Kitchen Plans: The Details

You saw the general plan for our kitchen last week. Now let’s look at the specific things that are going to make me a happy happy Jen.

1. Cabinets: We chose Ikea’s Ramsjo cabinet and drawer faces in white. You can kind of see the wood grain through the white, which I was a little unsure of at first. But a) they are a brighter white than the other options, b) they look less fake than some of the other choices as well, and c) we can always paint them if I hate it. Yes, that’s a TON of extra work, but if it gives me the look I want, we’ll make it happen.

2. Sink: I fell in love at first sight with the double-bowl Domsjo from Ikea. It is enormous and I’m already making plans to bathe like four or five babies in it at once. We’re also using their Elverdam faucet; it has a pull down sprayer and I like the look of it. Easy decision.

3. Countertops: Our original plan included Numerar butcher block counters from Ikea (shown in the image above), but they are now…discontinued? Out of stock indefinitely? We can’t really get a straight answer except to be told that we can’t purchase them and may never be able to. The next best price for the look we wanted was at Lumber Liquidators; we went with their cherry butcher block.

4. Appliances: All stainless, all the time. I adore my oven and range, everything else does its job swimmingly, and we’re adding Ikea’s Luftig range hood to round out the collection.

5. Lighting: We’ll be installing recessed can lights and under-mount cabinet lighting, as well as two sconces over the window. I still haven’t found some that both fit what I’m looking for and don’t cost an arm and a leg, but I’ll keep shopping. Or maybe David will improvise something. He’s handy like that. The plan is to find (or make?) something like the sconces over the windows in this kitchen.

6. Floor: Nothing is changing here. Since we can’t afford to replace the tile throughout the whole house and it’s in good condition, we’re working with what we have, which looks similar to that beige square in the image above. It’s not pretty but it’s not ugly either; unobtrusive is good enough.

7. Backsplash: My mom and I found a stone-and-stainless mini subway tile mosaic that I adore. David doesn’t like it though. He’d prefer just white subway tiles. We’re at a stalemate for the moment. I’m kind of hoping we find a third option that we both love so neither of us feels like we settled. We’ve got some window shopping to do.

8. Paint: I need something that flows well into our living & dining rooms, works with the rug in the family room (which will be painted the same color as the kitchen), and brings some color into a fairly neutral space. So…no pressure there. I think I’ve stumbled upon a solution–a Captain Obvious smack-in-the-face kind of solution–that will meet all my criteria, but I’m not 100% committed to it yet.

9. Hardware: Again, I’m undecided here. I do know that it will be black (or oil-rubbed bronze, which is pretty much black) to tie in with the sconces and add some contrast to an otherwise light room. The drawer pull shown above is the style I’m thinking but we haven’t really started looking at options. Too many other things to think about right now.

It’s nothing bold or daring, but I think it will all come together nicely. More importantly, I think it will both make us happy and work with our house’s personality, which is a hard balance to strike sometimes.

You may also enjoy:

Kitchen update: IT’S A KITCHEN! Kitchen Progress: What comes down must go up Kitchen Progress: Demolition