Kitchen Design: Two-tone cabinets and countertops

13 years ago

Hi, Still working on our kitchen design. We have a smallish (about 12x10) u-shape kitchen. We like a fairly contemporary/modern look and are toying with the idea of going with different color cabinets and countertop on one side of the U.

Most of the cabinets would be a very dark finish with a white countertop (leaning towards White Diamond from Eco by Cosentino or Sky Pearl by IceStone, which has a small amount of blue and tan in it). My thought on the other leg of the U was white (lacquer/high-gloss(?) cabinets with a butchter-block type counter. I was thinking it might look nice a few inches taller than the rest of the kitchen, too.

Mocked up a few drawings so you can get the idea. They're not exactly right but are close to what we were thinking. We would love your feedback.

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Comments (5)

keband3boys
13 years ago
Great design, very interesting. I struggled for months about going with two-tone cabinets (stayed with same countertops), but I finally figured out with the help of GW friends that you have to do what YOU like! Don't overthink it - go with what will make you happy every time you walk in the room.
sayde
13 years ago
I think it makes a lot of sense from the perspective of function to have countertop sections of different materials.
In our old kitchen we have sections of butcherblock and sections of tile. While the tile has not been optimum I have liked having the combination of a heat and water proof surface near the sink and stove with a softer surface elsewhere. We do not cut directly on the butcherblock but it is just so much nicer to put dishes and glasses down on this surface. In the new kitchen we considered many alternatives and have come round to thinking we will have butcher block again combined with a bib of something waterproof around the apron sink. I think it looks suitable to have varied surfaces in an old-style kitchen such as we have in our 1927 house. So in our case I think the aesthetics and the functionality of varied surfaces are aligned. But even in a modern kitchen where you could use a single surface, I think that varying the surfaces can make for better function and a more "crafted" look.
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bmorepanic
13 years ago
A couple of small layout things to keep in mind.

Where the dishwasher is? You need filler on both sides of the corner-when the dw opens, it shouldn't run into the handles of the perpendicular cabinets and when the cabinets open, they shouldn't get blocked by the dishwasher.

If you are planning to store dishes in the little cabinet to the left of the window, be aware that you won't be able to reach most of it when the dishwasher is open.

Design comments
An angled corner upper? Aren't they banned? :) It just trashes your lines.

When I first looked at your rendering, I thought you were going to use slat wall. The law of unintended effects always looms large in my life.

I'll bet by the time you guys are happy with it, it'll be stunning.
sparklekitty
13 years ago
I think your design is creative and opens up the closed U kitchen. I think because you have different dimensions (the counter is deeper) and function (sitting area) it can work. Having wood or butcher block at an eating area is always warm, but I would consider making the wood counter much lighter than the stained cabinets so it isn't too matchy and stands out as something different. It is funny though, as I look at the top view drawing in particular, I keep expecting the counter to end and be a peninsula (clearly you need a spot for your fridge so not possible.) I think it is just a function of what I normally see - not a judgment on what you are doing and imagine those thoughts would just disappear when in the real kitchen.

Are you considering different door styles? I could imagine a sleek slab front on the white area (or maybe the whole kitchen.) I just have a hankering for slab fronts lately because I didn't use them in my kitchen I guess I want to live vicariously!

Clearly you have put much thought into the kitchen.
jimmyland
Original Author
13 years ago
Wow! Thanks everyone for the quick feedback.

We actually don't own the house yet (we get keys tomorrow - yipee!) so the measurements are not exact. We'll have to have a pro designer make adjustments, but thanks for the tips things to keep in mind regarding dishwasher and reaching upper cabinets. Even the cabinet/drawer types in the rendering are just placeholders for now. We need to think more about what kind of storage functions we need.

The slat wall and the angled corner cabinet are a function of me not knowing how to use the software! That's an exterior wall and for some reason I can't figure out how to change the defaults on those! You'll notice too that some of the cabinets have drawer pulls and some have knobs. That might be OK, but right now it's really random. I'm not sure why the software did that...

I was thinking of having different door styles. Possibly doing something really shiny IKEA-eqsue in the white, and a dark wood for the dark.

Sparklekitty - so funny you say that about the counter end. We call it the peninsula when talking about it, because it does seem like that. We've tried to see if we can open the layout by moving the fridge to the opposite side of the kitchen, and then turning the "peninsula" sideways into an island, but it seems too cramped on the cooktop side. Perhaps when we get the exact measurements and go to a designer we can exlpore that again, as it would be nice to have it opened up.

Thanks everyone!