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gem_cap

Media report "Latest in kitchens: Black is the new white"

Gemcap
9 years ago

Black is the new White

Apologies if this has been posted before - searched but didn't find it.

In the leading photo, with the amount of space, light, white and wood used, noir is the last word which comes to my mind.

This post was edited by gemcap on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 13:06

Comments (21)

  • Niki Friedman
    9 years ago

    I do think that a similar article was posted here a few weeks ago.

    This one is of particular interest to me because it's local.

    I'm doing off white cabs and a black island base. So- maybe I'm kinda sorta on trend? Not that it matters!

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    The 1980s wants its kitchen back.

  • rococogurl
    9 years ago

    House Beautiful went with a black "Kitchen of the Year" at a SF showhouse.

    Now everyone is jumping on it.

    Looks great in pix. I can hardly live with a black granite counter in laundry room. There's enough to do these days without a high maintenance kitchen.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Last time, the black fad lasted only a few years. By the start of the 90s, people were ripping out "hi-tech" and disco kitchens like they were scabs. By contrast, the OTK has been with us since SGTG.

    It takes a very large electrician bill to do a black kitchen.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    9 years ago

    Totally unappealing to me. I live in a place with something like 8 hours of light during parts of the year, mostly when I am not in it. I want a bright kitchen not a dark space, so all those dark surfaces sucking up light are not to my taste.

    I also agree with rococcogurl about not wanting high maintenance.

  • juddgirl2
    9 years ago

    I painted DS's bedroom furniture a soft black - looks great but shows every bit of dust soon after cleaning. Never again!

  • joygreenwald
    9 years ago

    I can hardly deal with any imperfections in the finish of my natural cherry. I'd drive myself over every scratch and dent that we'd inevitably put in. Plus, I think that would just be too dark for me.

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    I went 1/2 black and love it. But it does show everything.

  • HomeChef59
    9 years ago

    It was nice to see cabinets that weren't Shaker.

  • allison0704
    9 years ago

    I almost went with a black island, but was afraid it would be too dark. I'm glad I didn't go that direction, but I did do a black hutch in the hallway between kitchen and laundry room. It's what you see if you enter via the garage entrance. I love it.. even though it shows dust badly on the baseboard.

    Here is a link that might be useful: more kitchen pictures

  • athomeinvagw
    9 years ago

    I generally do not care for black kitchens but I have seen some that are very well done, remember the one linked below form a few years ago? I think it is nicer than any of the examples in the Wapo article.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Takkone's kitchen

  • CEFreeman
    9 years ago

    Does this mean my CL appliances are back in style!?

    YEAH!!

    I'm still waiting for shoulder pads, leg warmers and big hard to return. I have faith.

  • Gooster
    9 years ago

    @CEFreeman: shoulder pads and leg warmers resurfaced briefly

    The mostly black kitchens shown by high end designers remind me of certain trends in fashion -- fashionistas keep trying to bring them back, only for the mass public to soundly reject them.

    Black and dark colors for part of the kitchen can be beautiful. I consider the GW kitchen linked above a "partly black" kitchen -- no different than the espresso woods that are going into many kitchens today. (I disliked the HB kitchen). But noir can also be terrible to live with, especially on horizontal surfaces -- we inherited glossy black granite (AB) counters and they are the worst thing in a second home -- same thing with the range. Every dropped speck, water spot or piece of dust shows instantly and terribly!

    This post was edited by gooster on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 14:12

  • luckyme7
    9 years ago

    Sorry, no black kitchen for me. My vote is for painted white or cream kitchen. But painted kitchens cost more and needs more maintenance. So if that were an issue I would rather have a lighter stained kitchen(which is not trendy, I know) than a dark stained kitchen.

  • athomeinvagw
    9 years ago

    Thought of this thread when I saw this kitchen featured on Remodelista today, not quite black but almost:


    "Kitchen on Remodelista"

    And it reminded me of this beautiful black kitchen:


    "Jessica Helgerson Interior Design"

    I could live with any color kitchen if it is done as nicely as either of these.

    *edited to add, Apartment Therapy also has a post on black kitchens today, although only a couple have black cabinets. It shows some pretty neat kitchens and is linked below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Apartment Therapy black kitchens post

    This post was edited by athomeinva on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 8:48

  • ssdarb
    9 years ago

    My black island looks pretty, but it does show every single fingerprint and bit of dust. A lot harder to keep looking nice than my off-white perimeter cabinets. Even when they are actually clean, sometimes they don't look clean; have to sort of buff the paint so there there aren't any streaks or smudges. I can handle it for just the island, but having an entire black kitchen woulc be too hard to keep looking nice IMO.

  • cathie2029
    9 years ago

    AARGHH.. I don't get it.. I thought white kitchen are high maintenance? We're redoing our kitchen in about 3 months and am stuck between espresso stain and white.

    Dark hides dings (Every kitchen has dings in it's cabinets), wear/tear better and adds warmth.

    White makes the room look brighter/bigger but is a bit cold and sterile. However this allows for cleaning the messes up faster before they cake on.

    I can't decide...I like both.

  • sprtphntc7a
    9 years ago

    we have espresso cabs and i dust/wipe about every other week...
    fam of 5, 1 60lb dog who sheds and 1 cat...so lots of dirt/dust and hair....
    i love my cabs, do they show spills/ dust, sure - but i just wipe them with a microfiber cloth or use a swiffer duster and they are fine...

    i love the warmth and richness of them and so glad we went with them...white is just not for us...
    we had white painted doors on stained frames in our kitchen before we ripped them out and i swore i would never do white because they were a B***H to keep clean....to me, espresso is so much easier

    YMMV

    by the way the two pics from athomeinva are gorgeous, especially the first one....

    Isn't wonderful that we have so many choices to satisfy all our wants and desires :)

  • caseykees
    9 years ago

    I am painting my uppers in BM Chantilly Lace and my lowers in BM Wrought Iron even though I'm keeping my white appliances. I am not finished yet, but I was afraid I wouldn't like it. I was afraid DH wouldn't like it because he was so skeptical. But, we are loving it so far. Others may not, but they don't live here. LOL

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Mine aren't black, but a very dark green. I do have black furniture in my bedroom, and just finished staining the vanity in my master bath black. It looks much better than the ugly golden oak that was in there, and was the only color I could think of that would go with the ugly smokey brown tile and antique brass fixtures.

  • tomatofreak
    9 years ago

    After changing out white appliances for black, I can't wait to go back to white. If I get to redo my entire kitchen - eventually - the whole danged thing will be white except the walls! Maybe, ***maybe*** some color on the base cabinets, but it sure won't be black. Black shows every thing that comes within its gravitational range - dust, cat hair, water drops, grease speckles and, yes, dings. Don't think for a moment it hides anything!

    A pox on trends....