Some say that the kitchen is the heart of the home and since our kitchen and living area is going to be one open space that is very true in our situation. So we’ve felt some pressure in making decisions related to our kitchen. In trying to blend a casual, comfortable style with a traditional feel we’re having a little trouble figuring out what that looks like.
I thought that I would share some of our design inspiration pictures and let you know what we’re definitely wanting and see if you have any suggestions or helpful information to help us make our decisions.
Love the lit cabinets that go to the ceiling. We are definitely wanting to incorporate this. And the window over the sink has been incorporated too.
We’ve been considering a wooden top for our island. Anyone who has one and has an opinion on how it has worked out? We also love the lanterns in this kitchen.
This is more formal than I would like but I loved the window over the sink and I love the marble although I can’t wrap my head around the upkeep and staining possibilities. I’m also concerned that a kitchen full of marble would be a lot more formal than what we’re desiring.
We like having the island a different color than the outside cabinets and love the dark wood topped with marble. But that leaves us with the question of what to top our lighter cabinets with on the outside of the kitchen.
This kitchen is one of my favorites although it doesn’t meet some of the things that I just said that we want (different colored island most especially).
I love the feel of this kitchen with it’s homey and yet traditional vibe. I’m just not sure how to pull it off without black countertops which I don’t want.
I like the design on these glass cabinets but am not sure that they’ll fit in with our finished product.
So our main points of contention are the light fixtures above the island and built in eating area, the colors of the kitchen (cabinets, countertops, etc), and the sinks. The sinks are probably our most pressing concern because we need to have that pretty much solidified (at least the style if not the material) in order to get a cabinet plan done. This is also where I would appreciate any opinions or advice that you have the most!
We currently have a stainless steel sink and had a white iron sink in our old house. Neither of those were really our favorite. We had a lot of trouble keeping the white sink looking it’s best what with our propensity to drink tea and scrapes from utensils and dishes. This could have been because it was a more inexpensive version (I’m assuming) but it has made us leery of putting in a traditional white sink.
Our stainless also has a lot of water spots and only really looks good when it’s just been cleaned and then wiped down with a dry cloth. That’s a lot of work for a Mom with two little ones. So we’re not really sure that we want to go the stainless way either.
We know that there are a lot of options out there in regards to undercount, apron, etc much less with number of bowls, color and the like. We have found one sink made by Blanco of a material called Siligranit which is a granite composite that supposedly has all kinds of great properties like being heat resistant like granite but not requiring the care that granite does. They come in many colors and we like the look of them but are a little concerned about something so “modern” looking out of place.
Another option that we have recently found that we like is the Copper Apron Front sink. Some of the biggest drawbacks to this is the cost (yikes!) and the volatile staining/coloration of copper (in my opinion).
So that’s kind of where we’re sitting on the kitchen. Amidst a lot of decisions that need to be made and that we want to make but without a firm opinion on what we like the best or what is the best decision to make. Marble or granite or wood? Copper or iron or granite or siligranit sink? And on and on. Any expertise in this area or just your opinions would be greatly appreciated!
