A Mission kitchen design is clean and classic.
The Mission-style kitchen is a study in simplicity and rich materials. Mission style combines Arts and Crafts elements with American Southwest and Spanish mission influences. The shapes are pared down and angular, and the fixtures are unadorned. But decorative touches show up in accessories and in the way the materials are worked. Does this Spark an idea?
Wood
Mission style takes American native woods like red oak and maple and burnishes them to a rich finish. Wood paneling is a major feature of the design, and that means kitchen cabinets---and even appliances---are faced in paneled wood. Windows are framed in unpainted wood, and matching wood may be used for uncarved crown moldings and baseboards. Kitchen floors are often gleaming hardwood with area rugs woven in ethnic, geometric patterns.
Stone
Stone is a favorite material and is an alternative for kitchen flooring. A Mission-style kitchen floor might be gray slate or bluestone pavers. Counters can be assembled of large stone tiles mortared in the same color, or slabs of granite or even monochromatic marble. A white marble countertop with pale gray veining could be reflected in the polished steel finish of a refrigerator or oven door.
Windows
Windows are left bare to let in the light. If curtains are used, they should be plain, unlined cotton canvas curtains or unbleached linen shades. A window's shape might be emphasized with a real frame that treats the window and its view like a painting. All wood trim should be uncarved and unpainted. Windows are typically double-hung, but the top half might be divided into equal thirds by wood mullions. If a window has a special mullion treatment, a wood door with a glass panel will copy the window design.
Tile
Tile adds color and pattern to Mission style. A backsplash behind a stovetop could be a rich jade with touches of cream, brown and sienna in symmetrically spaced tiles. Mexican painted tile, as an inset in a kitchen island top, acts as a hot plate. Ceramic floor tile, if it is used instead of wood, would be classic terra cotta, but a narrow border of painted tile might be used to frame the floor. A few colorful Mexican pottery pieces may be displayed in glass-front, wood-paneled kitchen cabinets or on a mostly cleared counter.
Lighting
Lighting comes from the unobstructed windows, white or frosted pendant lamps and Tiffany-style lamps with Mission patterns. Tiffany lamps typically have angled, not round, shades; wrought-iron wall sconces can be used if the Spanish mission influence is strong in the kitchen's design. White lampshades or pendants should be glass, not fabric or paper, with pendants suspended on plain rods or chain links.
Colors
Colors are spare but not boring. White paint is the most popular backdrop to the extensive paneling and wood hues. But light yellow, pale maize, rose or a pastel jade green are also compatible with Mission kitchens. Keep accessories to earth tones and ochres, deep blues, terra cottas and strong foliage greens.
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