Wendy: that's certainly an even harder combo to find: a galley kitchen with a unique painted/wood cabinet mix! Thanks so much for thinking of me and sharing it! :) arialvetica: you rock! Wow did you find lots of great inspiration photos! I especially like that kitchen by Tineke Trigg. I've saved all the photos I could find of that kitchen and the adjoining dining room. I still haven't 100% confirmed what the final design will be but I do really want to bring in some bold colour somewhere! I love that comment your builder made about your KD. Ha ha...

Hmm. I'd sleep on it. See what bugs you more/draws you more. Go with your intuition. Put it in different spots. Look at it in different lights-morning, day, artificial lighting. Stop looking at them for several hours-and then look some more. Not easy I know. I choose my current flooring for a week minimum..gosh I was so silly I even took it next to my face and looked at both of us-me and floor sample lol-in the mirror..to see whether it flatters my complexion)) In the end I chose well, I love it. I'd say I love it madly. But to tell you the truth-if I picked something else, I'd probably like it too..) Because most of all I loved some flooring that we ordered-and were told it was discontinued. I had to choose again. I was so upset! Fast forward six years-I don't even remember what that first love of mine was..

The fact that your renderings include a cat is adorable. I love the cadet grey all over. You could bring in some brightness by playing with color and reflective/shiny surfaces in the backsplash, appliances, and accessories. I notice your inspiration photo has shiny stainless appliances, lime green placemats and blue glass. These are good ways to give lightness to a grey space. Orange, Yellow, red, and lavender are also good colors to brighten up grey (choose one or two or don't choose and just let your favorite bright colors find their way into the space in whatever amount feels natural over time). The glass door uppers you are planning on will be awesome for bouncing light around the room. Can the insides be painted with a white wash like the soft white cabinets? That could be nice, though it isn't necessary. I'd definitely put lights inside of those cabinets. I notice that you don't have a backsplash tile on your rendering. Might just be the render, but it's worth mentioning that with a messy teenager cooking, some kind of backsplash will be your friend. Glass tile is expensive so without knowing your budget I won't suggest it for the whole backsplash, but you could do a small feature wall of glass tile behind the oven to bounce the light around on that side of the room. It could be the same color as your backsplash, a grey like your cabinets, or a completely different color. Whichever way you go on color, the finish of glass will be a nice contrast to the finish of grey stained wood. Large format tiles seem to be in fashion, so if that's your jam, good news! They make large format glass tiles! Or, you could go the opposite direction and do a 2-3" glass lantern or hex to really stand out. Whatever you do for backsplash, I would not do a matte finish. Same with your countertops. It will make the whole room look too flat. Another thing I don't see in your renderings, but I do see in your inspiration is light. Every counter surface and every walkway needs some amount of direct lighting and you need good light diffusion so that you can see into your cabinets well. You may already have this figured out and just not showing in the rendering - just wanted to be sure it was mentioned (it may also be making your renderings look darker than the reality will).

When all the samples were paired prior to install they looked great together. I wanted a white tile backsplash to add a layer of texture vs. colour. I had about 20 different white tiles and they were all bright white or warm white. So I opted for a multi tonal tile so it would pull all tones of white/grey. Unfortunately, the backsplash is so cool and the cabinets are so warm it has made the tone difference look a lot greater than it should. I have full sun on the cabinets from 11:00 am until sun down every day so its a lot. We rarely need to turn any lights until winter when the sun sets earlier. I know the sun is a huge culprit. I have having built ins installed in my living room which is directly across from the kitchen (so I would have to paint them the same as the kitchen white). The entire back wall of my house is windows so I know I’ll have the same issue there. This is why I need to have the cabinets sorted before because it will drive me crazy to see yellow everywhere.