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kimberly_barker7942434

Need Help for My Mom's Kitchen - What To Do? What To Do?!?

Kimberly
8 years ago

Hi all! Hoping to get some ideas for the updating of my mom's kitchen. I'm trying to help my parents update their home a bit for their own enjoyment and also because they will probably be selling in the next few years. Money is unfortunately, an object, but they are not afraid to splurge a little and they can afford to when push comes to shove. The biggest problem is that my dad loves loves loves wood and so my mom's dream of a classic white kitchen to go with all of her classic white millwork throughout the house is just that: a dream. So yeah, stuck with cherry at this point in the renovation game. Anyway, with all of that said, the main thing my mom is interested in doing is getting taller uppers with stacked cabinets on top and crown to the ceiling. She has 10 ft ceilings so we were thinking something like 42" uppers with 15" stacked (at least some glass) and then the rest with trim/crown? She will also be changing out the counters, backsplash and the appliances and putting in a new 48" wood mantle hood. You can't see it in the photo but two steps away from the island on the back wall is a huge bank of cabinets and so last year my mom had a fully integrated refrigerator installed there with panels. She always hated where the old refrigerator was and I agreed so moving the fridge was a great idea and has left that particular spot open for ideas? Also, miracle of miracles, while working on that project she found a fantastic (and reasonable) custom cabinet maker through her contractor and they have pulled off the impossible and have matched the cabinetry profiles and color EXACTLY. I mean you cannot even tell not even one bit. So, in the interest of trying to be economical, at this point she will only be replacing the upper cabinets. Knowing my mom she will probably get to the lowers eventually but if she never does,the kitchen will still look fine and a heck of a lot better than it does currently.

With all of that said, just looking at her kitchen myself, I think it needs to lighten up; in person the travertine backsplash and that old granite is really dull and kind of dingy and so if she can't have a white kitchen, she at least wants to lighten everything else up as much as she can. As I mentioned before, the house is full of millwork and it's quite traditional. She would like to keep the traditional feel but throw in a bit of a mix and make it al little more of a transitional mash up (or as much as she can with what she has). So a little bling would not be a bad thing!

So, sorry this is so very long but I don't even know exactly what I am asking other than for your magical, unicorn guidance! I have lurked here forever and I've learned so much for my own projects around here but this is my mom and we can use all of the help we can get for her so any advice, suggestions, guidance would be very much appreciated!

I am going to attach a photo of her kitchen as it looked last year (before the fridge was axed there) and then I will also attach a corny photoshop mock up I was trying to do (please ignore the goofy island legs) just to give you some small idea of what we have discussed.

Thank you for any help!




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