Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Should They Stay or Should They Go?

Oh this kitchen....It is absolutely fine right?  Newish and clean(sometimes), but when we moved in it was super duper cheapy looking.  I feel like it still is a bit "cheapy looking" but we have done a few things to make it a little less "track builder quality".  I am pretty sure I don't have a before pic anywhere so you will just have to use your imagination, but only a teeny tiny bit.
We started by:
Removing the large florescent light over the bar and replacing it with of course non other than an IKEA light fixture.  Our obsession with IKEA lighting and cabinetry started back when we lived in Houston 10 years ago and honestly before we had a house. Touring the floors of IKEA was sometimes a piece of our weekend entertainment. I digress....
We then replaced the builder grade 4 light chandelier that hung over the breakfast table
And then decided to tackle our ever so sad island that was essentially thin laminated sheets of particle board(and still are).  We trimmed it out with MDF and put a coat of the Sherwin Williams black fox that we had previously used here in our mini master redo just to give it a little character and make it look a tad more sophisticated.



As for the rest of the cabinetry we just have not decided if we should paint or not.  I like wood cabinets I really do but these are just a tad too light for us.  If  going with a wood stained cabinet I prefer something darker. 
 Like this!
(yes this is a tiny pic but you can see a bigger clearer version in the link to it in my pinterest kitchen board)


 I also have had a thing for white cabs lately and of course I can't keep my eyes off of gray.  
(Not a kitchen but you get the idea...again found in the pinterest account on the right sidebar)


So how on earth do you decide whether or not to tackle the uber huge job of painting your cabinets....especially if you don't know what color you really want?  
In comes Sherwin Williams Discover Color program...You can take any photo and easily edit it with the color of your choice to see how you like it!
So here is the kitchen in Black Fox(the gray I am in love with)



What do you think about the gray?  I actually love the way it looks.....but....I am nervous about resale issues with this color.  It would of course look much better with an gorgeous marble or glass subway tile and new countertops but what kitchen wouldn't right?  We just can't put that kinda dough into this house.

So how about a lighter look?  This area in our house it actually a bit dark so I would love to lighten it up..oh and I guess that would be another reason not to go gray;)  Out of fear of going too bright white I thought I would play with this Softer Tan color.  The name is a bit misleading but I new it was a great color when I saw it here.



I don't know though...Of course it makes the pendant light stand out but not in a good way(I don't think) Hmm.  It just looks totally different than it does it the link above.

So then...I tried moderate white because that is what all of the trim in the house is.  This is o.k. and definitely lightens the place up but I don't like the way it brings out the tile and the black appliances and since we can't replace the tile and appliances..well...I don't know what to do.


What do you think?  Would you go for the bolder approach of gray(if your into gray at all of course) and/or does the white just look all wrong with this beige tile color?  Is it worth all of the effort?

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13 comments:

Carri K said... Best Blogger Tips

OH...I love 'em white! ;)

Carri K said... Best Blogger Tips

OH! I love 'em white! ;)

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

I like the gray. It's very now and sophisticated. it's not helping that you're getting two different answers. Sorry but I like the gray.

everyday products and more said... Best Blogger Tips

hi following from the hop look foward to reading your posts
http://everydayproductsandmore.blogspot.com/

Jessica said... Best Blogger Tips

@Naomi
I love them gray too! But I am in love with white right now as well..Who knows?! Thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

LOVE YOUR STYLE!! We are moving to Albuquerque in a few months and I am dreading all the home projects that I know I'll have to do. Gotta bookmark your blog so I can come back for some styling tips. As for the gray vs. white. I would normally say white but I think the gray looks better visually in these pictures.

Just wanted to say thank you for joining our Welcome Wednesday blog hop! We hope to see you stop by weekly and even maybe enter some of our giveaways and check out our freebies & deals! We are so happy to be new followers of your blog and can't wait to come back! You are more than welcome to grab our special Welcome Wednesday button which will link you directly to our hop each week & that also helps spread the word about our great event!

THANKS!
Kristin
& Jaime
--
Take It From Me

Angela said... Best Blogger Tips

I like all 3, but for some reason I am drawn to the 3rd pic. Don't know why. I like the contrast of the dark appliances, island and cabinets against each other. Not even sure how to do this or even if it can be done but have you looked into inking the white cabinets? Not sure if that is even a look you are going for, but my friend just moved into a new home with a mix of dark cabinets and white cabinets with inking. Really pulls it all together. Just an idea.

Wicked Chef # 1 - Linds said... Best Blogger Tips

I know the dilemma. We are looking to completely redo our cabinets in our condo... sooooo stressful. I am a new follower and would love for you to stop by :)

http://memoirs-of-2-wicked-chefs.blogspot.com/

Kara said... Best Blogger Tips

If you are going for brighter, the white really does that. The gray makes the room pretty dark, but I was thinking if you added some sort of cute knobs on the gray that was light in color, it might help?? (I also really like the wood though so don't know if I'm much help.)

Ashley said... Best Blogger Tips

WHITE:)

Taylor Made said... Best Blogger Tips

Normally I would choose white but I am really digging the grey color. You could maybe lighten it a bit. We used Home Depot's subway tile three years ago at $.13 per tile on our back splash. It would lighten things up and not cost much ( since you two are handy and could tile it yourself).

Amy said... Best Blogger Tips

I like the grey! It is definitely darker than the white options, but if you're worried about the room being too dark you could always add under cabinet or on top of cabinet lighting relatively easily!

Lori Ann said... Best Blogger Tips

I love the grey, but can understand it being too dark. I will tell you from experience that I hate my white cabinets under the counter. I feel like they are constantly getting dirty. What if you painted the bottom ones grey and the top ones white? Or maybe tint the white with a little of your grey paint to soften the starkness of the white?