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diy_mermaid_queen

Help Me Decide (Kitchen Remodel)

This is my first post here, so, hello!

We bought our home last February, it is a 2004 and had a very outdated, 'base price' kitchen. White rolled vinyl flooring, cheap laminate counter tops, builder's grade oak cabinetry in a honey color that looked more orange than anything, and old appliances. We started out by replacing all of the appliances with stainless steel, and since we are on a budget -- chose to gel stain, add pulls and have crown molding installed to 'refinish' our cabinetry rather than spending thousands having it refaced or replaced.

We are waiting for the carpenter we hired to install the crown molding, and will be adding the pulls in the next day or two, so this is what we've got so far. (Ignore the floor, it's covered in stain. We're replacing it in two weeks so we got messy. Oh, and the dishes. Things tend to get backed up when you're redoing your kitchen!)

Now, my first question for you is this; where do we start when looking at back splash? One of the companies we are considering for our counter tops, also offers back splash installation, but we would need to supply the tile. The cost is 750 for ceramic tile. But, I'm actually leaning toward subway tile. Would that be cheaper? Or is it still considered ceramic? Also...Where should I look -- aside from Home Depot/Lowe's etc? Keeping in mind we are trying to be as cost effective as possible. I'd like grey/silver with variance in color throughout, rather than one flat tone.

Here is a photo of a kitchen that has the same stone we're using for counter tops, similar Euro pulls, and the same color cabinetry -- with subway tiles I like:

My second question is; if we decide to go with a butcher block on the island (Luna Pearl granite will be on the rest of the counter tops), what is the best way to make the colors of the woods work? I don't want to match it to the cabinets, would having three different wood colors look odd? (Dark cabinets, medium floor, light butcher block island). Or, do people typically match it to the color of the flooring?

Here is a photo of a kitchen that has a similar stone for the counter tops, similar dark cabinets, and a butcher block -- but the flooring isn't shown.

Thoughts? Help? SOS!

Comments (9)

  • schicksal
    9 years ago

    It's hard to believe those are the same cabinets. You did a great job staining them!

  • diy_mermaid.queen
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    MareLuce -- I appreciate your input. Any idea on where to look for the subway tiles? Or what those ones appear to be made out of?

    schicksal -- thank you! Here is a before picture of some of the doors.

    We also stained the upstairs bathroom cabinets, used the same gel stain, but went for an entirely different look than that of the kitchen. Here's a pick of those doors after one coat.

    Any thoughts on the floor and butcher block coloring, folks? I should add that we are going with bamboo flooring, as it holds up better than hardwood would when pitted against our toddlers and 8 week old puppies. So, the block can't be made from the exact same wood as the floor.

  • athomesewing
    9 years ago

    "I'd like grey/silver with variance in color throughout, rather than one flat tone."

    The photo you show is lovely. I agree that color variance makes it. The cabinets, backsplash and counter look fabulous together.

    IF you added the butcher block from below to that mix, I don't think it works as well. The reason that the butcher block top works in the second photo that you show, is that the backsplash has colors that are also in the butcher block top.

    What do you think with the top added to your first photo?

  • crl_
    9 years ago

    Subway is a shape. Ceramic is the material. So there are ceramic subway tiles and ceramic square tiles and so on. And there are ceramic subway tiles and marble subway tiles and so on.

    Your inspiration picture might be marble subway tile? Look at houzz for marble tile backsplashes and see if they look similar to you. If it is marble, I think you can find them at Home Depot, but you may need to special order and you may need to go through a lot of boxes to cull the "bad" tiles. Bad in terms of appearance. I think people here have done that and returned the combined boxes of "bad" tiles. The marble is probably more expensive than some ceramic tiles, but I think people have found it pretty affordable at big box stores. I don't know how it would impact your installation costs. I believe it should be sealed so that may up the cost a bit and you will need to reseal down the road (frequency depends on the sealer, I believe). I don't know if it is harder to work with or if it requires special materials for installation. In addition to searching on the kitchen forum, you could look on the bathroom forum where there is at least one great tile pro posting fairly often.

    I think I'd go for a light butcher block. I hate swing and a miss so something that nearly matches but not quite would drive me nuts. Personal preference though.

    What you have done so far looks really great!

  • diy_mermaid.queen
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    athomesewing - I actually do like that butcher block added into the kitchen. I may rethink the back splash a bit to add some warmer colors to it...

    crl_- I think you're right about the marble, and I completely agree on the swing and a miss thing. I'm leaning toward a very light, natural toned butcher block. Now all I'm confused about is the back splash!

    This post was edited by diy_mermaid.queen on Thu, Jun 5, 14 at 11:47

  • feisty68
    9 years ago

    Your kitchen is looking great! I would hesitate before adding butcherblock to bamboo floors and dark-stained cabinets. I would probably do it all in the same countertop material since your kitchen isn't huge.

  • diy_mermaid.queen
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    feisty68 - Thank you! I am just looking forward to getting the pulls and crown molding on so I can see the finished product, as far as the cabinetry is concerned.

    On the butcher block/bamboo - We've moved away from bamboo flooring, after seeing some mixed reviews on exotic flooring, and have decided to go with a walnut hickory hardwood.

  • Elaine Trujillo
    7 years ago

    What color are the cabinets?