@nini804 I’ll ask the kitchen designer if there are any lighter choices we can go with!

Glad to hear you are open to possibility of a lighter wood. When placing your can lights please put them over the counter and not centered in the aisles. If in the aisles all they will do is cast shadows on the counter when you are trying to work,

Elkay Quartz Luxe short apron sink in Jubilee.

This is where the kitchen would go.

Come back once the roof is on and take another picture. I stand by my comment it will be dark within the kitchen. And it will be even darker because of the dark cabinets.

Island is 5x8

So you'll have about 42" on one side of the sink? You'll be fine then. It looked smaller in the drawing.

There will be 2 lights above the island and under mount cabinet lighting.
8 4” LED pot lights framing the island and walking space.

I have 3 lights over the island plus a pot light over the sink in the island and another 5 lights along the perimeter, plus under cabinet lighting and honestly, and that's barely enough.

Dark blue with white on top and a black hood looks farmhouse to me.

following

Just wanted to say copper hardware would look fantastic with that dark blue. Not a super polished, more like a burnished, antique copper or the subtler brushed brass that's been going around.

I am REALLY afraid that all those cabinets will be a complete light suck. Heavy, dark cabinets on the lowers, minimize uppers, add your wood accents there, keep counters light and you maybe can pull it off. No to the black - the blue is so dark that it won't provide enough contrast. And if the color on my monitor is anywhere close to right - unless you are FLOODING that kitchen with light, the cabinets will look more black than blue. If I had my druthers, I'd find a slightly bluer blue.

Right now - there's way too much darkness going on - even with the light counters.

Windows will tone down the overall light and the window frames themselves will further reduce the overall opening. And the porch that's so open now, will continue to restrict your light.

If you continue along this path - plan for 2x the lighting that you think you need to be able to appreciate the subtlety in the cabinet color.

And a total yes on the copper, or rose gold or other pinky warm tone - that'd be very cool.

Ok so we are back with some changes. Here is what I found today. I found a much lighter hardwood floor and a much lighter island colour. Still not convinced of the black hardware but I’m HOPING we can choose that towards the end.

The dark brown swatch bottom left is our front doors. Top left grey is exterior colour. Lighter grey is the back porch soffit colour. White swatch is just to show the white counters. I found another inspo pic to help wrap my head around what I’m trying to achieve. My husband would love to see gold hardware so I need to find it somewhere. I’m just unsure it will go with the rest of the house that will have black handles, hinges and faucets.

Photo above was taken in a shadowed area outside. This one was taken in pure sunlight.

Im jumping on the window band wagon.

Your kitchen will be dark. I owned a home with southeast windows similar to your setup. Kitchen only lite up in the morning. Dark by afternoon.

My new (er) build had windows put directly in the kitchen by stove and sink for this very reason.

I‘m sure it will turn nicely but I would caution you on dark finishes

I love the lighter island color, it’s much more in line with the inspiration pictures. I’m not sold on those floors...something about them just looks a little strange to me.
Why not do darker floors like the inspiration pics? They don’t have to be super dark,, just a different tone than the island.

@momofthreema We had dark in our older home and the dust and tiny specs of dirt drove me mad. These floors are super creamy and light and just match with the overall aesthetic of the home.

What about something like this? Still the maple, but it has that farmhouse feel with some color variation that ties into your island.That white just almost looks like laminate to me, but I see that it is actually maple. Are these floors going to be in the entire house?
https://www.preverco.com/en/product/hard-maple-galatro

Black hardware will disappear against dark blue cabinetry. Hardware does not have to match throughout your house. I prefer cabinetry hardware finish to match throughout a kitchen, but it doesn’t have to match sink faucets.

Here are lacquered burnished brass cabinet pulls (Hounslow pull from Restoration Hardware) against my dark blue island cabinetry. I like large pulls and did the 8” size throughout. My faucets will be stainless steel. Btw, my floors are a cooler gray than they look in the photo.

There should be some contrast between the cabinet color and the hardware. If you don’t like gold/brass, what about brushed nickel?

There doesn't need to be contrast between cabinet color and hardware. In fact there are times when it's best for the hardware to fade into the background so to speak.

My kitchen had enough going on, I went with clear glass pulls and knobs so they would fade away and let my quartzite and my stained glass window be the stars.

Wow, what a gorgeous kitchen this will be! Love your property and view!

(IMHO, the 'faux marble-look' counters are already dated. Perhaps do any of the solid white quartz, or a real stone white 'quartzite' which is gorgeous). Some of the quartzite even have navy streaks which someone did recently (and I can't remember her post).

I agree, the black hardware doesn't work agains the dark blue. Brass would be stunning! Or polished nickel....

It's going to be gorgeous!

I said there should be some contrast- it need not be a lot. Black and dark blue are too similar, in my opinion.

@momofthreema We've really got our heart set on the flooring we've chosen. The one you chose is a bit too warm for what we are looking for. There is a ton of detail in the wood and I've seen laminate similar to this one and it just doesn't look the same. The sheen, the feel, the textures, the colours, the grain. So much is different and noticeable with the two.

@carolae Thats a beautiful combination but Im not sure it's my style... Im wondering if I can find a handle that a mix of silver and gold... or gunmetal grey?

@Lauramac If you come across it again please send it here. Im intrigued! I'd love to see that blue detail! Thanks!! I can't wait to see it all come together!

Joanna, at the end of the day, you need to do what makes you happy. Best of luck with your kitchen!

I loved blue for kitchens long before the trend. My theme is cobalt and copper. I think copper or stainless for the hood would brighten the space and accent the blue. We live in one of those 1970s oak lined caves with no windows in the kitchen that opens to a south facing sunroom. I have to turn on lights to make a sandwich at noon. So as much as I love the blue cabinets, l would keep them on just the island or just the base cabinets. White cabinets would bounce lots light to accent a blue island. All blue cabinets could be stunning with enough lighting electric or natural. Instead of black hood and hardware, use a metal ; copper, stainless, even brass for contrast.

@cpartist can we see a pic of your kitchen?

@ Joann love most every thing about your kitchen- but I think the black and blue will get lost Without a bit more contrast between the two

Kathleen Kirchoff - Oooh, cobalt and copper! We just finished painting our lowers teal (we'd been focused on true blues and then fell in love with BM's Pacific Ocean Blue) and kept our heirloom nickel pulls because we love them so much (and they're only a few years old). But we've ordered a bunch of copper lights for above the kitchen table and sink, because we love copper, too. Husband wanted a copper farmhouse sink and then realized that'd just kill our budget.

Dark blue and black will look powerful together but make sure to add contrast with light countertops, floors, backsplash and details. Regardless of the amount of light, you need contrast to make the space more upbeat.

@cpartist can we see a pic of your kitchen?

My Kitchen

So I've changed quite a few things things that last time I posted here. Here is the new 'vision' board. Hardware will not be a burnished bronze. My next struggle has been the pendant lights above the island! I can't figure out what will work best to frame the oven. I really would love them to frame the oven!

I know the kitchen needs can lights. There will be can lights!! I just focussing on the pendant lights right now.

I have always been a blue fan. It's just about all I wear, and I've used various blues throughout our new home. The kitchen is F&B Blue Gray (more blue than gray). Our last kitchen was an unfitted style English kitchen, and the current kitchen is also English but refined. I did not use pendant lights over the islands, only cans. Both had beams. I had a lot of copper accents in our last home. In the kitchen, I used copper sheeting for a backsplash on a hutch and the range hood. Here, I have unlacquered brass.

I like the new hood, and the blue cabinets. I don't care for any of the light fixture choices. You can decide that later, but before electrical is done. Then you'll still have time to look for fixtures.

allison0704 Electrical is happening this week that's why I really need to make a decision on what needs to be done :(

Oops!! If you're dead set on pendants...

From West Elm.

Also West Elm

They have several more.

allison0704 Thats the style I think will work with the space!

The island needs to match the wood of the hood. Otherwise that hood looks like it’s just thrown in there with no relation to any other design element or choice.

Doesn't anyone turn on lights when they enter a kitchen. My cabinets are near black, one small south window. Floors are grey tile. Yes, its dark, if you don't turn on lights! But I turn on the lights for the time I am in there and the combination is the masculine look I was going for. No cookie-cutter white kitchens for me! Turn on some lights!

bgs990 I honestly feel the same way as you but no matter how many ways I talk about my kitchen every person says there isn't enough light....

live_wire_oak There are shelves I am putting on the left that will match the hood as well as the stools will also have the same wood tone to pull it down into the kitchen island. I want to do a wood island but my husbands wants all blue. He's winning this battle.

How about a wood counter on the island? In our last home, the sink was in the island with antique pine counter. It was finished with Good Stuff for Wood and there were no issues (there 13yrs).

allison0704 Although I believe your story I really would rather have all quartz. The kitchen designer priced out wood for us but the guy giving her the price said putting a sink on the wood would be a terrible idea plus my husband hated it as well. :/

My cabinets are near black, one small south window.

That's the difference. Joanna has no windows in the kitchen.

And honestly during the day, No, I don't turn on my kitchen lights. I don't need to.

I like the wood hood but also agree that it needs more wood items to balance it out. Not sure a wood island would look good though. I think the chairs, etc will do the trick.

I would stick to 3 glass globes over the island similar to what Alison shows. Don't try and frame the cooktop. It only works in photos. In reality, no one stands dead center behind the island looking towards the cooktop. Strive for balance, not symmetry.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I've never seen that done before" and "everyone else does/has...."

I agree with cpartist. Having the hood, shelves and counter stools wood will be a good balance, along with a light floor, backsplash and walls. Between the kitchen and laundry room/back hallway in our last house, I had a floor to ceiling black hutch. No windows, only light from laundry room window (kitchen was in center of house), and the black hutch was not a hole of doom and gloom when the hallway light was off. One thing to consider is taking aways one wall cabinet on each side of the range hood to visually open up and lighten that area just a bit.

What is happening elsewhere in the kitchen area, like around the corner of the far right wall?

I currently have black soapstone counters on the F&B Blue Gray cabinets (walls painted the same color) with a counter to ceiling scalloped soapstone backsplash behind the range. It's countered with light French oak wood floors and light ceiling. Taking chances can pay off if executed well, but you will have to listen to a few naysayers along the way.

I like allison's idea of removing cabinets on either side of the range hood. In fact I'd remove them all from that wall and have the cabinets on the fridge side die into the wall there. I think if you do that and make the walls a light color, it would alleviate a lot of the concern about the kitchen being dark.

Or even do what I did in my kitchen which was to have the fridge wall cabinets die into the wall, and just have a 15" upper on either side of the hood for spices, etc. (I didn't want mine in a drawer.)

BTW: Did you see the pot light plan I did for your house?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5761367/potlight-and-light-fixture-layout-help-new-build

cpartist Yes I posted a photo above hers as well! I think the glass globes in the way to go for sure. Im going to see if I can stretch the island to 84" so I get the same look you have. The three pendants you have looks good with that size. Yep I saw your lighting layout. The only light I didn't do is the centre spotlight but I think now with the 3 pendants I should be ok without that centre pot light above the island. The counter lights you suggested have already been marked on site.

allison0704 I don't have windows directly into the kitchen but I do have a 84 x 72 window in the kitchen nook and then 2 more 84 x 72 windows in the living room. There is a covered porch where those two windows are. I'll attach photos

First photo is where kitchen is going. Second is the nook right across from kitchen. That window is about 8 feet from the island. Then the double windows are the living room. That left window is roughly 60 inches from the corner of the island.

The only light I didn't do is the centre spotlight but I think now with the 3 pendants I should be ok without that centre pot light above the island. The counter lights you suggested have already been marked on site.

I have the center pot over my sink. Do it. You won't regret it.

And did you see where I said you don't have enough prep space with your island? You originally said you had an 8' island which gave you enough prep space but I can tell you from experience in my last two places, (my new place and my condo I sold) 80-84" is not enough space for a 30" sink, DW and prep space.

If it were me, I'd eliminate or make the pantry smaller, move the fridge down and add a prep sink next to the fridge, (with about 18" between sink and fridge)

Yes, I saw the photos above. So the breakfast area is around the corner - gotcha! This area of your plan is very similar to our last home. We had huge sets of windows on two walls (basically floor to ceiling) of our breakfast area, and three sets of French doors in the living room. Back veranda had a deep cover (was not in front of breakfast room window towards lake, only to the side). I won't post photos on your thread, but here is a link to my kitchen (Jane, that owns Atticmag, and I met here on GW). The breakfast area doesn't show in the link, but can be found on the house tour (link at bottom of kitchen article) if you're interested. I never turned on lights in the daytime, unless I was cooking and needed.

cpartist, I was going to suggest no cabinets on either side of range hood (like at our last house -- I know I keep saying those words!) but felt without a decent walk-in pantry she might not have enough cabinet space.

cpartist, I was going to suggest no cabinets on either side of range hood (like at our last house -- I know I keep saying those words!) but felt without a decent walk-in pantry she might not have enough cabinet space.

I'm thinking she could keep a 15" cabinet on either side of the hood and with her wood hood, it would still lighten up the area.