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Updating Honey Oak Kitchen

11 years ago


I have honey oak throughout my entire house & am so over it. But cannot possibly replace it all. I have a darker wood kitchen table, darker leather in L.R. (next to kitchen). I also have bronze and iron wall decor in the L.R. How do I update my kitchen? I wanted a darker wood flooring and granite countertops (love the yellowy-brown granite). I LOVE the darker cabinets (but not sure if they will look right with honey oak everywhere else. We also have a utility room to the right with an oak door & more cabinets where I'm standing with the camera leading to a hall to the D.R. and L.R. Our first must-do is the flooring.

Comments (11)

  • 11 years ago

    We were drowning in honey oak until a few weeks ago. Here is our recent remodel:
    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/thanks-to-houzz-readers-for-designing-my-new-kitchen-dsvw-vd~2963682?n=1

  • 11 years ago

    is your current floor tile or vinyl?.

    I would either stain them darker or paint them. Both would be fine as they seem to be in great shape. I think wood is generally fine with different stains, as long as you do not do the forests (the orangy oak forest, the dark espresso forest, etc, ;-) ) as in nature keep the stains different and it would look far more collected. my favorite houzz picture with different woods are these ones:


    Pemberley - Estate · More Info
    Dining Room · More Info


  • 11 years ago

    I am proud to say my floor is vinyl. I'm so glad it still looks like tile :) We want to put wood flooring in thru the kitchen and into the L.R. and also down our hall to the D.R...just not sure if I want the D.R. Nancy That is a MAJOR change. Beautiful!! This is close to the flooring I wanted. It looks good with my table. I would LOVE your woodwork sacapuntaslapioz! So basically I really want this flooring and am confused on what I can do with my honey oak. I prefer to stain darker if I can as opposed to painting. And they are in great shape. I do have a stainless steel stove coming but the frig has to wait.

    Traditional Kitchen · More Info


  • 11 years ago

    I think your flooring in that picture is possibly wood-look tile. You could stain your cabinets as well, and I understand that is fairly easy with the rustuleoum transformation. those are not my house pctures. there are from house. This is mine


    my own · More Info


  • 11 years ago

    You might be right...that being tile. We've tossed that around. I found wood flooring in a store that has that "ripple" look and I'm stuck on it. So my next question is if I stain the cupboards a little darker, do I stain ONLY the cupboards? or do I also stain the pantry door that is i the corner of the room? What about the window frame around the sink. I'm new to this "mismatch" style. I'm not quite sure where to make the break.

  • 11 years ago

    I am watching you! My light/medium orange toned oak throughout the house (kitchen, fireplace, stair railings) should be updated, but where to start, and does it all need to go? I too would like to go dark, espresso. It that considered a wood colour? Do others think that all of the oak would need to be changed? If so, stained or painted? I have heard keep it to three, or less, wood stain colours, (is this true?) but I am already there. (Light yellowish oak floors, and stickley oak furniture in a darker, slightly reddish stain). I am curious to see where you go with yours!

  • PRO
    11 years ago
    I would start out with just the cabinets and the new floor and see how that looks.
  • 11 years ago

    It may be a long process for us but I will definately post pics here when we finally decide! Flooring will be first because we need to. I'm getting the nerve slowly to darken just my cabinets a little. Especially after the "keep it to three" comment above. Hmmm. That makes me think I might be ok darkening the cabinets a tad. Decisions Decisions!! :)

  • 11 years ago

    I also had honey oak cabinets. I had mine professionally refinished and I
    love them. Dark kitchens are not so popular these days, but I love the
    way my cabinets turned out. I didn't want to paint them. Will attach
    before and after. After 3 years I still have 2 things to finish up - a
    new valance for over the sink since I bought a new rug and I have to get
    a new range hood.
    I would get a plan together and then just start out. My flooring
    installer said the floor needed to go in last, so keep that in mind.
    Pick it out now, but do the cabinets first. Good luck and post photos of
    your progress!



  • PRO
    11 years ago
    Go for it! Start with the new floors and staining the cabinets a darker shade. See how that feels to you before deciding on the window trim and pantry door - what color/finish are all the other interior doors and window trims in?