Talk to me...Head is swimming re: kitchen island/cabinets/counters
hey there. I have been scouring Houzz for a year and now it's time to firm things up. We're renovating an OLD home (1829). I want a 'white' kitchen (perimeter is SW Alabaster), with a wood island to warm the space. For the life of me, I cannot find an all-wood island (base & counter-top) with white cabinets for inspiration...The island is going to be Hickory. Yes, I was concerned, but I saw the cabinet maker & the wood he chose. It's clear, with no knots and little to no stripes. With the stain, it'll be beautiful. But I don't want a white or 'busy' patterned counter-top on the island. I think I kind of want it to just 'blend' in - especially because a support beam is at the end of the island - which will be wrapped with the hickory. Cabinet maker FROWNED when I said I wanted a wood counter-top on the island because of the sink (the only sink in the kitchen).
Are the white cabinets/all wood island not enough contrast to where I "need" a light counter on the island? (Which is all I'm seeing on houzz...It just looks cold to me).
AND THEN, the perimeter counter-tops...Isn't there a rule: 2 different cabinet finishes allows for 1 counter-top finish, as opposed to 2 cabinet finishes & 2 different counter-tops? Would the 2 & 2 be too much?
Wondering your thoughts...It's an old home, but I tend to lean more traditional/transitional. ANY input would be appreciated. THANK YOU
Comments (11)
Kathi Steele
4 years ago
AFritzler
4 years agoIn regards to your question. I always advise my clients to keep either counters or cabinets the same. No 2 and 2. My personal opinion is that it ends up being busy, distracting and doesn't allow the eye to rest anywhere.
In regards to your counter colour. You are talking about whites but I am partial to darker counters, especially when the client isn't wanting a busy counter top for 2 reasons.
1. I find them very striking without being distracting.2. I've found they are less likely to stain or show stains.
Farmhouse Kitchen · More Info
In regards to Kathi's comment. I agree that I think this plan could use some reworking.
1. I also would be moving your sink under the window with the DW to the right. Also increase the space between the window wall and the island.
2. I personally would prefer a larger island as opposed to the cabinets on the living room wall. I would push the fridge all the way to the corner, get rid of the cabinets on the wall by the living room and keep your island the depth it is. Also if I'm seeing the scale right you should be able to fit some extra deep cabinets under that island and still have adequate seating room.Related Discussions
DIY Wood Counter - Talk some sense into me
Comments (14)Thank you all for your responses. I feel empowered. It sounds like I could definitely do the butcherblock, with some minimal help from my GC and with the bonus of purchasing another tool (thank you for the tip, seedsilly and mondragon). Hrooom hrooom! (happy tool noise) Rhome, the floors are red oak, which is why we've been leaning towards the Basalt Slate for the past couple of days. Right now, my heart wants butcherblock; but my eye prefers the laminate. Np about seeing "IKEA." They're certainly another good lower-priced go-to. Talley_sue, I think we'd be fairly lax on the upkeep, too. Good to hear it can be fixed and/or tolerated. Kristen, it's great to hear from someone who did it. No, we don't need to go around any corners. Beth, thank you for the encouragement. Let me know what you decide. It sounds like you may be working with a similar color palette. Here are pictures of the floors with all the counter surfaces. We were thinking the butcherblock would add some furniture feel to the open room, but things seems to get a bit washed out with the red oak and ginger maple cabinets. And boy, has it been hard to figure out how to carry the flagstone across! The dark tiles are all much more blue and green than gray. There's even a bit of purple. Cate...See MoreCost of Kitchen ReDo - Contractor Vs Cabinets
Comments (16)So, it's nice to see your contractor noticed one of the issues! Aisles! Have you had a chance to read the Kitchen Design FAQ threads? They discuss good kitchen design principles, guidelines, etc. I'll link to them below. First I better ask, are you a function first or form (looks) first? Neither answer is right/wrong - it's what's right for you. Most of us here are function-first. It is easy to make a functional kitchen look nice; it's almost impossible to make a nice-looking by dysfunctional kitchen work well w/o tearing it out and starting over. If looks are more important to you than function, then read the rest just so you know the functional issues - that way there will be no surprises when you start to work in it after it's done. You will be making decisions with the knowledge of the consequences of your choices - both good and bad. So what other red flags do I see? Refrigerator and Island relative locations...Your island is what we call a "barrier island". It's a barrier b/w the refrigerator & Prep Zone and b/w the refrigerator & Cooking Zone/range. You will be running around that island so much that it will most likely get old fast! DW in the middle of the Prep Zone...Ideally, you want separation of your Prep and Cleanup Zones and you don't want a DW in the middle of the Prep Zone. Aisle widths...the minimum recommended aisle width for a one-person kitchen is 42" - that's only one person ever - no help with cooking, prepping, cleaning up and not allowing someone to cleanup or unload the DW while you're prepping. For two or more people, the minimum is 48". Then there's the traffic aisles behind the seats. Seating overhang...I don't know if this is an issue since there are no measurements. Aim for the minimum recommendation of 15" of clear knee/leg overhang. If you're a tall family, 18" is better. Here's a Zone Map and traffic b/w the refrigerator and Prep & Cooking Zones to illustrate: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To clarify about the Prep Zone...The only source of water in your Kitchen is the cleanup sink, so that means your Prep Zone is b/w the sink and the range. Water is a key component of the Prep Zone. For a functional Prep Zone, you need a water source and sufficient workspace (the bare minimum is 36" with 42" or more much, much better. If you want the island to be your primary Prep Zone, then you need to add a water source (e.g., a prep sink). Given the length of your sink wall, you don't need to. With a bit of re-configuration, you can fix some of the issues with the current space b/w the sink and range (DW in the way and not enough workspace) to make it a nice Prep Zone. Move the DW to the left of the sink Move the trash pullout to the right of the sink - for two bins, it needs to be 18" wide (one recycle bin & one trash bin). Move the range to the right far enough to give you 42" of counterspace b/w the sink and range. This does not solve the barrier island issue, it just fixes the Prep Zone. To fix all the issues, I would probably: Move the refrigerator to the upper right Then, put in an 18" cabinet next to it Next, the range Next, a 24" wide base cabinet Next, an 18" trash pullout Next, a 30" single-bowl sink (size depends on the actual length of your wall) Then, DW to the left of the sink Finally, a 36" corner susan or similar (not a blind corner cabinet, they're pretty useless!) If there's extra room, then put it b/w the DW and corner cabinet. If you want water in the island so you can use it as your primary Prep Zone, put it on the refrigerator end. That's all I have time for now, but it's probably a lot to digest anyway! Here are the links I promised: Kitchen Design FAQ Threads: FAQ -- Kitchen work zones, what are they? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they FAQ -- Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc FAQ -- How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage Looking for layout help? Memorize this first. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first...See MoreCrazy kitchen ideas... encourage me? talk me down?
Comments (49)I think you do get it, innately, not because of something I said. I don't think stoicism or rigidity precludes color. The counter or a block of the cabinets could be purple...the minimalists worked in color, after all . But I think what you don't want is extraneous ornament. To go back to the Pop Art idea, ...I think if it was really Pop Art, the Dishwasher would look like a box of Brillo Pads or something. To me, words like "Just Chill" --I think this is extraneous ornament, and it also reminds me too much of "Friends Gather Here" on a plaque or something. Bob Venturi would probably love the idea of wrapping a film around everything, but Venturi isn't a modernist. This thread has really made me think about the Concetto countertops and why I don't quite like them...because I want to like them on some level. But I think it is because they aren't quite real. If you did a purple Pyrolave countertop, the color would be the shape and the object, and the shape and the object would be the color. All of a piece. But the Concetto material is kind of aspic of sorts with bits and pieces of real semiprecious stone kinda blobbed together in resin . It's like expensive head cheese. If it were all one piece, like a big slab of marble that is a solid object in and of itself, that would be different....See MoreKitchen island counter and perimeter cabinet counters
Comments (9)Thanks for the feedback everyone. We moved this past year and yes, it’s a terrible kitchen layout. Unfortunately I know that my husband will not ever do a total kitchen remodel. We just don’t know how long we will live here to make it worth it. We made the mistake of doing WAY to much to our last house and ended up moving after only 1.5 years. We will be rotating the cooktop so that it is still in the island but instead face the fridge. There’s no way to put it elsewhere without getting all new cabinets, I tried. I see what you are saying with the grey, and maybe I should have said lighter counter as I’m not tied to grey, just something a little brighter. Is there any lighter granite that works well with Ooba Tooba? My main question is still do I only do the island counter or do I do the entire kitchen’s counters to be uniform?...See More
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