What would you do with these kitchen cabinets? - Page 2

[luv-my-boys]

it looks like your cabinets are all wood! I personally would paint them, we had similar cabinets and it really made a difference in how the kitchen seemed more open and "clean" airy as opposed to the darker wood. If the cabinets themselves are in good condition have you thought about just painting them and buying or refacing your doors on the cabinets, leaving the drawers but painting to match? it can literally save you hundreds depending on how many doors you have. Plus new hardward would freshen things up a bit as well. If you are up for a bit of DIY most home improvement stores sell unfinished wood cabinet doors in various designs.

[vm9799]

Originally Posted by Blooming

I am taking lots of notes, about the cabinets. I do feel a little bad painting over the wood. But they make my kitchen feel tiny. I will be changing the hinges.



I have gone back and forth on the stove. I can't go white if I do an off white for the cabinets. That is too much white for me. I would have to paint the cabinets a diffrent color. I don't want any black appliances (again the space is just too small). That's how I landed on stainless steel, or maybe even the steel look alike. DH and I are going to the store to look at stoves this week. This event has been five years in the making, so I'm very excited!

I went to the hardware store today and picked up some nice blue chips to help me think about the wall color.

oh i will definitely be going with stainless steel appliances (commercial grade in fact) when it's time to upgrade! i know that they are more expensive, but i don't care. i LOVE to cook and feel that they are worth it. i much prefer the industrial look of them. but then, i'm not bothered by things like fingerprints. i'll take that any day over the grunginess that the white gets with constant contact with little hands.

[Dabble]

Originally Posted by slsurface

Now that I own a home, I am now faced with a similar situation to you. I hate my dark cabinets and bright YELLOW counters (http://www.flickr.com/photos/archymo...7608688239541/), but I have a small budget.

Oh my, those are my countertops!!! Why did people in the 60's think that yellow countertops were a good idea? I'm at a loss about what to do with them on my small budget, too.

[cristeen]

I have tile countertops and I hate them. I think it really depends on what you plan on doing with your counter though... If you want to roll out pie crust, knead bread dough, or any other sort of work that will be directly on the countertop, do not go with tile. The very first time I tried doing something on my tile countertop the grout deposited some really nasty stuff in my dough. However, being able to rest a hot pan on the countertop is nice. Having to deal with crumbling grout around the sink where it's always wet sucks.

You've gotten a range of thoughts and idea about your space, but ultimately I would recommend figuring out the most efficient way for you to use your space. We also have a tiny kitchen and what I've had to do is carve space out of other rooms in the house to accomodate stuff that won't fit in the kitchen. That doesn't work for everyone, but it's worked really well for me. With a pie cabinet as a pantry, a narrow bookshelf to hold various things like linens, lunchboxes and the compost bin, a utility bookcase with a worktop for my small appliances, and a couple fruit bowls on a desk in the dining room, I was able to pare down the stuff in the kitchen and especially the stuff on the countertops down to a reasonable level.

I would also really think about whether you need a microwave. I know some people use them every day, but I discovered that in reality I wasn't using mine that often, so I moved it out of the kitchen. At this point I don't use it at all for food, and it's no longer taking up space in my kitchen.

And I wouldn't go for stainless steel appliances. With the feel in your kitchen, personally I don't think stainless matches with that country feel. Not to mention that stainless is becoming the new avocado, it is difficult to keep clean, and it's more expensive to boot. I'd go with white appliances, and save myself a few dollars.

Personally, I would probably paint the frames of the cabinets in a light color (although not white), and the doors in another accent color (still light though), to give the room a more airy feel. Our kitchen cabinets are painted bright orange... at first it was a bit jarring, but now I love it.

Just a few random thought...

[Blooming]

I like the idea of putting some of the extras in other rooms.

I thought about getting rid of the microwave but the reality is I use it probably a dozen or so times a day to heat my rice packs.

I'm now confused about the color of the stove (for $ reasons). One thing I know for sure is I don't want to keep the kitchen or the rest of the house in a country style. (even though it leans that way) If I never again see a heart peg shelf or tea pot wallpaper I will be one happy woman!

DH and I go stove shopping tomorrow, so I think I'll have a better feel then.

[vm9799]

Originally Posted by cristeen

And I wouldn't go for stainless steel appliances. With the feel in your kitchen, personally I don't think stainless matches with that country feel. Not to mention that stainless is becoming the new avocado, it is difficult to keep clean, and it's more expensive to boot. I'd go with white appliances, and save myself a few dollars.

i must respectfully disagree that stainless is the new avocado. stainless has always, and will always, be a standard in commercial kitchens and will never become the "red headed step child" of appliances. it's only been in recent years that the residential market has wanted that "commercial kitchen" feel in their own homes. but long before that happened, and everyone from frigidaire to electrolux was carrying stainless, subzero, viking, wolf, etc. were the leaders in commercial kitchen appliances and stainless IS the standard, not the new trendy thing.

that said, it all comes down to personal choice, budget, and the style of your kitchen. and there are now so many different choices to be had.

[lightheart]

Originally Posted by Blooming

I'm now confused about the color of the stove (for $ reasons). One thing I know for sure is I don't want to keep the kitchen or the rest of the house in a country style. (even though it leans that way) If I never again see a heart peg shelf or tea pot wallpaper I will be one happy woman!

I think you could get away from the country feel and look without a stainless stove. Unless you are looking at selling your home in the near future I think you should go with what you want and not trends, style or standards. Go with what makes it easy and happy for you to cook on.

I would look at the stoves with functionality in mind. I myself would much rather have -even an avacado and harvest gold mixed color stove - with all the bells and whistles than the cheapest in the line of stainless ones.

Good luck in your search for finding the perfect stove!

[SleeplessMommy]

Check out your local Habitat for Humanity Re-use store - sometimes they have cabinet doors at very low prices. Some frosted glass front doors, or lots of paint, will fix the early 70s look of the kitchen. I like an off white for painted cabinets.

You could try getting IKEA doors if the sizes are just right.

[anywaybecause]

Originally Posted by sunflwrmoonbeam

Also, if you want to go white spend some time in a room that's mostly white. When house hunting I found that the white houses/rooms would make me feel very very uncomfortable, whereas the ones with more color would feel cozy and comforting. But I'm weird, so who knows. I just wouldn't commit to white unless you KNOW you like it.

Good idea -- too much white can be maddening for me, too. But I'll also suggest that instead of white, use an off-white or ivory on the cabinets. You can still get the same effect, esp. if you distress them afterwards (love the shabby chic idea), but it won't feel so sterile.

ETA: now that I've finished scanning the rest of the replies . . . sooo many great ideas, here! I second spray-painting the hinges; in my experience though, it's best to take the time to scuff them up a bit first with some sandpaper, and also use a spray primer betweent he metal and the topcoat. The new finish will last longer.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Blooming

I thought about getting rid of the microwave but the reality is I use it probably a dozen or so times a day to heat my rice packs.

This is the only reason we still have a microwave at this point. What I did was move it out onto a shelf in the mud room. It's out of my kitchen, since it is no longer a "kitchen appliance", but it is still accessible during the winter to help keep me from freezing.

[Blooming]

Well home from stove shopping. It went a little like this: .

Looks like we're going with white. We will also be buying a white microwave as we have the kind with a vent in it, that hangs over the stove. Not to mention ours is halfway to broken.

So now back to square one: What color for the cabinets? I don't want all white.
I was thinking maybe a light blue, but then what for the walls?

I hate decorating. I need someone to come to my house and just tell me what colors go and what don't.

Irk!

[vm9799]

Originally Posted by Blooming

Well home from stove shopping. It went a little like this: .

Looks like we're going with white. We will also be buying a white microwave as we have the kind with a vent in it, that hangs over the stove. Not to mention ours is halfway to broken.

So now back to square one: What color for the cabinets? I don't want all white.
I was thinking maybe a light blue, but then what for the walls?

I hate decorating. I need someone to come to my house and just tell me what colors go and what don't.

Irk!

i'm sorry it didn't go so well. : appliance shopping never seems to go as smoothly when you are actually BUYING then when you are just looking.

blue cabinets are really beautiful! this is kind of the color family that we're looking to paint out cabinets......although not nearly this dark. we were planning on a creamy white color, but we too have white appliances currently and that was just too much white for my taste! this is a kind of blue/grey color. we're then planning on painting the walls a sort of "coffee with cream"/grey/tan color.......which is just so easy to visualize huh?! LOL! the color name is "frappe" from valspar. in any case, the blue will look good with white appliances....and in my case will still look good when we switch to stainless steel.

and even a very pale blue would look amazing! with maybe a light khaki color on the walls. very modern "beach cottage". just be sure to inject some wood tones and natural elements so it doesn't feel too "cold"......sometimes blue is a tricky color to decorate with.

ETA: FOUND ONE! here's a gorgeous blue color on the cabinets with a creamy tan on the walls and some wood elements.

ETA: FOUND ANOTHER ONE! okay, the color of these cabinets is totally calling my name! lol!

[IncaMama]

i'd keep the cabinets the same color, change the hinges and door pulls.

also the yellow walls are making the cabinets look a little too yellow. if you've got blue tiles, i'd maybe go for something more orange (comp. color to blue) on the walls. or a complim. blue, though thats not really gonna achieve "warmth".

hm...

[llamalluv]

I think they just need to be refinished. I would just sand them down lightly and refinish. And because I like cast iron, I would replace the pulls with something like this:

http://www.wildwesthardware.com/hing...zes%20copy.jpg

or this:

http://www.wildwesthardware.com/hing...WS%20copy4.jpg

And, please, please, please if you decide to paint, remove the hardware. I lived in a house with beautiful woodwork buried under paint, and I could have removed the paint from the cabinets, but someone had painted right over the hardware, and while trying to remove one door, it cracked. :

[Blooming]

vm9799- I love the duck egg blue color, my kitchen is so tiny, I think that color would help it feel warm and a bit bigger.

IncaMama-Orange would be fun, and I thought about going that way when we were going stainless steel, I just can't see it with the white for some reason.


llamalluv- I won't paint over the hardware. I'm going to need it to help with the facelift. I love those pulls. The silver knobs are actually kind-of new so I might try to find hinges that match the knobs. I think I can almost see that in mind.

[anywaybecause]

Originally Posted by Blooming

IncaMama-Orange would be fun, and I thought about going that way when we were going stainless steel, I just can't see it with the white for some reason.

I dunno . . . a soft orange w/ the white would be just like wrapping yourself in a giant dream-sicle. :

[Norasmomma]

We redid our kitchen a few years ago, it was an awful stuck in the 70's kitchen, ugh...it was ugly.

It's galley style and long, so for us I looked in magazines and found a paint job I loved, cream and brick red with a mossy green chair rail. We painted the upper cabinets the cream color and then the bottom under the chair rail brick red. We did this through the whole kitchen and down the hall. It is still nice in there 3 years later, although we have to re-do all the paint because the hallway is under construction due to our bathroom remodel.

Thing is that having that upper area a lighter color made it seem taller in there, it always was oppressive before, but that was also due to DH's parents putting in a gawd awful florescent light that wasn't even wired in, just plugged in to the upstairs. DH did recessed can lighting, and put it on a dimmer(he's an electrician). It is so much nicer in there. BTW-we did it all with new appliances for about $1500. We got a new fridge first because ours was so horrid and small, then a new stove because that one was dangerous. We bought stainless-look, so they are painted with silver paint-plus no fingerprints like real stainless. Was this an option for you, our fridge and stove were special orders from Home Depot.

I love my kitchen now. It's like Italian country. It's still like a breath of fresh air, brick-red curtains with peaches on the window-it's cute, but so refreshing.

I vote for a lighter, brighter color on top, and a darker warm color on the bottom. If you are looking to make it warmer I would suggest not using blue, but I am not a huge blue fan-it seems to make things darker.

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by Blooming

I am taking lots of notes, about the cabinets. I do feel a little bad painting over the wood. But they make my kitchen feel tiny. I will be changing the hinges.



I have gone back and forth on the stove. I can't go white if I do an off white for the cabinets. That is too much white for me. I would have to paint the cabinets a diffrent color. I don't want any black appliances (again the space is just too small). That's how I landed on stainless steel, or maybe even the steel look alike. DH and I are going to the store to look at stoves this week. This event has been five years in the making, so I'm very excited!

I went to the hardware store today and picked up some nice blue chips to help me think about the wall color.

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings, but I think that stainless steel is becoming "harvest gold". It was a really hot trend and I think it now tends to date your house. If you love it and this is your forever house, obviously you should make yourself happy, though.

[Blooming]

Originally Posted by Fuamami

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings, but I think that stainless steel is becoming "harvest gold". It was a really hot trend and I think it now tends to date your house. If you love it and this is your forever house, obviously you should make yourself happy, though.

With this in mind I bought a couple of kitchen magazines, I wanted to find some pictures with white or even black appliances. They all had stainless steel.

Since DH and I don't know what to do, we're going to paint the cabinets and then see what feels right to us.

I also looked at the stainless steel look, they are now just as much as stainless steel!

If we wait long enough our broken harvest gold stove will be in again.

[texmama]

Ooh, just saw a kitchen that I love on the small house thread... Here's a link to the post: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...&postcount=568