The wood in pallets can also be infested with insects! Be careful!

I don't know that we'd be able to diy w/pallets anyway-tho I have seen some cool things made w/them, and I wouldn't be opposed to it, if the time were available.

Our space being what it is, it would never be something we'd be able to actually recreate as it is. It may end up being that if we're going to diy unfinished cabinets, we will need to just paint them all navy, in both the kitchen and pantry, b/c I don't know that I can find a stain and grain that I like in the oak unfinished.

Sometimes an inspiration can lead to an end result that is a lot different than a literal take on the original.

Back when Design Star or Top Design were in early seasons, the designers were given the challenge to recreate a room from an inspiration, and several of them tried to slavishly copy the room with no real budget and at a much smaller scale. The winner of the challenge used the inspiration as a starting point to create something completely different (while still inspired by the original). I wish I could describe it better and I am not sure that I would have been able to do exactly what he did, but it worked.

I love when people can use something as a jumping off point to give them the look they want. Not sure if I would be able to be one of those people..but I'd sure try.

I've been looking at other ideas and every time I see the one above, my heart just skips. However, the first one below is what that got me in mind of two tone. That and the next one both have high ceilings however. I need to find normal houses haha. The navy ones below, I could do wood uppers, and add navy shelving elsewhere or white uppers and add wood shelving somewhere, (have thought of eliminating some uppers by the sink and doing shelves, and putting shelves along a short wall by the patio doors) Wood and white and then paint the kitchen chairs navy. There's a combination of some sort in there, I know there is!

One of the walls is going to have many blue and white plates hanging up that were my gramma's..maybe navy cabinets would be just way too much blue between the kitchen and the pantry. Time to make some lists I guess.

I love your inspiration photos!

Thanks boxer!

Champagne taste and a beer budget, I feel your pain. Your inspiration photo is beautiful, the cost of the one wall shown was (I'm sure) more than my whole kitchen remodel. Being in Iowa, I'll bet there are dozens of barns filled with "old stuff". Ask around, seek them out. It's surprising what can be re-purposed as kitchen cabinetry. Good luck.

Being an Iowan, I would prefer you not paint us all with the same brush...gray, or otherwise. Some of us have pretty sophisticated tastes. Speak only for yourself. Good luck with your project.

what?

I haven't read anything which paints us Iowans any particular way:)

An aside: were you from KS? I may know your family...

Maybe my tongue in cheek electricity comment? Or, the simple fact of what I like? Maybe is offensive to this poster? Or that someone mentioned repurposing? Little confusing.

Am I alone in thinking that the navy uppers throw the room off balance? I wouldn't have uppers on that wall at all. The base is beautiful and the view out the window a show-stopper. Why distract from nature with artificiality?

nope, just me, grew up in KS, is your fam from HS county?I have nothing to gain from this post other than to say hello.

“I live in Iowa..people are still putting in that dark cherry wood yet..not even gray has really hit here far as I know..if anything people would think I was totally cutting edge bhahahahaha I'm surprised we're not still french rolling our jeans whilst spraying up our ginormous hair. “.

.....Really?!! You wrote it. It does nothing to elevate the image of Iowa, which is a very progressive place to live. I have two homes, one in Iowa, and I am very happy to say so.

Oh good lord. Um, they are? I know no one HERE who is doing gray. I stated a fact, as to WHERE I PERSONALLY LIVE IN IOWA aaaaand I think someone needs to maaaaybe slow their roll a little bit and not be a sensitive sally over a simple statement that is a FACT where I LIVE IN IOWA. I am supremely and gloriously thrilled that you are in fact, a sophisticate gracing our humble state. I've lived here my entire life, most of my family has been here their entire lives. Those who have more than one home maybe aren't ones who would be running in MY simple little circle. D'ya 'spose? And MY simple little circle, has a lot of honey oak. And dark cherry. And builder grade. And a lot of catching up to do. You are apparently ahead of the game and for that, I tip my hat. And quite frankly, if you don't have a SENSE OF HUMOR over the fact that most people think Iowans as a general rule drive tractors to school/work---then I'd venture to say you're not a TRUE Iowan.

I rest my case...to each their own. I just do not agree with your “back woods” assessment and presentation of the state, and yes, I am native. Best to all. Come visit, and you will see. We don’t drive tractors to work and school, nor do I promote that image.

I also promise not all of us Iowans are lacking in humor!

oh jonio,,,HomeDepot called,,,your sense of humor came in. on your way to pick it up, leave the stick that's in your orifice back at your estate.

Missi,,, Since you have oak cabs, are you keeping those? in all the jumble, I don't know if you planned on refacing or replacing or just working w/what you've got.

you can use alder and get that same look. perhaps a local carpenter could make some doors/drawer fronts for you for you existing bases. reclaimed wood is another option. I'm sure you have plenty where you live (you know, being in the boonies and all. take your lantern with you so you can see ) . you could prob get some decent reclaimed wood for a fraction of the cost us city folk have to pay for it.

you didn't post a pic of your entire kitchen, so it's hard to say what would work best.

as for the rustic/navy look, It's fine. I like the way people comment, "I don't like it". as if you asked for anyones opinion. I believe the questions was, "what wood is this". I would agree that putting the navy (or even a black) on the bottom cabs and leaving the uppers in the natural wood might look a bit better. but hey, that's just my opinion.

you have room for an island? you could always wrap it w/the reclaimed wood and paint the other cabs

open shelving?

Sorry, I overstepped...

White oak reclaimed wood...hmmmm. I wonder if you could get new white oak wood and turn it into the rustic reclaimed look. It almost looks like rough cut oak....not sanded oak. (But no one wants rough cut cabinets!)

I love the bottom cabinets, but don't care for the upper cabinets. They seem too large or top heavy...maybe because they are so dark. It looks like the wall is going to tip over on its face. I think there are too many colors in that picture, too. Very dark navy/black uppers, white counters, gray tile, red/brown oak lower cabinets. I would love all cabinets in that white oak, not just the bottom. I agree with others that the high ceiling and extra wide windows make a difference too. I think the darker color should be the lower cabinets, but I think the blue/black is too dark for the oak stain. It seems like the dark blue/black is competing against the beautiful oak cabinets. Which would you rather see stand out, the blue or oak?

We just put rough cut red cedar trim around a triple bay window. You can see every splinter, knothole, etc. With rough cut, you get very different saturations of the transparent stain which reminded me of your picture of the reclaimed white oak cabinets. The stain color on the cabinets in your picture looks like light oak or a very light pecan. My living room/kitchen floor is white oak and I love the color variations. White oak is beautiful! Solid oak cabinets are very expensive, and I think they give off a warm, rich color, unlike dark, painted wood cabinets. But, it depends on what YOU want. Warm tones or cool tones. But oak wood has never gone out of style so I don't think your oak cabinets will ever look dated. I have seen some 1970s oak trim that was dated though and the honey oak color, but not the wood itself. The dark blue/black painted will look dated first, if any of them will.

SandK, I get what you are saying!

I am from Indian Territory; otherwise known as Oklahoma. You can imagine the comments Oklahomans get. "Deliverance" comments, riding horses to school, everyone MUST be Native American still wearing native dress everywhere, etc.

ma, how do you mean you overstepped?

psyohe, I love wood and seeing the grain. I don't know if we end up w/unfinished cabinetry, if the grain will be as nice. I'd be thrilled w/all uppers/lowers like the oak ones up top, but my meager budget is going to give me a resounding no, I'm sure. And then trying to find a stain that would be similar..argh. Which is probably why I will end up going the easy route and painting.

However, I have plenty of time to look around and ask questions and see what I can figure out.

This island, for instance, I love the wood. Maybe I can go w/fewer uppers, to get nicer quality cabinets for the kitchen and just paint the ones that will go into the pantry.

Or maybe I'll have the barest kitchen on the planet and just have two really nice cabinets hahahahaha

I love the different colors of wood in that picture. My white oak floor is that natural oak color, but we are thinking about going darker when the floor gets refinished. Maybe you could paint the lower cabinets a dark blue and the upper cabinets could be the white oak that you like. I think it would not be too hard to find the stain color. I wouldn't worry about that.

I don't know how your kitchen is organized, but do you have a section that is smaller in size? Maybe a smaller area could be a contrasting focal point which could have the white oak cabinets while the rest of your kitchen cabinets are painted. Add something decorative to the painted cabinets side to tie in the wood cabinets.

What's up with people and their paper-thin skin these days? I live in lower Michigan and people call us trolls for living under a bridge (the Mackinac Bridge). No big deal -- it's FUNNY!

Back on topic . . . as others have been commenting on the heaviness of the upper cabinets, it started me thinking that you could do wood lowers like your inspiration pic, then do open shelving (as mentioned by others), and install them against a dark painted wall. This would eliminate the bulkiness, but still give you some moodiness.

ooo sandk..MinneSOOOOta? Are we even allowed to converse, what with the rivalry and all? I do have relatives in Mn, tho so I guess it's ok. We just got back from spending our week up at Leech Lake fishing! Many years ago, my brother drove our lawnmower to the town we went to school in, b/c he had to play in a football game. Ahhh what country kids will do..us outside of the box thinkers..

psyohe, haha, I get what you're saying! It's funny to me, the things people *honestly* think about the midwest and the people that live here.

I went w/my daughter on her 8th grade trip this past May to DC/NYC and wow, talk about a mind bender. We went on the subway in NYC and had some fun discussions w/a few native NY'ers, asking each other questions, no we don't all have pet cows, no we don't all live on farms, yes I feel we are basically a friendly state, we're more progressive in some things than we're given credit for and such. We went to Disneyworld a couple years ago and at Epcot's Living w/the Land ride, they talked about the work they do w/Iowa State University and I found that fascinating.

psyohe, this is the kitchen/dining area. The backwards L on the right side is the kitchen. (the closet in the bottom corner of the L is coming out if it's the last thing I do) One of my thoughts was to not have uppers on the sink wall and do a few shelves. (well, I'd have uppers down the length of the L into the corner on top and that's it) What I'd like is walls like the bottom picture, SW Collonade Gray. Which is also where the navy came into play, figuring it would look nicer and be easier to work w/the wall color I like.

Had also considered a navy island instead but when I measured walking space out there was room for one random small cabinet in the middle of the kitchen hahaha.

It is nice to have people to talk it through with, so thank you, I appreciate it greatly. My husband will just shrug and say "whatever" and the only other people to talk to are my parents..mom still has the vinyl cabinets that came w/the modular home back in '76 and they both find it frivolous to update beyond builder grade for anything. Which I get, we're not a high dollar area by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn't need to look like it's stuck in a time warp.

annied75-hahaha trolls, I'd not heard that! (What a group..trolls, NA Indians and Children of the Corn.) Like a...feature wall do you mean? I need to go to bed, I apologize, my brain feels a bit mushy, and I think that's the correct term? Focal..I don't know, a different colored wall than the others. I hadn't thought of that.

Yeah! Okies still get a bad rap due to how poor they were during the Depression and Dust Bowl days and how they struggled to live and migrate to California. I don't really care what people think because it is a great place to raise a family. Except for the million degree temperatures this summer...okay, maybe 107° F with heat factors of 112°.

I thought if you had 3 sides that one could be the white oak cabinets, but you have an L shape. I will have to think about that one. Do you have anything planned for the 28" x 40" area to the left of the patio doors? That would be a great place for a built in pantry cabinet. I love storage!

Are you planning on a microwave on the countertop or a dishwasher? Do you know where you want your other appliances like the coffee pot? Definitely get a vent hood that vents outside, not in the attic or back into the kitchen. Huge difference in keeping walls and cabinets clean.

How much space will it take to showcase your grandmother's dishes? Navy blue and white or medium blue and white? Work with the dishes' color as a focal point. Do you live in the country or in a town? We live lakefront in the country and you wouldn't believe how dusty it gets inside the house. (Get ready for a joke.... just in case someone doesn't know it is a joke.) We even have dirty running water, and I am not talking about the lake flooding! Seriously, we even have brown dirt in our water supply so I have whole house 3 stage water filters on any faucets we drink from or cook with. Yuck! Anyway......I rambled.... I have my grandmother-in-law's Italian dishes that I was going to put on the walls, but they would be one more thing to clean so they are inside the cabinet. Kitchen grease gets everywhere. Plus we had indoor pets.

I am not a fan of open shelves because my cabinets will never be as neat as they should be and I hate cleaning dishes on open shelves. Plus you lose a lot of storage by not having upper cabinets. I would make a list of every item you keep in your kitchen, then plan which cabinet or drawer you will keep it in. Then you can decide if you can skip the upper cabinets on that sink wall. Also choose any new appliances you are going to buy and get their dimensions in case they are a different size than what you now have.

The single best thing I did in my kitchen remodel was to make everything below countertop level a drawer. Seriously, I will never have doors or roll out shelves again. I can find everything I need in the deep drawers. Once you have your list of kitchen items, you can figure out how many and how deep to design your drawers if you want them. I would also make the corner cabinet usable by using a cabinet door in the corner which allows you to crawl inside for the stuff at the back that you seldom use. Oh, that's where the punch bowl went! I think I have a picture of what I mean. I will look for it.

I like the idea of a movable island for your kitchen like the one in your picture. Maybe it could hold your mixer, blender, etc. inside and maybe have a cutting board top or a marble top if you bake a lot. I would want one about 24" deep with cabinet doors that opened on both sides. That way you can get to anything in the back and have more light inside.

By the way, I have been remodeling for 5 years now, and I still don't have a backsplash! Slow is good!

I can't wait to see your vision for real. I have to live through others since I am backsplash atrophied.

haha backsplash atrophied!

We actually have a space that we are turning into a psuedo-pantry. In the layout where it says "to garage", that's actually a doorway, into a 4'x11' space that we will use. We have some stained cabinets that are going to be either restained or painted, and put out there w/countertop and I think we will bring the chest freezer up from the basement and put in there. (had planned for the washer and dryer as well originally but when they looked at how they'd have to configure the water it was a big cluster) So, the MW, coffee pot, etc, will go out there. I will find pics of what the kitchen and such are now so you can see. The plates are these https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=royal%20copenhagen%20mors%20dag%20plates&rs=typed&term_meta[]=royal%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=copenhagen%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=mors%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=dag%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=plates%7Ctyped I don't know how many we have..they're mostly in the attic now-they were on the walls and we took them down when we had the house sided..ohhh 10 years ago..you see how fast things work around here ha! There's about 20 mini ones and..30 or so regular sized?

I have a Swedish cabinet that I'm going to put on that 40" wall jog there. And *definitely* all the lowers will be drawers that I can!

We're in town. I love the Midwest-gets a bad rap (if I hear "fly over states" one more time...) and I'm the first one to tease (no matter how unappreciated the humor might be...there IS a grain of truth in it), but I don't see myself living anywhere else, ever. My husband wanted me to watch something the other day (can't remember what it was tho), that he'd already watched part of. He said you'll get a kick out of how they portray Midwesterners-look at this--it was set in the now, current time, and every single Midwest person was wearing Laura Ingalls Wilder type prairie clothes, while the "city folk" were dressed normally..much the same as I am dressed now hahahaha--What woman wears a long dress w/an apron to mow the lawn? And it wasn't even done tongue in cheek, like a spoof or anything. Really made us laugh. Oh, and the kids came out of the house real quiet and shy, eyes downcast, like they were frightened of the city people. Which is again, soooo not like a typical midwest kid.

shoot..started rambling and forgot to find pictures of the kitchen. I'll be right back.

Hi Missi! Sorry to here about your husband. We started our kitchen remodel in the spring. Still need paint, flooring, and someday lighting. It had been painted gray but the new kitchen does not have any so leaning to a white. If you are looking for layout help I encourage you to start a new thread just for that. Lots of helpful folks. We did not go with open shelves as 1. we have small kitchen and need all the space (about 100 sq feet- with 6 normally living here!) 2. We have cats (yeah they would eye that as kitty amusement park) 3. Keeping it clean. Have a good day!

Ohhh I've got a layout thread or five floating around someplace!

here's one https://www.houzz.com/discussions/kitchen-layout-help-me-make-it-nice-dsvw-vd~5050455

Missi, those plates are so beautiful!

Thanks psyohe! Gramma and Grampa had an enclosed front porch on their farmhouse and the plates were all hung up on the white beadboard walls. They remind me so much of them. I've got some other things that will go in the kitchen too, that were my grandparents. The kitchen is where we spent most of our time at their house (other than the corn crib where we weren't supposed to play, and the chicken house where the kitties stayed, or riding on the tractor), so I'm excited to be able to walk into *my* kitchen and see some of the things I remember so vividly

If you like the two dark cabinets above ..then I would paint the bottom wood areas white or a whitewash .if you are more inclined to never paint the wood ..then I would paint the top cabinets white or off white to blend in with the color or the walls . The kitchen is nice ..not sure why you have heart palpitations ..look with your own critical eye and tell yourself what you don't like ..if you don't like the combination of the dark and wood ...I can't tell you , you are not alone . To me it's not a good look ..even though both , up and down looks good separately. You have to change one of them and make it white ...I would paint the lower part and get on with enjoying every minute of my life that I am not sick and cook something wonderful , invite friends and celebrate my ( your ) lovely home !

I maybe didn't word it very well-it gives me palpitations b/c I find it so beautiful. It's not my kitchen, tho I sure wish it was! I was thinking to see what people thought for a kind of wood that would give me a similar look of the bottom cabinets to do my own kitchen along these lines.

Knotty Alder stained to your desire could be very similar and is not super expensive. I have used it in family room built ins and in a client’s master bath.

That's pretty, I like it!

Just a thought. I find that when I leave my preconceived ideas about where a person is from, I wind up learning a lot and wind up meeting some pretty awesome people. Doesn't matter if they're from Iowa, NY, KS, Mexico, Pakistan, Germany, Turkey, or any other place in the world.

Just one additional comment on the knotty alder. It varies quite a bit in terms of how many knots and variations you will get. But in the several homes I have specified it, we have been pleased. Good luck!

cpa-I enjoy learning about other people and the differences and similarities. That's one of the things I've enjoyed about the internet-my world is expanded and more colorful for it, and I have far richer diversity in the people I "know" and how I understand and see things, than my parents or grandparents etc.

Hi missi...I think you mentioned you currently have oak cabinets and that this is your layout below...

We have a very similar layout:) I have oak cabinets as well. I didn’t want to paint them but I did want to lighten up my kitchen some how. So when I did my “update” a few years ago I took down the cabinets around my window and added oak floating shelves, added a lighter but still warm quartz countertop, added a white farmhouse sink, and some new...pretty to me...hardware:)

Anywho...I think with your layout you could do something similar but instead of turquoise using navy...with your Copenhagen plates and such...so similar to your inspiration pic but of course not exactly:)

following >>

no way is that your kitchen?? My L goes the other way, but that is SO funny-that's exactly what mine will hopefully look like w/the closet taken out of my daughter's room so we have a true L shape and if I put shelves either side of the window instead of cabinets!

Yes. That is mine:) Nothing special...just an example of working with what you have;)

you did a good job working w/what you have!

Hickory would be your next best option. Cost effective material and looks great. Hard as nails and will stand the test of time.

Love kjoy's kitchen. I want to use it as an example sometimes. Put it in an idea book kjoy unless you would rather not:)

Jhmarie...that is fine:) You know I got my Whitehaven sink because of your kitchen photos:)

How about Ikea! They do a similar front called Torhamn. More here. You could also get custom fronts for Ikea boxes from Semihandmade, The Swedish Door Company, etc.