I would love suggestions for remodeling my kitchen
Please offer any suggestions you may have! I need ideas. :)
We bought a mountain home that was completed in 2014. The only thing I don't love is the kitchen. I really don't love the kitchen, which his my favorite room in a house. I don't want to knock down walls, so my plan is to take the cabinets to the ceiling, reface the cabinets to a more shaker style door, cover the range hood, change the counter tops, back splash, hardware, replace the refrigerator with one that can have wood panels on the front to match the cabinetry, re-do the wet-bar area to the left of the fridge, and sand the floors (heart pine) and have a matte oil rubbed finish on the floors instead. Oh, and I'm also removing the cabinets on either side of the kitchen windows (the uppers because they cover the window trim) and putting in free floating shelves.
I'm torn about the peninsula. I plan to keep it because I want seating in the kitchen. There's not room for an island. The counter top of the peninsula is wormy chestnut, which is reclaimed wood as the wormy chestnut is now extinct I believe (since 1920.) If I keep it, I will replace that sink with an under mount. The sinks in the kitchen are hammered copper. I'm changing the pendant lights.
My plan is to paint the cabinets a smokey green and use a white quartzite with veining for the counters and backsplash.
Should I keep the wormy chestnut, or get rid of it and just run the quartzite all the way around on the counter and backsplash? Any other suggestions for the kitchen? The house is 4,200 square feet and the kitchen just doesn't seem up to par. I'll post photos of this very brown kitchen and the kitchen I've been ogling for color and counter top inspiration. Plus, there's one more softer green kitchen I'm posting because I can't decide whether I will be bold or go soft with the green.
This is the softer green:
The current state of the mountain kitchen. No walk in pantry either -- the cabinet/pantry is on the far left in the photo below.
My favorite. This is Farrow & Ball's Green Smoke. I've looked and think Benjamin Moore's Caldwell Green is closest to it.
The wormy chestnut live edge peninsula. I'd cut that curve off on the end and I'm definitely nixing the fridge at the end of the peninsula.
There's a counter top microwave over to the right of the fridge. I'm getting an under counter microwave drawer.
Comments (24)
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Would love to hear suggestions on my new kitchen layout....
Comments (7)I know some peoople like to have the fridge close to the dinning area, but I prefer to have it closer to my (prep?)sink. I think of where the food lives before meals and the path it must follow: fridge or pantry >then it goes from there to counter >sink >to prep space > stove or oven > to plating area >out to table (where ever that commonly is, it's not always the formal dining room!). Then plates and stuff comes >back to counter as dirty dishes > DW, or for leftovers > packing area and then back to > fridge or pantry. I found it useful in my kitchen planning to spend a lot of time thinking through ramificationis of that pathway. Now sometimes you can't make it perfect, but the more you can get it right, the better. Also as far as sinks. There is the primary clean-up sink (with adj. DW if you use one) and a prep sink. Prep sinks are only useful, IMO, if they fall logically in the direct line between food storage and food prep and stove. You may find the pathway planning for yur kitch is easier to grapple with if you have an additional flow path of dish storage > plating area > table >back to counter and sink/DW/clean up area >dish storage. In that case you will probably get a lot of use out of a prep sink in the food pathway. But a single sink can do double duty, if you can intersect those two tracks in a way that allows for simultaneous, but non-conflicting usage. I struggled becauseI started by thinking about trying to fit in elements I though I wanted, but reading the good advice here, and careful study of the kitchens that were pictured, taught me to think first in terms of pathways. Then to see if something like an island would make things easier, or break up the paths. And then you have to size it so it fits the available space and see if the remainder will do what you want, If you are stuck with one or more fixed, unmoveable things like existing drain, outside vent, etc. those become anchors that you can pivot your plan around. Otherwise it's all on the table. My first glance at your plan showed me your sink across the room from where the food is stored, so you'd have to cross and recross with every step. Go you plan to eat most meals at the island or in the DR? Got to run; I'll be interested in the relies you get. If your query slips way down, don't hesitate to "bump" it back up. And be patient, sometimes it takes a awhile to get a lot of replies. L...See MoreMy lawn really is in bad shape, I would love any help and suggestions!
Comments (8)HalloBlondie, thx for your ideas. The part of the lawn that is inundated with the coarse grass-like clumps is all we have in front of our townhouse. Probably 30' by 30', roughly. We did plant a gingko where the elm was but it will take many years to supply the same shade as the elm... We'll give your idea some thought; we'd be renegades, tho, vis a vis the adjoining neighbor's front yards (kids sometimes like to play all the way lengthwise across the the long span of lawns that extend across the front yards of the 5 townhouses...) If we really redo the whole space by adding shrubs, etc, it would kind of preclude that type of neighborhood play. I am wondering if yourself or anyone can ID the main clumps of stuff in my first pic and LMK how what can be done about it........See Morewould love suggestions for backsplash in my favorite room.
Comments (24)I can see why it’s your favorite space….I love the desk area with the windows! Encaustic tile would be beautiful. Whatever tile you choose, I would definitely install it behind the W/D as well as the sink area. We put encaustic tile in our laundry room…. I also like that first tile that One Devoted Dame posted…very pretty and more subtle....See MoreKitchen Advice? Kitchen Remodel Suggestions Needed
Comments (14)You’ve made charming choices! The island lighting is perfect. One of my favorite moments is the curve of ther counter stools repeated on the mat for the dog bowl. You must be thrilled with the outcome. I’m looking forward to seeing the custom cabinet doors and a light without glare over the sink. Nice!! I always like to see the before and after right next to each other....See Morediane0905
5 years agodiane0905
5 years ago
Nidnay
5 years ago
Sandra Martin
5 years agodiane0905
5 years agoThank you niday. I'm sure that would be lovely, but I'm trying my best to avoid another major remodeling. We've done two and for time reasons and money reasons, plus the newness of this house, I'm going to avoid taking out walls. On a happy note, the two rooms adjacent to the kitchen are a beautiful screened porch and the main family room, which has a wall of windows that provide a lot of beautiful light. Plus, the ceiling in the family room is beyond gorgeous -- reclaimed wood ceiling & timbers. I'm going to do a bit of something in every room and have all new furniture. I'm painting the shiplap on the walls Simply White and the window trim will be Peppercorn. I'm covering that recessed television hole with a larger one or art. The cabinets on either side of the fireplace will be painted and made taller. I'm sure it will be pretty once done. It's a light space. The man who built it put windows all across the back of the house, on all three floors. The view off the back is lovely too.
The stone fireplace on the screened porch is pretty. It goes all the way up to the top of a vaulted ceiling.Oops -- sorry -- this is the fireplace chimney turned sideways. :)
View from screened porch. It was a hazy day:
Back of house and all the windows. We're going to change the deck railings on the back porches and the screened porch to post and cable railings. It's hard to see all the windows as this shot is from the appraisers, but there are windows all across on each floor:
Nidnay
5 years agoNidnay
5 years ago
salonva
5 years agoarcy_gw
5 years agodiane0905
5 years agodiane0905
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI've changed my mind about which green and the style of the cabinets.. What a surprise. It's still a smokey green. I'm going to go with this kitchen for inspiration. I think I like the green color better for a mountain house. It's Sherwin Williams Pewter Green. I like this cabinet style also. I think this color green and style will go well with the wormy chestnut. We're going to meet with the builder this coming week.
diane0905
4 years agoFor anyone who would like an update, so far the kitchen has been gutted. :) We decided that would work best with everything we wanted to do in there. I am keeping the wormy chestnut peninsula. This has become quite a remodel and it's going on mountain time, as expected. We have a super nice builder though and very good at what he does. The kitchen plans are complete now
and they should start building that room soon. We decided to replace the oven hood with a decorative one also. The one in there is so big and sounds like a plane taking off.
There was a very small laundry room to the right of the front entryway with a powder room in between. It's not far from the kitchen at all, so I decided to move the laundry room and to gut the current one. I didn't like the location at the front entry and it was only five feet across -- tight fit when the doors to the machine were open. Plus, the machines were right where the door opens. I didn't love the style either. It is now going to be a mudroom with cabinets also for extra pantry storage.
The new laundry will be downstairs, will be bigger, will have a side by side washer/dryer set up, and will have a dog bathing station.
^^^^ gutted kitchen
PRODebbi Washburn
4 years agoNidnay
4 years agoSandra Martin
4 years agodiane0905
4 years agoThanks for that info, Debbie. I will look that up. Interesting, Sandra. It definitely gets cold up there.
I realized I haven't posted the outside -- it's a work in progress. We had tree trunk columns that were not finished -- looked like actual tree trunks. Also looked small on the house in photos. Anyway, I didn't hate them, but would prefer them on a cabin and not a regular house. I replaced them with Y-beam (?) columns, which will be stained a gray/brown color. There will be two window boxes on the front windows -- one that spans the two single windows and one on the double windows. I love flowers and window boxes. We're also taking out the wood slats on the railing everywhere there are wooden slats (back porches, screened porch, and exchanging those with the cable rails with a wood railing on top.
We'll have a landscaper come out and spruce things up also and I'm going to change the window trim paint color. Peppercorn gray, I think. Oh, and the man has tiny light fixtures outside. They look like little Japanese pagodas. Cute, but not the scale the house needs if I haven't mentioned that. The ones in the carport area are small also.
diane0905
4 years agoWhat a difference a coat of paint makes! This is on the upper level and in between the two bedrooms. I plan to make it a tv area with a sectional (probably) for the guests. I may also add two beds in the large alcove like the owner before me had just for overflow guests. The doorway seen in the photo leads to a large bathroom with a large walk in shower.
diane0905
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoUpdate -- more paint color changes. We're using Simply White and Peppercorn Gray. This is one of the upstairs bedrooms. We'll get a new ceiling fan & carpet too. Also, the before and after from wood railings to cable railing -- everywhere, but this just a photo of the screened porch. It really opened up the view & I love it. One photo is of what is going to be a smoking room. They've just framed it out -- we plan to use stone and brick and some reclaimed beams.
diane0905
4 years agoSome updates in paint color:
Before:
After:
After:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Stain color we picked for outdoor railing & posts.
Kate Patterson
2 years ago
daisychain Zn3b