The hubs and I are planning to renovate our kitchen this summer. The cabinets are original to the house (read: over 60 years old) and, while the upper cabinets are in pretty good shape, the cabinet below the sink is disgusting from years of water damage, including a week-long leak last summer we didn't catch because we were out of town. But, even if it wasn't for the water damage, the 60 year-old cabinets are just old and don't match today's need. There have been some beautiful developments in kitchen storage since then, like corner cabinets that allow you to access your casserole dish in the corner without having to twist your body like a circus contortionist. Let's just say, my back will be much less knotted when we reno our kitchen!
Since we're planning to sell this little shack when the hubs graduates pharmacy school, we don't want to do anything too taste specific. The only thing we know for sure is that we're thinking gray color scheme with white cabinets (probably something like
these or
these), but we're a little at a loss for what to do with everything else. Take a look at the pictures below (courtesy of the DuPont Corian Website, not our actual kitchen) and help the hubs and me figure out what is best!
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| Corian Cirrus White Counter tops |
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| Corian Dove |
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| Corian Graylite |
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| Corian Platinum |
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| Corian Stone Harbor |
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| I LOVE this tile! I haven't really found any other tile I like better. Picture this with the counter tops above! |
Thoughts on flooring? All of the above has wood, but we could do tile. Appliance colors? We currently have a really nice black dishwasher and microwave that are so new it would be a shame to get rid of them. Also, is it a remodel or a renovation? I'd like to correctly reference our project.
I definitely think the white counter tops are the best. They stick out the most to me... more of a clean look!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually surprised at how much I liked the white counter-tops, because I'm a huge fan of contrast! They're my third favorite, I think, with Graylite at #1 and Platinum at #2.
ReplyDeleteI'ma throw my hat in for the Dove, but the Garylite is a close second.
ReplyDelete#1 Dove. #2 Stone Harbor. (I emphatically agree with Alyssa on Dove, which must mean it's REALLY the way to go!) I am generally not a fan of the flecks-of-stuff look in countertops, so I vote for solids. (It never seems to hide dirtiness to me, but only to make it harder to tell if things are clean.)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't see the cabinetry you tried to link, but I love really plain cabinets, with little to no embellishment on them. Ignore the colors of the cabinets, but here are some looks I like:
http://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/dream/kitchen-otm-ridgefield
http://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/dream/small-kitchen-design
Also, if you mess around on that website, you may get some ideas of stuff you like.
Flooring: I like the idea of wood, especially if you're doing white cabinets, to help give it some color and texture. Real wood, pergo, laminate, anything but a "floating floor" looks good to buyers. Tile can look good, unless they are wary of scrubbing grout. It's also harder to change than wood if they wanted to.
Appliances: I think that in price ranges like ours, relatively new appliances in good working condition are good enough, and black is better than white. If you two went nuts and wanted to buy new ones, I think stainless steel is the current popular preference.
Tile: I realize I don't know whether you mean that tile as a backsplash or for the floor. I really hope you mean backsplash, because it would be gorgeous there! I love subway tile, that's a great-looking example, and it's really popular right now. (And, apparently, pretty easy to put up yourself! Neat!)
Okay, so I decided your kitchen for you: White cabinets, light gray walls, dove counters, black appliances, wood-looking flooring (or real wood if you're rich) and that suh-weeeeet subway tile in a room-wide backsplash. Also some cute curtains in a black and white damask in your little cut-out between kitchen and living room. Done! I'm so glad you asked. : P
Also, I think remodel just means moving things around, whereas renovate involves demolition. Here's someone of questionable qualification backing me up: http://activerain.com/blogsview/121561/remodeling-vs-renovation-which-one-is-correct-
Luff you!
P.S. Next time I'll just write a blog post to respond and comment to you to come read it.
SO EXCITING! I think darker is better - I like the Dove, Harbor and Graylite! Also, we have Pergo flooring in our kitchen, which looks like hardwood but is much less maintenance, which makes it a bit more kitchen friendly. Plus - I've HEARD it's super easy to install yourself with the help of a Google video or two (I'll let you know what I find out ... I may be tearing up the one room of carpet we have left in the house this summer and replacing it with Pergo ... but John doesn't know that yet, so hush hush).
ReplyDeleteI would also keep your appliances instead of upgrading - stainless steel is gorgeous, but I'm not sure you'd get your money back in a resale if you're selling soon-ish. Who knows when the market will fully recover. Best to ask your realtor for her opinion - they can provide good insight.
If you're crazy adventurous, I do know that they sell appliance paint at Home Depot. I found it in the spray paint aisle, next to the chalkboard paint. I think you can try for a "stainless steel look" ...
How do you like Corian? I think John and I are going to replace our countertops this summer, and my only requirements are that the countertop will be 1. not green and 2. solid surface.
I had no idea Katie now-Moore and I were soulmates! I totally agree about the countertops, flooring (I don't know anyone who's installed pergo themselves, but I have heard about its amazing resilient properties), and about not changing appliances. (I probably wouldn't spray stainless onto appliances, unless you really want that look. I think if it started chipping off, I'd go nuts.) And about needing a not-green countertop! We have that, tooo!!
ReplyDeleteLuff you friend.
So, Dove, Graylite, and Stone Harbor seem to be getting the most votes. While I love Platinum, I think that it would be too much with the tile. I love the tile more, so Platinum is out!
ReplyDeleteJordan and I like solid surface, simply because it's nicer than laminate (what we currently have), much less fussy than granite, AND you can get an integrated sink, which means no nasty bits accumulating in the seams between sink and countertop. That makes my clean-freak self very happy! As far as Corian vs. other solid surface brands, we have no real opinion, as we've not done a lot of brand-specific research. I just know the best price we've found on any solid surface was on Corian through Costco, with no extra cost for the integrated sink and installation (woot!). They'll come out for a free design consultation, so I think I'll buy a piece of the tile and see what it looks best with.
I don't think I'd paint stainless steel, though I am considering painting our white fridge black, so that it would match and we'd only have to replace our ancient oven. I also don't think it would be worth it to replace the appliances, but I keep watching HGTV and everyone has stainless. I think I just have appliance envy.
Our realtor also said we need to do wood or laminate in the kitchen. We've got hardwoods underneath all the carpets except in our addition, so he said we just need to match it. It's highly likely that the hardwoods will need to be refinished, in which case we could buy the cheaper unfinished wood and have it stained the same color as the rest of the house.
And Pineapple, that delicous tile is definitely meant to be a backsplash. I love it so much I've been dreaming about it at night. I think it's the one!
Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I'll be sure to keep you updated about our decisions :)
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ReplyDelete