Kitchen finish / colours - another decision burnout!
Hello, we're finalising a pandemic kitchen project and at long last deciding on colours and finishes. We have a general colour palette but could do with a bit of insight on finetuning our exact choices. We're brand new at this and you'll not be surprised to hear that after all the decisions on layouts, appliances, which company to go with and which cabinet door styles, the decision fatigue has truly set in!
Ours is an open plan galley kitchen of 3m x 3m, which opens out onto the living area. Here's the layout showing one bank of units along the back wall going all the way up to the ceiling, and in front of that a peninsula with a small breakfast bar area. (Ignore the colours!)
To paint a bit of a picture, there are a number of features in popular kitchens that we're not keen on: white all over, anything glossy, open shelves (hence ceiling-high wall cabinets), grey / navy blue / sage green (tired of seeing these colours), cool-toned worktops with large marble veining. I am fully OK with our kitchen not being on trend, or seen as 'unfashionable'! We would prefer it to be something we like as we have no plans of changing it again for decades to come - that also adds to the pressure to make sure we get it right the first time, of course...
As for what we have decided thus for: we're going to have all the cabinets along the back wall in Little Greene's Light Bronze Green, and the peninsula units in LG's Clay or Hammock. We have two worktop options, and are a bit torn between them. We have found the choice of worktops, after taking into account logistics and cost, to be a bit more limited so we are guided by this in then making our decisions on splashback and flooring tiles.
Option 1: Silestone Bamboo
Option 2: Silestone Blanco City
The Bamboo is a much warmer worktop with much more obvious grain, large flecks of brown, grey and ivory. The Blanco City has much smaller speckles of peach and grey on a lighter ivory background.
I love the boldness of Bamboo but the dilemma here is that the photos I've seen of it are generally unflattering, but they are often paired with wooden cabinets for a more traditional look, or otherwise look a bit dated and yellow on more modern light/cream cabinets. Unfortunately there's no chance to see a slab on its own in person to get an idea so I have to rely on photos and the small tile sample I have.
We would pair it with this backsplash:
and this flooring
Would there be too much going on? This is what they look like altogether...
Blanco City seems a 'safer' option but perhaps less interesting?
Thank you so much in advance for any suggestions or opinions!
Comments (11)
periwinkl
last yearRelated Discussions
Please help with kitchen decisions!!
Comments (160)Hi, the feet are on all of the cabinets at the end of every run when we hit an appliance or just came to the end of the run. Some of the photos up thread were taken before the feet had been added since they were literally the last thing to go on. We actually used the ikea deco strip to create the moulding but we didn't use it the way Ikea anticipate. We fixed it sideways. It is supposed to be fixed the other way around but that look would have been too "modern" for this kitchen. If I was designing the kitchen again I wouldn't bother with the ikea deco strips and would have used pre cut wooden moulding and then painted it. This would have enabled me to have slightly deeper moulding at the ceiling line. At the time of ordering the kitchen I didn't know that we would find an exact paint match for the ramsjo range though. The wooden worktops were incredibly good value IMO. They are american black walnut (butcher block) and are from wood and beyond here worktops This thread doesn't show it but at the same time as doing the kitchen we did the adjoining snug and the large utility room. In the utility room I used the ikea walnut worktop which was ridiculously cheap because it's not solid walnut. There is no way you could ever know it isn't solid though unless you installed it. Its perfectly good. ikea karlby worktop The flooring is my big mistake with this kitchen. As the thread shows, this wasn't originally going to be a complete kitchen refit and it spiralled out of control somewhat. The flooring was being replaced due to a water leak and we went for laminate due to cost. Its from kaindl and as laminate goes its decent stuff with bevelled edges, narrow planks and texture matched finish BUT it was a mistake. It looks great and when you tell people its laminate they have to get down really close to tell but it damages very easily and is scratched, particularly underneath the kitchen table where the kids scrape the chairs in and out (even with felt pads on the feet). If you drop anything on it and it chips thats a problem. This wouldn't have been a problem with wood. I've never had laminate before and hadn't realised it would be this difficult to live with but I wouldn't do it again, I would bite the bullet and install the hardwood. The big benefit of the laminate was that we could have underfloor heating mats which are nice in the winter. The lighting is from Jim Lawrence. The style is called Ava. I love the lighting too and the shape of the glass echos the shapes in the wallpaper. pendant lights The kitchen table was our old ikea oak table which we'd had for ten years. we stained the top in dark walnut and painted the legs white to match the cabinetry. I haven't got a precise figure for everything but in total with the appliances and with the snug and also the large utility room included (which in itself has 14 cabinets) flooring and the decorating in each of those rooms and a hallway, plus new glazed doors through to the hallway and the dining room we spent about £15,000 (a big chunk of this on lovely ikea interest free credit though!). This includes all labour, fitter, plumber (we changed out two radiators for a nicer style), electrician, decorator. We could have saved further money by doing some of the installation ourselves and doing our own decorating (but then it would probably have resulted in selling the house due to divorce!)...See MoreFinal decision time on f&b kitchen colours
Comments (19)Good for you!! honestly it will be good. It will make it feel lovely and warm and give you that country feel you want. My email is lccolourdesign@outlook.com. I think all my contact details are on my profile but you can also find me on Facebook @thecolourclub or my website is www.thecolourclub.com where you can see some of my projects. Please note that my website is still in work in progress so not all work is up on there as yet. Good luck and let me know how you get on would really love to know. Many thanks and enjoy:) Lucy...See MoreKitchen layout advise please - final decisions????
Comments (13)I would lose the wooden counter top and pull out larder. Put the hob next door but one to the sink with an extractor above. This will break up the run of wall units. Also think about when you are cooking pasta, filling up a saucepan with water and then draining it. You don't need to cross the room. Where you going to put bin, dishwasher and microwave? I would agree you need more drawers. I love my new pan drawers they hold alot. But my pull out larder does not and things fall down the back all the time. Also when you are taking something out of the oven, where are you going to put it? I never understand why designers put oven and fridges next to one another....See MoreArghh! Need help with colour decision.
Comments (35)Ooh....Totally forgot to update everyone. I finally finished it!! Took ages as i could only spare a couple of hours a week on it. Now for sale on Etsy if any one is interested:) https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/664115591/vintage-upcycled-green-dressing-table?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=green+painted+dressing+table&ref=sr_gallery-1-15&organic_search_click=1&frs=1: (Not advertising....honest;), might have put a bit too much in the description as well....hey ho). Plus you can see the pineapple drawers if you follow the link and click on my shop. Anyway here's some photos:...See More
Juliet Docherty
last yearlast modified: last yearOk long post coming.
Contrary to what you might think, the look you are going for is about as 'on trend' as it gets. That's if you are talking about the sort of kitchens you see in Architectural Digest or The Design Files. It seems to have a very mellow, earthy vintage vibe with a strong focus on materials and texture rather than cool and shiny and functional. I must have very similar taste to you as Light Bronze Greene has been my kitchen wall colour for the last six years.
However, I did have slate tiles on the opposing wall and I have replaced them with Hoxton Burnt Orange so the Bronze Green might get replaced at some point. The Light Bronze Green units will be there forever so it's a big commitment. It goes with lots of colours but particularly taupey colours (think Skimming Stone) F&B. I like the idea of Hammock. The issue is putting together all of the hard surfaces without a clash. It can clash if you use two things that are similar but slightly different as in a workshop that looks beige with a backsplash that looks cool and grey. This is why it's good to simplify things a little. That splashback is lovely but very busy and I don't think it would be right to have it with the busy workstop. I would ignore the flecks, the only thing that matters is what it looks like overall and images of the Bamboo do look quite brown and mid toned. Perhaps a bit lighter would be better. Can you hold off on tiling backsplash decisions until the other elements are in? That's what I would do.Another issue is to not choose everything because you 'love' it but rather have somethings that may be boring but help to create a cohesive look. This look works really well with wood but I can't see where that fits in with your choices. I would look at lots of Sydney kitchens (this look is big in Sydney) and collect some ideas from Pinterest, focusing on 'earthy kitchens'. There's lots of inspiration out there and the worktop/ tile choices might start to gel together if you can collate images of similar kitchens.
Personally, I love the second image down below, the texture of the tiles is beautiful and the same colour as the worktop.
https://thedesignfiles.net/2020/09/homes-lucy-spartalis-alastair-innes-dandenong-ranges/
periwinkl thanked Juliet Dochertyperiwinkl
last yearlast modified: last year@Juliet Docherty Ahh so I am much more susceptible than I realise to advertising after all - it's just that the source of it being in the realms of AD and the like! I enjoy the balance of simplicity and interest in the Design Files home you linked. While not in the Dandenongs nor in a house, my flat has that rug and plenty of wood furniture, and happily lots of light. How do you feel about the matchstick tiles with terrazo worktop they have?
I fully agree (and need continual reminders) about not every element needing to be something I love. I think you are right about the splashback fighting with the worktop. What I liked was that they provided a bit of contrast to an otherwise more muted green/taupe/cream affair. That said, because this is open plan, the living room has plenty of other colour to liven up the whole room, so perhaps I will not miss this.
With the restricted access of a flat, while the splashback doesn't go in until after the cabinets and worktop is installed, I can't wait until that happens to order the tiles because the builders want to get everything done while their tools are still on-site rather than making another trip...
Would a pearl version of that same splashback work with the Blanco City for a lighter background? My thinking is that the two are more complementary, although perhaps I should just try to find a splashback tile that's not got the marbling to distract from the worktop at all?
I appreciate the Blanco City reads a bit pink in this photo but I should also mention that the kitchen lights are quite warm / yellow and this combination seems to work well under those lighting conditions.
Not decided on knob yet - quite like the way the light catches the glass (not sure about practicality though) but equally happy to go with a satin nickel if I am introducing too much into the mix!Big thank you in advance!
periwinkl
last year
Sonia
last yearI too feel the worktop and splash back are far too busy. My sister has chosen a warming, slightly patterned worktop as she wasn’t keen on a white one. She has dark charcoal grey units and chrome knobs (picture below). I think it’s pretty timeless. Make sure the worktop fitters are experienced installers as they are tricky to get right. My sister went to a worktop company recommended by the kitchen company and they did a seamless job. Colourhappy’s advice is spot on. You will find a simpler set up easier to live with and less likely to date too quickly.
periwinkl thanked SoniaLouise Burke
last year
CWD
last yearperiwinkl
last yearSonia
last yearWendy H
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Daisy England