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Help! Bitting nails before ordering cabinets.

zazutoo
12 years ago

I no longer remember the revision number on my kitchen design. When I first started reading this forum, I wondered about people posting design after design. I never thought I would do more than two or three. Well, I tweaked it so many times, I lost count. But I am getting closer. Close enough that I want to order cabinets within the next month. So does my contractor. If I was sure of everything, I would be more excited. This is nail bitting time! Any general comments on the design are very welcomed. (Pictures of the kitchen as it is can be found here: http://acrosstherubricon.blogspot.com/2010/02/kitchen-as-it-is.html)

Layout:

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Three of the four walls of the room:

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The stove wall. I wanted all the appliances that could be off the countertop to be sort of built in. The 15” box will house the microwave.

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Design: I am thrilled to finally arrive at this version with the shelves along part of one wall and turning the corner. What are anyone’s experiences with this much shelving? Any negatives? I figure that this is a very cheap part of my design and I could always put in cabinets later. The windows are not going to change and I’ve designed cabinets/shelve units over and over and know my options.) I was thinking of painting the shelves the Creekside Green, the wall they are on is Soft Fern.

I am insecure on the long, china cabinet-like cabinet on the other end of the sink wall. Any thoughts? I need some sort of appliance garage (I hate that term) and that is the 18” cabinet underneath. Anyone have pictures of something like this.

Color, Color, Color: I still teeter between white or wood! When will it stop??! The floors are newly refinished oak, blond with nice wood graining. Three walls are Benjamin Moore’s Soft Fern; the fourth wall is Creekside Green. The molding and trim on the whole first floor is Martha Stewart’s Glass of Milk. My question is whether I should try to match the Milk color for the cabinets or go with a clear maple. The style will be a shaker door with slab drawers.

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Soft Fern: wall color for three walls in kitchen.

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Creekside Green: color of accent wall in kitchen. Right now, this is the back door wall but it could be the sink wall since plaster walls will be coming down and sheet rock going up before cabinets go in. Shelving could be painted this color.

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Glass of Milk: wood work on first floor, including kitchen is painted this color.

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I am not sure whether the cabinets should be the off white of Glass of Milk or a clear maple. Today, I am leaning towards the maple.

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This is the formica for the countertops.

Lighting: I have been dreaming of great lighting in a kitchen for a long time. The lighting I have now is awful -- a central light in the middle of the room attached to the ceiling fan and a very small light over the sink. The shadows and glare compete for dominance. Ok, I can see what I am doing, but really I want good light. I also dreamed about under cabinet lighting but as I’ve switched to a wall of shelves, I don’t know if that is an option. I need some suggestions for overall lighting, task lighting, and something pretty for mood.

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This is the school house pendant light that I'l like to use in front of the windows.

Missing Element: One of things I wanted to have in the new kitchen was a place that my daughter could eat her breakfast. No matter how organized I try to be, in the mornings before school, she is eating in the dining room and I am rushing around the kitchen getting her lunch ready. There is no room in the kitchen as it is now designed for a table and I don’t see any way to rearrange cabinets and appliances to fit one in without sacrificing a lot of storage space which I also cannot do without. I was wondering whether a hinged table right behind the door to the back hall would be possible. The dining room has a simple chair rail, so a similar rail in the kitchen on one wall would not be out of place. I was thinking (very vaguely at this point) that a small table behind the door and two collapsable stools hung on the part of the wall near the frig. Whadda’ ya’ think? Any ideas about this or about any other place that an eating space might be carved out? And I’d love to see any pictures of a hinged table that is snuck into a space.

Finally, these are two inspiration photos: I do like the white cabinets and the green walls and shelves, but I am not sure whether to commit to white cabinets. Help!

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And this was the original picture I cut out of a paint book and hung by my stove three years ago. I still like the feeling of the colors and textures.

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Gosh, this is such a long post that I wish I could send cookies out to those reading it! If you've made it this far, thank you, thank you, thank you. Of course, now I'd really like some comments. And any ideas about a pull down, pull out, fold out table that I could squeeze in. I am making this decision alone and so a few harsh words or a pat on the back would be appreciated.

Suzanne

http://spicydragon-sb.blogspot.com/

Comments (9)

  • cabinetsbyalan
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like the shelves, it gives a nice open feeling and charater to your kitchen

  • ideagirl2
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you made the cabinet beside the refrigerator into a little desk instead of an ordinary base cabinet, your daughter could eat there. I'm not saying this is the best idea possible; I'm just brainstorming. I also like the hinged table idea. Those were very common in kitchens in about the 1920s-1940s because the kitchens were smaller then. It's a great solution. And maybe for the chair, you could use a "library chair" -- see link below: it's a chair that converts into a stepstool, so it's quite the efficient use of space, and nice looking too.

    I love your formica. And your inspiration photo is lovely. It strikes me, though, that the greens you have chosen for the walls are a lot more muted and greyish than your inspiration photo. You won't get that feeling of brightness and warmth with the colors you've chosen. They're very nice colors and they'll look great, but I'm just concerned about whether you'll miss that aspect of what inspired you in the first place.

    The maple doesn't go with your greens at all, at least not on my computer monitor. It's too orangey. Have you put a sample door in your kitchen to see how it looks?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Library Chair - combination chair and stepstool

  • zazutoo
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, Ideagirl, I love that chair. That would fit very well in the general design idea. I am going for lots of function and the table is the only missing piece. I've thought of using that cabinet beside the frig as a desk but it is also the perfect size for the dog's crate (very little dog). Right now, the crate is in the back hall and the kitchen would be so much warmer for her.

    And yes, the greens are different. I've painted the entire first floor (it is a small house) the same color and the green is muted and grey-like, but less so than the swatch that I posted. I don't know if it it my computer or the swatch. I have not chosen the door color for the cabinet yet. The one I put up was a suggestion, but thanks for the idea of bringing doors home. And too orangey? I can see that it is not the perfect color but that's all. Oy! I wish I was able to see color more precisely.

  • dianalo
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like your choices and agree that they don't match your inspiration photo, which I also like.

    I really like your laminate for the counters. It is quirky and cute.

    The open shelves will look so nice with the style you have working....

    I am not a huge fan of the door color you showed.

  • zazutoo
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Any ideas for door color? It appears that I really need that. I've spent so much time on layout and design that color has been left in the dust. Any ideas?

    And there is always white.

    Suzanne

  • abfabamy
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am struggling with the same decision! I know exactly what you are going through...white one day, wood stain the next. Sometimes I go back and forth in the same day.

    I love white and would go with it in a minute if I wasn't so worried about how they will wear. I really worry about scratches and nicks showing right away.

    If you don't have the same worry, I think white would look fabulous with your other choices. I, on the other hand will continue to go back and forth for awhile yet!

  • MCMesprit
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We recently installed the same formica in our laundry room. I think the neutral paints you've chosen will work wonderfully, but this formica could also complement a bolder range of shades. In our laundry, we have tan painted cabinets, smoky light blue walls, and a tongue and groove ceiling with a dark stain that has a green cast. And they all work great with the formica.

  • zazutoo
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love to hear that others are struggling with the white/wood decision. I don't really worry abut nicking (maybe I should!) but more about matching my woodwork color. Can that be done? Or do you have to stick with the "whites" offered by the cabinet manufacturers?

    Today, i am set on the white. Yesterday. . . . Maybe if I go and borrow some cabinet doors I will come to a better decision.

    And thanks, for the links to drop tables. It is a great idea. There is a chair rail around the dining room and I think that I could put a rail on the remaining wall of the kitchen, hang a little table off that, and make space for two collapsable stools on the wall by the frig.

    As to color and the formica, esprit, do you have any pictures of your laundry room? I'd love to see that pattern in action. I have not found good pictures of it on line. I'd also like to see it with the blue. How cool! My daughter and I have had a hard year and neutral colors really appeal to me for the first time ever. But it is only paint and it would be nice to see what the formica could handle if I change my mind one day.

    Again, thanks everyone. I tell you this is the first set of decisions that I've made alone (this summer, I redid the floors and painted the first floor as a start to the renovation)-- My husband died a year ago and since we had planned a more extensive renovation, it has taken me awhile to get back on the bandwagon and moving along. Little by little, I am claiming the house. I've always be the driving force in renovation and design, but David was my touchstone and I relied on his judgment for my crazy ideas. I am so grateful for feedback.

    all the best,
    Suzanne