, black benchtop, shaker cabinets, stainless steel appliances and dark hardwood floors.

Lynne & Alex's 1909 Colonial Revival

Arciform

The exterior kitchen wall has so many functions, but manages to stay beautiful. Lower cabinets provide storage near the range and under the sink. A deep, apron front sink and bridge faucet are practical and lovely. The tiled window wall also holds the range hood. A crisp white palette keep things fresh. - Dibble Photography

Kitchen and Family Room with Double Sided Fireplace

Platt Builders

KT2DesignGroup Michael J Lee Photography
Inspiration for a large transitional l-shaped eat-in kitchen in Boston with a farmhouse sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, white splashback, subway tile splashback, panelled appliances, medium hardwood floors, with island and brown floor.

Designer’s Own Kitchen – Lower Manhattan

Bilotta Kitchen & Home

This kitchen was designed by Bilotta senior designer, Randy O’Kane, CKD with (and for) interior designer Blair Harris. The apartment is located in a turn-of-the-20th-century Manhattan brownstone and the kitchen (which was originally at the back of the apartment) was relocated to the front in order to gain more light in the heart of the home. Blair really wanted the cabinets to be a dark blue color and opted for Farrow & Ball’s “Railings”. In order to make sure the space wasn’t too dark, Randy suggested open shelves in natural walnut vs. traditional wall cabinets along the back wall. She complemented this with white crackled ceramic tiles and strips of LED lights hidden under the shelves, illuminating the space even more. The cabinets are Bilotta’s private label line, the Bilotta Collection, in a 1” thick, Shaker-style door with walnut interiors. The flooring is oak in a herringbone pattern and the countertops are Vermont soapstone. The apron-style sink is also made of soapstone and is integrated with the countertop. Blair opted for the trending unlacquered brass hardware from Rejuvenation’s “Massey” collection which beautifully accents the blue cabinetry and is then repeated on both the “Chagny” Lacanche range and the bridge-style Waterworks faucet. The space was designed in such a way as to use the island to separate the primary cooking space from the living and dining areas. The island could be used for enjoying a less formal meal or as a plating area to pass food into the dining area.

Jane Street Brownstone

Key+Shade Interior Design

Francine Fleischer Photography
Design ideas for a small transitional galley separate kitchen in New York with an undermount sink, glass-front cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, white splashback, porcelain splashback, stainless steel appliances, porcelain floors, no island and blue floor.

Doylestown Historic Addition

NASE Architects

custom designed functional kitchen, farmhouse sink, goose neck faucet, custom designed cabinetry, drain sloped soapstone countertops, Kitchen opened to Family room, wood flooring, wolf range oven, Crown molding around range hood, Transitional, Traditional, Borough of Doylestown

Transitional Interiors in Purchase, NY

Georgio Home

Mid-sized transitional u-shaped eat-in kitchen in New York with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, white splashback, stone slab splashback, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, with island and brown floor.

Calderon

Danmar Cabinet Company

Inspiration for a small transitional u-shaped separate kitchen in San Francisco with a single-bowl sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, soapstone benchtops, grey splashback, subway tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, light hardwood floors and a peninsula.

San Francisco Victorian

Maria Iacobucci Design

The original kitchen was demolished to the studs to make room for an efficient yet elegant workspace for a busy couple who love to eat in with their son, as well as, do a lot of entertaining.

Transitional Kitchen with Soapstone Benchtops Design Ideas

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to planning your kitchen design. Where do you even start? Gathering some inspiration in a photo gallery is always a good starting point, as looking at different kitchen designs often brings up ideas you haven’t even thought of yet.

Browse Photos of Kitchen Designs for Inspiration and Collect Your Ideas

You can browse through photos of all kinds of kitchen styles, layouts and sizes on Houzz to get started before jumping into any design software or contacting a local professional for help. Here’s a few considerations to keep in mind when planning your kitchen.

1. What Makes a Good Transitional Kitchen Design, and Why is it Important?

For starters, you want to find a balance between aesthetics and function. You may have heard of the ‘kitchen work triangle’, which refers to the space between your fridge, sink and stove. You want everything within easy reach when you’re working in the kitchen and look beautiful at the same time. It’s a good idea to take note of both when browsing our photo gallery.

2. Consider Your Space to Determine Your Kitchen Layout

Firstly, consider the space you have, and the limitations that come with it. Do you have a small kitchen and need to maximise your workspace and storage? Can you allow yourself some more space and a big island with seating? Are you designing your kitchen from scratch or renovating an existing design? Which appliances do you already own and what are their measurements? Are there windows you need to take into consideration when planning cabinets? How do kitchen, living and dining areas connect? Depending on your space and needs, you want to use a shape that suits you. U, G, or L-shaped kitchen, with or without island or peninsula? Know your dimensions, plan cabinetry carefully and consider the placement of your appliances. You don’t want to end up with a finished design, only for your significant other to question where the fridge is supposed to go. Consider from the start where your fridge, oven, microwave and sink goes to save yourself from starting again from scratch - remember the kitchen work triangle! You also want to plan the layout of your cabinets. Maybe you’re planning for a pantry and can do with less storage space in your kitchen, so that your design can be one without upper or lower cabinets for a different look. A corner cabinet can be a smart storage solution if you want to keep the look clean and simple.

3. Decide on a Kitchen Style, But Don’t Forget Practicality

You want the style of your kitchen to reflect your personality and taste. We have curated a large array of kitchen styles here at Houzz, from traditional to contemporary to transitional and everything in between. Consider what your cooking style is for a start - Italy is known for its cuisine, so italian kitchen designs are generally popular. Also consider ergonomics - depending on how much time you spend in your kitchen, the height of your counters can make a big difference to your overall health. You also want to consider colour and finishes of cabinets, countertops and splashbacks. Which colour do you want your cupboards to be? Simple, timeless white or rather making a statement in black? Maybe rather a rustic wood? Also consider the colour of your floor - if you have dark floors, you may want to keep cabinets lighter. You could also go for an all-white look and choose black appliances for contrast. Once you know which style you fancy, don’t forget how you will be using the space. You want to keep cooking in mind, as well as how easy to clean and maintain the space will be. How many cooks do you need to accommodate? Do you have kids around? How much storage do you need? Maybe you want to go for open shelves rather than cabinets and allow for easy reach of key items you use when cooking. Again - remember the triangle! Lastly, choose lighting that both enhances the look of your kitchen as well as your cooking performance, providing light in all the right places.

4. Be Conscious of Your Budget

No matter what you plan for your kitchen design, cost is always a big factor. Be sure to plan with your budget in mind. It may make more sense to go for a modular kitchen design rather than custom build. You can save a lot of money if you get at least 3 estimates from professionals before locking in the job. And don’t forget to allow a 20% buffer for emergencies. Once you are ready to hire a pro, our directory will help you find one, no matter where you are. So whether you're looking for an Interior Designer in Melbourne or an Architect in Sydney, you can be sure to find a qualified expert for the job!