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:: July 19, 2006 Kitchen Resurrection '06
Remember kitchen disaster '05? Nearly a year later we are finally, FINALLY poised for the kitchen tear-out and remodel. The new cabinets are stacked in the living room and the gutting begins on Friday! It's so exciting. The current kitchen is really disgusting and I can refer you to a number of people who will vouch for that fact. So obviously the cabinets are picked out, and I've got my heart set on this countertop -- solid Formica in dark gray, with a little head-cheesy flair, Susan?
Paint? I love bright paint colors and was thinking spring/lime green, but now I'm second guessing. It was option paralysis that has dragged out this project for so long so I need to pick out everything else quickly: right now that's paint, drawer pulls, and tile for the backsplash and floor. So you know I love midcentury modern design, but going retro in the kitchen (and elsewhere), especially on a tight budget, it's easy to slip into bad-80s-contemporary or bad-50's-diner. That's what I think of when I look at most bar-type cabinet hardware, so I am leaning toward knobs. These might work:
Or maybe I'm looking for a little Anthropologie-esque ornate retro. Except that Anthropologie drawer pulls are too rich for my blood. What do you think of these?
The above are all under $6 from myknobs.com. IKEA is a possibility too, if I can make a trip to Houston this weekend:
What do you think? Would knobs be stupid on kitchen cabinets? I have ZERO clue on tile -- I would love a mosaic tile backsplash but that is probably way out of my budget. Any ideas/advice/links/ridicule of my tastes is welcome. posted by in House and Domesticity
Comments Yowza! Exciting! The new IKEA in Round Rock should be opening soon too. I'm not sure on the dates, but I know they'd probably want to be open before the kids get back for Uni. It might be worth a phone call to save the trip to Houston. For backsplash The Tile Guy on Anderson has heaps of ideas. We're going the subway tile route 'cause it's inexpensive and you don't have to commit to a coloured tile (and it's cool.) Posted by caro on July 19, 2006 1:20 PM We chose flat inline handles for our cabinets. One big reason really - our kitchen is small and previously I used to bunp my hip on the cabinet knobs. I was bruised all over from those damned things. The flat sleek ones we chose work well. I love that I just hook my fingers in to open the doors. I would probably chose a colour other than the silver now, but I still like the sleekness. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stitchedinholland/81588361/in/set-72157594173757752/ That photo was taken when we were still in mid-renovation a year and a half ago - we do have lights on our ceiling now, and tile. ;) I used plain white tile, but big. Not as cool as subway tile, but still pretty cool. I like how it offsets the cream of the cabinets and the yellow walls. I would have loved a glass splashback or to extend the granite of the windowsill all around the splashback area and just paint above it. Too expensive though. I should really take some more up-to-date pictures. Anyway, when my husband and I were talking about what we would do differently in our next house/apartment we decided that the inline handles were a keeper. Maybe you want to consider something similar. Posted by Ash on July 19, 2006 2:26 PM Go for the Lime green paint. Kitchens need to lively exciting places. Also I like the knobs from myknobs.com Posted by Rachel on July 19, 2006 2:27 PM Knobs on kitchen cabinets are fine. We just had plain cabinets & drawers at our old house and the cabinet doors got disgusting. The wood stays much cleaner with knobs. There's a side angle shot of my kitchen cabinets on my blog. Posted by Denise on July 19, 2006 2:49 PM I'm liking the first collection of knobs, I think. But, I have a question: Is the cabinet in the photo finished? Is it the final color that it will be in the room - or will it be painted or stained? The answer might affect my opinion :-) But hey, good luck with your restoration. It's always A LOT more work than you think it's going to be! Posted by Heather Bailey on July 19, 2006 4:08 PM I LOVE the bottom left knob in the anthropologie grouping, its gorgeous. Everytime i'm in that store i stand around the knob display and dream about what needs new hardware. Posted by Elizabeth on July 19, 2006 8:01 PM The cabinets are very nice (IKEA? That's what I've got) and the countertop, too. The ornate knobs are pretty, but they don't look like they'd work with the combination (although glass is an interesting idea). Use knobs or handles for sure! Posted by Rose on July 19, 2006 9:23 PM I like the green knobs from IKEA, but if you end up going with lime-green paint, that might be a little matchy-matchy. And I don't think the IKEA in Round Rock is opening up before September. and .... MALAN?! sob! Posted by boxing octopus on July 19, 2006 10:17 PM Ugh, I know option paralysis all too well. I love your cabinets! I would choose from among the first set of knobs. I don't think knobs are stupid at all; I think they'll look very modern and nice. Ikea's knobs are surprisingly expensive, so know that before making a trip. Good luck choosing your paint, that's my least favorite part, but it's always nice when you're done ... such a feeling of accomplishment :-) Posted by julia on July 20, 2006 12:29 AM Headcheesy goodness! I love it. And your knobs (does that crack you up too, "knobs"?) are excellent. I can't think of any reason you can't put knobs on cabinets. The green paint sounds great! And for backsplash, I saw a cool thing - paint your mosaic or whatever you want and then cover it with plexiglass. Rivet it on. Very cool. And cheap, without looking cheap. Posted by Susan on July 20, 2006 8:22 AM I've done a couple kitchen remodels and built one new house (none of which I'm living in right now, argghh). I think your choice for the cabinets and counters are gorgeous. Can't go wrong with natural wood. I once did black formica and while it looked good when clean, did not look that great everyday. Having a little texture in the pattern is nice. I ordered the hardware for an entire house from myknobs.com, my builder was so impressed, he said he couldn't match their prices even with his builder discount. My suggestion would be to wait until the kitchen is completely done and then choose your hardware. I love the paint idea, there was a kitchen in Sunset mag last year with lime green paint, it was fabulous (I went and found a link: http://www.sunset.com/sunset/home/article/0,20633,1018654,00.html) Posted by kathy on July 20, 2006 11:05 AM I love those cabinets. that's exactly what we're hoping to put in our kitchen when we get around to our remodel in about a year. i don't know what it is about the kitchen, but I have had such a hard time even imagining what will look good/we can afford, not to mention committing to anything. The only thing we know is we want cabinets just like yours. I like the dark countertops too, but part of me wants to have a nice light turquoise paint, and I'm just not sure how that will look. Anyway, I'm really excited for you, and I can't wait to see what you end up with. for what it's worth, I don't see anything wrong with knobs on cabinets, but I'm pretty partial to retro looks. have fun this weekend! Posted by mary on July 22, 2006 2:28 PM (NOTE: I sent this to your email but it bounced back to me so I don't think you will get it. I'm sorry to put it here in the comments but decided I wanted to take care of this issue now. Following is my email:) Kim, I appreciate the time you spend managing the group and I am sorry that you'll have to spend a moment pulling my name from the MQA list of fame. Thanks so much! Take care, Posted by Amy on July 22, 2006 3:28 PM PLEASE use no-low/VOC paints: your lungs, brain and the planet will thank you. many companies carry them now at they don't really cost anymore than any good quality paint. WE were very happy with the scrubbability/durability of Dunn-Edwards brand Sierra Shield, althou that was 4 years ago and now I think thy call it Eco-spec. Benjamin Moore has a no VOC line that is popular, but Consumer Reports panned it. Check out the worsted witch for her list of even greener paints: HAving lived thru a kitchen remodel and washing dishes in the bathtub for months on end, I would also suggest trying to stay calm, keep a sense of humor and be prepared for little "surprises" that put you off budget (good advice for life in general). Posted by mim on July 23, 2006 9:10 AM This is kind of out of the blue - but I would recommend a series of green paints from Sherwin Williams that I used over a year ago in my studio and still love. The color I used is called "Hearts of Palm" but all of the colors on that strip - both lighter and darker - are wonderful. Mine was about in the middle. It's bright without being obnoxious and green without being over-powering. It's fresh and what I like best is that ALL other colors I try (framed prints, fabrics etc) against this wall color looks great too. Especially pinks, periwinkles - but also black, white, and wood tones. Just a suggestion for your new kitchen! good luck! Posted by Shelley (Pink House) on July 24, 2006 12:46 PM Take a look at the tile at http://www.mosaictile.com - they have some great color choices and reasonably priced. John Posted by John on August 4, 2006 12:54 PM |
