Kitchen inspiration

Posted on Thu, 6 Dec 2007 by KiM

My new house has a kitchen that is pretty cute but could use a HUGE facelift (if finances permit). Here’s a photo of it (not the best but this is the only one I have right now).

There are alot of things in here that could go, like that island table thing in the center. I think that was built for the sole purpose to house the dishwasher. The window (you can see a little corner of it) is missing a pane of glass and a screen so it should be replaced, and with a smaller one so I can wrap the cabinets all the way around (it’s really low). There’s also a door to the yard after the island that doesn’t need to be there. Plus, I want to open it to the living room. That being said, this post is another self-serving post. I have ALOT of kitchenware, but I am really excited at the prospect of no upper cabinets, and having rows of open shelving instead. I am not sure how feasible that is since this isn’t a very big kitchen but it’s a thought. So I dug through my photos and found some kitchens with open shelving, which has made my desire to eliminate the upper cabinets that much worse.

Domino e-Architekt
PointClickHome Salon Interior
House & Garden Colin Streater
Lavish Locations Deslon or Sherman Architects
Homes & Gardens Homes & Gardens
Bohl Architects Living Etc.

Jessie says:

I like the new kitchen. Looks nice. Hanging shelves on the walls instead of cabinets would save money. You could always add upper cabinets later. If you are still thinking of doing an IKEA kitchen, you know that they have tons and tons of stuff to pick from!!!! You are going to have a blast at this new place. 🙂

kim. says:

You are all REALLY making me hope I can afford a kitchen redo. Anna at D16, your kitchen reno is FABULOUS and very inspiring! Thanks for sharing and I may contact you because whatever kitchen I get will be from Ikea so I’m sure you’ll have some great tips for me.

kim. says:

Jessie – I am SOOO excited to redo a new house, and I may be emailing you for Ikea kitchen tips as well since you have very recent experience.

Susan says:

Ahhhhh…..how much fun is this! Sure, go for it, get comments, suggestions, that’s the fun part.

Right now, your kitchen is all potential! First question is, are you keeping appliances where they are or are you open to moving them? I have to watch myself, I’ll ask you 50 questions right here!

Love those inspiring open shelves. They do get dusty. You could do a combination of short cabinets for dishes/glasses and shelving above, that’s an option too. Very modern looking. Looking forward to more kitchen info!

I love your new place (sssssh I’ve seen photos) and I just know what you are going to do to it will be too too fabulous. These kitchen ideas are great!

KitchAnn says:

I love the pictures, your Idea File is well under way.

Have you considered suspended shelving? With it you can open the kitchen to the living room and keep the storage for all your wares.

aj says:

hello, I believe open shelving is indeed lovely but I would not want the dusting. Maybe you could do a combination of the two. Lower part open shelving up above closed (where you can’t reach every day).
In your kitchen, if it was me to decide, I think I would widen the opening to the living room as much as possible and wrap the cabinets around the corner (and a bit around the window as well, maybe?) with the smaller, narrower window, and build the cabinets all the way up to the ceiling (to give you more storage). We rebuilt our kitchen recently too, and had similar issues to deal with. We added a row of frosted glass cabinet doors up high with inside lighting to make the cabinets less “closed” and not so large looking. We are very happy with the result. You are welcome to check out our project blog for images I just uploaded today.

kim. says:

Thanks everyone for the great comments. I welcome them more than you know.

Susan, I KNEW you’d be asking some questions, MRS. KITCHEN EXPERT. 🙂 Appliances can move, if not too costly for hookups. Actually, the fridge has to move. It’s against the wall to the right as soon as you walk in. It might even be what’s the white thing you can see in the bottom right corner of the photo. If that wall comes out, or at least has part of it cut out, then the fridge needs a new home. Probably on the wall where the window is.

kitchann, suspended shelving might be a great idea if I can only cut out part of the living/dining room wall. Thx!

aj, I like the idea of open shelving with cabinets above because that will block some of the dust. I am not a big duster so it’s an issue. Your kitchen is AMAZING by the way. Love what you did with your cabinets. I don’t think I can make the opening to the kitchen wider because I’ll lose bottom cupboard space. I love your lighted glass cabinets high up. Would be fab if I decide to do cabinets to the ceiling. LOTS to think about!!!

Susan says:

Again, you’re all potential, and you can do a great job on a budget. I did mine on a major budget a few years back. I’m thinking of doing it again maybe in 08. I don’t know what it is about kitchens, they’re just FUN.

Is it me or has the comment box changed? I don’t see where it allows a url..had to put in my google account. Hmmmm…

Cybelle says:

My favourite inspiration from your list is Colin Streater’s. I think it looks modern yet warm and chic.

Good luck with your reno!

Cyb

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