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reno_fan

My sickness is kicking in.....I want to re-paint my kitchen cabs!

reno_fan
16 years ago

I know, I know. I *just* finished the dumb kitchen.

Call it an occupational hazard; I see so many lovely homes every week for work, and I always see something I love. I showed a house that had the most stunning golden glazed cabinets. They weren't your typical cream with brown glaze, but rather a very warm yellow glaze.

Add that to the fact that I felt so rushed to get this kitchen done, that I didn't really get a chance to think through (read: obsess) all the choices I was making.

DH has informed that under NO circumstances will we *ever* remove the saltillo floor. There's just too much of it.

My dilemma is that the white color I chose for the cabinets seems too white with my floor. I've tried changing light bulbs, I've tried experimenting with different accessories, and the fact remains that I still think it's a bit off, and a bit too stark every time I walk into the kitchen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cabinets posted above. I know I could pull off the same effect. But I'm wondering if I could still get away with my black and white backsplash if I had yellow glazed cabinets? Because that backsplash is also here to stay. DH got a murderous look in his eye when I mentioned the possibility of replacing it!

I do love the classic look of yellow black and white. And I'd leave all of my trim white in the kitchen to bring it all together.

What say you?

Comments (50)

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Here's the other side of the other kitchen:

  • bud_wi
    16 years ago

    I think the yellow would look great with the floor and the black/white backsplash. But how much energy do you have? I'm tired from just reading about all that repainting.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Oh mercy, Bud, once I have an idea, I have *boundless* energy. It really is a sickness.....

  • User
    16 years ago

    Honestly? I'd hate to see your beautiful, crisp white cabinets go bye-bye. While I like the golden glazed cabinets, to me it's more of a trendy look and I just see your kitchen as so perfectly timeless and classic. What you presently have is so clean and brings to mind a big breath of fresh air. I think that the glazed cabinets would kinda 'muddy' it all up somehow.

  • lyfia
    16 years ago

    I wouldn't worry about the white considering they have white appliances in the kitchen you show so I think it would look fine.

  • DYH
    16 years ago

    Sleep on it for a few months. Or maybe six months? I've been touring Parade of Homes houses and seeing new decor colors is so tempting! I saw so many grays and steel blues...the latest colors are changing. I've got gold walls in all the main rooms and after being in those "cooler" spaces I came home to see where we could use a different pallete. Can't -- we'd have to buy all new furniture!

    So, that butter yellow is very tempting, but you can change the accessory colors in your B&W kitchen any time you want as often as you want for less money than repainting those pearly white cabinets. Check out "Semi-homeade" on the Food Network. I don't watch for the recipes, I watch a few minutes to see what colors she puts in her white kitchen each day.

    If you go with colors on the cabinets (I have sage and black) you may be wanting your white back after awhile.

    I understand the "sickness" as I'm that way out in the garden. I keep wanting to put together color combinations yet I don't need to expand the garden any further!

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    :::sigh::: It's Parade of Homes time in our area as well. So in addition to the lovely homes that are on the market by individuals, I'm also around the model homes decorated by the designers.

    I really do need to sleep on it, and back away from the paint brushes..... LOL!

  • chicoryflower
    16 years ago

    I think I like the white better. I'd live with it for a while longer before doing anything to alter them. You might figure out a bunch of reasons that you wouldn't want to live with the yellowish.

    I don't think it would look at all good with your backsplash tiles anyway. : ) Does that help???

    I love what you have now.

  • magothyrivergirl
    16 years ago

    I agree w/ Jen - it is two totally different looks. Your kitchen looks so elegant - like a beautiful ball gown and tuxedo. You would lose that elegance.

  • lauraa
    16 years ago

    I LOVE your kitchen. I agree, your kitchen is elegant and you would taking away from it. I also love the other kitchen's cabinets but it is more of a rustic look. I think that the yellowish cabinets would not look good with your countertops.

    So, I am going to post a picture of my kitchen and you tell me what to do with the cabinets. I have thought about staining them a darker color but I really think that will make the kitchen look dark. Now I am leaning towards painting them and then glazing them. The kitchen that you LOVE, the cabinets might look good with my granite. How would you get that color?

    I also have your sickness, I have been a little obsessed about these cabinets since we moved in in July.

    Here is a picture

  • bellaflora
    16 years ago

    Forget a/b DH -- the only thing that comes between you and your dream of the perfect kitchen IS the tile floor. I know you want elegance and grace -- lose the tile floor. It wasn't that much of work and trust me, it will elevate your kitchen to a new level.

    Personally, I don't know how the warm yellow cabinet would look with your sparkling white backsplash. Add the shiny black countertop...and then the floor. For me, the path of least resistance would be to replace the floor with ebony/chocolate hand distressed wide plank wood floor. It would give the kitchen ummph you need.

    Sorry...but you did say you have lots of energy. We just had 1000sqft of old tile removed. it was too stained w/ dog's secretion to be saved. :-) ..You can do it :-) hehe..

  • Boopadaboo
    16 years ago

    I hate to post because I have always wanted a yellow kitchen. I think it would look fabulous with that floor. BUT, it would take it in a direction that I thought you originally said you didn't want to go.

    Sigh - now I want to paint mine yellow. thanks a lot! :) I wonder how they would look with a cream corian counter.....

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    LOL!! Bella, if only. There is roughly 1000sq feet of that tile. It goes all throughout my house on the lower level. And it basically turns to powder when you chip it up. Not to mention it's THICK, and since it's original to the house, ALL of the cabinetry in the house is built on top of it. When we looked at this house to buy it, the floor was one of the only things we really liked, and decided early on that we would keep. I really do love the floor. I love the rustic feel it has, and I love that it's not so common. I didn't necessarily want a elegant, formal kitchen. I just didn't want it to look like a Mexican restaurant, and so I ended up leaning very far to the side of more delicate choices.

    In retrospect I realize what I should have done is paint the cabinets a buttermilk color, rather than crisp white. It would have harmonized with the floor a bit better, but still would have the unglazed, more traditional look.

    Jen and Laura and others who like the white, you're reminding me *why* I did just white. I was so sick of seeing painted/glazed cabinets everywhere. But I'd never seen the yellow glaze before! I'd only seen the cream/brown glaze.

    Boop, you're right. It would take me in a completely different direction. I suppose I should stay loyal to my original vision, and just plan to have yellow cabinets in my next kitchen!

    Laura, you'll think I'm nuts, but I think the lower half of your cabinets would be stunning in that flat, rubbed black, and then paint/glaze the uppers. Yours is one of those kitchens where I do think painted/glazed cabs look smashing!

  • les917
    16 years ago

    Being blunt here - I think the yellow cabinets with the saltillo flooring would make me think of a fast food place like Taco Bell or McD's. I agree that your white cabinets are very white, and personally I would like to see a warmer glaze on them. But all of them in that yellow just doesn't do it for me.

    What would happen if you did the island in the yellow, added a bit of a warmer glaze to all the white cabinets, and changed out the window treatment to pick up on the yellow, black and antiqued white. Something like this would be fun as a roman shade-style valance on the window:

    cheetah stripe

  • Mimou-GW
    16 years ago

    Reno fan, why don't you just bring all of that energy to my house? It needs you!

  • Pieonear
    16 years ago

    I think you kitchen looks much classier than the other.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    LOL....My poor valance. I've had more people tell me to ditch it! For some reason, it doesn't photograph true to it's color at all. It's actually yellow and cream check. But there's some shiny dots in the fabric that glare when a photo is taken, making it look brown (I'm told).

    Here are 2 shots; with/without flash, and even these aren't true to it's color. It's very distinct yellow in person. Not gold, not brown, but yellow and cream.

    {{!gwi}}

    {{!gwi}}

    I love the window treatments, and they were CHEAP, so that winning combination means they get to stay for awhile.

    For the cabinets, though, I don't think there's a subtle glaze I could do that wouldn't make the backsplash look "off". I would either have to go way yellow like the photo above, or just leave it alone.

    Again, I really should have painted them a buttermilk color. But since I didn't, I'll just have to work with it.

    (And stop salivating and coveting every other kitchen I see!)

  • User
    16 years ago

    Don't you dare get rid of that gorgeous Saltillo tile floor.
    :-)

  • lauraa
    16 years ago

    I also love your tile floor.

    The biggest problem I have with my kitchen is my tile floor. Hubby will not let me replace it. We also have a lot of it, it goes in the kitchen, half bath, garage entry and laundry room.

    I am thinking that I might paint the cabinets in a ivory color then with a chocolate/umber glaze. Would that look good? I will also replace the hardware to the oil rubbed bronze. I want knobs and pulls.

    Here is a picture of my tile floor:

  • dixiedo
    16 years ago

    I mean offense to the other peron's kitchen when I say this (because it is quite lovely), but your kitchen knocks it socks off IMO. The other kitchen doesn't have the crispness and sparkle yours does, and if you went down the "yellow glazed road", you would lose it too. It would still be pretty, but not stunning.

    Lauraa: I woud reccomend black cabinets on your kitchen.. you have all the right pieces in place (granite, stainless, backsplash) to make that one hell of a kitchen!! Maybe you could start a new thread and have someone photoshop it for you!!

  • DLM2000-GW
    16 years ago

    I don't even know you but I think I'd have to come slap you silly if you glazed those cabinets! IF - and I stress IF you think you must do something, just paint the cabinets a softer white. That would still work with your backsplash, IMO - I like seeing a variety of whites in a room - adds depth.

  • CaroleOH
    16 years ago

    Well I wouldn't say you're nuts, but I think you have a love of remodel/redecorating! Your kitchen is beautiful. What you've done with it is amazing. Personally, I think the yellow cabinets are ok, but definitely something that in a year or so you would be really tired of. You said you were sick of the glazed cabinet look, but you immediately went to an even more drastic glazed look as your ideal.

    The one thing about your kitchen that you might want to look at is adding more color - it's very monochromatic. Maybe that's why you're so drawn to a kitchen that is full of color? I do love your window treatment, but maybe swap out the plate for one with yellow/blue/red in it? Add a few plants, put a colorful pottery fruit bowl on the island. Maybe what you're craving is a couple shots of color?

    I too watch Semi Homemade mostly for how the kitchen is decorated! You have the same neutral backdrop, use your energy to come up with a creative fall decor, that you can easily modify every few months!

  • natal
    16 years ago

    I know it's just a photo, but those yellow cabs look "dirty" to me. The contrast between them and yours is like night and day. Your kitchen is clean & bright and feels happy, the other looks dingy and depressing. Just my opinion.

  • User
    16 years ago

    OK, here ya go: Start telling yourself that those glazed cabinets are the result of years of indoor cigarette smoke, and they're actually nicotine stained.

    Ya still tempted?
    ;-D

  • hoosiergirl
    16 years ago

    Maybe it's not photographing well, but I don't like the white appliances with the yellow cabinets. I think they might be better with black appliances. The white almost makes the cabs look dirty, to me.

    I *love* your window treatments and I *love* your kitchen! I agree with Dlm2000 that if you really need to do something, maybe try a softer white. But really, I love it just as it is! I think the other kitchen is a whole other look, darker and warmer, but yours is (as Dixiedo said) crisp and sparkly and that's what I love about it. If you mess with it, you might end up with a mish-mash and accomplish neither. But then again, you did this and were very successful, so if you can see it in your head and love it, then go for it!

  • DYH
    16 years ago

    reno_fan -- see how long it takes to SELL that house with the yellow cabinets! See what comments potential buyers make. It may surprise you that the general public doesn't want "different" -- when we tried to sell our craftsman-inspired cottage (before this house), it was painted accordingly with greens, paprika, etc. The doors were solid wood stained cherry, dark wood floors, dark carpeting in the bedroom. Well, it took a craftsman house lover to buy it. Everyone else wanted a big beige box!

    Remember that old song "if you can't be with the one you love, then love the one your with" -- that goes for kitchens and houses! LOL
    Cameron

  • michelle_zone4
    16 years ago

    Do you have a bathroom that you could do a yellow glazed vanity? I know the feeling of seeing so many things I like and different styles that appeal to me, but I just tell myself that sometimes its just fun to look at these styles and enjoy without having them in my home.

  • elljays
    16 years ago

    I love yellow cabinets, but I don't like the glaze on those cabinets...it looks kind of smeared to me. I think your kitchen is beautiful as is, and the white is far more timeless. I also think the white is better with your backsplash. Yellow glazed cabinets might be okay with your backsplash, but I don't think it would be ideal. I understand your sickness though....maybe we need a 12 step group? ;)

  • terezosa / terriks
    16 years ago

    Don't you dare get rid of that gorgeous Saltillo tile floor.
    :-)

    I agree, I would LOVE to have saltillo floors. It would be criminal to remove them. They are classic - just like your white cabinets. I see the yellow ones as trendy.

  • les917
    16 years ago

    Reno, in all honesty the problem with the valance is not the fabric, it is the swagging effect at the top. The two bunched areas of the swags fight with the wider, clean line of the arch in front of it. If they could hang without the bunched swagging I think they would look fine. Or, if there were only one large swag all the way across, it would be fine.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Okay, okay. you guys are talking sense into me. I agree that it's the "new" and "different" appeal. That and the fact that I'm a decorating bipolar personality! I want rustic and glazed one minute, then no....no wait, make that crisp white and traditional. I need to leave it alone, and possibly do a bathroom vanity like Michelle suggested. This really hit me right between the eyes "but I just tell myself that sometimes its just fun to look at these styles and enjoy without having them in my home." You're right. I need to realize that not EVERY facet of my personality can be displayed in one room!

    Les, we'll have to agree to disagree on the valance. When I was working with my carpenter on adding the wood arch, I had this very style of window treatment in mind. The "problem" you see happens to be the very thing I happen to love the most about it. I don't see the gathering as fighting with clean line of the arch at all, but rather adding some softness and some unexpected drama. I like Roman shades, but I like this more. (Based upon the comments I got on Rate my Space, the verdict on that valance was a direct split. Some hated it, and said it didn't match the style of the kitchen at all, and others said that the valance is part of what "makes" the kitchen have it's style. I guess we'll just have to chalk that one up as personal taste.)

  • jlj48
    16 years ago

    You have got to be kidding me. Your kitchen is amazing, so much more classic and breath taking than the one with the yellow cabinets. Don't touch a thing. Use all of that creative energy in painting someone else's home -(you can start with mine), or get out and enjoy the beautiful fall season right now. I truly don't mean to be rude, I really enjoy this board and love to come here and get ideas, but we have to know when enough is enough - and how to spend our time in all of the important areas of our lives - like with our loved ones. Okay, I know that was one of the longest run on sentences ever. I don't mean to offend those that love to decorate, then redecorate, then redecorate. Time just goes by so quickly. Don't miss out on everything else there is.

  • rilie
    16 years ago

    Reno, if I was flipping through a magazine and came to your kitchen, I would stop and study all the details. If I came to the yellow one, I would keep right on going, thinking "man, I bet they regret that in 3 years...."

    Your kitchen is beautiful.

  • patricianat
    16 years ago

    Take an aspirin for that fever. Your kitchen is gorgeous. Leave well enough alone, let a sleeping dog lie.

  • sweeby
    16 years ago

    Reno - Your kitchen is SOOOO much nicer! It's a timeless classic, where only the appliances will ever give a hint of the date. The floors, cabintry, backsplash -- they all could have been done 40 years ago, or 30, or 15 -- or 30 years from now.

    The only thing you're missing is a heavy crystal vase full of deep purple cut irises. For some reason, you need those...

  • les917
    16 years ago

    Yep, Reno, everyone likes different things - that is what makes the world go 'round, and keeps this forum humming!

    And, as always, I really do believe that what is MOST important is that the person living with the item or room in question loves it. You are happy with the valance, it is the look you had in mind, and you achieved what you set out to do. Enjoy!

  • love-my-lilhome
    16 years ago

    Reno sometimes our hormones shift when we least expect it.
    At these times we do crazy things.
    Like:
    Bleach our hair
    Divorce our husband
    Tell a relative what we think
    Take the most beautiful kitchen with a spectacular floor
    and the most gorgous cabinets and an over-all look to die
    for and what do we do???????????????????????
    Mess with it!!!!!

    Girl.....bleach your hair instead!

  • lauraa
    16 years ago

    Reno, did you paint your cabinets? If so, did you use an oil based paint? give me some specifics

    Thanks

  • lmhall2000
    16 years ago

    Chiming in here...so glad you've settled back into accepting your kitchen...it's BEAUTIFUL!!! You don't know what you'd be messing up! If you ever want to change that classic kitchen you can do so EASILY with accessories!! Have fun with those over time...heck, have a seasonal kitchen...get a different look every 3 months...with your kitchen you can EASILY do that..with the yellowed kitchen...I'm afraid accessorizing to go with that color would be really limited...

    LOVE YOUR KITCHEN!! :)
    Tara

  • twg7590
    16 years ago

    QUOTING "Don't you dare get rid of that gorgeous Saltillo tile floor.
    :-)
    I agree, I would LOVE to have saltillo floors. It would be criminal to remove them. They are classic - just like your white cabinets. I see the yellow ones as trendy."


    I agree with this too! I MUCH prefer your gorgeous white kitchen to the yellow glazed one. Yours is so classy and elegant and those floors are TDF!

    Your WT reminds me of mine and I have an arch too! Here's mine:

  • twg7590
    16 years ago

    I looked at the pics again and honestly there is no comparison between your kitchen and the yellow one. Yours is MUCH more beautiful! Yours will never go out of style. It is classic elegance.

    Could you tell me the maker of your crystal light fixtures over the island? I am wanting a new chandelier for the DR and thought they might make a larger version of those. Thanks.

  • mhillgal
    16 years ago

    Please keep your kitchen as it is. It's beautiful and classic. If I had to choose between the two kitchens, I would choose yours.

  • threedgrad
    16 years ago

    Ok, DO NOT redo your great looking kitchen - we all worked on that kitchen together - LOL.

    But using the gold cabinets as a start point, think about what other space can you do in your house - a fabulous entertainment area, a great bathroom, a fabulous master bedroom wall of built-ins, a sunroom with built-ins, a butler's pantry, a breakfast kitchen in the master bedroom or guest room, a library wall of cabinets.

  • brutuses
    16 years ago

    Your white kitchen is beautiful. That other one is depressing looking to me. In planning my new kitchen I was first attracted to that old world glazed look and then after careful thought I realized it would get "old" in a hurry and I'd get tired of it. So I've decided on white/off white because it will always be in style.

    What do you have in the back of your glass cabinets? Is that wall paper or a paint treatment or something else? Do you have a close up photo?

  • ladyamity
    16 years ago

    Please! Should you decide you want to get rid of those saltillo floors, ship them to me!

    In other words, you have something that everyone I know would give their first born son to have in their home, me included!

    When I first started lurking here at GW Decor, you were making decisions about your kitchen.

    I watched the progress, I drooled, hubby drooled.

    I've seen some drop-dead gorgeous kitchens both on GW and while in Las Vegas looking at model homes.

    Your kitchen, as is, has something lots of those multi-million dollar homes in Vegas don't have...even with their top of the line appliances and imported flooring.
    Your kitchen = Understated Elegance.

  • patricianat
    16 years ago

    Renofan, I used to have valances made of that same fabric as yours. I just took them down last year. I had them with my red kitchen. Or at least, I think they are same. The check, is it a silkl with a subtle olive with red check? If so, I got that fabric at Calico Corners about 8 years ago and had a round table cloth which I used over another longer table cloth and kitchen curtains of that same fabric when I had the red kitchen.

  • reno_fan
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Okay, you all have probably saved my marriage. If DH had come home to me holding a paintbrush anywhere *near* those cabinets, he would have flipped. Since I hadn't planned on doing a glaze, I was quite the taskmaster when he was painting them. I made him wipe off and re-do a few areas because there were imperfections in the paint. I kept telling him that they had to be darn near perfect, b/c there would be no glaze to hide any of the rough spots. A few times, I swear I saw a flash in his eyes that told me he was about ready to turn that sprayer on ME. He came through, and the finish is like glass. We've even had professional painters come in and comment on what a good job he did. Imagine all of his hard work hidden under a golden yellow glaze.....

    I'm likely going to do yellow cabs, but in the pool bathroom. Right now they're 70's brown, and they'd be stunning painted a soft yellow with a glaze. It'll scratch that itch for me, and I can be true to my original vision for the kitchen.

    Thank you ALL so much for your perspective and words of wisdom. I actually learned alot about myself (and the ridiculous need to re-do things) by reading your responses. I feel I may be just a bit more balanced now! LOL!!

    Love-my-lil, Your post made me crack up. You're a hoot! And my roots are getting a bit long....time for a trip to the salon!

    Laura, DH used a Wagner paint sprayer (bought JUST for this project....another reason he'd kill me if I sullied up his paint job!). The cabinets had already been painted, but they were discolored and smoke-stained. We cleaned them with TSP, primed with Sherwin Williams Prep Rite Bonding Primer (made specifically for adhering paint to glossy surfaces..it's spendy, but it's amazing stuff!), then sprayed 2 coats of Sherwin Williams latex paint. We didn't want the mess/smell of oil.

    Patricia, I bought the valance (of all places) at Home Depot. It was only $17.50. I was shocked when I pulled it out of the package and it was *exactly* what I'd had in mind to make. I couldn't have even bought the fabric for $17.50! Of course, adding my frou-frou fringe upped the total cost, but I'm a fringe kind of girl. :)

  • caminnc
    16 years ago

    DO NOT TOUCH YOUR KITCHEN.....Somebody hide the paint brush! Your kitchen is seriously so much prettier than the yellow one. If your kitchen needs painting in a few years then look back at that picture and see if you still love it! I don't care for it. I think glazed looks dirty and will be out of style very soon. JMO

  • daisyadair
    16 years ago

    I can look at the yellow cabs and admire them and they are lovely, but they would so limit my ability to re-decorate.
    My mom painted her cabinets a nice yellow, no glaze over them. She did a fabulous job, and I am so sick of looking at those yellow cabinet I can't stand it!