Are you looking for paint color ideas or are you going to change out doors, etc.? Here's a photo that's been in my idea folder for a yet to be determined kitchen someday:

Very pretty!

Mainly paint colors. I want to make each area have its own 'vibe' but still work together, in a vintage, unfitted sort of way. Easy, right? :)

The dressers are on the left of the sink and in the baking area (across from aprons). The uppers above these are solid (I wish I had glass doors) but there are glass doors on the hutch...and the little triangle has two display shelves.

The countertops will be wood around the sink (but with drainboards built in on each side of vintage sink), ceramic tile on each side of the range...and probably something cool/fun in the baking area. That dresser and base cabinet do not have decent tops....so plywood across both and maybe paint to look like laminate. I also want to put the little marble piece (18" x 26") in the baking area.

Oh, this dresser got moved to baking area....

The oak dresser (I found for the bedroom) will work better by the sink. Beautiful top and a bit wider, so it will fit the space. It looks a lot like this, but a bit darker stain and wooden knobs. It's got a great curved front, but it's seen better days, stain wise. It would be an option to paint it...or leave the uppers above it wood, rather than paint them....depending on what works best in the space :)

My only comment (since I haven't read the whole thread yet :)) is: I LOVE those dressers imagined into the kitchen. How wonderful. The curved front on the second is dreamy.

Could you find some crown molding that echoes the detail on the dresser top to use on the upper cabinets? What about painting the upper cabinets and the frame of the dresser the same color (or lighter and darker shades off the same color strip) and leaving the drawers and maybe the top wood.

Can you find similar knobs for the uppers above the dresser on the sink wall?

We're you going to post more pictures of your kitchen?

It would help to see what you are seeing. Like the existing cabinets, the other dresser going next to sink, the hutch...etc. Maybe those vintage aprons for some inspiration. :-)

I love the little dresser with the green knobs just as it is. So cute. What were you planning...leave it alone or repaint?

I think you were talking about a light green for walls, right? Do you have the wall color picked out yet?

Have you chosen the fabric for the sink skirt and window?

Did you decide on the floor?

Where do you want to see the most bold pop of color, like that turquoise? On a certain cabinet? countertops? backsplash? Or just as smaller accent?

Is it possible to have a center panel cut out from the upper cabinet doors flanking the window so you could add glass? I thought maybe it would be fun to paint the interior of the uppers a color to tie in with the other zones. If not maybe on the hutch?

Sorry for so many questions. One more....a little OT.

What do you think of the idea of casters/wheels on one of the dressers? Then you can roll it around whereever you want. Something like this?

Can't wait to see you kitchen vision come together lavender...it is going to be awesome!

I would probably paint the dressers all in the same color to tie them all together and then paint the uppers in a second color. Any open shelves or glass cabinet insides, I'd paint a third color. So for example, thinking I know some of the colors you like, maybe a pretty periwinkle blue for the bottom cabinets/dressers. A lavender for the uppers and then use a turquoise for the insides of the cabinets/shelving. Then how about some glass knobs in those colors mixed on the different pieces? Or even pink knobs? Then if you want to really get it all working beautifully together a very soft buttercup color on the walls since the yellow would work as a complement to the purple and periwinkle.

Wow! so many great ideas :)

Fishcow- We have been talking about leaving some wood trim around the uppers, too. This would match the dresser, if we don't paint it...or only paint only part of it. I'm really torn, because it's kind of nice wood and I think it would be neat to leave it dark, to balance out the very black dishwasher.

Sena- Knobs to match is a great idea!

Rebunky- I love that first dresser. I think the dark top might be
too dark for the cream dresser, but maybe on the other one?

Cpartist- I like your attitude! LOL I think that might be too much lavender, even for me. I love it so much, but it does tend to 'gray out' in the evening. And my mom is definitely going to want some green.

We have discussed glass doors, but I'm not sure these can support a cut out. And the inside of my cabinets are not that attractive. Kind of fake paneling, that I'm not sure will take paint very well. But I do like the idea of glass.

And Rebunky....for the answers to your other questions...I'll try to take pictures this weekend. It's a mess, but they would be helpful.

I think I have one apron packed away and I'm looking for a few more, but I'm also planning to make some 'vintage style' aprons from the other fabrics we plan to use.

We're leaving the little cream and dresser exactly as it is. Just carefully cleaning it and adding a new top...right over the existing one. It really is a cute dresser and the drawers are in great shape.

Actually, the walls are probably going to be creamy white beadboard, ideally 5' up and then aqua walls above that. It's a light aqua, almost a robin's egg blue and it's that clearance paint I found at the big box store. Beautiful and no VOC (fumes) so perfect for cool weather painting.

Fabric for the sink will probably be the little lilacs on black background. Not sure about curtain fabric yet...but same will probably be used in breakfast room, too.

We'll probably go with the vinyl tile floor, in a subtle checkerboard pattern. It's easy, cheap and not all pink....kind of the motto for our remodel. (LOL) My husband is fine with pink in small bit (like teacups, aprons, etc.) but his only request is that we don't paint the walls or cabinets pink...or the appliances. Oops, I think he must have seen that online picture of the 1950s all-pink kitchen :)

Pops of color are still being determined, but I think there will be plenty of them for the size of our space. Probably too much, but mom and I want something feminine and fun. Life is too short to spend time in a room you don't love!

Glass doors are still being discussed...the hutch does have glass doors on the top. It's not a fancy hutch, more of a DIY hutch from a big box store, but it's very cute...and will probably also have fabric on the bottom section.

Casters...both dressers already have them. Only the best from CL.

Since the dresser is the same height as a standard counter, I don't
think it will look that different from a base cabinet--just much more
charming :). Pics of the current upper cabinets would help, and maybe a mood
board with the actual pieces you're using. (Easy for me to say--I still haven't mastered mood boards.)

OT for this thread,
but do you have this pic in your saved file? You'd posted a plan to
float the sink over pullouts, and the skirt treatment is so cute!

I'm sure you've seen this one, although it took me a while to find it.

Interestingly, when I googled vintage dresser in kitchen, most examples set against the wall were of dish dressers with hutch-type tops. And a lot of dressers used for islands, but very few with standard uppers above. Maybe I'm not using the correct search terms.

Such neat ideas. Have you hit up Pinterest at all? Search for painted dresser, dresser upcycle, etc.

I think the top photo would be pretty for your brown dresser: /http://missmustardseed.com/2013/05/packing-for-lucketts-giveawa/

Like a lot of people right now, I'm very into retro kitchen blues. But I love a lot of the projects on that site.

I think I'd paint the uppers in the same white as the beadboard, then mix up the colors on the bases. Do the fridge column in a color to tie in the dresser in the baking area. I kind of just described my kitchen. :/

MamaGoose- Well we are twins separated at birth (LOL) so it would only make sense our kitchens would be somewhat similar. Your kitchen is so pretty...and functional. You are really an inspiration to me because you're so talented at putting together a bunch of items, adding in a few surprises and ending up with a fantastic room :)

Thank you for the pictures...especially the first one! I had not seen that and it will really help my husband and mom see what I'm talking about with little cabinets on each end and fabric in the middle.

Kimberly- What a great link! So many pretty dressers and I really like the one with the flowers growing up across the drawers. That's lovely. Retro blues are so inviting and I like the aqua ones, too!

So, went to Walmart today and found some fabulous fabrics for the aprons. So pretty! I'll have to try to post pictures this weekend. Too tired right now (LOL) because I drove about two hours to go get a great deal on a little butcherblock cart. Top is butcherblock...and it has a pull out cutting board and a drawer that is actually a tray. So cute!

And my mom (the design guru of our family) came up with a wonderful idea....decoupage! I think this might be the perfect answer for our uppers. More detailed than stencils (at least my stenciling ability) and so many possibilities. We're thinking florals for the sink area, herbs for the cooking area....and at least a few small bunnies above the cream and green dresser :)

If that dresser is anything like ones of that style I've seen in person, the oak grain is quite raised and I think the drawers wouldn't look good painted. So I would suggest leaving it wood or only painting the frame.
Here's some photos I had saved that aren't your style but might be of interest

Frieda · More Info

Chartreuse Kitchen · More Info

Here is what must be the most crazy unfitted kitchen ever.

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-quirky-texas-remodel-stsetivw-vs~560244[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-quirky-texas-remodel-stsetivw-vs~560244)

Lavender- I have to tell you that you inspired me.

In my kitchen I had an empty 10 ft long wall that I've been planning and saving money so I could have an 18" deep buffet counter with glass fronted uppers for displaying and storing my China and serving pieces.

I've been struggling with the idea because I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture and be a distressed cream color so it would stand out as noticibly different than all my dark stained cabinets.

I found this

the other day and I had to show you! This dresser is 36" tall and 18" deep AND the right color with distressing!! The lady I bought it from even told me the paint color and brand and my plan is to build a topper for it with glass fronted doors for my China.

Just had to show you because I thought you would appreciate it. :)

Fishcow- Thanks for the link! I think you're right. We've been talking about it today and wondering if not painting the dresser is a better idea. We are thinking about painting the top black (maybe with that blackboard paint) and having it look like soapstone or granite. Sorry...I can't remember who told me about that idea, but I like it.

Texas gem- I am so glad you found such a great dresser! It will be amazing as a buffet....and I think contrasting the colors will be perfect :)

Oh wow another great score...you and Texasgem!

My mom was the queen of decoupage when I was a little girl. She made me this awesome decoupaged Holly Hobbie red wooden box purse. I called it my lunch box. Holly was even raised 3D. It was awesome! She always did the insides of drawers, bowls, vases, trays, and candles were her favorite. She liked using different colored tissue paper overlapping to make rainbow colors. Wow, I had not thought of those memories for so long. :-)

Here's a link I found for turning plywood into faux soapstone. Amazing transformation. I'm sure it would work on the dresser too. http://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2014/04/5195.html

Another cute place for decoupage is the sides of the dresser drawers, but on the exterior part. It's a little hidden surprise as you open up the drawer. Also the side of the dresser which is hidden when against the perimeter wall, until you roll it out. And of course on that pull out tray in the butcher block cart. Oh yeah, I can just imagine you and your mom are going to have good fun with that project!!!

DECOUPAGE!!!! I did that a lot as a teen. I had been planning to get new doors/draw fronts for my cabinets (a mish-mash both from the current kitchen and Habitat Re-Stores). However, I have been starting to wonder if just painting them all the same color and the same knobs/pulls would tie things together good enough to not need the new fronts. But a sprinkling of decoupage here and there could be eye-catching enough to help keep eyes from noticing the different cabinet fronts. Wow...I think once we're finally to the point of finishing touches....no time soon for this slow DIY project...I'm going to have to play with this idea.

Are you really committed to keeping all your current uppers? I put an antique cab in our kitchen and I found some cabinet doors (glass) at a an antique store/salvage place and built an upper cabinet to fit them out of furniture grade plywood. I have really low carpentry skills and only basic tools (jigsaw, power drill), but it turned out pretty nice. Maybe you could build yourself one or two new uppers?

This was taken mid-kitchen dismantling/restoration so please ignore the mess.

I love that cabinet, daisychain. Power to women with power tools!

Texas-Gem, you can also use old wood-frame windows--IIRC trailrunner used some in her kitchen cabinets. I often see them on craigslist.

lavender, thank you. :) If you have sanded grout left over when you do your tile work, it can be added to regular paint to make chalkboard paint. I used some left over grout and paint on a door in my son-in-law's office. Also painted an old (not antique) world globe, to use for messages. Here it is with a funny/cute one from DD to SIL.