Decorating challenged!!!!

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by marniemcgil

Just bought a condo. Kitchen is huge, but all white. Cabinets, floors, appliances. On a top floor with a skylight, potlight, fluorescent lights and a chandelier over an area for a table. My husband says it looks like a hospital room.

Any idea for colour. Thinking of changing the floor to laminate, countertops to laminate and paint the walls possibly a light creamy butter colour. I would like a backsplash too.

Shoud I go dark with the floor and countertop - or light??

If you are doing a nice new kitchen in your new home, everything you mentioned is really really wrong. Im not going to post pics from some ultra modern European magizine like AtticMag above. I dont even know if that magazine is available in the USA but I will tell you what the vast majority of buyers are buying today right here in the USA. This is not my opinions or anyone in particulars opinion. I'm giving facts what is real out there. What really is being sold.

Most of my buyers this year bought shaker style full overlay doors, the vast majority bought maple cabinets. The next major choice was dark colors. A few were off white like in bisque or egg shell, 2 of those added a dark brown glazing to their off white doors. Less then 8% of all cabinets sold in 2009 were white. That should tell you something.

Floors. Do not ever use that cheap junk fake wood called laminate floors. They look cheap and fake because they are. Walking on it sounds like a dance floor with dancers dancing in high heels. Today the majority choose Travertine, slate, and other assorted dark colored tile in their kitchen floors. A small amount even choose hardwood floors in their kitchen.

Countertops today, granite still dominates but is losing ground pretty quick to the new quartz and other man made surfaces.

4" back splashes in the same material as the countertop is very dead. I have not even done one this year. Everyone wants the subway tile look in brick or stone but mostly glass tile in 1" x 2" sizes for back splashes.

Appliances. Stainless dominates by a long shot though it ain't my favorite. You complained about all the white making it look like a hospital room. Many still feel stainless makes it look like a commercial kitchen. As I said earier, dark color cabinets are very in style now. With this, black appliances really look nice.

Your skylight you should keep. The florescent lights need to go. The chandelier is nice but I suspect has Dinosaur footprints on it with those white cabinets. Your thought on creamy butter color walls are actually the most requested color for walls in kitchens today. It is in my business and it is in all of America as per the NKBA trade journals who keep these statistics.

You can put anything you want in your home. It's still a little bit of a free country. One of the biggest mistakes we can do is to make remodeling choices that is too personal or off the wall that appeal to the minority. White cabnets will scare buyers away, bright red walls will scare people away. gold carpeting will scare people away. Red and white checkered tiles will scare people away.

Have fun and good luck with your new home

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

If you are doing a nice new kitchen in your new home, everything you mentioned is really really wrong.

Did you NOT read her post? She isn't doing a new kitchen. She's just wants to add COLOR to her existing kitchen!

She doesnt' want to change her cabinets! She just bought her house and it already has white cabinets.

The OP needs to pick what she likes, not what you like. She's not selling this house. She just bought it.

And you are not the authority on what homebuyers buy---as much as you like to think you are.

You might sell kitchens, but you don't sell real estate.

Originally Posted by desertsun41

If White cabnets will scare buyers away, bright red walls will scare people away. gold carpeting will scare people away. Red and white checkered tiles will scare people away.

OP, be forwarned that desertsun HATES white cabinets. A fact that prevented him from being able to actually read your post.

Otherwise, he would have known that you're not doing a REMODLE OR A RENOVATION, you're just trying to add color into your kitchen.

Clearly, white cabinets didn't scare you away. Otherwise you wouldn't have bought the hosue.

OP, desertsun would LOVE for you to think that EVERYONE hates white cabinets, but the reality is that most people like white cabinets.

There was a poll here asking people if they would buy a house with white cabinets and white cabinets overwhelmingly won.

Here's the thread with the poll. Check it out. : http://www.city-data.com/forum/home-...e-kitchen.html

[desertsun41]

Well excuse muwaaaa. Actually she asked about changing everything but the cabinets. I advised her on everything. It's not just me who hates white cabinets. 93% of the popuation does. That is not my number. That is the number published by the trade associations who keep those statistics.

My advice to her is rock solid backed by national statistics as well as my personal statistics. I'm sorry if you dont agree with the facts. I really am. Build your kitchen the way your little heart desires. Everyone do the same. But when some one asks I will provide the same advice I do to those who pay me a lot of money to do so.

And good luck.............

[goutgrec]

White kitchens are still very popular from what I see. I personally love the combination of white and taupe in a kitchen -- I've had it twice LOL! Also, taupe/beige leaves a lot of room on flooring options since wood tones blend.

I also love a great backsplash. I think that can make a kitchen. So I'd start by looking for the tile and, if you fall in love with a tile, that can suggest all the other colors. All I'd say is to pick everything out and be sure it all goes together before buying any single thing to avoid being limited.

If you have great light and like strong colors you could go really bold. Dark colors will absorb more light, however, so the room will look less light with dark counters f.ex. or backsplash or floor. Thing about dark floors in a kitchen is that they show every crumb -- they are gorgeous no question -- but harder to maintain than something mid-tone or lighter.

As for Atticmag.com, that's one of my favorite online magazines! They don't just show modern idea. In fact, they love older things and, oh, they also have a ton of kitchen photos to look at for ideas. Almost forgot. Good luck.

[dacap]

Love this countertop, could you tell me what the name of it is? Or where I might locate it on the web?

Thank you,
Debbie

Originally Posted by Hopes

I like the white/grey marble countertops with blue. You can get something similar in laminant.



Or you could make your backsplash less of a vocal point and go with a vivid blue counter:

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by dacap

Love this countertop, could you tell me what the name of it is? Or where I might locate it on the web?

Thank you,
Debbie

Did you notice how old this post is? I think you're SOL.