counter or cab colour first?

11 years ago

I was wondering whether you pick the counter slab first or the colour of the cabinets? DH says why not pick out the counter first and then choose the colour of the cabinets after, but I always thought you would choose the cab colour first. We are going with a stained maple. What would you do?

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Comments (4)

stolenidentity
11 years ago
Looks to me like you've already made a pick on your cabs so I'd start there. There are no rules and if there are you don't have to follow them. Maple is a good choice, we did not stain ours :)
Buehl
11 years ago
Do you have a cabinet finish that you've always wanted? If so, start with that.

Personally, I would pick the cabinets first b/c overall they are more expensive than counters and are much more difficult to replace. So I would want to pick something that I really like in cabinets and then look at counters, etc.

Plus, there will be more cabinet showing than counter on the vertical plane - the plane where most people see first. However, if you don't have uppers, then I think it's 50/50.
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User
11 years ago
Pick an element that goes with the existing home. Something that works with the other permanent elements and style. Your "inspiration piece" can be the cabinets, the stone, the flooring, or even just a piece of fabric that is from the era that the home was built and combines colors in a pleasing manner.
andreak100
11 years ago
I think that you can start anywhere. Initially, our plans were to pick our granite first and then pick around it. So, we found several dark granites that we really loved.

And then, DH decided that our oak floors should be stained dark. And then that we should get dark cabinets.

Hmmm...three darks (granite, cabinets, & floor) just isn't going to work.

So, I asked him which element was the most important to him. The flooring was because it covers the entire house. And then, while I think white cabinets are very pretty for others, we both really dislike white cabinets for our home and lighter cabinets weren't working for us either. So, we are getting dark cabinets. Which means that our granite, backsplash, and walls will be lighter colors.

If you work first from what isn't going to change (other parts of the house) you can begin to build some colorways that are harmonious with the rest of the home. Decide what part of the kitchen is the most important to you in regard to color and then build from there.

Although on a horizontal plane, I tend to TAKE IN the countertops first in other homes. Sure, I see the cabinets, backsplash, and walls as I approach, but I really take in an interesting countertop unless the backsplash has a lot of visual elements. Then from there, notice the supporting elements again. I think that because cabinets tend to be mostly the same square boxes with just some differences in the door fronts, my mind tend to "see" them less.