Please give suggestions on changing this room
by
Elsa
+50
This is the kitchen in my house that I will retire into very shortly. Can anyone come up with some creative ideas to make it seem larger, more modern? I will have to do the work myself. Thank you all very much for any suggestions.
Paint the cabinets and remember you don't have to use the same color for the upper and lower cabinets.
two toned caninets are really hot now
Absolutely, I would live in the house for a while before I did anything. And while you are getting settled, google "small U-shaped kitchens" and save pics that appeal to you. Meanwhile, know that while the kitchen is small and dated, it is not HORRIBLE. Right now, the counter seems to have pink undertones while the floor has yellow undertones and they don't play nicely together but that will all be changed in good time. In the meantime, bring in some live plants, especially maybe spring green ones, and your favorite color (or two) in accessories, towels, a rug, art work in the breakfast/dining area, etc, and you can probably take the focus off the old and dated. Then, when you get moved in and settled, send us some more pics of the kitchen and surrounding rooms with your furniture in place and we can offer more helpful suggestions. Congratulations on your retirement and your move and good luck.
Thank you. I will look that up right now.
This is a cute Kitchen ! iwould paint the cupboards a soft blue and a nice back splash in a small tile ! Good Luck !
This is a cute Kitchen ! iwould paint the cupboards a soft blue and a nice back splash in a small tile ! Good Luck !
I like what is there but there are many cheap ways to update. Can't make out the hardware in the pic, but could take off, degrease thoroughly, and paint white or any light color that goes with your other stuff. If there isn't any hardware, consider putting on. Cabinets with no hardware end up getting stained and finish wears off. Hardware can get costly, but if you don't do anything lavish right away elsewhere, it won't be bad. Check online or places like Restore. If you want to paint or stencil kitchen area, just run a piece of flat trim from the countertop edge by stool area to the ceiling. Rope lights on top of cabinets would add drama. Just plug in behind frig area. Paint or stain indented area of wainscoating, using painters tape to cover wider boards. I can't paint straight for anything. Just try small budget changes and see how it goes. You only have YOURSELF to please, not an interior designer.
I personally feel that there are fads in paint as well as clothes and blue or gray cabinets may become the harvest gold and avocado green of the sixties. Plain wood is always in style. That doesn't mean you can't spruce up around it. One decade they're painring all the wood, the next they're stripping and refinishing. Do what YOU love.
can you not just move the breakfast bar against the wall and open the whole thing out? might mean new work surface as your sink will need moving slightly.
Paint cupboards white, new counter (lots of inexpensive Formica options out there if cost is a factor. If not...QUARTZ,!!), new hardware, and a simple shiny glass backsplash (Lowes has glass self adhesive tiles in U.S. If you live there). Add a pretty, colourful carpet in kitchen and change the dreary colour on walls. I added mouldings on the front of my peninsula, added the full end piece so I could have a plug installed, and painted the whole thing a contrasting colour that matches my interior door and my tv unit. I also added a glass door cabinet on the end of my cabinets and below the counter to act as a china cabinet in my dining area. Hides my coffee maker and kettle too. There is a light in that cabinet. If you could have new cabinets added above the original ones, it would add height to the room. Paint them the cabinet colour. Post your finished product, whatever you choose!
Painting cabinets is an option but not that easy. I have a similar kitchen and put up white subway backsplash tile and painted the countertop with chalkboard paint. It really changed (improved, imho) the wood's appearance and I love the kitchen now. Fairly easy and quite affordable.
Hi Elsa, Personally, I would go with a darker stain on the cabinets, along with new drawer pulls and door handles, and some color on the walls. If you don't have the time or energy for that, the hardware and wall paint would change the look quickly.
That said, it really depends on the style for the rest of the place, since it's a very open kitchen it will need to go with the rest of the decor.
If it were my kitchen ", I would first remove all cabinets,, then repaint entire kitchen a soft sunrisre color , install all the shelves that are inside of cabinets, on brackets , I would make an Island in center of kitchen ,the piece with sink , cover it with new marbleized contact paper from Home depot, put refridge where I removed cabinets, and sink piece , put, range where refridge was , put center bar light fixture for lighting on ceiling , adding near Island a butcher block table , as a eating breakfast nook on bar stools, and open area where top of cabinets were , put in shy lighting block glass , all gotten mostly at habitat for humanity for so inexpensive prices, and do most work with my Family and give then food in payment
WOW, sounds extremely costly. I wish I could afford half of that. I'm afraid on a very FIXED income all of this would be totally impossible. Thanks, though.
The most affordable option would be to paint the cabinets! It would dramatically change the space. If replacing the countertops is not an option due to finances, you could just replace the laminate. That is the cheapest way to go, and countertop laminate comes in a huge variety of colors/patterns. Sheets of laminate are very inexpensive. Also, paint the walls a brighter color. Your cabinets are great, but NEED a different color. To me, the oak looks so dated. AND, add knobs. Believe me, I know about decorating and remodeling on a budget as I have to do the same. I just take the time and do it bit by bit (its the only way I can do it). Good luck!
if you like the color of the wood and it is in good repair then keep it. I would add new counters , backsplash and hardware . We just painted our kitchen cabinets and it was a lot of work. I think that I would paint that wood chimney above the microwave the same color as the walls so it would blend in with the walls
If you like the beadboard look that is on the front of the peninsula, you could do a beadboard backsplash to continue the look. Beadboard paneling is super inexpensive (29.99 a sheet), and can be painted any color, which makes it easy to clean. I have it in my bathroom, wainscoated half way up the wall. It comes in white, but I painted it over with same white color I used for the trim in my whole house in semi gloss, so it's more finished and like I said, SO easy to clean. You could use it in the whole kitchen on the walls. I love the cottage look, so that's why I love beadboard so much.
Definitely paint the cabinets. Gray would be nice since your walls are white. Navy would also be pretty and modern. Modern looking gold hardware is making a comeback, so you might consider that......looks fantastic on gray or navy cabinets!
Thanks. This room runs right into a dining room. How do I determine, when painting where and how to make the transition from one room to the other. Can/should both rooms be painted alike?
Regarding your last question, if the rooms run right into each other, I might paint both the same color (esp. If it's a smaller house). I personally think that a smaller house shouldn't be broken up by lots of different colors. My house is small (about 1100 sq. ft., and the living room and dining rooms.Run into each other. I love green, so both rooms are painted a pale sage green as well as the small hallway. I consider it my "main" color. I have two bedrooms that run right into each other, and both are painted pale rose (I love cottage/shabby chic). Third bedroom hasn't been painted yet and still deciding on a color, but it will be something in my main color scheme. The kitchen is a separate room, and it's bright country yellow. The bathroom is pale yellow. I have curtains that are yellow background with cabbage rose floral print in both the living room and dining rooms, so I've tried to keep those colors throughout the house so one room flows into the next room. The point I'm making is to try to keep the same style/ colors from room to room for consistency. Again, it totally depends on YOUR style, but I would keep the same style features throughout the house. Regarding my previous post about painting cabinets, as a previous reader posted it is NOT easy and takes patience to do it, but completely worth it if done well. I would go with white so you can really use any cold in your kitchen for walls/accessories. Good luck with everything!
Thank you. I have sot of an open floor plan. It is 1607 sq. feet and is all white which adds to the roominess and feeling of cleanliness. I do really enjoy the uplifting feel of aquas and pastel colors. Don't know if after a while I'd want to throw up if I did everything in those colors. Thank you.
I've redone similar kitchens in my flips--while on a budget. Paint and tile can go a long way.
Here's my posts about my kitchen transformations:
https://bachelorettepadflip.com/2016/07/25/the-not-so-normal-kitchen-island/
https://bachelorettepadflip.com/2016/04/10/throwback-before-afters-flip-1/
https://bachelorettepadflip.com/2014/03/21/the-remodeled-upgraded-kitchen/
Paint the cabinets white for sure! Very on trend right now but white cabinets are classic too. Never dated like the oak cabinets. Counters and backsplash when it works with your budget. I like walls painted the same colors when it is a small space. Better not to let the rooms flow into each other than chop them up with different colors. I personally like using neutrals on the walls then if you like color, do that with accessories.
Sorry, bad wording! What I meant was that it is better to let the rooms flow together than to chop them up with different colors.
if u aren't happy with this come c my designer kitchen. It looks like um can't describe it here. The only thing u could do with it is change the panel under island 2 a smooth panel. Please don't paint over those beautiful oak cabinets.
Thank you so much. Actually since I'm retired and can only do things piece meal, I thought I'd take some earlier suggestions and maybe put on some hardware, change the floor, to wood like the LR has now and the dining room will have soon. So I thought I'd take it into the kitchen and just do little things in there, a rug, hardware like I said and feel the space. Can I see your kitchen?
Don't underestimate the beauty of houseplants and fresh flowers!