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So here is what I am thinking for the kitchen. I know I just read the artical about stainless steel becoming dated, but I dont care. I will be replacing everything with stainless steel - Firdge/Microwave/Sink/Stove/Dishwasher
The cabinet and flooring is defiantly not my favorite - I prefer laminate flooring and a darker finish cabinet. But they are new enough and "good enough" that I can spend more on the rest of the house by not replacing them. The tile backslash is also decent enough to stay.
So I guess I need advice on new cabinet hardware, wall color, new counter tops maybe? Any other ides to modern this up would be great!
Stainless steel isn't going to be "dated" any time soon. Nothing has yet appeared on the horizon to replace it. Many people are touting the very attractive White Ice and Black Ice appliances from Whirlpool but only that company is marketing them and I have yet to know a single person who has bought them. Also, they are very contemporary looking, which doesn't seem to be your style.
Personally, I would caution you against laminate flooring in a kitchen. It has to be replaced if there is a flood of any kind. I've never had a dishwasher that didn't overflow at least once. One of my friends had to replace hers when the hose broke on her refrigerator's automatic ice maker when no one was home. And another friend had hers ruined by a break in her automatic hot water dispenser. She was outside gardening and when she came back into the house, major flood. Both of those homeowners replaced their laminate with ceramic tile, which appears to be what you have now.
Everyone in my development has the kind of cabinets you have and taupe ceramic tile flooring. I think sage green looks nice with that and it's a good color for a traditional kitchen. I have a more contemporary look than you do, so I went with a light gray on my walls (Martha Stewart's Mercury Glass) because I did the whole kitchen in taupe and gray tones. It's a color scheme I stole from Candice Olson on HGTV. I have Cesarstone countertops in cream with gray, silver, and taupe flecks, a taupe glass backsplash (Custom Glass Mosaic Tile at Susan Jablon Mosaics, LLC), SS appliances and sink, and brushed nickel light fixtures, cabinet hardware, and faucet. I did the whole thing on a budget (Overstock.com as well as sales at Home Depot, Lowe's, Lamps Plus, and my local discount plumbing supply) but I think it looks pretty nice. It's restful but I hope I avoided boring with all the metallic finishes and and reflective glass. I was going for something appropriate to re-sale since I don't intend to live here forever.
Once you put in the new appliances, if you paint, update your light fixtures if needed, and put some good-looking hardware on your cabinets it will look like a totally new kitchen and you won't even care that the cabinets are not your favorite. I would never have picked mine or the floor color, but they don't bug me now that there are other things in the kitchen I like to look at.
The problem I see with your kitchen is that the floor, the cabinet color and the present wall color all fall closely together as far as "intensity" and the color itself. The result to my eye is a washed-out, insipid feeling. Someone has suggested sage green, and I think it would give some oomph to the room.
I live in a country where granite or marble countertops are standard, because we have lots of both and it is not expensive. Don't know about the U.S. I used black granite from the kitchen straight through to the countertops in the laundry room. But they were bright rooms and could easily take black. My cabinet color was darker, and black was fine on them. I don't think it would work on yours, even if granite is affordable.
From what I can tell you have either a light or pickled oak. I can't see any grain on them but the photos are a bit fuzzy so don't quote me on that. If you are planning on replacing all the appliances with stainless steel, I would not use a bronze finish but would go with a brushed nickel. How would you describe your decorating style? Contemporary, traditional, country? Your kitchen right now has a country feel - do you want to keep it that way? Here is a website which sells all kinds of knobs and pulls. Go through the different styles and see what works with the style of your kitchen and personal taste. Personally I would use a simple brushed nickel pull style on them.
I would paint your kitchen an apple green to brighten it up as it is rather bland with the floors and the countertops. I agree you should live with them for awhile as they look to be in excellent condition.
I would declutter the freestanding cabinet in the second picture. Put some of the stuff on top away and keep it simple and do the same for the inside of the cabinet. Try to arrange your books neatly and lay a few of them horizontally and use as a bookend. Also leave some space for what I think are some old bottles or crocks and display them keeping it simple once again.
Also you have two pictures on one side of the cabinet but none on the other and I would place two pictures or artwork (the ones by your telephone would work or something similar) to balance this out.
Overall this is a nice kitchen with a good layout.
Sorry I should have been more clear. These are pictures from the realtors website. That book case and any decor is no longer there. The kitchen is now a clean slate.
Yes, there is a trend away from stainless.
Stainless is a pain to keep clean and it dents easily.
It rarely comes clean easily and usually requires more buffing to remove any residue from the cleaners
If you have kids or dogs stock up on stainless cleaning products and enjoy the extra time cleaning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adam34996
I will have better pics soon...
So here is what I am thinking for the kitchen. I know I just read the artical about stainless steel becoming dated, but I dont care. I will be replacing everything with stainless steel - Firdge/Microwave/Sink/Stove/Dishwasher
If you want to go a little less bright on the walls, but stay close to the yellow tone, Kansas Grain by Benjamin Moore is a good choice. I went with that and I like it. It's a warm cheery color and since my kitchen is small, reflects the light well and makes it feel a bit more airy. Here's the link for what it looks like and some coordinating colors: kansas grain 2160-60 Paint - Benjamin Moore kansas grain Paint Color Details
No kids no dogs. Single 24 year old male who is very clean
Then get what you like which is stainless steel. I have stainless fronts on black appliances. It is only my DH and me and the dog and I don't find stainless steel to be hard to maintain at all. You just sprintz it with stainless steel cleaner and buff. We have never had a dent.
It looks like you have enough room to have an eat-in kitchen which would be nice. You could place a small table where the bookcase was and find either a large giclee or print (or two) over it. It might be a good idea to pick your artwork first, choose a color you like from the art (which should compliment your floors, countertops and backsplash) and use that for your wall color.
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