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Kitchens Design Dilemma

Help choosing a small counter for cabinet in the kitchen

last year

We are adding a custom cabinet to our existing kitchen. (Where the small table sits to the left of pantry door) The kitchen has 20 year old IKEA cabinets with a very busy granite top. What would you recommend we put on the new counter which sits on the wall opposite the main part of the kitchen? I like warm solids… there will be a microwave on a shelf above the base cabinet so we would like a heat resistant material.

Comments (6)

Fori
last year
What a nice kitchen. I don't think you have to have a heat proof counter for a microwave--and if I read you right, the microwave won't even be ON the counter? I have a microwave sitting on a wood shelf in a wood cabinet and it's fine.

I'd be looking at butcherblock. Like a cherry face grain...
cjscharf06
Original Author
last year
Thanks! I’m adding wood cabinets to match the existing ones and want a counter that can stand up to heat and water.

You’re correct, the microwave/convection will sit on a shelf above that counter. I can put wood on the counter but thought a durable granite or quartz would be more durable. Maybe a solid cream color?
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Look at your inspiration photo (the last one) again. It is not wall to wall windows. There is breathing room and wall space around the windows. While a wall of glass might be different, I don't like a wall of windows, especially without breathing room. Go back to three windows or even one larger and two narrower ones. I like the C-shaped idea, but I would make the cabinets stained like your main ones. Your hood is more like that one above, the barrel shape, right? You are using the chimney style in the drawings and that just doesn't look right with panels around it. I don't think a hood looks sad and lonely if not connected to cabinets -- I think it looks clean and functional, but I wonder where my oils and things, my serving pieces, etc. will go. LOL (You could look into putting in some niche space in your backsplash or to the side.) If you do uppers, I do like the idea of stained better, and I do think the same height is better. Or just put one on the window wall to the counter to balance the one at the other end and forget the other one. (be brave -- the copper is beautiful and can shine on it's own). Make the island less of a cabinet that turns the corner and treat it more like a piece of furniture added to the rest of the kitchen. Give it a different color, different counter, different trim, hardware and even a different (but related - not too different) door style. Maybe put it on feet. My thoughts, anyway. ;-)
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If you have trouble visualizing what you'd like but "know it when you see it", then at this stage you should probably just look at as many stainless / dark cherry kitchens as you can and see which countertops and flooring "grab" you. In my case I knew I wanted simple, natural cherry cabinets and stainless appliances and probably a wood floor, but that was it. Looking at lots of pictures helped me narrow things down, so now I can at least have intelligent conversations with kitchen designers. I'd suggest going over to houzz.com and entering "stainless steel dark cherry kitchen" into their search box and looking through some of the hundreds of results you get. It's a great source of ideas. After you see some you like, you can probably come up with more words to add to the search box to narrow things down. You can also go to google and enter "site:gardenweb.com dark cherry stainless" and you'll find lots of threads on this site too. I don't know of a way to limit it to threads with photos, unfortunately. Laura
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rmancuso - I just finally got samples of a bunch of quartz and brought it home with the ikea door to see in my apartment. Glad I did - I took the london grey, along with some of the recommendations above and some other randoms. I ended up liking the london grey the best! It doesn't look the same in an ikea showroom as in your home. Also I find the quartz was more grey/beige tone then bright white as it appeared at ikea. On a side note - I like the picture of Jillian Harris's kitchen on the ikea website - there is no where that lists what her counters are. I emailed ikea and they let me know all of the details and they were london grey. http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/SEKTION-kitchen/sektion_inspiration.html?page=2 My biggest recommendation to you is to buy a door at ikes (you can return it) and take out samples of quartz home in your kitchen. Helped a ton!
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Comments (8)
Egan-I would reduce island length by around 12”. I would eliminate pony walls on ends and use decorative cabinet end panels and reduce 18” cabinet on far end to 12” cabinet. Make sure your cabinets are designed with proper metal support plates for slab. 12-13” overlay for stools is tight. I would expand to 16”. Most slabs can accommodate that total width. 36” deep plus 4” more would mean slab has to be 40-44” wide and 108-112” long. That is doable for most slabs without seams.
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Krista Deng
last year
For the new counter in your kitchen, since you prefer warm solid colors, you might consider using materials like natural stone, quartz, or solid surface such as Corian. These materials can withstand heat and provide a durable surface for everyday use.

For a warm and inviting feel, you could look for stones with natural warm tones such as beige, taupe, or even a soft grey. Alternatively, you might consider solid surface materials that can be customized to the color you prefer, and can even be fabricated with integrated sinks, coved backsplashes, and other unique features.
PRO
Skippack Tile & Stone
last year
Black Absolute granite is the easiest thing to add to the mix.
herbflavor
last year
last modified: last year
soapstone or butcherblock/ once you do the initial oiling of your block/ and repeat every so often , in that spot.....[no sink] .... water will be no issue. Since its a small area / keeping it oiled becomes sort of a labour of love and not a hassle.

Wood is a complement:

Tradional Luxury · More Info

COFFEE/WINE BAR · More Info
Kendrah
last year
Get butch block in the same stain as the new cabinet you are building. The cabinets will need to look good with whatever is already in the space and keeping the top the same as the bottom will make it one cohesive unit. I think a different color top is just going to look too busy, even if it is a solid color. If not that, then get corian that matches your wall color.

You don't need to worry about heat from a microwave. Water is only a problem on wood counters if it has a sink in it. The amount of water on a counter like this won't be problematic. I have a wood counter in my kitchen that doesn't suffer from average water or heat.

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