PS - yes, the desk is currently a baby change station :)

A couple of questions.

1. Where exactly were you thinking of moving the 'fridge?
2. If you put pendants over the island, would that replace the cans in the ceiling? If so, would you move the cans?

The bulkheads probably have utilities of some sort in them. Have you checked?. Also there are can lights over the sink side of the kitchen in the bulkhead, so even if you can remove them you'll need to do rewiring, which you may want to anyway.

I think butcher block on the island is a good idea, but I'm not sure about white perimeter counters with with a white subway backsplash. It seems like an awful lot of white. Were you thinking of adding a little color contrast somewhere?

Like your newly painted cabs and hardware, and your dining table location is much better! If the rest of your plan follows what you've done so far, it should be great.

Good questions Suzanne!

1. We'd move it here:

I know it seems like the island would cut it off, but last night I was moving around pretending it was in the new location and it wasn't bad at all...

This is the kitchen we used for inspiration... it's exactly the same floor layout and actually in our town as well:

2. Yes, the pendants would replace the one can and another would be added... the can closest to the fridge would be capped off.

* There is just electrical in the bulkhead, thankfully. So yes, if we removed the bulkhead we would rewire for pot lights in front of the cabs on the ceiling.

* What if we did the white quartz counters with a seafoam green glass tile backsplash or something like that? Would that help break it up (but still keep it light and airy)? Or perhaps we do like they did in the kitchen posted above...

You've done great work so far. Suggestions:

1. If you're going to use pendants, try the ones that just screw into existing overhead can lights. Cheaper than an electrician; shop around for different styles

2. Get an aftermarket trash pullout from Rev-a-shelf etc. so you can eliminate the can.

3. OK this is blunt: de-clutter. Everyplace your eye looks you see stuff--kids' art, baby stuff, books, baskets, etc. Go get uniform storage containers like baskets and such, and keep your stuff in it. It'll still be accessible but look cleaner. Maybe take the kids art off the fridge and frame it in inexpensive frames from Ikea.

4. If you really want a hood try taking the doors off the upper cabinets next to the range and painting the back of the cabs a nice color. BUT you have to be committed to keeping the stuff up there neat. It doesn't have to be only decorative items--it can be useful things you store decoratively, again in nice jars, baskets, etc. If you keep gadgets up there this won't work.

5. Your cabinets are old so be careful about doing too many expensive modifications to and on top of them. Quartz is very pricey and I just can't see putting it on top of old cabinets unless they are very well constructed.

Good luck. HTH.

Thanks Marcolo!

1. Hard to find those up here in Canada. We already have a great electrician and the cost of moving/installing the pendants is very cheap so we're going to have it done right

2. Yes, we were planning to extend the island out so that we could build in a trash pullout. Thanks for the suggestion

3. Haha - we have a toddler and an infant - de-clutter isn't in our vocabulary at the moment :) We do plan, if we keep the kitchen desk, to put cork on the wall so that artwork can be stuck on there, and not on the fridge

5. Yes, you're right... it's one of the reasons we thought maybe we'd do butcher block all around for now since it's so cheap...?

I would not put white quartz on white cabinets. I see nothing wrong with your current countertops but I can understand wanting something different.

I would paint the walls before I changed the countertops. The walls are a nice neutral color, but kind of bland. You would change the entire look of the kitchen just by changing the wall color.

I like the idea of pendants over the island. You could also add one over the sink.

Thanks chocolate bunny - I'd love to hear your suggestions on paint color!

No advice, just wanted to tell you I think you did a great job on your kitchen.

The children's art and baby stuff made me smile! I love it.

Here are some paint color options - any preferences?

I think that what you have done with your kitchen so far has made a huge improvement. What was a blah countertop with the oak cabinets is rather elegant with the white. Plus with that combination you could paint the kitchen terra cotta-ish, aqua, or any of other interesting colors.

Beyond that, only you can decide what kind of change justifies what amount of cash and elbow grease investment.

That said, if the primary reason you want to move your range is to replace the great bulk of the microwave, I think you could install a mantel-style wood hood cover in the corner, after you find an insert-and-liner combo that have no greater a footprint than the current micro.

If you decide not to mess with your soffits/bulkeads, I think you could attach a shallow faux molding (maybe something like a baseboard with molding at the top and bottom) along the tops of your uppers and paint the new trim to match the cabinets.

Finally, I think that clutter-bespeaking-the-presence-of-small-children is a great look for a kitchen.

And here are the same colors facing the other way:

#1

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#4

honorbiltkit - I'd be interested in hearing more about 2 of your suggestions...

"That said, if the primary reason you want to move your range is to replace the great bulk of the microwave, I think you could install a mantel-style wood hood cover in the corner, after you find an insert-and-liner combo that have no greater a footprint than the current micro. "

Any suggestions on where I might find such a thing (or even a photo example)?

"If you decide not to mess with your soffits/bulkeads, I think you could attach a shallow faux molding (maybe something like a baseboard with molding at the top and bottom) along the tops of your uppers and paint the new trim to match the cabinets."

Not quite sure what you mean - the soffits stick out farther than the cabinets...?

The changes you've made have been dramatic, especially considering the comparatively low cost. Congrats.

I think I'd put these few tasks toward the top of the reno punch list:

1 - I'd add the same architectural feature over the top of the sink window as your inspiration picture has -- I'd maybe even put a piece of crown around it and make it a focal point in the room, or at least on that wall. Besides being pretty, it would serve to break up the "race track" of wall color that runs around the soffit, too.

2 - I'd go to town with that island -- I think giving it some weight like your inspiration picture -- trim it out,, paint it black (or a dark sage), extend it to hold your trash can, could it even have seating on the end?

3 - I also agree about clearing the counter tops -- you've got oodles of storage in that kitchen, if there's not room to hold canisters, small appliances, cereal boxes, baby wipes, etc. then it's time to purge. However, I disagree with the previous posters suggestions about the art, though. Take them down (if you want) before you take pictures to post here, but if you are lucky enough to have artists regularly bringing home these pieces, then a fridge front full of these creations then hang them the second they bring them through the door. Your fridge front has no more important function than as a place to remind your kids that they make you proud every day. And function first, right? :-)

I like the dark green next to your white (would depend on whether you like it in the adjacent room too though -- we have the same thing with our kitchen wall being continuous with the den)... and:

Your fridge front has no more important function than as a place to remind your kids that they make you proud every day. And function first, right?

Hear, hear! :)

Decluttering is a pipe dream around here too, at least for the next few years; so I understand. Our best management tool in recent months has been the adoption of a dog who turned out to be a shoe/toy/sock stealer. lol. She reminds everybody to at least keep the floor clear.

I like the proposed layout, having the fridge that close to the stove seems too congested, if it were me though I'd remove the desk and either move the lower cabinet against the wall or put in a wider cabinet to take up the space between the fridge and that wall (with shelving above it for storage).

Agree also that white countertops and white backsplash would be too much white with the white cabinets.

I agree that you need to honor your artists first and worry about the look second. This is a stage they will pass through quickly enough... I think an art laden fridge makes a house a home!

I'd add a single fixture over your island between the cans. You can get one like over a pool table with a few lights on it. It keeps your options simple and the cans can stay where they are. Less complicated that way.

I like the idea of the arch valance by your sink.

I'd maybe do the bb on the island and/or desk side, but again, keep it simple with the sink/perimeter counters. Your kitchen looks nice now, and will look even better with modest tweaks. No need to reinvent the wheel....

I think the darker paint color looks best. With the white cabs, you can be bold with paint without fear.

With young kids in the house, and probably moms coming over during play dates, I think the freestanding garbage makes perfect sense. It is great when people can find the garbage and not have to rummage through your cabs until they hit the jackpot. Kids will have grubby hands and you want to make using the garbage easy.

I think your kitchen already looks charming and with not much to do to maximize it.

Below is a link to a thread that includes a few non-flared mantel hood pics.

You can find a super helpful link -- illustrated how-to from circuspeanut -- by putting "range hood advice" in the search box.

Once you have decided what footprint your insert can be, check ebay under "faber inca." There is one there now that looks as though it was meant to be built into the base on an existing cabinet. There are other manufacturers represented there as well. Once you see something that looks promising, you can get a exact specs from the manufacturer's web side if the ebay seller doesn't list them. (If you can find an insert that comes with its own liner, you might save some money. I had to pay almost as much for my liner from ajmadison as I did for the fan and vent on ebay. My contractor said he could have fashioned a liner from sheetmetal, but I wasn't sure.)

I may be totally off-base on the soffits. The pic of your inspiration kitchen looks as though the (new?) cabinets align with the soffits in front, and I didn't notice that your soffits seem to be that much deeper. I still think it might be worth your while to mess with some white paper and tape on the vertical and bottom horizontal surfaces of the soffit to see how close you can come to making your soffits "disappear" without a lot of rebuilding. Someone on this forum once actually applied molding that made the soffit look as though it was an second range of uppers. I'm sorry, but I have no clue as how to find that, but I suspect that maybe the cabinets were built to align with the soffit front from the outset.

Cheers.

PS. I like all your gray paint colors. How far north are you? How short is your photoperiod in the winter? How might be various colors looks with installed lighting at night?

Here is a link that might be useful: thread with pics of mantel hoods

You've done a great job updating your kitchen. It looks homey and pretty darn functional to boot.

I think the biggest improvement you could make is painting the walls and adding interesting lighting over the island. I like any of the suggestions canuck88 made; that color family is the first thing I thought of when I saw your pictures.

I'd skip white backsplash tile. I think it would be too much white and might even look bland in this space. I'd choose a taupey neutral with more color to it.

I think the cabinets look great and I like the slightly darker wall color that was photoshopped. One thing that stands out to me is the dark hinges on your cabinets. I think changing them for white hinges would look better.

This reminds me of the struggles on those TLC or Discovery channel shows.

Yes, you have to declutter if you want to update your kitchen.

Yes, you can.

Or are you saying, because you have kids, then automatically:
-- All the storage boxes in your desk area must be mismatched colors and sizes?
-- All of the items in your hutch are disproportionately small and too numerous for the space
-- You MUST have an excessive numbers of canisters on the counter?
Is it your pediatrician who comes into your house and forces this on you? Just curious.

The clutter is the first thing your eye sees. Sorry. If you really are looking for a more modern look then tame it. You can. Just make yourself do it.

It doesn't even mean your kids can't throw stuff around or you can't be busy. It means that right now even if you want to put things away neatly you have no space to do it.

I think what you've done so far is excellent. Looks great.

I like the darkest color of paint best.

As far as "declutter" - I really couldn't do it until both of my kids were college age (and I am a very organized, very neat, very un-cluttered type person.) Honestly, just wasn't worth the aggravation to me. Of course, it worked out really well that we renovated our kitchen when they are both in college. Renovation time IS the perfect time to de-clutter. But I'm pretty sure if I had my current kitchen (beautifully uncluttered) when my kids were little, it would end up just as cluttered as my old one. But that would be OK 'cause as far as I'm concerned, kids cause clutter...I can see your beautiful kitchen through the clutter!!

SQ

Hi Canuck! My kitchen looks very similar to yours except my fridge and range are where you *want* yours to be. It looks like you have a little more clearance between the seating side of your island than I do. You said you want to beef up your island; don't take away any of the current clearance. In our setup the fridge and pantry are completely inaccessible if anyone is seated at our island. In fact I want to tear my island out because of the inconvenience.

We used our counter for a changing table too. And the bassinet was in the family room for naps. It took us so long to bring our babies home that I reveled in all their clutter. Enjoy it while it lasts...before you know it your baby will be going on college visits!!!

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a catalog. (Although I love catalog living!!!)

I like what you've done! I think it looks great. I like the first gray color or the last gray color.

I agree that de-cluttering is hard to do. Visually you can spruce things up by getting nicer containers (like the white ones near the stove are cute) and maybe "integrating" things more (like, paper towel holder built into the cabinet instead of on the counter?).

Also about the soffits, I think:
Someone on this forum once actually applied molding that made the soffit look as though it was an second range of uppers. I'm sorry, but I have no clue as how to find that, but I suspect that maybe the cabinets were built to align with the soffit front from the outset.

is this person: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0717170912550.html?99

Here is a link that might be useful: White Zen Kitchen

I agree with hapilady about the hinges on the cabinets. When looking at the whole kitchen, all the dark "hardware " seems to pop out at you. In your "before kitchen" no hinges are visible. All the extra hardware catches my eye and detracts from the beautiful changes you've made.

I agree about the hinges. I am "hinges adverse". (??) Our 1988 kitchen had hinges like yours ( our cabinets are a lighter oak than than yours) but we found a cabinet guy that routed the sides of the doors and we got "hidden" hinges--it made a world of difference--REALLY.

You may want to try this as your next step--it could make a giant difference.

I think there is a lack of focus. Everything is equally important. Gotta decide what deserves to be special and play that up. Also think about serenity issues--because your house has a triple set of connected rooms, you need to keep them playing nicely together yet make each one special. As you look into each room you need to feel Ahhhh! not Arrgh!

Does the desk area have a sufficiently large lip of wall on the left of it to accept a cork board for child art? Or could there be a bulletin board over the desk? Then when seen from the next room, the kid art is not the center of the long view. Similarly, the magnets on the garbage can have too much importance within that long view. A single kid-centered area is fair play; multiple ones are an intrusion into the serenity, therefore the stuff needs to return there when it migrates elsewhere. So, where is the kid area at this point in your lives--under the dining room windows, right? Or under the desk? Can you restrict to only one, even if it's a bigger jumble?

Currently the orchid leaves, the orange refrig art, the other colored items, the hardware, and the towels are the biggest grabbers of my attention. Why? Because everything else is so neutral, although my eye eventually comes around to focus on the warm tones in the natural wood floor and countertop. Although you deleted so much wood look, you might still want some of that wood, which softens and mitigates harshness. The allure of your inspiration photo is its discipline; your kitchen has more open shelving and more stuff and your own habits will fight the discipline. If you can put a color behind your stuff that does not emphasize contrasts, that would help a lot.

Don't paint yet. Try adding some big warm wooden items which bring out those wood tones--a separate cutting board, a turned wooden salad bowl, a splint basket at floor level, a wooden item over that far door. Bring home a sink rug, some towels or flower pots, and/or fabric for the tops of the stools which all coordinate either in a single solid color or in a small print or stripe. No large prints! Lay them out, look hard, then keep or return. [Notice how others with white kitchens on the GW have had to focus on an accent color which can be changed out.]

You might find that because of your warm browns, your best paint color might be closer to chocolate brown than to grey. And you might consider a second paint color for accent, perhaps to use to highlight the area surrounding the sink window. You could also paint the secondary color on the stools and on the apron below the shelving on the left and behind the open shelves on the hutch or on the countertop area of the hutch. Carmel brown perhaps? Mustard yellow? or walnut brown?

Consider putting an interesting matte or rippled glass into your dining area upper cabs to play down the humps on the cabs. The items at the top of the hutch are in too small in scale. Find something big and dramatic, or use potted green plants like pothos in matched pots of your accent color or wood and let the plant arms crawl around on the upper shelf and hang down both sides. Large doses of a single color and texture up there will give the spot importance and add height and drama.

Move the clock up or put it into the kitchen above the sink so that you can put a big piece of art on that dining room wall. You need something to balance the big window that is opposite and to make eating at the table an exciting thing to do.

Save up for a big rug for the dining area--something that camouflages kid spills and draws attention to this important area between t.v. and refrig. [Our dining table is the nerve center of our house. We got an estate sale Belgian style carpet when our kids were little--fabulous idea. The thing looked clean even when an entire chow mein dinner was spilled on it. It finally wore out completely but it was sure fun while it lasted. Meals in that room remain very important in our girls' memories of childhood.]

If you must have a backsplash, choose something that does not add entropy. Yet if you add more white, you are only adding to the overall whiteness of that room. Do not use a shiny tile if the backsplash is of any size--think serenity when seen from next room.

I think I would prefer the existing countertop color to more white.

When you went white you got as excited about white as the former owner did about wood. Consider painting the door the same color as the walls or the floor so that you defuse the large am't of white and give the eye a place to rest on that back wall.

Have fun stormin' the castle!