agree with other: take down wallpaper, clean up the frig, look on houzz for inspiration:

that said, if i had to pick a counter top, top row - first or second one to go with white cabs.
i would say paint bottom cabs a shade of grey, but not sure how that would look with the floor??

paint rest of kitchen coordinating color.

@AnnieDeighnaugh : You are very insightful. It wasn't till I read your comments, and my initial question that I realized you are exactly right. Sometimes, women are just more aware than your average caveman :-)

Let me revise: I LOVE modern and minimalist.

The kitchen had just been redone 1 year before we purchased it (10 years ago). We didn't have any money for anything optional, so the wallpaper was there to stay.

And as @realism mentioned, there isn't that much of it so incorporating wp removal into this project does make sense.

I've always thought a cool accent color was would be neat, but I've never been bold enough to actually make a decision to do it.

Thanks for the keen observation,
Mike

BTW, I presume there's no problem mounting the cabinets on this wall (it's only 4.5" deep)

Mike there should be no problem mounting cabinets on that wall. It is standard interior wall thickness. If you use something like ikea that uses a rail system all you have to do is find the studs and screw that into the studs and Then hang the cabinets on that.

Only thing that would be a problem is if those flimsy metal studs were used to build the wall.

Your home looks a bit cold to me with the white walls, black furniture, and maple flooring, so you might consider going with a warmer counter. Your carpet looks more taupe/brown (a warm color) than gray (a cool color), but I'm not sure if that's just the photos.

I'm not crazy about your warm color choices. In the top row, #1 looks great with your maple floors, but it's busy for my taste. #3 in the bottom row also looks good with the floors and gives you black, a little carmel brown, and possibly green? Really dislike the other warms.

For the cools, I like #2 top row, but it could be too cool for the floor and just add to the overall coldness. I know you'll get a lot of votes for that one as this is a gray-crazed forum! #3 top row may be the best of the cool colors with your floor.

Some of the more solid colored Cambrias look more modern, but you seem to be avoiding those colors. I think that in an older, modest kitchen, it's better to have the counters be less of a "show-off". Be open minded and bring some samples home of the medium to dark colored solid quartzes. We started out thinking we'd get speckley Cambria Canterbury and we ended up with a solid colored quartz in a light color.

I remember some of your other threads and I'm not clear on whether you plan on changing the old counters. Please say you do!

Would you consider a solid quartz? I think something like Caesarstone raven would play nicely with your love of minimalist modern decor, and it looks great with white cabinetry. It seems to me that the busier quartz choices you've shown are more traditional/transitional than the rest of your home decor.

Add some industrial looking hardware, clean up the fridge and take down the wallpaper, and you're good to go:)

Looks like you have a nice cave to work with Mike.
First off yes remove the wallpaper and fridge pics so you can visualize your space without those distractions.

Can you please tell us what's staying, floors, carpeting, appliances, sink or ? If the carpeting is staying what's the color? On my monitor it looks gray in the first pics, light brown in the last 2.

If those elements aren't staying, what did you have in mind to replace them? I'd want a countertop that coordinates with all the elements including the flooring.

Is your cabinet layout staying the same and are your cabinets in good shape? If so you may be able to reface what you have and add new to match on the other side.
Do you need more storage or counter space? Thinking of uppers and lowers on the other side or just lower?
Keep all cabinets the same color.

Are you hiring someone to do it or total DIY?

I like modern clean lines too and I also love white cabs so I'm biased, but there are a lot of shaded of white and some coordinate better with cool or warm tones. Any of those counters will coordinate with white, just depends on the white or whatever you choose. Just don't decide on counter color until you see samples of the cabinets, backsplash, etc with it and your flooring.

Houzz.com is a great site for finding inspiration and saving the pics of rooms and products you like. And recently on GW there have been some cool galley and small kitchens whose names I can't remember of course! But I'll think about it.

This post was edited by island on Sat, Feb 23, 13 at 12:30

@May_Flowers: Your memory is correct about me questioning the counters. I've always wanted fancy counters, but I got sticker shocked after my first estimate. However, based on the replies, I think the first quote was really high and if I go with ikea for the cabinets, and ikea or another firm for the counters, I can get counters. So yes, as of right now, I'm planning on the counters.

Sorry for the white-balance of my camera phone photos. My carpets are beige not grey. If I had grey carpets, I'd probably go with the monochromatic black/white quartz.

Though I gravitate towards modern and stark, I really don't want plain counters. I do want a pattern, maybe even that cool sparklie stuff.

All this feedback is really helpful.

So far, I'm pleased to report I have firmly decided to get rid of the wall paper.

@lyfia : You are scaring me! Whether the wall was capable of supporting the cabinets was not on my radar till you wrote that.

The building is a 50 year old high rise. I'd say the build quality is pretty cheap.

The reason I'm doing this kitchen project now is I need to get someone in to re-frame out the door to the laundry room. The new washer/dryer didn't fit and I had to rip out the door framing.

I'm guessing this is the type of studs that were used for the interior walls. (The floor/ceiling & horizontal walls between units are concrete, but just regular dry wall for the interior walls)

So, any guesses: will I have a problem having these mounted?

Many thanks,
Mike

I agree with taking down the wallpaper, it's not hard to do. Continue the white cabinets on the opposite wall. Looks like you have a white/tan/black color scheme going on. I think pops of red look good with that. I would vote for the black or black and red countertop. If you pick the black one, maybe you could pick up a little red in a backsplash. I can't tell what colors are in the pictures above the sofa, could you post a photo of that area?

If you bring the cabinets to the ceiling, you can tie into there in case the studs are the flimsy metal ones. Once you take that wallpaper down, that part is a MUST, step back and see how that changes your whole space. As mentioned above, cut out photos of kitchens that appeal to you. Compare what is the same in them. Here is your style. Keeping the cabinets white is probably the best option for resale purposes, plus it is a relatively small space. You can get your color from your countertops, flooring and walls.

@meek95 : My late Aunt painted these pictures which I enjoy very much. (these are in the living room)

I'll be posting a separate question on the backspash once I nail down some of the bigger components.

I really love all this feedback, thanks!

@RoRo67 : Yes, I am planning on going all the way up to the ceiling. Glad that helps the stability,

Keeping all the cabinets white appeals to me (glad others like that idea as well)

Mike

You have no direct sunlight in that space, and adding base and upper cabs along that wall will make it even more claustrophobic.

If you are open to moving your TV, you could remove the top of the wall from your bike rack on down and add only base cabinets. With a little counter overhang you could make a really nice peninsula/bar area that would be a huge boon for prep space and entertaining, look much more contemporary, and save you $$.

I'd remove wallpaper. Then search GW and houzz.com for images of kitchens that are beautiful to you.

I see your space with a highly polished grey solid surface that looks like cement - very masculine, industrial, contemporary - with a brushed stainless or beach glass subway tile bs, or "exposed" red brick veneer along the far wall - with a blonde maple cabinet color, sort of like the image below (from concretepete.com). For the cabs, your new bases could be slab front maple veneer (Ikea does this well) and you can either paint your existing cab doors a light grey - or just replace the doors with slab maple veneer. But that's me - and that's what Philadelphia and the bike rack bring to mind. The key is to find what you love, and the way to do that is to sift through images.

This post was edited by EAM44 on Sun, Feb 24, 13 at 2:05

Considering those colorful paintings, the beige-not-gray-carpet, and that you love movement, I think the first sample would be really nice. It adds the most color. Is there a touch of gray blue?

I agree with EAM to take the wall down if possible. You really do have a lot of cabinets on the right wall, and it could look claustrophobic. Or consider doing some sort of shelving on the wall over the new base cabs instead of more wall cabs.

I like the idea of first of all taking down the wallpaper. It just doesn't suit your tastes.

I also like the idea of bottom cabinets (and can I suggest putting in all drawers rather than regular 2-door cabinets) with open shelving along the top. If you do that you could paint the shelving a green (one of the greens in your aunt's paintings) and then add colourful bowls, and glasses that you can use everyday ( similar to the photo above). That allows you to add colour to your space and to play with colour without making a permanent non-altering commitment to it. You can add to it, change it up etc.

It will create a lighter space and allow you to play with colour. Looking at your pictures it seems that you enjoy colour. You have a wall of photos/pics by your front entrance - can you take colour inspiration from them?

Counter top: The colors of your bottom right sample, or second one from the left on the bottom. Tan Brown granite would be similar to the one on the bottom right. I would avoid the fake stuff, all but the 100% quartz stuff seems to scratch too easily and the price isn't worth the lifespan or look.

You need some color somewhere. Add some color with the backsplash and/or wall color. You need something dark and something with some color to add some contrast and drama to the room. From your pictures, a bit of color would do you well in other places as well. I'm not talking crazy stuff, just a bit here or there.

Everything neutral or light in color = boring and sterile.

You can still add cabinets to the wall, just need to add some blocking first and you can also try to attach to the concrete ceiling, since you are going up.

I've seen where they don't do blocking and it has been fine with screwing into the metal studs, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it if it was my home. I'd insist on blocking.

@may_flower: though it might look like I have a lot of cabinets, and at the risk of revealing to the entire internet that I live like a caveman, I'll offer these 2 pictures:

This is where I store many of my pots, pans, and kitchen appliances. It's just outside the kitchen, to the left of the fridge

Worse yet, I keep all my prepared foods (pantry items in the laundry room which is directly to the right of closet pictured above. I leave the kitchen, hang a right past the fridge, and rummidge around in the laundry room

Out of curiosity, what do you keep in your kitchen cabinets?

I wouldn't go with any of the granite-look counters. Go for something that's more modern, maybe with the little glass bits and also relatively light. Maybe Cardiff Cream or Whitney. The counters will stay for a long time, perhaps longer than the cabinet doors. If you go with IKEA, you can even replace the doors later on, going from white to wood, or traditional to shiny sleek or rustic.

EAM I was wondering the same thing. What is in your kitchen cabs?

It looks to me like your existing upper cabinets have slight arches. Which IKEA cabinets were you planning on using to match? Lidingo?
I wonder if their shallower high cabinets would work, rather than lowers and uppers. I can't find a picture, but below is something along those lines. I'd also look at what counter material they use for their white kitchens.

Here is a link that might be useful: small IKEA kitchen/shallow cabinets

If this were my condo, I'd do a minimum job of fixing up the kitchen, like get rid of the wallpaper, and then put my money into the floors in the other room (i.e., get rid of carpet). There are some great flooring options out there, and with your modern aesthetic, I think it would really improve the look of your space.

Here's a 2 minute video of WHAT'S IN MY CABINETS!

I was too embarrassed by some of the junk so I spent a few hours and organized, tossed stuff I wasn't using. Particularly embarrassing was this cabinet of napkins and supermarket receipts. After taking this picture, I realized that this would be the perfect place to store my vitamix accessories which previously were on the opposite side of the kitchen, in the piece of furniture I'm getting rid of.

Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb5ACxfGBLM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Please don't think less of me,
Mike

The after photo!

Thanks for the link @nosoccermom

I know these are not an exact match, but it felt close enough:

Sorry, here's a click-able link to: "WHAT's IN MY CABINETS"

Here is a link that might be useful: What's in my cabinets

I didn't watch the video, the still was enough! LOL just cleaning out your cabinets will probably give you an "all new kitchen". I agree about not using upper cabinets on the new side, it will seem to long and narrow. Lower cabinets and then shelving along the top, maybe the Lack type from Ikea with invisible brackets.

I also agree about changing flooring. New flooring can make a huge impact on the overall look, and if you can use the same flooring throughout, the space will seem bigger and more open. But in a highrise condo, check your HOA rules for hard floors you may be required to use rugs or keep carpet in some % of areas for noise reasons.

There are two types of people: dog people and cat people.

And:

Carpet people and hard-wood-floor people.

I'm a dog & carpet person (though I don't have a dog)

And yes: my condo requires 80% covered with carpet to reduce noise for the person below.

And yes, though I was due for a good cabinet clean-out, I still want to have additional storage for pots, gear and food in the kitchen, and I really want 7 feet of additional counter space, even if it will reduce the width of my kitchen from 6' to 4'

When I look at the rest of your bachelor pad, I certainly see that you do have a style of your own. The first thought that crosses my mind about your kitchen is that you need to continue that style into there.

As everyone has said, first things first...remove that wallpaper! And clean the fridge off. Those two things certainly don't go with your style at all.

Have you ever see the show on HGTV called Kitchen Cousins? They have used a lot of sleek looking Italian cabinetry, which quite frankly fits your space to a tee. However, you are adding cabinets, and not tearing out the existing cabinets. So, as I'm perusing Houzz for some of their work, I did stumble on an excellent example of traditional style cabinets that they were able to make the kitchen look modern,simply by the paint color they chose and high gloss finish they used. I'm not suggesting you use this particular blue, but having seen that artwork in your living room, something like this might work.

The blue is high gloss

[

[Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

[

[Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

The backsplash is contemporary

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

Here are some examples of their work, just to show you how color can be brought into a kitchen. I think you need to treat the space as one. You don't want one side to be sleek Ikea and then traditional on the other side. Would it be possible to just check out another cabinet supplier so you might be able to get a similar door style but yet treat the paint color differently? And then have the same counters on both sides of the room. Have the back splash on both sides.

Here are some of their other cool contemporary kitchens
Yellow

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

mixing gray & white

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Design-build Brunelleschi Construction

I mentioned above checking into other sources for cabinets, don't forget that the word "custom" shouldn't scare you. You might be surprised by how the cabinets can be made to fit your space like a glove at an affordable price. Oxford Cabinets in Oxford PA has been a GW favorite, as has Dutch Wood.

Yes, Lidingo matches the best. I'd try to use glass uppers as much as possible, and definitely change the ceiling light to something like this:

Also, look at the counters of Lidingo kitchens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lidingo kitchens

Mike, you are a good sport! Loved your video tour. Your cabinets sure don't hold much!

What are your long-term plans for your apartment? Could you hold off on the new cabs/counter for another year or two and replace the kitchen with Ikea or RTA cabinets? I'd really want to try to move the fridge to the wallpapered wall, but once you get new countertops, you're stuck with half the kitchen not functioning.

What is the width of the kitchen? What's the life left on your fridge? You'd probably need a counter-depth fridge to put it on that wall.

mike I've been enjoying your posts. I too am wondering how your budget is, how you're feeling about resale value, and if you would consider replacing all the cabinets. Especially with your style I could see a lot sleeker look across the whole space, and it might not be that crazy expensive if you go with IKEA all the way?

@beekeeperswife: Wow, those look amazing! (Wish I lived in a bigger place).

Though I totally love that look, I don't think I could pull that off in such a tiny space (4' wide kitchen).

I very much appreciate you saying that I do have a style.

Women really do seem more intuitive and aware than us cave-men!

Thanks!
Mike

I wanted you to see the way you can bring in another color and make it work.

Another thought is to make that wall look like a built in piece of furniture that is not intended to match. When we decided to put a butler's pantry located between our kitchen and dining room we intentionally made the door style different, the height different and another color. They all work together but you don't mistake it for a misplaced kitchen cabinet.

My concern with doing white cabinets on the left side is that they won't actually match the ones on the right, but they will look like you wanted them to match. Can you just go back and get more of the cabinets that are already on the right? Can you find the manufacturer's name inside the sink base or somewhere? In our last kitchen, the added cabinets were in a dark peppercorn stain. This made them work.

Here's my old kitchen, to give you an idea of how I tied in the dark stain with the white. (apologies to all for showing this again)

@may_flowers . My long term plans for the condo are "till death do us part'.

I'm 44 so hopefully, that will be a very long time.

It's a great building: everything under one roof. We have a supermarket, dry cleaners, bank, dentist, rehab (in case I get injured), hearing aid store (for when I get older).

I got my mom to move into the building (not in same apt.). She's 80 and loves living here.

The distance from the wall-papered wall to the counters is 6'. It will be 4' if I add the 2' counter & lower cabinets.

Though I never considered an under-counter fridge, I'm guessing that would be inconvenient, always having to bend down for everything.

My cleaning, tossing & organizing effort last night really inspired me. I put just the 4 pyrex things I use the most in the piece of furniture i'm getting rid of (instead of cramming and piling stuff inside). I really love that I can grab one of the 4 things without a fuss or hassle. I will definitely do it that way with the new lowers!

Mike

@beekeeperswife I really love the pictures you posted. Really awesome!

@robotropolis: As to the budget, if I could get the cabinets & quartz and a tile backsplash for $10,000 , I'd be a happy caveman!

Mike

Posting that photo of your wall totally makes me want to get a sledgehammer and take out the wall! Probably not practical for you :)

My first suggestion is to go over to IKEAFANS kitchen planning forum and get their help with your layout. My second suggestion is to consider blocking in that door at the back of your kitchen, since your kitchen is super open to your dining room already, and making your kitchen a true U. My third suggestion is to kit out what you're thinking in the IKEA planner and then bring up the part that says "your selected items" and you can check out the total price, adding on a few thousand for installation and another few thousand for countertop. I think the next IKEA kitchen sale (15% off with 1 or 2 appliances) should be coming up for you Americans in April as Canada just started our SECOND sale in the new year in March!

Mr. Mike, a counter-depth fridge is not an under-counter fridge! It's a fridge that is only a few inches deeper than the adjoining cabinets, so your fridge doesn't jut out into your walk space. If you could move your fridge to the papered wall, you could add an Ikea pull-out pantry on one side and a panel on the other and the fridge would look built-in. You'd gain counterspace where the fridge is now. If you planned the pantry cabinet for a future counter depth fridge, you could live with the old one in the new location for a few years, but you'd be well on your way to a better kitchen.

Seeing as this is a long-term commitment, I would slow down and look at the big picture. Your old cabinets aren't functional. The cabs are narrow and the drawers are shallow. Some can hold only a few things. If you could replace the cabs and counter on the right wall for now, you'd probably solve your storage problems. Even if you leave the fridge where it is, I'd focus on fixing the problems with the existing cabinets.

The distance from my counter to my counterdepth fridge is 7 feet.

This post was edited by may_flowers on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 13:30

@may_flowers: Wow! I feel like a stupid cave-man. Who would make a giant, side ways refrigerator for under the counter anyway!

That's why I'm here! Obviously I don't know much about kitchens!

You can't really tell from the angle of my kitchen photo, but I don't think I could go with uppers to the ceiling: I think there's duct work behind that green wall paper.

And, if was limited to the same cabinet dimensions, I don't see how I'd get more stuff (except perhaps by having fewer drawers that are bigger.

Though closing off the kitchen does create some interesting possibilities, I really like access to the laundry room and front door through there, so I really don't want to do that.

When I get all the work done, I'll get the corner lower lazy susan door fixed, and maybe move the fridge over a few more inches to make it easier to access.

Thx

Mike

Thank you @may_flowers and others who have suggested moving the fridge and walling up the door.

I will keep the two tiny cabinets above the existing fridge location, add lower cabinets and counter, so I can have a non-cramped work station for my vitamix prep. Presently, I squeeze to the right of the fridge in the corner and nearly hit my hand when I use the vitamix tamper up & down to smush food into the blades.

I'm really excited for this project, even through the scope is much bigger than I originally thought.

I retrospect, I can't believe I was going to leave the fridge there.

As a side benefit, I will eventually get a much bigger fridge with bigger freezer. I want to be able to buy a 1/8th cow from Philly Cow Share and have enough freezer space to do so. Once my fridge is not land-locked in the old location, I can get any fridge I want!

YEAH !!!

Thanks again to everyone. I'm really glad this thread morphed from picking a counter thread to ditch-the-wallpaper & move the fridge!

With much gratitude,
Mike

This post was edited by caveman_mike on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 11:26

As part of this project, when I seal up the kitchen door, I'm going to knock out the existing closet and enlarge the laundry room.

I think these changes will be a huge improvement.

I'm so excited I found this forum and received such great inspiration!

Mike

PS: This view depicts the kitchen door to be sealed up on the right (view from the living room)

That looks like a great plan. Since you intend to be here for life, why not take the extra effort and a little more expense to make this kitchen really a great fit for you, rather than just adding a few cabinets! With $10k you should be able to make this happen quite nicely. Ikea has kitchen planning services and an online tool that will help you lay everything out and visualize!

I like the grey cabinets posted above for your space, very neat!

It would be neat if you could move the fridge and do a galley kitchen, but you should get all new cabs, so that's the most expensive option.

So I'll just throw out some ideas. If you move the fridge to the other wall and put a pull-out pantry on one side, you'd put deep cabs over the fridge--lots of storage. You panel the other side and put your SS trash can there, since you mentioned you like it out. You choose dark stained cabinets like Beekeeperswife suggested. Your countertop could pick up the darker colors of the stained wood and tie it all together. If you could replace the doors and drawer fronts on your old cabs, that would make everything look fresh and new.

Then you have the hole to deal with where the fridge was. You extend the countertop and use support legs on the end, and then you slide a roll-out cart in the opening for your Vitamix supplies. I would take down the fridge cabinets and put stained wood shelves on the wall that match the fridge enclosure. So now you have a Vitamix corner!

Is that all doable with Ikea? Did I spend your money well? ;)

Thanks for posting that video tour. I'm sure it was embarrassing, but it is helpful. I think you have way too much stuff. How many people live in your apt? You have a TON of stuff especially glassware and mugs. If its just you alone or you and one other person there is so much you can toss.

I don't mean this in a mean way, but you don't seem like the formal dinner party throwing type. I see you as the more casual type who would just invite people to come over and hang out. I would consider tossing 90% of the stuff you have and just getting a nice inexpensive service set for 8-10 people. It would probably be contained in 2-3 of your cabinets and open up space in the other cabinets.

IKEA's sale is on right now until April with 20% off if you spend more than 4,500.00. Also, depending on your IKEA, they may have sales on countertops, not to mention that you can do a lot of the work/installation yourself.

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA sale

I agree with realism.

I just purchased a 12 place setting of corelle and a set of glassware for under $150. I'm in the process of getting rid of all the mismatched dishes, mugs, glassware, etc. It takes up much less room when everything fits together. I found that the new stack of 12 dinner plates takes up the same space as 6 of my mismatched stuff. Things that are jumbled together take up more space than the same stuff laid out in an organized manner.

Take your time and plan it right. While you are planning continue purging stuff. Consider buying new stuff that fits better.

Drawer, drawers, drawers.

I'm open to streamlining some of my dishes, mugs, etc.

However, my immediate concern is about the fridge, and how goofy it might look sticking out on the new wall.

My current fridge is 32" deep. I paid $800 in 2006. I really want to get a much bigger one with the freezer on the bottom and the french doors on the top. I feel like I got my money's worth out of it, and will find a good home for it.

I will have to masking-tape out the counter & fridge.

I really want more freezer space (that's why I'm open to getting a new fridge). I even considered a small separate freezer but the smaller ones are not automatic-defrost, and I don't want to empty it twice a year, and deal with the water (not having a drain).

As mentioned above, maybe a fridge that doesn't extend too much beyond the counter might be better, but I'm not sure how much more freezer space that will give me.

I need to research how much capacity my current one is for reference. I looked through it's manual but don't see it referenced.

I also need to use the ikea configurator and fully populate the space, and see how much room I want to allocate to trash in the corner.

Thanks again for everyone's interest and great ideas! This forum has really been invaluable !

Mike