faucet & hardware for a sort of farmhouse, bold tile kitchen?

11 years ago

Last time I asked for help with my kitchen plans, over a year ago I think, we were looking to do blue cabinets and use some tiles we picked up while traveling in Turkey. Well, plans have changed and I could use some help with a few choices.

This is a mostly DIY job, and while wrapping up some other furniture refinishing projects, I realized that I just don't want to paint all those cabinets. The Turkish tile we bought is beautiful, but would only fill a 24" X 24" space, and we realized that we don't want the behind-the-range focal point mural look - we wanted to go bigger and bolder. So, this is where we're at:

These are the definites, the stuff we already have:

Ikea Ramsjo white cabinets, very few uppers - just 1 wall.

beech countertops

Elkay drainboard sink

Broan chimney hood similar to the one shown

GE profile single/double oven & cooktop

dark red countertop appliances

hickory floor

light pine table & red chairs

vintage Belgian beer posters, not those pictured but in a similar style.

The Fez tiles from Granada Tile, which are much brighter in person, have not yet been purchased but we are fairly certain that these are the ones for us. They're 8" cement tiles, and will go up the entire wall (~7' wide space). This is the wall with the oven and hood.

One wall will have about 48" of open shelves, and we are leaning heavily toward a rustic stained wood look for those, but stainless steel and white painted wood are still possibilities. Our white everyday dishes will be on these shelves, perhaps also cookbooks.

The background paint color shown there is BM Silver Fox, which I have in the adjacent family room and love. Not set in stone, but a strong contender.

We're undecided on a faucet and cabinet hardware right now, and that's where I especially want input.

For faucets, we're pretty sure we want a high arc style pull-down, probably single-handle Our sink, a steal on e-bay, has 4 holes, so we will need an escutcheon plate and maybe a soap dispenser to fill those and hopefully not look awful. We're back-and-forth between the industrial-style and the more transitional, like these examples:

For pulls, I'm at a total loss. I adore the Restoration Hardware Aubrey pulls, though I'd do a cheaper version:

But I don't want to use pulls that are screwed in from the front, so they are out. Nothing else I've seen really speaks to me, but I think I'm getting decision paralysis from looking at hundreds of pulls.

I'm hoping that the collective wisdom of the forum can help me nail these! Any votes or suggestions will be appreciated, but let me note that this is definitely a low-budget operation.

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Comments (6)

alex9179
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm super excited to see it when you're done! I don't know that my opinion would be worth anything, but here goes :)

I love the Fez tile. Did you see the kitchen pictue using it? I'll link below, but it's awesome.
The rustic stained wood shelves you mentioned spoke to me, but it's probably because I'd like to do something similar. It sounds like a nice combo with the tile and farmhouse vibe.
I like the industrial style faucet better. The transitional just doesn't have the personality to hang with your other elements.
I can't help you on pulls, just a question as to why the front screws are a deal-breaker when it's the one that speaks to you?

Here is a link that might be useful: uber-Fez kitchen
dee850
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks! I love those fully-Fez-tiled kitchen photos - they are the main reason that stainless steel shelving is still in the running.

I agree that the industrial style faucet has more personality. I think that's the appeal, as long as it doesn't clash with the rest of what we're doing. I'm afraid of veering too modern and I'm unsure of myself, lol.

The reason I don't want to use pulls that screw in from the front is that ikea cabinet doors and drawer fronts have veneered particleboard center panels, where some of our pulls will be placed. Screwing into hardwood might hold up ok even though they'd be getting tugged, but that would definitely not work for particleboard - the scews would fall right out. We need to have something screwed in from the back.
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mtnrdredux_gw
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Dee, I, along with others here, had the same problem with the hardware. I got ones very similar to those you show, but screwed in from the back, from Hafele.

Love the tiles!
dee850
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
mtnrdredux, thank you! I knew there had been some discussion about those Aubrey pulls but I didn't find the threads I was looking for when I last searched. This time I found a thread where you posted some photos of your cabinets with those Hafele pulls - beautiful! These might be perfect for us. We'll have some 30-inch drawers and want 1 centered pull for them, and I can see from your photos that these would look great that way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hafele pulls
deedles
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm jealous of your sink with drainboards. Really drooed over that before realizing it wouldn't fit. I think the first faucet would look great with the sink and the rest of what you're doing, btw. Tiles are very pretty and the touches of the deep red are nice, too. a
dee850
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks, deedles! We were originally thinking of using the Ikea Domsjo apron-front sink, but had issues with the front of that jutting out and interfering with neighboring cabinet doors, so when we saw this Elkay on ebay we jumped on it.

We are leaning toward one of the more industrial-style Kraus offerings for faucet at this point. It's very reassuring to hear that others lean in that direction, too!