Kitchen renovation_can't seem to find elements to pull it all together

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hello,

Hoping I can get some advice regarding how to finish the kitchen and make the space feel complete. This is our first home and we are very new in the reno world.

We wanted an all white kitchen with incorporation of modern and old elements.

Right now we have: white cabinets, white subway tile and white quartz with light gray veins, the island is an antique gray/brownish color and appliances are black stainless steel. The floor tiles are - ivory/tan, stone look.

We are stuck trying to add the final elements that tie the whole space together.

Thanks for your opinions.

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Comments (5)

chloebud
6 years ago
Please post a photo.
Ina thanked chloebud
PRO
CV & Associates, LLC
6 years ago
HI there, one of the key "exercises" we do with clients is look at the home's style, region and your lifestyle.

First, you typically want to have a kitchen that "matches" the style of your home (Traditional? Modern?). Then, you want to have what the wine growers call a sense of "terroir", that is, the area in which you live (desert? mountain?). You want to have a space that fits into the vernacular, as we designers say.

If you have a unique architectural or historic home, you want to have respect for that and express its style, if at least for resale value. For example, if you have a 60s Eichler home (very valued now) you might want to consider recreating that style of kitchen to ensure good saleability.

Last but not least, look at your lifestyle: are you casual or formal people? Do you entertain often? Are there kids?

These criteria, and more, will help you at least narrow down your choices. Elimination of what you DON'T want is a great step forward!

All best!
Ina thanked CV & Associates, LLC
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What a beautiful kitchen, mairin. The color and style of your cabinetry coupled with the granite is just lovely. Sigh. I know I am v. late to this dance, but have you considered glass knobs? As I first looked at your pictures, and then I just scrolled back up to look again, I'm really "feeling" glass knobs. I think they'll give you the sparkle of the pewter without looking too polka dot-y, if that makes sense. (in my mind's eye, the pewter will pop against the dark cabinets) My kitchen is the negative of yours (white cabinets). We have RH's glass knobs on our doors (not on the drawers) and they are visible without saying "HERE I AM! LOOK AT ME!" There is something subtle, elegant and easy about them (they're easy on the hands, and they are a breeze to clean [two toddlers -- trust me, I know]). Plus they're pretty, and they don't detract from the cabinet door style -- I think they actually add. You wrote that the pendants are from Pottery Barn -- I haven't visited their website to see the size / price of those pendants, so this may be of no help. However, an eBay seller (5starfurnishings) from whom I've purchased lighting has some v. similar pendants, maybe a similar size but lower price? As I wrote, I know nothing of the Pottery Barn pendants, but I always like saving money! I know I'm late late late, as I wrote, but I still wanted to pipe in with what I'm seeing when I look at those scrumptious pictures!
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Have you looked at David T Smith's website? That might give you some ideas. I think you could do a softer sage on the cabinets to look light without being white if you want to connect with your sage door without matching. But there are lots of choices in the items you show. A lot of white kitchens caught my eye when I was looking for inspiration, but I knew we are a 'wood couple' and I wouldn't feel at home in a white painted kitchen. So I looked for other elements in the white kitchens that helped contribute to the overall feel I wanted, and mixed in some painted cabinets, and you know I used plenty of colors. For a busy family kitchen, I recommend staying mainly with med to med-light colors in heavy use or larger expanses... My dark burgundy cabs show flour and baking spatters, the cream island shows anything not light and ends up dark in any crevices or corners, and the gray is the best for not looking dirty. Save light or dark colors for special accent pieces, maybe in lighter use areas, like dish storage, etc. Keeping other surfaces light can help if you have wood cabinets...Like counters, floors, backsplash, etc. Natural light, lighting, and some elbow room (not overcrowding and doing things like leaving some empty wall space around windows and doors) all help with a lighter feel. You have great colors chosen and inspiring you to make this work. Your fridge and freezer do work against a truly old-time atmosphere, but I love a mix of modern and old... If you look at it, it's a truer sense of 'collected over time,' since if you did that, you'd obviously have some later things, too. Here is a link that might be useful: David T Smith kitchens
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We went through our appliance place, but I believe we could have done it online or through the local rep. It's a Vent-a-hood and yes, it was pricey. We were trying to convince ourselves that by having it done in Black River instead of SS that we'd be just as happy, because that would have saved us some serious money. In the end, we decided it wasn't worth the savings if we would be suffering from design fatigue before too long. We also considered going with a European style hood, which would have been a big savings, but we're seeing a lot of those around so we went for something less common (at least around here.) The plan is to age-in-place in this home, so we'll be looking at this for a long, long time. I can barely stand the sound of a vent fan, so DBF was onboard with getting a Vent-a-hood to spare me from the fan noise as much as possible. (What a sweetie!) Still, it was painful to pay $4,700 for a range hood. We took so long to make our decision that it's likely we'll be waiting on this to arrive past the time when it could have possibly been installed. Feedback on from all of you really helped us make our decision. It's one thing to discuss the pros and cons between the two of us, but having input from others that have been down the same road, or can simply look at a design from an outside perspective, is invaluable. Thank you!!!
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Ina
Original Author
6 years ago
@CV & Associates, LLC - Thank you for your comment - The house is traditional, built in the 60's - it is named the Forrester. We are casual and love to entertain, and I like bright, clean spaces - easy maintenance. That's why we picked everything with that in mind. The kitchen didn't have hardwood so we tried to find a floor tile that matches the rest of the light oak hardwood throughout the house.
PRO
NewLinkz
6 years ago
As an alternative or accent border for your kitchen walls
and/or backsplash, you might want to consider an easy-to-install adhesive
approach for wall tiles that’s much less costly and time consuming, yet stylish
and enhanced with three dimensional textures. Sometimes the small details can
really make a design. Check out a few ideas here https://www.houzz.com/projects/1262017/kitchen-backsplash
Ina thanked NewLinkz
PRO
CV & Associates, LLC
6 years ago
Have you checked out the trendy but also traditional "modern farmhouse" style? I think it would work for your situ. (see photo of our inspiration board for a client who wanted a living room like that) I would add some butcherblock to "soften" the steel appliances. HOUZZ has many photo examples and of course we could help digitally with plans also.

Would like to add comment to poster pro, above re adhesive tiles: we have tried it and very hard to find one that REALLY sticks. Looks nice for about a day or two...There is nothing worse than peeling backsplashes and in a wet, humid environment like kitchen and bath, inevitable.. Best to invest in real tile or other surface.
Ina thanked CV & Associates, LLC

Kitchen renovation_can't seem to find elements to pull it all together

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chloebud

CV & Associates, LLC

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NewLinkz

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Kitchen renovation_can't seem to find elements to pull it all together

Comments (5)

chloebud

CV & Associates, LLC

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InaOriginal Author

NewLinkz

CV & Associates, LLC

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Ina
Original Author