Kitchen inspiration--please post some ideas!

[Anonymous]

I have a small "midcentury modest" split level home with the living, dining, kitchen all right when you come in the front door. The living room is a very light gray, the dining is a warmer/darker gray, with some black and white accents, and splashes of teal/dark blue/coral including a teal door in the dining room. Hardwoods are a warm oak color but I would like to refinish them when we do the kitchen to tie the rooms together but will probably keep them warm to not go all colorless.

My style leans MCM but with the semi-traditional style of our home and a handful of hand-me-down pieces of furniture, it is probably more eclectic than MCM. The kitchen is straight outta the 80s cherry cabinets with colonial antique brass pulls, speckled Corian countertops, tumbled backsplash tiles with medallions, and off-white floor tiles (pretty sure it's just subfloor underneath, not hardwood). I want to gut the whole kitchen (it's SO unuseable with low-mounted cabinets, a soffit that does nothing but limit the storage space) and need some inspiration for what we should do there. Pretty much everything will need to be redone except the ceiling lights and appliances (we have all stainless that are pretty new so don't want to replace those yet). I don't think we'll do contractor grade finishes but not 100% high end either.

I'm not into the modern farmhouse, industrial farmhouse, whatever looks, and we need upper and lower cabinets because we have no pantry (just one tall cabinet) and it's a pretty small kitchen. I do need more workspace. It's also only got one window, north facing, and we put in recessed lights and will put in under cabinet lighting, but I want to keep it light feeling since it's not a bright room. But I also want some color to make it feel warm and inviting. It's not an eat-in kitchen, and we use the very small dining room for all dining.

Based on my style, can you suggest some kitchen pictures for inspo?

[Anonymous]

Get rid of the sofit

Can you fit in a peninsula?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of the sofit

Can you fit in a peninsula?

I have to make sure there’s nothing in it but based on the location of vents and bathrooms I think the only likely thing I might find is electrical which is easier to relocate. I can get 42” cabinets and get them more than 14” above my countertops. I have no idea why they put them in like that.

My main challenge is what finishes/style to go for. Subway tile feels boring and dated and not really a good fit for the house. I’ve considered doing white cabinets, quartz counters (white? Dark gray? Black?), seafoam green glass tile, and then putting down hardwood that matches the rest of the first floor and finishing it all a slightly lighter finish than what’s there now. Soft white walls. Probably no room for a peninsula as there are three doorways into the room and walks on three sides. One of the main walls is load bearing (and contains ductwork for the upstairs and plumbing for the fridge) so very expensive to remove. It’s a small kitchen!

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7e/34/0b/7e340bfdba4d3967bc23cb09964e48fd.jpg" border="0" class="embeddedImage" />



I’m afraid the green is too colorful and won’t sell the house later (this isn’t our forever home but we must update the kitchen no matter what).

[Anonymous]

Look at the kitchen eye candy thread.

[Anonymous]

I think that tile is lovely.

[Anonymous]

I like the glass subway tile, but not the color. I just did it in my kitchen, which looks similar to this pic. I put it in a vertical stack though, not the traditional pattern. The nice thing about white glass subway tile is that it really lightens a space, and reflects light.

[Anonymous]

PP again.

Follow this link for more kitchens that are similiar:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/mid-century-modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2115

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

PP I love the warm cabinets…did you go for that look? There is quite a bit of natural light in that kitchen which I feel like brightens it and am afraid wouldn’t work in my kitchen with one sad window.

[Anonymous]

This is pretty darn close to my kitchen (but only one window!). https://mbros.com/assets/components/phpthumbof/cache/20140311_111543.b4db8bd76dc8843baeaebd55f30edf60.jpg" border="0" class="embeddedImage" />

[Anonymous]

NP. These are really pretty pix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP I love the warm cabinets…did you go for that look? There is quite a bit of natural light in that kitchen which I feel like brightens it and am afraid wouldn’t work in my kitchen with one sad window.

It would be fine. The white counters and plenty of overhead recessed lighting would make it bright. Go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP I love the warm cabinets…did you go for that look? There is quite a bit of natural light in that kitchen which I feel like brightens it and am afraid wouldn’t work in my kitchen with one sad window.

I'm the PP who posted the link and first kitchen shot. Yes. Cabinets are walnut with a slight warm varnish rather than totally neutral (as walnut is usually cool). Counters in white, island in white. Floors are oak.

We have large south facing windows, so it is light. But I based my comments on night, about the reflective look of the glass tiles, and even in low light or very bad weather, everything feels fairly light and warm due to the wood and use of white counters. I think you could do that in your kitchen, even with limited natural light. You would just have to use a lot of artificial lighting, but make sure it's a warm and strong light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is pretty darn close to my kitchen (but only one window!). https://mbros.com/assets/components/phpthumbof/cache/20140311_111543.b4db8bd76dc8843baeaebd55f30edf60.jpg" border="0" class="embeddedImage" />

Fixed it for you.


Better placement and layout/design will really help this kitchen. Use a light wood. Maybe even lighter than walnut? Or have it varnished/glazed in a warmer wash.

Conestoga Cabinets has walnut in I think it was ginger or honey ginger or similar. They're really nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I like the glass subway tile, but not the color. I just did it in my kitchen, which looks similar to this pic. I put it in a vertical stack though, not the traditional pattern. The nice thing about white glass subway tile is that it really lightens a space, and reflects light.

NP - and I LOVE that.

OP - we have a tiny kitchen in a MCM ranch house (that's been, let's say, "eclectically" updated since it was born). We got high gloss white cabinets - top and bottom - and used a bright pool tile for our backsplash. It makes the kitchen feel bigger. I'd wanted to use wood, but my husband for some reason decided he hated wood, so these high gloss cabinets were our compromise. They are very easy to keep clean and do seem to fit both our eclectic house and the MCM bones.

I love the green glass tile you posted. Seems like if you decide you hate them when it's time to sell, that's an easy enough swap.