good advice.

it does sound like the paint color on the walls is at odds with the cabinets. i'd try painting the walls something in a gray-green to try and pick up the green in your soapstone. green and yellow are nice complementary colors.

Hugs from Kentucky!! Bless your heart.

Most of us had had those moments. When all the choices I made were coming together I felt sick with dread that I might not like it. I think sometimes it's the great expectations that we begin with that sort of predispose us to disappointment in the end even when the final product really is a very nice space. I had such a focused picture of what I wanted the kitchen to look like but as someone else on this thread noted - we can't always accomplish it perfectly due to limitations like space, money, time etc. So we compromise. Sometimes we still achieve what we were going for but sometimes we don't. But we can still enjoy the outcome.

The picture I had for my kitchen was like mrslimestone's. Her kitchen and baths are magazine gorgeous. I love everything about her house. But I didn't have the architectural elements or the dead-on vision that it took to get there. If I compare mine to hers then I could be very disatisfied but if I focus on my space and how it works with my house, how much thought and attention went into making those choices and how much fun it was working with my wonderful husband to bring it to reality, then I can see the beauty there. I can be in the space with my foster son making grilled cheese sandwiches and really love how if feels and how it works. Give it some time, get some rest, focus on the parts you love and that function well for you. It will grow on you. Everyone on this forum wants you to find the good in it and enjoy it.

More hugs from Brooklyn, New York!

Dearest Lightlystarched, when I read your post, my heart immediately went out to you. I am nowhere near finished with my kitchen, but I've had to completely start over midstream and so, I think I might have a tad of understanding of how you might be feeling right now.

Please listen to and trust the wise counsel of all who have responded. There's a huge amount of clarity and good advice there. Best advice of all, IMHO, is to just wait a bit and let your kitchen talk to you. When you stop to hear it's voice -- one you put there, in fact, -- I think you will like what you hear. Better yet, you just may grow to love what you see! And, over time, you will find ways to tweak and fine tune your creation.

Lastly, in addition to the advice that you not be so hard on your new kitchen, please also try not to be so hard yourself. Or, in other words, try replacing some of that TKO with some TLC!

Okay, they sound like easy fixes for the most part. Look at the positives, you have soapstone (I'm so jealous!!!) and black appliances are classic and your pulls sound gorgeous. So pull some of the yellow out of the cabinets and paint your walls more of a bluish gray than the taupey gray, taupe is too close to yellow. Blue is on the opposite end of the color spectrum from yellow and may help. I had yellow walls in my kitchen and my maple cabinets (natural with a coffee glaze) looked pink! So I painted my walls a rusty red and they look much warmer now.

Staggered cabinet heights are really in, could you lower the 12" cabinet a little to bring the hood down some and still make it look like it was supposed to be like that? Or find out if you can return the 12" for something higher?

Get a different type of lighting. Lighting isn't very expensive in the big scheme of things and it can make a WORLD of difference in the way colors look!

Accessorizing can really help, too. Like Lynn shows with the picture above, framed prints, decorative plates hanging on a wall, even new dishtowels could all tone down some of the things you don't like.

Try and post pictures when you can. The people on this forum are so kind and knowledgeable and more than willing to help. I'm no kitchen makeover expert, these are just some of my thoughts and I'm sure others will have plenty of fabulous ideas to help you love your kitchen.

Chin up!

I have to agree with changing the wall color to a greener shade.

I feel sooo bad for you, but I bet it isn't as bad as you think. You probably had one pic in mind and it isn't that pic. I can relate though, because I'm worried I might be seeing something in my mind that won't be what I see when its all done. I've been there before.

My gut reaction to the choices without photos is the paint color needs to change also. Taupe sounds like a harsh contrast with the cabinets and possibly that luscious soapstone.

When you get photos, get any rooms adjoining the kitchen too. Maybe you can do an accent wall or figure out a way to transition the colors without having to change everything.

I have to say that at first I was so overwhelmed by how beautiful my kitchen was that I was awestruck. It really was a great end to a long tough battle (but OMG not as bad as some experiences I read here). After the granite and cooktop were in, I still had those awful looking harvest gold dbl ovens as I hadn't finalized my oven choice yet. Not that the ovens are in, I feel so much better. (now if the electrician would finally get here I could use the darn things!). That being said, I still don't have a paint color and a few other things that didn't come to mind until after the granite was in place, are really bothering me. I'm learning to just take one day at a time because rushing may put me in a place where i don't want to be - I may not like the outcome. In your case, I would say let things settle a bit. Also, see if you can find a color or item (a common theme) to add to your kitchen. I had to give up a favorite canister set because of my granite choice. I was finally able to find a really cut Tracy Porter piece that worked out so well, that I order a few more pieces. It might help to let things go for a bit and then when you find things or a paint color or something else to pull it together, you can do things as you feel comfortable. There is a lot of hype doing these kitchens, especially when you compare yours to the others here. Just remember,it's a kitchen that has a purppose. All else is gravy, and you can change those extras as time goes. Like others have said here, let it settle some and maybe try the paint idea. BTW, I let go of an OTR (cooktop) cabinet and rangehood for a full archway over the cooktop. I now have NO WHERE to put spices and other things like that, and also cannot have a fan without redoing the archway. I was so excited that I was going to get a different fan; now I have to really scratch my head to figure out what to do (while the smell of every darn thing I'm cooking ends up in my bedroom closets!). But I know I can't do anything about it right now so I'll ignore it until something comes to me, and i can get pink paint off the kitchen walls - YUK!!

BTW, thanks for posting about the seeing the underside of the fan cab. I was going to do just that.

Seriously, give it a rest for a bit. When your guests arrive, they need not know that everything is not to your liking - YET!!

Best Wishes and don't worry. Your guests may love what you've done. Folks love my pink paint...

gng

I feel bad because I was one of the ones who posted in your previous message when you were initially having doubts about your DH's selection of black appliances, and your selected maple cabinets.

I still think however that it can be worked out. Possibly by repainting the kitchen a different color, as some people have suggested. I redid a bathroom in my current house and chose a lovely sage color for the walls that went really well with the color I remembered the floor being. However when everything was done, the green walls brought out some pink tones in the beige tile and it just looked awful. After repainting the walls putty color the room looks much better.

Another possibility would be changing the lights. Cheap fluorescent tubes can do horrible things to colors. Fluorescent tubes are rated with a CRI (color rendering index) which is a measure of how well balanced the different color components of the white light are. Cheap tubes have a CRI of around 60 whereas better tube are available with a CRI as high as 90 to 95 (with incandescent bulbs being 100)

I'm sure ther must be something that can be done to help you love your new kitchen. We're here for you.

I'm just going to chime in the paint color issue - that could make a big difference. I thought I'd just paint my new kitchen the same khaki beige color I had in other rooms - a color I just loved. My kitchen was ivory/brown/terrracotta - didn't even think about using anything else.

Then I put a sample on the wall after tile, cabinets, etc. were in. Yikes - it looked terrible - greenish and clashed with the warmer beige tones in the kitchen. Needless to say I picked something else - after trying about 10 different sample jars.

I did something similar in a bathroom once when I picked out wallpaper - got something beige-ish - put it in - it was pinkish beige and my floor tile was yellowish. YUCK - you'd think I would have learned then that all beiges are not created equal.

Hang in there - there are all kinds of wonderful people here who will help you make it better!!

You can get flourescent tubes in "daylight spectrum" and they will be cast bright white instead of the morgue looking yellow. Try getting the lighting bright as you'd like it before making any decisions on changing colors. Who knows maybe the bright white will alleviate some of your fears that things are matching correctly.

Dear Lightly,

I am so sorry that you are feeling let down about your new kitchen. I shed so many tears during an 8 month kitchen remodel nightmare that I worried I was coming completely unhinged and setting a terrible example for my four year old daughter (adding guilt to deep disappointment) and so on.

Like some of the very kind posters here, I too had a clear vision of what I hoped the kitchen would turn out like. After all, my family had saved for nine years, we thought we had made good decisions, I had been reading GW for years....but alas, that was not the case.

Projects like this often have such a huge letdown factor -- kind of like after planning a wedding -- you spend so much time and money and there is such hope about the day coming together beautifully, but there are always hiccups! Boy, I could share some whoppers.

It took a loving friend conspiring with my little girl to finally get me to move out of the dining room (which had been our temporary kitchen and was so dirty and gross and like living under a bridge)and fill the fridge and put dishes into the cabinets. I was so sad about the outcome that I couldn't even fill the cabinets! There had been so many letdowns and pain that I didn't want to get close enough to get hurt. Like the kitchen was a person! Can you believe it?? Anyway, nobody visiting quite understood it either, because to them it was such an improvement over the old kitchen -- after all, the appliances functioned, now we had more than one light bulb, etc. -- so why wouldn't I be thrilled? I felt ungrateful. But, I think the process and the pressure to make just the right choices can be so hard on one's psyche. I have had to "grieve" just a bit, and still catch myself looking at the flaws and reliving the fights with the contractors. But, as time goes on, I am trying to learn to accept the new space, and dare I say, even like it and feel some pride about my choices. I certainly made mistakes, but the cliche is true -- time does heal wounds; that and a selective memory!

Please do post pictures -- on this forum there are some brilliant minds who have helped so many people and generously give of themselves and their time; it's one of the many reasons that I have read this forum for years. You are not alone; this too shall pass.

Margaret

lightlystarched, thank you so much for being honest and sharing with us all how you're feeling.

Our kitchen is still at least one month away from completion (and every day we it feels as if we hear a new, later date) but as it is, I'm not super-pleased. While even now, incomplete and amidst construction debris, it is aesthetically gorgeous, I just can't get over how small it is and that lets me down.

In our previous house, we had a h-u-g-e kitchen with scads of storage space -- four people could easily and actively work in there at the same time. It was not a thing of beauty but it sure did function like a charm!

So we moved here to a house which, as a whole, is so far superlative to that previous house that my post just makes me churlish. The kitchen is approximately half the size and was laid out like crap, so we knew from the get-go that we'd be gutting it and starting from scratch. We never unpacked our kitchen boxes as we knew we'd just have to pack everything back up! So for the eight or so months we lived in the "original" kitchen we never really truly lived, if that makes sense, because we didn't have all our usual kitchen doo-dads and as a consequence, didn't cook (my husband) or bake (me) the way we would've. Not quite camping, but it just wasn't "us" and never felt like "ours."

Now that the new, "improved" kitchen is coming together I kinda wonder "what for?" Because we didn't increase the size of the kitchen, will we forever rue what we did? Right now I think we both are. My husband, who says maybe four words a year (he's a quiet fellow), even said: "Wow, this makes me miss our previous kitchen." Well now shoot.

I guess there's no pleasing some people! (I'm talking about myself.)

So no, I'm not loving my kitchen right away. But I would like to say that I think it sounds as if you have lovely elements in your kitchen and the above suggestions sound great. The first color which popped into my mind was a subdued terracotta.

A while ago divamum posted about helping her choose paint colors. I think her cabinet color might be similar to yours (she has white appliances and an earthy-brown counter). Anyway, I wonder if any of her color choices might prove useful to you. ???

Unfortunately, I couldn't locate that thread but to the picture of her samples.

I'm glad you let us all know how you're feeling. We're all looking forward to seeing your pictures and helping you love your new kitchen!

Gosh, after reading all these posts I feel like a very lucky woman. I loved my new kitchen even before it was built, if that is possible. I spent a year with our architect tweaking things, getting them just the way I wanted them. We had a wonderful contractor and, though construction was messy and tiresome, it was very trouble-free. And my dear hubby gave me free reign to get whatever I wanted. I can honestly say there is nothing I would change, it's that perfect for me.

I hope that once the angst of construction is past you will love your new space. :-)

I do understand your feelings. Your husband probably liked your "old" kitchen...right? :0) That's what happened to my kitchen remodel. My DH said he LOVED the carpeted floor and I was not going to put in a tile floor. So I explained that I was purchasing ceramic tile, I needed to be able to clorox the floor and it was NOT up for discussion. I proceeded to buy DAL tile(a name brand), in the latest mottled tan look, on sale for .79cents a sq foot and installed it myself(turned out great), but then I felt like I needed to include DH in this project, not make him feel alienated and got the granite backsplash "he" wanted,the bow handle pulls "he" wanted.....:0) and so on. I can live with it....it's a little too country looking for my tastes. But I can manage with compromise. I'll bet in 20 years it's all out of style and technology will be calling me to redo it again then. So I have some time to think about what I would do differenetly. "IF" you need our help choosing a new paint color....just holler.... :0)

I know how you feel, I've often felt this way in the years we've been working on our house. I think, unless you're really lucky, things DON'T turn out the way you pictured them. IMO, the hardest part of any design is creating a whole that works well once all the individual parts are put in place.

I usually wait a while till I see what really doesn't work. I'm about to order 4 new kitchen windows because the size I originally picked out was just too small. Other things have been easier fixes, and some things I realize are perfectly nice, just not what I envisioned.

It sounds like you have some nice elements in your kitchen and the issue is tying it together. I agree that painting works wonders. Even if it's not the color scheme you intended, it's still possible to make it "work" with slightly different colors. Even cabinets can be stripped down and painted if that's what it takes to tie things together.

I don't know what else to say except that you're certainly not alone -- sometimes there's comfort in that!

Wow! My heart also goes out to you!

I am sitting in my 75% finished kitchen looking at the knobs my DH (also the contractor) has just put in place of the pulls that I wanted, wanting to scream and knowing that I can't p!$$ of the contractor with too much complaining... :o)

One of our biggest arguments was over the appliance colors, I wanted black and he liked the stainless, now I am trying to be consciencious about keeping it clean, shouldn't the person who wanted the stainless clean it? (although he IS trying to level the cabinets on the new tile floor he put in).

There were/are issues over some of the dumbest stuff...I really feel ungrateful at times, and I am still trying REALLY hard not to irritate the contractor (DH) too much, lol!

As far as the color goes, we have a kitchen/eating area/great room, so to please the contractor (DH), I took down all three areas of wallpaper, which I loved and fixed all the walls and tried out at least 12 samples of colors. Finally,I went to a local wallpaper place with my cabinet color sample, my chunk of floor tile, my "before" pictures, and the chunk of granite (my traveling kit) and laid it all out on a counter and asked for help.

The gentleman there was unbelievably helpful, asked if I wanted to go warm or cool, just paint or paint and wallpaper, he gave me a cup of tea and went off for about ten minutes. He came back with a piece of wallpaper for an accent wall near our fireplace and several paint samples that went with it. I couldn't believe it! This guy did in ten minutes what I had been trying to do for two months...

I ended up using Sherwin William's austere gray, which is actually a beautiful, medium, sagey green, that goes with the yellowish background and some of the leaves on the wallpaper we chose for the accent wall. (Of course, the wallpaper is still in a box, but the green walls are great!) The green also looks really nice with the reddish/terracotta bricks in our fireplace. I also have put up some small valances over the windows that have green, yellow and blue in them and that seems to work also...when the sunlight comes in during the day, the walls sort of look blue (gray?)

When I get myself really nutty about how things are going here, I keep reminding myself that no matter what, this kitchen is much better than what I had and that I can eventually adapt or adapt to what is bothering me... it hasn't killed me yet, so I must be stronger (I know the contractor/DH is, I haven't killed him yet either! lol).

Just the stress of such a big job with so many permanent decisions and knowing that you have to live with it for such a long time makes these renovations very hard on everyone. Try to go easy on yourself and get some rest, I'm sure you will eventually get by this latest hurdle and enjoy your space.

Fern76

Hi Lightlystarched,

I'm going thru the same thing right now that you are. All I can see in my kitchen are all the mistakes made! It's so disappointing when you have a dream kitchen or at least a bit of a plan of how you want your kitchen to be and it doesn't turn out like that.

The GW people are great and it seems like everyone has encountered some what similar problems. So I would definitely take their advice on the best way to fix your kitchen to your liking.

What I have learned from this whole remodeling process is to make my own decisions, to listen to my "gut feelings", not to be rushed into a decision I'll later regret and not to rely on others i.e. the KD or GC that intimidate me with their knowledge and attitude. Right now I'm feeling very burned out from making all these decisions and having to respond quickly to what I call my "problem du jour".

My advice to you (which I'm also planning to take) is to chill out for a while, take a rest. Just a moratorium on decision making and no thinking about the kitchen. (I imagine this will be hard for you with 40 coming for Easter!) Hopefully in a few days after a quasi vacation from all this, things will look much better. I'm hoping an attitude adjustment will do the trick. I sure hope it works for you and when your ready to tackle the kitchen again, start with all this wonderful advice.

Best of luck and I will keep you in my prayers!

Karen

Pictures:

IMG]http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg140/Lightlystarched/432211-R1-020-8A_010.jpg[/IMG]

IMG]http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg140/Lightlystarched/432211-R1-016-6A_008.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg140/Lightlystarched/432211-R1-008-2A_004.jpg[/IMG]

Are you planning to add a backsplash? I'm thinking that with maybe a different paint color and some accessories would make a big difference.

Laurie

Can someone tell me how to make these visible in the post?

The door that is primed leads to the carport. The other glass door goes to the back patio and will be painted white. The oven was installed yesterday, and is black.

I think I need to abandon the idea of a "light" kitchen and go for dramatic and sexy, lol. I don't have much $$ right now for a backsplash, but I'm thinking of a quilted stainless panel behind the cooktop. I would love ideas. I also need a window treatment - the sink window faces west and the afternoon sun can be blinding.

The empty wall next to the carport door will probably have a small counter-height table and 2 stools. There will be an additional wall cabinet on the range wall which will take those all the way over to the window wall.

We are slowly making this house more contemporary/minimalist.

All your help is appreciated!!!

Begin it with the letters
img src=
then put your file name (the "http://......jpg";) after the equal sign. Enclose the ENTIRE thing in opening and closing brackets () Don't forget quotation marks before the http and after the jpg

{{!gwi}}

PS: Personally, I LOVE your cabinetry and the dark counters!!

It looks like the kitchen is open to the family room? What colors are in there?

Laurie

To me, it looks like a fabulous kitchen that isn't quite finished yet. I love the cabinets and counters. I think that a different wall color would go a long way. I'm thinking that a light olive or rich sage would be beautiful. Some white or off-white cloth shades for the windows would soften things up a bit, too. Bring in some terracotta with a throw rug or two and with a few strategically placed potted plants, including a few in the sink window, and you'll be almost there.

Revisit the palette from the picture in lynn's post above. It could really perk things up for you.

Pretty darned cute model you have working for you!

I love the cabinets and the countertops. I also like the black appliances. Of course, perhaps I'm biased, because I'm planning on going with light-ish maple, dark cabinets, and black appliances.

I do agree with the above. I think a tweak of your paint colors would go a long way. Unfortuntately, I'm not skilled in that area, so I'll let others give their opinions.

I do NOT think, though, that you made a mistake. I LOVE the elements. I believe paint and something on the window will pull it all together for you! Oh, and those pulls - where did you get them? I need to show them to DH.

The family room is the same grey and has the same floors. We have a long low black leather sofa and crisp white curtains. I have some silver accent pieces.

Would a light olive or sage compete with the grey/silver/white/black in the family room?

We are going to try out some "bright white" bulbs and see if that helps.

Maybe I'm starting to like it just a little bit, lol. I still think stainless appliances would be better. I'll just have to be a bit rough with the d/w, eh? How long do those things last anyway? =)

I think the greens would looks great with the colors you have going.

Laurie

We got the pulls at Expo. They were fairly inexpensive. I wanted something that wouldn't grab clothing, and that wouldn't look like a ladder to the kids, lol.

I was thinking about your "dramatic and sexy" comment and a deep terracotta color on the walls might be pretty if that's not too much for you. I know someone on here has a kitchen with the perfect terracotta color, but I can't remember who. I'll have to see if I can find it.

Laurie

Hi!

Our remodel is much closer to being done than in this photo, but it shows a grey-green wall paint w/birch veneer cabinets (similar to maple); maybe it will help you visualize a different color in your kitchen.

Personally, I can see how a taupe could bring out yellow. Taupe is a weird color. We bought a taupe couch/chair/ottoman set several years ago and I LOVED them in the showroom. They look olive green in our home; wish I'd bought the tan. Oh well, I like green a lot and they look taupe for a few hours in the morning when the sun shines in. :-)

I think your kitchen looks nice and is fairly neutral. The black appliances, to me, seem masculine. I think curtains, backsplash, paint, and accessories will have a lot of impact on the overall feel of the kitchen.

I'm speculating here, so if I'm wrong forgive me.

You sit out in your family room and look into your new kitchen and think to yourself, "gee, I just spent all this money and something just doesn't look right. What is wrong with this picture?"

Well I have a suggestion for you. If it were me I'd install either decorative doors and/or shelving at the end of your cabinet run that is viewed from your family room. Like the above picture of shelving. Right now you are looking at a blunt surface that is detracting from the overall look of your new kitchen, when viewed from your family room. And I'm sure you spend much time in your family room gazing into your new kitchen.

So, if it were me, I'd research decorative doors and/or shelving with your cabinet supplier. It would finish-off your cabinet run and add character and elegance to your expensive investment.

And if you can't afford it right now, it can be done at a later date.

BTW, I like your kitchen. Look at it as not being finished yet. Eveything will be fine.

Lightly Starched,
A friend who is putting in a new kitchen, and some other remodeling, but is short on $$$, has told me about a consultant they used just for this sort of thing - this person is supposed to be a genius with color and came highly recommended. She's based in NYC, but my understanding is that she also consults by email and telephone. I think she charges by the hour and you can get in touch with her on an as needed basis. I'm attaching a link to the website. It think it's worth a phone call.

I haven't used her, but I probably will when the time comes for me to choose colors. If you email me directly I can give you the name of the person who referred her, and some more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Design consultant

Wow! OK, I love your kitchen, Lightly. (And I'm not just saying that!) It has such clean lines and sleek style. To me it's very Eames / mid-century modern in concept -- like these, sort of:

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Have you considered something like wooden venetian slat blinds for the window? In a lighter tone of wood that matches the cabinets? With a darker tape for the binding/pulls?

To me, your cabs (I love 'em!) and countertops are both on the warmer side of the spectrum (at heart they're yellow and green), so make sure your wall color picks up that slightly warmer tone rather than cooler, bluer shades -- even if you go for a light off-white neutral.

I think the gray greens suggested would be fine with the other colors, but you could also try a darker gray. I think the reduction in contrast would add some elegance and look less like you just picked a light color for the walls without coordinating with the kitchen. Something on the wall between the door and the window, or over the window, would help. I am frustrated with myself, because what I imagine over your window is similar to some framed trivets someone here on the forum had, but I can't remember her name! They were framed in black, I think, and had very warm colors that were an amazing accent for her more neutral kitchen. We spent a whole thread helping her decide what should sit on the counters and island to help her kitchen look 'finished.' It was surprising what the right size and color object in just the right place could make.

Hi Lightlystarched,

I loved my kitchen from the start, but I had such an awful kitchen before so anything was an improvement :-). However, I think your new kitchen is lovely and I would have been thrilled to have yours.

I agree with the other posters and would suggest changing your flourescent light to "full spectrum" - this can make a major difference at night. I'd also consider changing the paint colour in the wall. Although you've said that you'd like a modern look, I think the floors you've gotten call out for something warmer. I personally like the Providence Olive from Benjamin Moore (actually, it's the colour we used in our kitchen, so I'm definitely biased). The nice thing about this colour is that it's warm, would prbably complement your cabinets and floors, and does change a bit in the different lights, which is a neat effect.

No matter what colour you come up with, you'll also find that accessories/pictures/window treatments also help to pull together the look.

You have really good bones in your kitchen, which is the main thing. I like the look of the black appliances with the cabinets - they go together well. The other changes being suggested here are minor and not too expensive.

Good luck!

Definitely add something at the end of that cabinet run there - it looks "unfinished" - likewise finishing baseboards, etc. would help. And some kind of window treatment would add some warmth and flair. With all the gray, black and white I wouldn't choose any shade of green for the walls. I'd do some kind of warm, rich red or gold - depending on what colors you like. A nice warm, deeper wall color would be wonderful with the light cabinets. It just needs a few finish touches and a different wall color and it will look great!!

It is a beautiful room and you have nice clean lines and great colors to work with. I think perhaps you are comparing your kitchen to those that are completely finished! Your walls and counters are empty....THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING! I agree to paint the room and accessorize. With your space and light it will be amazing. I see some vivid splashes of color. I can see an amazing backsplash (if not ready for that--paint will totally change the room). My first instinct was to go red or more terra cotta! The greens or olives would look great with punches of red as accessories. A red bowl, towells! Look at some pictures and see how much the little things add...bowls of fruit, baskets, pictures, books, rugs, etc. Your room is looking great and will be awesome with a few more finishing "extras!" I wish some of the photoshop pros here could show you how little things can make a huge punch!

hi lightly starched...as if you needed more advice!! well, i had maple cabs in our house. we picked a nice "greige" sort of taupe color that went with our laminate counters very well. sound familiar? after a few weeks in the sun, the maple cabs started to yellow. then the taupy gray suddenly looked awful, just horrible. because we had matched the counter (light faux granite) we didn't have a lot of options. we ended up with something like linen white, which is an off white with a little yellow and a little brown. suddenly i liked the cupboards again!! cupboards are expensive and i like yours. your black appliances and counters look great with the yellowy maple, i think. a stainless backsplash would be nice, and maybe something green or blue on the walls. seriously, those maple cabinets took us through multiple patches of sample paint, and two full gallons of different colors, before we got it right...you will get there! don't be afraid to change the paint...i like your kitchen!! kren

Msrose and other - Terracotta? Hmmmmm...... It may be the best thing to tone down these cabinets, but I just don't feel terracotta. I will keep it in the back of my mind if other fixes don't work.

Melle sacto - what a lovely, light and airy kitchen you have! I agree, mine looks somewhat masculine. Probably why dh likes it. I agree, I need to add some feminine touches.

chuckg - there *is* a decorative end panel going on soon - and you're right that will help. Will have to see after that if something additional is needed.

helou - I am hoping I can solve this with all the good advise here on this forum. Will keep the design consultant idea in mind though. It could help in making the kitchen and living room cohesive.

Circuspeanut - I think I love you. Those are exactly the type of kitchens I used for inspiration - Henrybuilt & Baulthup. We live in a 1952 ranch and I wanted to modernize but keep a retro vibe. Am I maybe getting there? It was so hard to plan this with a $15,000 budget and I shied away from slab cabs at the 11th hour. I like the idea of slat blinds. Perhaps I should just paint the kitchen area a shade of white to brighten it up.

Rhome410 - a darker grey....mmmm....the room is fairly dark already (both of the door and windows are covered by a deep overhanging patio and carport) so I'm afraid of sucking all the light out. You are right in that I need more decor in there.

Aesop - we are going to put brighter lights in. I am hopeful that will get rid of the dark feel. Thanks for the encouragement.

Gibby - that's interesting you mention gold paint. We had originally tested several golds - BM monroe bisqe and Powell Buff (I think?). That might tone down the wood.

Mommy to 4 boys - I agree, I am comparing my space to finished spaces and things will look better when they're done (like the end panel & baseboards). I want to stay minimalist so I don't want lots of colors and stuff. I am planning a clock on the wall between the window and back door. And a small table and stools (or something) on the empty wall.

Oh kren pa - that is my recurring nightmare and horrible fear. That the already yellow cabs will get even more yellow. What was I (not!) thinking! Why didn't cabinet shop mention this possibility??? I knew about cherry going darker but I was ignorant about maple. I figure if they look really horrible in 10 years we can paint them. I wouldn't dare mention that to dh though until at least 10 years, lol - he'd give me that "glare".

Does anyone have backsplash advice? After talking to my friend this morning I've pondered slate. A variety with lots of gold and silver/light grey to bring things together. Will slate still read modern/retro/minimal? Perhaps larger slate tiles to keep "busy-ness" away?

One other thing - the t.v. isn't staying there. It was just there for painting. It will be on another wall, so sitting in the living room, you don't really look into the kitchen. The floorplan is an "L" with the dining area in the corner and the kitchen and LR making up the legs.

Darker gray: I meant only a shade, or probably 2 on the same paint strip, darker...And maybe only on the 2 walls with cabinets. I think the dark counters would still give enough contrast so it doesn't look overall dark, and there's the big window. Just dark enough to give it character other than 'neutral light.' Not trying to push, just trying to explain my thought.

I am not a fan of glass mosaic back splashes but there's something about your kitchen that makes me think it would work really well. Something with black / gray / gold.

Someone else posted with a glass backsplash idea that I think would work for you. It was the one with longish skinny bars. I'll see if I can find the thread.

Here's the ones I was thinking about.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread with glass bar mosaics

I really like the space - wish I could offer some great advice but like some of the others I am better at offering encouragement. Paint is definitely not my forte!!!!!!!!!
My space, like yours, has the large elements in place but not much in the way of adornment and it just doesn't look finished until you can get that stuff in place. It is going to be a gorgeous space - you have all the elements of what you're trying to go for with the retro vibe. I have attached a pic of our quilted stainless backsplash as I saw you were considering this. We love it and it is way easy to maintain. Blessings and Hang in there!!!

{{!gwi}}

Rhome - I do really appreciate your input! I think you may be right with a darker grey - but what if I had that darker grey in a slate backsplash?

Pbrisjar - I love love love those glass bars! Ordinarily I shy away from mosaics, but those are really nice. You all are giving me some great food for thought.

vwhippiechick - you have the greatest floors!!! Looks like molten butterscotch. I wonder if I had more white in the room, I could make my yellowy cabinets look more rich like that. Thank you!!!

HI Lightly,

Just wanted to get back to you to see how you're feeling re. your hipster kitchen after a little time had passed. If it reassures you, I just joined here a week or two ago and had never seen any of your prior posts, so the "ooh! a mid-century modern kitchen!" reaction was entirely based on your photos.

I really like the glass bar tile backsplash idea, because they're light and airy and remniscent of the glass brick walls so often used in 50's design. In fact you might be able to match to some actual glass bricks to use elsewhere as accents, like spacers in an eventual bookshelf end-unit along the cabinet run end as gibby3000 suggested.

In defense of your cabinets: your cabs are a great yellow! A Heywood-Wakefield American birch yellow! Remember: blondes have more fun. :)

Garden web readers and posters rock. You guys have given lightly an invaluable and rare gift, your support AND smart advice.

The one comment I would echo/add is that the contrast between the black and blond would really benefit from a transition/midtone in between, whether backsplash or paint. It needs something to tie it together. And although the stainless would also look nice if the appliances were different, I think you'll like having the black appliances tie to the black countertop over time. Best of luck!

I think your kitchen is lovely and has some great potential. The cabinets are wonderful!! I am not wild about soapstone (I prefer granite), but I think all your kitchen needs is a little dressing up.....maybe a little brighter on the walls and some accent pieces that pick up on the wall color. The black tones are so neutral, you can redecorate any time you want by just repainting and adding some complimentary accents.

so you've been in there well over a month now....maybe you've grown to love it already??

Well with so many good suggestions I'm not sure what else to add.

I guess that I've found I've disliked most kitchens I've been in until a little while after I got used to them, especially my own, as you're always your own worst critic. (like someone was saying earlier, about "knowing where the bodies are buried")

I think it looks like your kitchen will work out great with the right finishing touches. From the pictures I could really see how it would tie together with the right backsplash and a few choice pieces of artwork/decoration.

Lightly, Im not sure if it is my imagination, but it seems from the photos that your lighting is mainly ambient with little or no accent lighting.

I think that installing one or two of the new ceiling fixtures that resemble track lighting with multiple halogen bulbs, and are curvy would accomplish a few things: Your kitchen would look brighter, you could point the lights at various areas, including new artwork, creating instant focal points. With better lighting, you could paint the kitchen walls a bright accent color like others have already suggested.

Ikea has several sryles of suspended lighting at amazingly low prices that might work for you.

Its funny to see this post crop up again! I am liking things a bit better now. The back door is painted, the end panels/missing cabinet/toe kicks are installed, I decided to keep the soapstone grey instead of oiling it, and I got a kickin big clock for the wall between the door & window.

I am still up in the air over a backsplash. Right now its a piece of aluminum foil. I'm leaning toward getting a granite remnant (a really wild, interesting piece) for the 30x36 space over the cooktop and then a plainer tile for the rest. I'm looking at Gold & Silver, Yellow River, Yellow Bamboo, or maybe red onyx.

I also got a small island.

I am working on getting DH to agree to changing out the appliances (the oven, dw, and hood) to stainless. I will replace them eventually, lol!

And the flooring is not permanent - its what we could afford now. In a few years (remodel, phase II) I can revisit that decision.

You all are soooo nice to offer your advice and suggestions. I will try to post updated pictures soon.