My thoughts are that this is not a "scuzzy" kitchen. I've seen and lived in homes with more dated-looking kitchens. Glad you are fortunate enough to buy your dream home with all of its awesomeness and swap out everything. I like your tile, although it seems more "bathroomy" than "kitcheny" to me.

The Formica FX cost for material and installation will be near the cost for granite, so upgrade to a level I granite countertop. If you have to, back off on the expensive tile to make up the difference. Stone tops are priced with installation included, laminate countertops are usually priced material with labor broken out separately and it's really easy to look at that pricing and think that the cost is so much lower.

And isn't it spelled "scuzzy?" ;)

Ah, thank you - pardon the skuzzy comment, I guess I can't shake the memory of this sticky film that was everywhere in the kitchen when we bought the place. It has a lot of potential!
Good point about bathroomy tile. Do you think a ceramic subway tile would give less of a bathroom feel? I'm also concerned about staining/splatters, as we cook with a lot of spice and oil.

See, I'm learning so much already. Scuzzy

Iiiiiinteresting about level 1 granite!! We have never done this before so there's a ton we just have no idea about. Thank you!

I commend you for not asking, "what color to paint my oak cabinets?" I usually chime in, Don't. I think they are great cabinets, simple and classic and worth working with. New hardware would transform them.

Can I ask you the source of the geode tile? Its gorgeous. I'm a proponent of "fun" backsplashes, I went bold and colorful with mine and not a day goes by that I regret it. If you do go with the geode tile, you definitely want a calm, non-busy countertop so it doesn't visually compete.

Personally I'm not a laminate fan, especially with what looks like a natural material backsplash. I got rid of my 90s basic beige generic brand laminate as it stained horribly (one example, Indian spices like turmeric, could never get them out without marring the finish) but I'll admit I don't know much about this 360 variety. I will say my 1982 kitchen had a Formica brand labeled bartop that still looked new and unstained, but it was a rather cheesy fake wood grain pattern so it probably 'hid' more of its use. The 1990s generic laminate counters did not wear nearly as well. Maybe someone with more knowledge of generic vs. brand name Formica can chime in with better information.

OneRidge, thank you for your comments - the tile was found on Houzz and samples came from from Glass Tile Oasis. It was the first tile that everyone in the house said "ooooooh!" to - we've been struggling with wanting minimalism without going too stark and I thought it was a nice way to pull in the cabinets and add a lil color.

Staining would be a big concern for us also. Tumeric 24/7, 365 (hubs loves cooking Indian!). Is glass tile a nightmare for splattering?

If you put in laminate and then tile, that when you replace your tops with stone, you'll have a gap between the countertop and the bottom edge of the tile. Laminate tops are thicker than stone tops.

I’m having a hard time envisioning that geode tile as a border with the white glass. It’s very VERY busy...and dark. How are you planning to lay it out?

Congrats on the great house find (minus the "skuzzy" kitchen -lol). Good news is it looks like you've got great cabinets to work with!

Some suggestions...

• Formica Counters: Make sure you do not get the 4" backsplash that manufacturers assume everyone wants. You have a backsplash planned so there's no need ;)
• Accent tile: It looks too large proportionally to be an accent. Will it be cut down in size?
• Stainless Steel counter: I would install the stainless countertop first to see if you will actually need the added interest of the accent tile, which feels very busy.
• Floor Stain: Make sure to compare the grey floor stain against your current cabinet finish. I can't image a grey floor stain coordinating well with the tone of your current cabinet finish. If you really love the idea of a grey floor stain then I would also visit the idea of changing the cabinet finish as well.
• Lighting: I suggest adding design interest through pendants rather than the accent tile. I'm worried the patten and size of that tile will throw off the kitchen design as a whole.
• Cabinet Hardware: I would update your cabinet hardware to something more modern. A stainless steel countertop exudes a more modern feel and your current hardware is very traditional.

Hope this helps!

Open to suggestions, but our thought was to run one single line of it along the bottom of the backsplash and then just do an alternating brick pattern in the white above it.

Thanks Glo, very good points. The geode tile was much bigger than we'd imagined.
(I hate that 4 inch Formica lip!! I'll be so happy to see it go. It was burned behind the stove upon purchase and in our first cooking foray I burned another spot!)

I think that tile is gorgeous but not in the setting you are hoping for. I also don't think the placement will work. I am so sorry to say it. Plus, the tile pattern is going to compete with the Stainless countertops in a harsh way.

Do you have a powder room? I can imagine that tile on a single wall in a bathroom, floor to ceiling, with a pendant sink in front of it with a gorgeous simple mirror and beautiful light fixture mounted above the mirror.

Are you resurfacing the countertops or are you having all new tops installed?

I got a bid for custom laminate countertops three years ago and about choked. It was more than all new Ikea cabinets in my kitchen. I just couldn't justify it and we diyd some butcher block that I'm still very happy with.

Do you like your kitchen layout? IMO it's a waste to put expensive finishes on a less than optimal layout of cabinets.

Glo, we do plan on redoing the kids bathroom from a plastic tub to a tile and glass shower... maybe it belongs there. Siiiigh. Thank you, this is why I asked! We definitely want to take some risks but not look insane doing it.
If not this, I really want a geometric pattern tile. Some visual interest but one color, or white. Would a light solid color (gray? blue? teal?) do better with stainless and a light counter?

Hi! Congrats on the home purchase,

1. Counters. Were you going to make and fit the laminate tops yourself? I see you are planning on stainless steel counter around the cooktop. I love those types of counters and would have them.. but. Have you priced these yet? Where I am they are rare in residential and very expensive for a decent quality fitted top.

2. Does the floor have to be redone? I ask as I too think the gray tone would not work well with the cabinets.

3. We also liked the geode look and considered tiles like this too for our kitchen reno this year. We passed on it as I was not sure I could live with all the movement for years.

Benje, all new countertops. So now granite is looking better and better...?!?

Also, there were no plans to move anything - do you have any suggestions for layout changes? The fridge and peninsula are a bottleneck but we survive. I miss my sink under the kitchen window but there's no way to get that back

and we definitely will update hardware... wanted to wait till we had some more things decided till we picked. thank you :-D

Thank you MAM for your thoughts! The floors are in poor shape in the table area, faded from the sun and scratched , so we planned to refinish them. What about a light birch look? The redness in the cabinets is what throws me off but I just don't have the heart to refinish or paint them.

I think the white glass tile is great and would look awesome laid in an interesting pattern. I also think the countertop (Formica and Stainless Steel) you selected will look nice with that white tile as well! ;)

HI! Note the distance between holes in hardware is NOT standard. Test one out before buying. You might want to visit a supply house if they have helpful staff. Have you had someone out to determine if the floors can be refinished and what species they are? Maple can be difficult aka splotchy stain.

I'm in definite agreement that gray toned floors won't look right with your warm wood cabinets. They would be beautiful in a natural matte finish.

The whole white/gray scheme you are picturing will not work with those cabinets.

We also bought our forever home this year. Moving from a small house with basement built in 1959 to a one level built in 2006. Our kitchen is 3 times bigger plus a pantry. But it wasn't my dream kitchen. I also always liked a window over the sink and this had it like yours. I actually really like it now other than not having upper cabinets close for dishes and glassware. Old house had stainless appliances and this has white which I have never liked (they will be changed) Didn't really like the knotty hickory cabinets that were popular here in Montana in 2006 but I really like them now. I guess I'm saying some things you don't really like at first grow on you. Live there for awhile before spending a lot of money. So far we've only changed cabinet hardware and painted. Plan on getting new appliances maybe next year. This house has the more expensive laminate counter but I would have preferred granite. It's nice though we won't change.

You don't have very much backplash. I'd do it all in the Magic Forest.

Are your cabinets modular? If so, perhaps you can change the configuration to correct the fridge and peninsula bottleneck.

Pre-kitchen remodel, I had oak cabinets very similar to what you have now. We started out thinking that we'd give the kitchen a facelift, keeping the cabinets as they were and changing out the counters, backsplash and appliances. I thought it would be a fairly easy, quick process. bwahahahahaha, I was so delusional.

I had a heckuva time finding selections that that looked right with the oak busy grain, accentuated by the additional geometry of the raised panel doors. The orange-y toned stain looked best with counters and tiles too warm/autumn-y for my and my DH's preferences and looked off with our preferred choices. I'd come home with more samples, thinking that I'd found the right one, only to be disappointed. When we decided that we were going to spend the money to change the lay-out, which meant all new cabinets, I could say goodbye to that dilemma.

If you want to do SS counters, I think you should do the entire kitchen in SS, not just the cook top area. It really only looks good to do 2 different counters if you have an island. Otherwise, you run the risk of your kitchen looking choppy and as if you bargain shopped for surfaces and made do with what you could find.

The geode tile is gorgeous but I think it's too busy to go with oak cabinets. Oak has a bossy grain. Don't fight it, compliment it.

Here are some inspiration pics for you.

Not oak so not as busy a grain pattern but the stain color is similar:

White is crisp and fresh with oak:

PS I was also surprised at how close in price the top level laminates were to Level 1 granite. You likely don't want a dark granite but Steel Gray is a hard working, quiet Level 1 granite. We used it in our kitchen (with quartersawn oak cabinets).

You wrote that you're working on better light fixtures ... do you have can lights in the kitchen? Undercabinet lighting? If you update and invest in better lighting, not just new fixtures, it would help brighten your windowless kitchen.

Honestly I think you may be trading one sorta busy look, that has a specific appearance that dates it, even though it's probably not all that old, for another sorta busy look with a very specific appearance.

Your kitchen is traditional, and the glass tile (whether as an accent or the entire backsplash) is very contemporary and I don't think it will do much to update the kitchen.

The original geode tile is very large scale. The pictures with the blue geode are actual semiprecious stones, and the third picture is very large format glass tile.

I think in some ways, your may end up being even more busy because it's cut into segments...

Note how contemporary the rest of these kitchens or rooms are

The tile you chose is beautiful really, but to me it's kind of like going "Ooh" at a piece of Tiffany High Jewelry like this cuff bracelet. Just because it's beautiful, it doesn't mean that you can wear it to work. Like this bracelet, that tile requires the right occasion and outfit, and your kitchen is way too traditional and ordinary in a completely fine way to try and update it with flashy tile. This is not a criticism of your kitchen. There are very few places where that tile work, no matter how eye-catching it is by itself.

lighten it up! Do marble counter tops, white tile backsplash, and make it more like this century.

Because your layout really could be improved upon with cabinet changes, I just wouldn't invest much in zhuzhing up the kitchen as it is.

As lisa mentioned... if your cabinets are modular, we can help you rearrange them for a more functional layout.