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sabrinashular

Keep the wood cabinets?

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

I’d like to make my kitchen less busy and lighten things up, but am about 10 years behind on the Joanna Gaines look (white kitchen, ship lap, wood and white - all of which I love). I don’t really care about the trends, but will subway tiles get old!?! If I leave the maple cabinets, Can I get away with keeping my walnut island and replacing the countertops and backsplash with white quartz and maybe white subway tiles, or will my maple cabinets look too yellow? Is all that too busy? It can’t be any worse than it is now! If I were to strip and reveal the cabinets, is there new varathane that doesn’t turn yellow over time?

My first thoughts were:

1. to paint my cabinets all white, do offwhite shiplap up the vaulted wall and over the sink, and white subway tiles with a light grey grout as the backsplash. If I do this, do need to replace all the maple mouldings in the rest of the upper floor? i like a cohesive look, but am also budget conscious and all the mouldings are still “good enough”. Then leave the island as is - we just updated it in 2015 and I love the butcher block top.

2. also replace the coffee station with just open shelves and do a nice clean look on the left side, on the up portion, which would be over shiplap wall. Replace the little shelves over the sink with some similar to the coffee bar. I don’t have water at the coffee bar, will I hate it?

3. change out chandelier and lights in the room. Very exciting and will probably be a great change

, even if I did nothing else!

after I had a friend say she loves my kitchen with the wood cabinets and that they are coming back “in”, I am reconsidering it all! It seems like white oak and birch seem to be the “in“ woods, maybe not yellow maple.

opinions please!









Update: these are probably my top 3 fave kitchens on Pinterest. Love the clean look, and brightness but also the contrast with the different island. I realize I have a lot of colours going on, I think we painted about 10 years ago, lol, then added the island 5 years ago. I haven’t wanted to touch the flooring because it will be hella-expensive; we do things in stages. I have been called an old soul and we are farmers so i have no problem being labelled with the “farmhouse” look (maybe verging on cluttery grandma!) My goal is just to make it all flow together. and brighten it up a bit. I will start with decluttering (and closing the dishwasher)

I really dislike the yellow that maple cabinets turn over time. They probably were the same colour as the floor when the house was built 20 years ago. Is there a new product that would stay clear if I were to strip them back?


Comments (11)

  • 5 years ago

    Please don't do anything until you have an overall plan. Knowing what's in or out is ok. I'd just get a look that's timeless. Here's link for the look that you like. Note what you like and don't like.

    https://www.houzz.com/photos/query/joanna-gaines-kitchen/nqrwns

    You are mixing cool and warm colors in your space. That's what may be the problem. Your floor, cabs, and island top are warm - wall and ceiling is cool. Here are warm colors: off-white, cream, beige, tan, brown, olive green, orange, golden yellow, gold, peach. Cool colors: gray, bright white, taupe, black, royal blue, pine green, forest green, Kelly green, ice pastels, red, purple. In my opinion, rooms look more cohesive when they are all cool colors or all warm. Every person has different taste. I don't like trendy stuff. The easiest way to fix this kitchen is to change the ceiling, walls, and light to a warm color. All the accessories above the cabs can also be painted to warm colors.

  • 5 years ago

    I don’t dislike your cabinets, but they are quite similar to your floor, while not actually being quite the same color (or wood.) It’s a lot of work to strip and stain cabinets! If it weren’t for the one tall cabinet over on the left, I’d suggest you consider staining/painting only your bottom cabinets, perhaps to coordinate with your island. With a little distance between the floor and the yellow maple I think they coordinate fine, so with just the lower half a different color I think the upper ones would appear to match with the floor. But what would you do with the tall cab??

    If you choose to leave all the cabinets as is, I’d recommend you paint your grey wall a new accent color that is less cool, and a little more brown so it ties in with a color from your island. Right now the black/brown island and the grey wall are arguing a little.

  • 5 years ago

    Yes get a plan. But my gut reaction is- beautiful bar! Paint the cabinets. White? Gray? Do it!!

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Three suggestions

    go with some type of glass doors for all the upper cabinets and keep your collection of window frames above them

    stain the lower cabinets the same tone as the island with the possible exception of your utility closet next to the dishwasher, which you could paint or leave as is

    either commit to a dramatic zig zag color scheme for the upper walls and carry it through or paint them all the same light tone, losing that dark upper wall.

    what ive suggested puts you on the road to a kind of Industrial look. If that is totally out of keeping with the rest of your house decor, won’t work

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    IMO it's not the cabinets that's the problem, it's the wall paint. It does absolutely nothing for the cabinets. I would start with that simple change, de-clutter, and then re-assess.

  • 5 years ago

    These glass cabinets are from IKEA


    Custom Modern IKEA Kitchen Remodel · More Info


  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Here are a some kitchen designs from a designer we follow. Notice the cabinet color, backsplash, and countertops.

    Modern: Kitchen · More Info


    Cascade Mountain Home · More Info


  • 5 years ago

    I would remove anything gray, especially the walls. Remove every thing from the countertops and put back ONLY what is necessary. Your space is sort of “ modern” but your accessories are country/farmhouse. The bar stools do not fit with what you seem to be seeking. Try some of the glass cabinet doors, too. After doing those things take a serious look at where you are in deciding if you want new countertops and backsplash. Try a more creamy color for the walls. Work with what you have rather than painting the cabinets.

  • 5 years ago

    I also think you should leave the cabinets. The gray wall paint does nothing at all for your kitchen. I would possibly paint that bar. Its beautiful, but, its very dark and drab looking at the same time. I would declutter a bit too, and then add a few colorful accent pieces to bring in some actual color. I also would add a rug or two in front of the cabinets, since the floor color does not agree with color of cabinets. Pull colors from your rugs, for the walls, and your accessories. Its just a bit bland right now.

  • 5 years ago

    I love your island - to me it has sort of a vintage industrial vibe. I would lean into that and update your cabinet hardware and lighting with more industrial fixtures in black, replace the perimeter counter and backsplash with something a little sleeker (maybe white quartz or soapstone if you are okay with dark), and lose the grey walls. Definitely declutter as well. Also, what is up with the toekick area? I would get paneling to finish that so it matches the cabinets.

    sabrinashular thanked biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
  • 5 years ago

    You have a variety of different styles going on in this relatively small space. Do you have pictures of spaces you like saved on Houzz or Pinterest? If not, start looking at kitchen pictures and save what you like. Then go back through and look at what the rooms have in common. Is the decor modern, industrial, farmhouse, minimalist? Are the cabinets wood, painted, dark, light? Etc, etc... You need to figure out what your style is in a way that you can describe, then you'll get more meaningful help.

    My one piece of concrete advice: Declutter. Remove everything from the tops of the cabinets. All that stuff up there is so distracting, and not in a good way. Get everything off the counters that you don't use every day. Give yourself some breathing room and a blank slate so you can think about what you really like enough to keep.