Monday, May 19, 2014

Thanks, and Kitchen Dreaming

It has been far too many days since I last posted. And I want to begin by saying THANK YOU so much for all of your kind words about my One Room Challenge reveal! Kindness is free but it made me feel like a million dollars. So, thanks! :)

While the blog was on silent mode for the past 11 days, we discovered what the next big project will be at home. My neighbors who saw food delivery at my door three nights in a row last week can probably guess the answer!

Our kitchen. It features a wall oven and separate stove top. Since I had always wanted wall ovens, I was secretly thrilled about this when we bought our house last year. Once we moved in, though,we noticed that the oven is really teensy on the inside. And it juts out into the kitchen in a strange way. All of which would have been perfectly fine except that recently we noticed it was taking forever for the oven to pre-heat. Bottom line: it's broken and we can't make oven meals. Including brownies. :(  While we could have the oven repaired, when you factor in the lack of a dishwasher and drawers that don't quite all close properly, it's three strikes you're out! Time for a new kitchen!

Luckily I have 500-plus pins on my kitchens board on Pinterest to give us inspiration!

Our house has fantastic light with lots of windows. To play off all that light we are leaning toward white cabinets. I like the way butcher block on the counters looks with the white cabinets. I've also read that the wood can take a beating!

via
This kitchen is from Desire to Inspire, which has loads of advice about using butcher block counters.

I also like having a mix of shelving and upper cabinets. The everyday dishes are more artful when displayed. I think that it makes it a bit easier to put the dishes away, too.

Traditional Home
To further enhance the great light in our house, I want to replace the back door with a full-view one like in this kitchen. No better time than when we're already renovating, right?

via Haute Design
Metal cabinets are also a modern look that I really love. The reflective surface could be good for bouncing the light around the room in a similar way to lacquered white cabinets.

via Urban Orchard Interiors
Do we want an apron sink? Or will it feel too much like a farmhouse? I think this one is so great and I love the huge windows with the frames painted black for contrast.

via Better Homes & Gardens

This little nook is the right amount of modern for our mid-century modern house, and a cute way to handle a stand-alone microwave. I'm not sure what we'll need or want to do about a backsplash. The kitchen has cinder block walls like our living room, which seem pretty sturdy on their own.

via Apartment Therapy
IKEA cabinets are a choice we are leaning toward for their clean, modern look and low price. There are loads of articles out there about buying an IKEA kitchen including the one here

The elevated table in the kitchen above is another option for replacing the peninsula that is currently in our kitchen. The above table doesn't offer any storage but I've seen others for sale online that do have an undershelf. I think I would prefer cabinets in my island.

via HomeBunch
I am really drawn to the idea of a waterfall counter for the new island. See how the pattern goes over the side? Like a waterfall? There are lots of great examples such as the one above or the next one.

source unknown
In fact, maybe there are too many wonderful examples and it's going to be played out before I get it paid off? Just to be safe, I ordered a sample of the mind-bending Formica that looks like marble and was used in Pam's ORC kitchen.

Last but not least, is the decision on the appliances. I like the look of a stainless steel range
via Remodelista

but white for the refrigerator. And the dishwasher? I really don't care. I'm just over washing dishes. In fact, I broke a glass last night which resulted in some cursing and stomping. Realllll mature...
 
via The Inspired Room

Anyhoo, I'm hoping that we can do this cheap, cheap, cheap. We'll see how that goes. Any tips I must know? Any favorite trends to try or things to avoid? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

3 comments:

  1. Looks like you have some gorgeous inspiration photos! Can't wait to follow along!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was watching Field of Dreams, of all things, and looking closely at the kitchen in their farmhouse (possibly because it was more interesting to me on the 5,000th viewing than it had been on previous exposures), and I really liked the open shelving for the dishes, and also the way their kitchen chairs didn't match but somehow looked good together. My only concerns are that A.) I am not neat enough to keep shelves from looking better without being able to shut doors on them, and B.) I want nicer dishware and cooking ware before I go that route. (Ah, vanity!)

    I love the look of classic and modern blended together.

    One nice thing about the island with no storage space is that it does make the space look more open, but I would need the space to cover all the aforementioned clutter and unsightly dishes. ha ha

    Our dishwasher is broken. I feel your pain.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting! I love to read what you have to say. ~Carrie

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