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ktgirl10

Beadboard in a modern kitchen?

ktgirl10
13 years ago

I like mixing and matching different textures, old/new, while still maintaining a more modern vibe. We are having our circa-1992 honey oak cabinets painted white and I am considering having my contractor husband add some beadboard before the painter comes. We have a u-shaped kitchen and I was going to have him put it on just the two sides of the peninsula and on the sides of the cabinets around the sink. Do you think beadboard can go in a more modern kitchen, as opposed to a more cottage/country one? Does anyone have any pictures of beadboard in their kitchens? Thanks!

Comments (20)

  • erinra
    13 years ago

    Beadboard is a bit old fashioned and I don't think it would fit in a modern kitchen. But that is my opinion :) .

  • paintergirl94
    13 years ago

    Beadboard can be transitional as well as country. My cabinets are oak, uppers painted white and lowers painted green and I have beadboard both on the island and the backsplash. It doesn't read cottage or country, but I think the key will be in the colors and accessories: your wall color, knobs and pulls, lighting, artwork, window treatments, etc...
    If you're still on the fence about beadboard, try adding rails and stiles to your cabinets and more of a wainscot design to your island. Google images of islands for inspiration.

  • live_wire_oak
    13 years ago

    It will be very very tricky to accomplish a modern/transitional vibe with bead board and white painted oak cabinets, especially if they are anything other than simple shaker style. If you had slab cabinets with beadboard, or chose something like sheet stainless to go with your painted oak cabinets, those combos would be more ecclectic/transitional. You're combining two country/traditional ideas here, and that's gonna be difficult without the exact right other elements in the room. Something like a very industrial warehouse light fixture and a big honking pro range and some cool stained and scored concrete flooring could provide the pull needed to drag the painted cabinets and beadboard to the more modern side that using such a traditional combo would need.

    Or, there's the clean lined Scandinavian "country" feel that would work as an inspiration to white painted cabinets and beadboard. Your cabinets would have to be pretty simple and again, you'd want to choose more industrial/functional items as major accessories.

  • ktgirl10
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yeah, that's what I figured...I just wanted to add a few elements to make it my own, rather than just a standard builders-grade kitchen. We are planning on doing uba tuba granite (a slab that has more of a black tone), white subway tile backsplash and a walnut floor. I removed the ugly brass handles and replaced them with stainless steel european bar pulls on the cabinets. Our only dining area is right in the same room - I attached a link to the light on CB2 which I plan on purchasing for over the table. When you say Scandanavian country, do you mean like Ikea style?

    Here is a link that might be useful: CB2 light

  • sparklekitty
    13 years ago

    ktgirl10 - I think dianalo has the right idea. I had looked into wainscoting for a more modern bathroom and was attracted to different styles than the stock beadboard. Several used larger width boards with small gaps between - one even ran horizontal. You or your contractor can build something fairly simply. You could run the regular board horizontal - paint it an accent color... It all depends on how "modern" you are trying to go and where you are going to put it. What you describe, if it is the traditional raised panel oak cabinets, may look nice with bead board - especially with a more simple molding - or even as a back splash. If you want more feedback, share a photo.

    I quickly tried to find an example. Check out the last photo in this blog post. It is a bathroom, but you can get idea.
    http://londoncallingloudly.blogspot.com/2008/06/unusual-wainscoting.html

  • amysrq
    13 years ago

    I used beadboard in a modern bathroom in my last house. The architect thought it was a non-sequitur, but I liked it. (Do what you like....) Have you considered turning the beadboard 90 degrees? It might give you that difference you are looking for, with a slightly quirky, modern edge.

  • na_praha
    13 years ago

    We used beadboard in a transitional kitchen (I called it "modern vintage" to myself). Don't know how well you can see in the linked photo, but we laid the beadboard horizontally to give it a bit of edge. And yeah, it's all IKEA...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lateral beadboard

  • na_praha
    13 years ago

    This is probably a better view...

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago

    I like that horizontal beadboard image--a very different flavor and not at all grandma-like. Thanks for the post!

    Have wondered if a clever craftsperson could make a collage 45 degree beadboard pattern, rather more like "up V then down V then up V..." along the backsplash and other horizontal spaces. Anyone seen that?

    Or has anyone seen the beading painted a different color from the matrix?

  • poppy09
    13 years ago

    Amysrq: beautiful bathroom, I love it!

    ***na_praha: I saw your kitchen shots (last year?) in one of the "Under $20K kitchens threads," and it was my favorite among many great designs! Your kitchen inspired me to run beadboard horizontally in our butler's pantry. My use isn't modern, but it's a twist on a classic.

    Amysrq/na_praha: Your rooms are proof that beadboard works in a modern way.

  • ktgirl10
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yes, I love that horizontal look! I would have never thought of that. I don't know how to upload pics right in the body of my post so I've added a link to my picasa album. You will see the peninsula that I am talking about where I wanted to do some sort of wainscoting/beadboard around the sides. Also, you'll see the decorative country-style panel above the sink - my husband will be taking that out. We'd like to replace the trim at the top of the cabinets with a thicker molding and also take out the 45-degree angle cabinet in the corner and replace the middle of the door front with a frosted glass of some sort. The choices I have made so far are also in one of the pics - uba tuba granite, white subway tile backsplash and walnut color vinyl floor. We are on a tight budget! Also, we have three small children and two pets so I have to stay practical. The brand-new kitchen will come some day when they're out of the house! :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen BEFORE

  • na_praha
    13 years ago

    Darn - your link is sending me straight to Picasa's home page. Can you try again? Would love to see what you're working with! We were on a very tight budget, too - our gut remodel of the kitchen came in just over $10K - and beadboard was one of the ways we saved.

    Florantha - are you thinking kind of a chevron pattern? Could be neat...

  • ktgirl10
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Ugh, I am not computer savvy! Let me try again...

    Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen before

  • dianalo
    13 years ago

    I think your choices will really work.

    I have the same chairs in white. Did you paint yours? What method did you use? Any tips? Ours are showing signs of wear but we want them instead of folding chairs for extra seating when we have a lot of people over. Since they stack, we hope we can make them look good enough to keep.

    My only critique is your garbage can, lol. I think you could find a black, stainless or white one that is metal instead of plastic. I got my white one at Walmart for cheap. I don't think that beige/taupe color will go with your new choices.

  • sparklekitty
    13 years ago

    Ktgirl10 - I am so glad na_praha shared the photos of her kitchen with the horizontal beadboard (a vast improvement over the link I send with the bathroom :) It looks like you have a very nice kitchen that you are starting with - enjoy personalizing it for your family and taste. Regarding beadboard - I do not think it would be out of play with your cabinet style which is classic but does not scream "traditional." I think the horizontal would be a good twist. I am unsure about the sides of the cabinets on either side of the window. If you are you can mock it up with paper and pencil - just to see how you feel with the "pattern" on either side of the sink.

    Na_praha - Great kitchen - really sweet with great detail including the horizontal bead board. White and wood counters are my soft spot.

    I really love bead board and wainscoting - I want to wrap it around my entire house - horizontal, vertical, maybe even florantha's chevron pattern. But alas all the money is spent ;) Next project...the year 20XX

  • jsweenc
    13 years ago

    I'd like to see that photo too, but the only thing I got to was a photo of my old kitchen... I didn't even know I had a picasa account!

    Here is another example, but I didn't know at the time what to call what I was aiming for. I guess you could say farmhouse modern, but I picture that as having some element that really stands out, like huge unusual pendants or even most elements on a larger scale. Or maybe it was closer to vintage modern (or modern vintage... is there a difference?) like na_praha said. Don't know if I achieved it, don't know if it is too... whatever... don't know if it's what you're looking for. But I love it! And I thought having another image might help.

    And for varying textures, I have fluted columns (which I resisted but we got for free, and now I love them), shiny beveled subway tile, and the smooth white cabinets, plus a walnut counter with a fancy edge and plain black leathered granite with its own texture. And I added in some baskets with that go with the other browns but have their own texture as well. In working with what you have, I think you can still find a look you love.

    The wainscot and walls except under the window and behind the stove are beadboard. Full disclosure, it is the cheapo Lowe's paneling, not the beautiful real T&G stuff; it was an area I was willing to scrimp on and I still love the way it looks.

  • jsweenc
    13 years ago

    Oops, I had my note queued up last night and thought I had sent it. I discovered I hadn't this morning and sent it without checking. I did see your photos. You have some lovely color and looks like you've made some great changes to open up the kitchen (I'm assuming. given the baseboard heaters, that it wasn't built that way). You have a lot to work with. Given the way you've decorated, I don't think you'll fail to get that look when you're all finished!

    I meant to say I loved the application of BB in the other photos.

  • na_praha
    13 years ago

    Jsweenc, your kitchen is lovely! Our beadboard wasn't true T&G either, just plywood sheets from the wonderful Mr. Plywood in Portland, OR.

    And ktgirl10, I think the rest of your house (as much as we could see) is so cute and bright and modern in palette that, given the finish choices you've already made, your kitchen will no doubt follow suit. Part of modernism is clean lines and lack of clutter. I wish I could say my kitchen now looked anything like the photos I shared. As soon as we finished it, we sold the house and moved back east to a 1925 house with a 1955 kitchen. With an 11-month-old and two crazy dogs, our kitchen is clutter central.

  • ktgirl10
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone! We are still in the process of getting estimates on having the cabinets painted so I have time to decide what I want to do. But so far the estimates have been so high that I might have to figure out how to tackle the painting myself!
    jsweenc - your kitchen is gorgeous! when we moved into this house one of the previous owners had already opened up some of the walls and put in that cut-out (the green wall). If we stay here, we'd like someday to take that wall down and put in an island in place of the peninsula.
    na_praha - i understand completely! i have three girls, the youngest being 9 months, a dog and a messy husband!