(1) I was initially considering IKEA cabinets with flat molding, light birch frames, and white doors. I liked them with gray and wood/sand color for everything else. But then I decided that I maybe didn't want to deal with making multiple to trips to IKEA, which two hours away...
(2) Then I found some unfinished cabinets at Home Depot which are inexpensive and which would look nice painted. But then I worried that dark gray cabinets would overwhelm the space, because the actual cabineted part of the kitchen is pretty narrow, so I thought of going with charcoal gray on the bottom cabinets and pewter gray on the uppers.
(3) So then I went tile shopping (pictures below) and found some great tile... and started to worry about cost. Plus, I'm still having trouble picturing the dark lower/lighter upper cabinets--and I'm having trouble picturing what color to do the walls and countertop so that it didn't look blocky and dully.
(4) Now I'm back to thinking of uniform dark (but not charcoal) gray cabs. I could do a plain white tile floor (inexpensive!) with white countertops (staining potential??) and white walls with a lighter gray trim. But I worry that would be too stark.... I saw this picture and really liked it.
Notice the wood floor and sandy/taupe-y walls. So now, another option is to do bamboo floors (which I'm hoping to do elsewhere throughout the house), gray cabinets, white countertops, some sort of interesting backsplash, and a sand/taupe color on the walls with white trim. And maybe a natural-fiber roman shade on the window above the sink? Or I could do gray cabinets, white floor, white countertop, interesting backsplash, and a sand/taupe on the wall AND trim. OR I could do gray cabinets, pretty ($$) tile floor, white countertops, interesting backsplash, and sand/taupe on walls with white trim.
I am concerned about cost, overall look, and resale value (to some degree). I'm worried that an all-white tile would be too stark, but it looks really pretty and clean in a lot of photos I've seen online--and it would be a lot more inexpensive, which would give me a little leeway to do other stuff I'd like to do. Thoughts???
Here are some photos of the stuff I liked at The Tile Shop:
This one's my favorite ($4.39/sq. ft.):
I am concerned about cost, overall look, and resale value (to some degree). I'm worried that an all-white tile would be too stark, but it looks really pretty and clean in a lot of photos I've seen online--and it would be a lot more inexpensive, which would give me a little leeway to do other stuff I'd like to do. Help! Thoughts???
6 comments:
I know cost is a factor, but i love the idea of the bamboo floors. but i also think the white tile would look great with the gray cabinets. i've seen a lot of similar looks here in newer construction. i think it is an awesome look!!!
I really dig the idea of the bamboo floors, too--and Lumber Liquidators has a pretty bamboo that is reviewed as being very very hard and difficult to scratch/dent. Plus, bamboo is supposedly better than real hardwoods in the kitchen--it's supposed to do better with water spills, etc. The one I like is $3.79/sq. ft.
What do you think about wall color? That's giving me fits!
I think any light color, whether you want to use something with actual color, or more of a neutral, would look great. I like the sand-ish colors a lot, and if you do go with the bamboo floors, i think that would look awesome. one look that i've seen a lot lately that sounds kind of weird but actually looks pretty cool is using a slightly darker color on the ceiling, instead of white. like just a shade or two darker than the wall. so if you went with the really light sandy color, just go a shade or two darker on the ceiling. when i first heard/saw it, i wasn't sure, but the more i see of it the more i like it.
Innnteresting. I'm not sure what I think about the ceiling thing... will consider.
So I looked into plain white tile for the floor and, well, (1) it's actually pretty hard to find in porcelain, which you need for a kitchen floor, and (b) it's not really any cheaper. So I may decide to go with either the one tile that I love or with the bamboo flooring (pending an actual visit to the showroom and pending a discussion with my probable flooring installer). Going with bamboo (would be less expensive in materials ($3.79/sq. ft. for bamboo vs. $4.39/sq. ft. for the tile)--plus it's probably going to be cheaper in terms of installation. Wood flooring isn't as hard as (well-done) tile. Plus, I agree with you, I think the bamboo would be kinda gorgeous. I just worry about what countertop to do with the bamboo--would a white be too unconnected to anything else? I guess I could still do white backsplash--it's easier to find white wall tile than floor tile. HMMMM....
Yeah, like i said, the ceiling thing was hard for me to get used to, too, because every ceiling we've seen our entire lives has been white. but once i processed the idea, i actually really like it. i've seen it the other way, too, with the ceiling being a shade or two lighter than the walls, but not white. that way works well also.
I think you could still pull a white countertop with the bamboo floors. it would all still be neutral colors, and i think would work just fine. actually, i think it would look great. the colors would all be so clean and neat and i think it would be awesome.
and, i agree with the installation point you made about wood v. tile. and the bamboo is just such a cool look. it has a very high-end feel to it...being used in a ton of new construction.
Yeah, I'm liking the bamboo idea more and more. We're gonna check it out in person tomorrow, so that should help a lot. I went to Sherwin Williams again and got the other 900 paint samples that I hadn't gotten yet... :) If I do all one color cabs, I wanna go just a little lighter than I was originally thinking--and I wanna check out some of the more putty-colored grays. I have the feeling I won't like them, but maybe!
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