looking for suggestions on how I can improve the look of my kitchen
Comments (140)
kris10ph
8 years agoRelated Discussions
I hate my yard. Please give suggestions for how to improve this.
Comments (12)Feedingly, It has been mentioned that you have English ivy in the mix which begs the question, is there more of it on the other side of the fence? If there is, it's not going to be very practical trying to eliminate it as it will keep coming from the neighbors. Unlike many others, I do not despise English ivy and consider it a lawn alternative for large shade areas. I once had a half-acre lot of which 50% was covered in Hedera helix. Actually, I found it to be the EASIEST ground to maintain as it required no mowing or babying. The only thing I had to do was 2-3 times per summer walk through it and spot spray any stray weeds that popped up. And sever (with hand pruners or a knife) any ivy that was climbing trees, of which there were a dozen or so. On some of the larger trees I let it climb up about 4' height and cut it there... I liked that look and didn't have to bend over to do the work! Where the ivy met my grass, I alternately sprayed a swath of Round-up (looks ugly while the ivy tips die, but residually acts as a growth retardant and slows the next growth wave down.) and then edged the ivy with stabs of a pointed spade. (I only did this about 2 to 3 times per summer.) Some people just let the ivy come into the grass. It only grows about 3' to 4' in before it dissipates, being unable to stand the short mowing. It is not much visible like that. Since my adjoining neighbors also had ivy at the back of their yards, there was nothing for me to maintain at the lot line. I had no ivy next to my house so none to ward off there. All totalled, I don't think I spent more than 3 hours (or barely more) per summer maintaining 1/4 acre of ivy. In your case, it would good not to allow ivy on the fence, but spraying a swath of Round-up a couple of times per season would take care of that. Ultimately, I'm suggesting that a row of flowering trees, with a green waterfall of ivy below would be a relatively easy thing to take care of, if one is not opposed to using Round-up and some pre-emergent herbicide granules. Establishing the space as a shade area would help. I would add that it might be some work to get it to the point of being weed-free, but once there, it would be extremely easy to maintain. If I was going to do this, I would relocate all the plants to be saved (such as Hosta) to another area, temporarily or permanently. Then I would work on weeds and simultaneously plant small trees like crape myrtle. If you don't cure the weeds before trying to develop smaller plantings, it will be futile. I don't think there's amount of weed pulling that will cure the weeds you have. As weeds are killed, it would be important to mulch bare areas to minimize any weed regrowth. Having been around the forum for a while now, I am certain that mentioning Hedera helix in a positive light will bring out all manner of negative comments against it. Many, it seems, would rather face a rabid pit bull than a sprig of ivy. To each his own, but it seemed to me that ignorance about how to properly manage ivy is pervasive. Previously, some argued against it based on another related species -- Hedera canariensis -- to which anyone would know is not the same plant, nor does it have the same characteristics. In spite of my love and adoration for Hedera helix, I know that if one is not knowledgeable or willing to learn proper management techniques, it can seem like an overpowering bull. So I'm not recommending that you go out and get some to install in an area currently devoid of it. I'm suggesting that if it's already there, and already in the adjoining neighbor's yards, learn to manage it and use it to your advantage. In spite of what people say, it has a lot of positive attributes....See MoreHow can I improve our look?
Comments (17)Agree with "remove all of the toppers". The floral and lace can look girly or give a country vibe to the house. You have nice big windows so show them off. It will be a cleaner, more spacious, brighter look. I like the greenish color in the kitchen, but then in one of the photos of the eat-in breakfast area it looks like a blueish color. I'd take that photo out. It doesn't represent the true color if someone is flipping through the photos quickly they will think there are too many paint colors shared in one space-kitchen, family room, breakfast area. You have a lot of different paint colors in the house and not everyone likes that, so adding a new paint color that's not really there doesn't help. The dusty rose color in the dining room and master bedroom bothers me. If I was someone who wanted move-in ready and did not want to repaint, I would pass on the house. If the pool is in good condition I would love it, but the yard doesn't appear to be fenced in. That would make it a liability issue for me. If it is fenced in make sure you show that in the photos. Remove the clock over the door. It drawers the eye there and makes the room look shorter. You have lots of family photos. At least remove the ones in the dinning room. It seems like an odd place to display them. Others may disagree, but the nice wedding one over the fireplace doesn't bother me. If you have time repaint the kids room to match the family room. Not everyone will have a boy and a girl and so these will be rooms that buyers will need to potentially repaint. Everything looks clean and in good repair. You were brave to put it on here for scrutiny so I hope it pays off. You've gotten some good advice with several easy, cheap, quick, changes that would make a big difference. If it helps your comps have some things they could do to improve as well, so decor wise I think you are all pretty equal. Best of luck for a quick sale. This post was edited by Homeblessings on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 0:41...See MoreMy kitchen is new but i hate it...(pics) what can i do to improve
Comments (37)Dear Polar Princess, I am happy to read of your recent survivorship and a getting new lease on life. I think your oak cabinets look very well made and can be a star with some new accessories. Oak is a timeless, beautiful wood. Here are the changes I would try for minimal cost: 1) As has been mentioned numerous times: remove the stenciling & ivy to freshen the look. 2) If you can easily remove the light bridge over the sink and add molding to the top of the 2 cabinets where it connected, that will also modernize the look, as previous poster suggested, for not much money. 3) Backsplash: Provide Maximum sizzle and splash, which will transform the kitchen with a shimmering glass tile mosaic. See link below as example. Your area is not big, so you could pull this off for only $200 to $250 in materials. 4) Definitely bring in the brown leather bar stools you like or even something very modern in style as a contrast. 5) Counter tops: white laminate is not necessarily bad. In fact, if you add a shimmering glass backsplash that is a nice counterpoint to the white counters, you may find they are now more pleasing to you, without going to the expense of adding granite. You already know how easy to maintain your laminate counters are. You might jazz them up with some interesting place mats or update your centerpiece to be more in keeping with the brown leather & mosaics. 6) Window valence: maybe replace the lace look with something more tailored to complement the new backsplash and stools. 7) Wall paint: See how the backsplash changes the look and decide if you want to add wall color or not. 8) If you still yearn for SS appliances, check into changing out the front panels of the frig and dishwasher with SS. Don't think that is possible with the stove. I would really keep the bisque because they will look nice with the new backsplash as well. The link is from a larger website with many different choices of mosaic color combinations. The featured one is Anima because I think it would complement your while/bisque and oak and brown leather. Also check out several of the Spectralight (with and without El Dorado), Shimmerfly (one is Honey Pearl)and others which might complement your adjacent room colors. Good luck with all your decisions. We celebrate that you are here to make them! Anna Lee F Here is a link that might be useful: Glass tile backsplash...See MorePLEASE help!! How can I make my kitchen with oak look better??
Comments (24)Those are not oak cabinets. As I started reading this thread, I was starting to compose a reply -- "Am I the only one thinking those are not oak?" but then started running into a growing number of folks saying the same thing. They have a tight grain that looks like maple or possibly cherry, but the way they appear to have taken a stain makes me thing maple. Maple has a tendency to not accept stain evenly and you have some lighter and darker areas. I suspect they are not alder because that is a softer wood and I don't see any dings. They do appear to be in good shape. I'd work with them. As said above, if you have money for granite and tile floors, you have money for paint or stain. If you are willing to take the time to learn and DIY on the cabinets, you may be able to do both. You showed us a lot of the kitchen, but not two things I'd like to see -- your lighting and the cooktop. Do you have a vent hood? Does it exhaust or recirculate the air? I'm wondering if the cabinets have years of gunk built up on them. They look not only yellowed, but possibly dirty or dry. I would give them a really good cleaning for starters. You can't paint or stain until you do that anyway. Then I'd look at the lighting -- It looks like it may be adding to the yellow cast to everything. Any chance you have an older florescent fixture in the kitchen? The wood color looks better in the breakfast nook than it does in the kitchen. Changing or improving your lighting and cleaning your cabinets could make things look a lot different and neither of those should be budget busters. I would paint the walls with some color and then step back and take a look. If you want darker hardware, I'd buy new. It doesn't have to be expensive, but painting hardware is likely to be very temporary. So far, with DIY, we're looking at a few hundred dollars. I would like to remove the soffit in the kitchen itself if possible. If not, I'd paint it or give it a deep crown treatment to carry the cabinet line to the ceiling. You could also paint the ceiling crown to match the ceiling if it will not bother you that is will then be different that the rest of the house. I would not paint the window trim -- the window itself is stained wood and matches all your other windows. Once you get to that point, I would make a decision on painting, gel staining or stipping the cabinets and refinishing. Those are all things you can DIY, but paint and stripping will be time intensive -- which is why there is a lot of cost to them, especially if they need a lot of cleaning and prep work. You don't want any painter who isn't looking at good prep work because the job will not be good or last unless they do it right....See More
Jennifer K
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRemoved the turquoise. I am thinking maybe softer blues for accents or no color at all. Hmmmm.........
Steph
8 years ago
Delaine M
8 years agopartim
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThis is really one big room, and you need to think about a balance of color throughout it. The turquoise blue and brown look good together so you have a great base. But the tiny bits of blue that you have so far are not enough. Decorators sometimes use a color principal commonly referred to as the
"60-30-10 rule." For example, 60 percent of a bathroom or kitchen,
typically the walls, should be one color of a color scheme. The color of
the cabinetry and/or furniture accounts for the 30-percent figure. And
accents and accessories such as plants, artwork and linens make up the
remaining 10 percent.You don't need 10% in each part of the room, but there should be some balance so all the blue is not in one corner. Some ways to add more blue would be to paint an accent wall, add a rug (dining room, living room or kitchen) or art. So your blue star should go back up on a wall.
Your bar stool or dining room table chairs could be re-covered with blue fabric without much expense. Any wooden item could be painted - any of your wood chairs, or even your table base or island if you want to go big. Or something small like your kitchen blackboard frame.
This is where Houzz is great. A search for blue dining room brought me this photo. See how the blue is confined to the walls, but it is about 10% of the color? More intense colors "count" more heavily towards the 10% than grayed-out pale colors.
Dining Room · More Info
When you look at pictures of rooms you like, think about how they bring in and balance the accent color and see what you'd like for your room. This is really the expertise that trained interior designer will bring for you.
City Living on the Hudson · More InfoThe Wow factor that you're looking for involves a more confident application of color, and a balance of color and texture across the combined room. When I redecorated my main floor I let one decorator go when she was just giving me cookie-cutter suggestions. I interviewed a few before I found one who understood color and balance. Her skills were obvious from the portfolio she showed me of work she had done. Very different rooms which were obviously her clients' taste, not hers, but all looked good. She charged by the hour, money well spent.
A small suggestion, but I'd also take the decor items off the top of the corner cabinet in the dining area.
Jennifer K
8 years agoSteph
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agokris10ph
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoSteph
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Bruce Crawford
8 years agoHere's what I was talking about yesterday. One shows a wall u-wave, the other a drwr u-wave. The wall one has cab coming up to the cross piece on the end panel. The drwr one would add a little counter space above it. But I liked BeverlyFLADeziner's pic where she moved the pantry cupboard all the way to the door frame. I don't know how radical you want to get, but that has the advantage of getting your range away from the corner of the L and almost centered on your island. I did one using Beverly's idea, too, w/ a drwr u-wave betw. range & fridge.
.
kris10ph thanked Bruce Crawfordpartim
8 years agoBruce Crawford
8 years ago
PRODesign Intervention
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agoJennifer K
8 years agojbtanyderi
8 years agokris10ph
8 years ago- PRO
Design Intervention
8 years agoI would choose a color that speaks to you and go with that as your color. Here are three projects that we recently finished. In each case we took our clients "stone shopping" and told them to fall in love with their counter top first and then we would design around the stone. The stone functions as the inspiration point. Designing in this way produces a very unique kitchen that doesn't look like every other kitchen that you see. It can reflect your taste. If you are going to keep the brown cabinets and the same stone you currently have choose an actual color. not beige or gray or taupe, but an actual color that you like. For instance Sherwin Williams Sun Bleached Ochre. It will give life to the cabinets and warmth to the room. Change the bar stools and pendant lights and it will feel like a brand new space. See this link for pendant
Kitchen/family room · More Info
Laguna Beach Contemporary Kitchen · More Info
Beach Bungalow · More Info
Kitchen Remodel · More Infokris10ph thanked Design Intervention Jennifer K
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agopartim
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agoBruce Crawford
8 years agoKristen36, these are our pendants. They're Playa by Tech Ltg. They're made of mother-of-pearl, which gives a wonderful luminesence when on. Ours are white. They also make a natural, which is close to color of your island, & a brown, which is close to your cab color. If memory serves, the mount & down wire also come in oil-rubbed bronze, which is close to color of your DR chandelier. We didn't want huge Martha Stewart-esque ones that become visual barriers. I like some you posted as they are open so even though they're big in diameter, they don't block line of sight. Disclaimer: I'm not CKD. We started researching K reno summer '13, meet w/ CKD Oct. '13 & placed 1st order Jan. '14. Been immersed in this for almost 3 yrs.
kris10ph
8 years agoBruce Crawford
8 years agoPat
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agokris10ph
8 years agoBruce Crawford
8 years ago
freedomplace1
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHi Kristen,
Just skimmed through and saw pic with cream chairs at the island. Huge difference. I thought it could alter the situation - but I'm amazed. Really changes the entire look, feel and flow of the space. I don't even think you need new lighting now, as I look at this pic. Looks amazing.
But new lighting can be fun. I saw these and thought I'd pass them on to you.
Savoy House Glass Orb Single Globe Pendant Light in Oiled Burnished Bronze · More Info
Savoy House Glass Orb Single Globe Pendant Light in Oiled Burnished Bronze · More Infokris10ph thanked freedomplace1freedomplace1
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAs I'm looking at the space with the light chairs and seeing how great it all looks - and how great your lights look, as well - I am thinking that if you 'did' want to still do lights, I don't think that you have to go very big to make the statement. You could do something interesting - along the scale of what you have. (But you certainly can go bigger and bolder, if you want to.) But along the scale of what you have - I think something like this might work.
Uttermost 21811 Galeana Seeded Glass Mini Pendant · More Info
Kitchens · More InfoLighting is such a personal choice; but I just wanted to offer that additional thought about the size factor - since it has been mentioned quite a bit in comments, etc. - and the ones that I posted earlier are on the larger side.
Your place is really beautiful, Kristen; have fun with all of it.
All the best. :)
kris10ph thanked freedomplace1kris10ph
8 years ago
PROStainless Toe Kick and Wall Base
8 years agoI am far from unbiased, to say the least, but check out the photo below for what stainless toe kick can add as a transition between similar colored cabinets and floors.
erin mills project - kitchen · More Info- PRO
Design Intervention
8 years ago 
Kathi Steele
8 years agoKathi Steele
8 years agorenovatingthisplace
7 years ago
User