Welcome to my soon-to-be new kitchen. This is where I will be doing my cooking and entertaining come November 15th.The kitchen is a good size and I'm happy about that but I also feel that it needs some colour. It is just too stark and white. The walls are a lovely seafoam green but I don't think the colour really goes in a kitchen . What do you think?
Also, I have another dilemma. There are four tiles on the backsplash with a fruit medley painted on them. I do not like images of fruit on tiles. For those of you that are 'do-it-yourself' home renovators, I need your advice and suggestions on how to cover up those four tiles. Do I paint over them? Do I take a chisel and chisel them out and pop in 4 new tiles in white? Is this even possible to do? Ideally, I would love to have a professional redo the entire backsplash in a mosaic of black, gray and white glass tiles (see photo below), but that is out of the question for now.
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9 comments:
The kitchen looks great. Well, maybe not the electric stove, but that could just be me. As for the fruit tiles (I wouldn't like them either), I think painting is the easiest thing to do. Make sure you get paint specifically for ceramic tiles, plus you need to really thoroughly clean the tiles before you paint them.
My best suggestion about the color of your kitchen walls and cabinets is to live with the kitchen for at least 6 months as it is. You'll ultimately make a much better decision about changes to make because you'll know the kitchen in all its various moods, and in many different lighting situations.
Congrats on your kitchen!
Congratulations on your new home. You will always be able to count on having a project going at all times so pace yourself! I agree with Laurie that living in a place for awhile to get the feel of the light and use is important.
BUT, in the case of the kitchen, I would do some painting and updating right away! The white tile back splash, with or without fruit scenes is harsh. When I visited Stockholm, there was a store called Form + Funktion that sold beautifully graphic ceramic tile decals. There were all kinds, and I think you could get really creative on how to use that tile wall from just covering the four, to an entire row, to the whole wall. Very fun. Hopefully these decals have made their way to Canada or the USA to make it quicker for you.
Here are a couple of links:
1. http://simplystated.realsimple.com/home/2008/03/wall-decals-sti.html
2. http://domestic.fr/
3. http://www.formandfunction.se/
Paint the walls. Paint is cheap, and most likely you will end up loving what you choose. Depending on what you decide to do with the tile. Balancing the white of the cabinets would be my goal.
Changing the handles on the cabinets is always a good thing. There's some amazing hardware out there. Good luck and have fun!
there are some very lovely tile stickers floating about online. you can cover them up with a very modern pattern that fits over the tile seamlessly: http://www.2jane.com/mibo-tile-sticker-tattoos.aspx
as for the wall colour, it doesn't have much contrast with the white, so i'd pick something with more impact. take a look around at design blogs and just look at what grabs you most! i think decor8 is a good place to start.
laurie: Spoken like a true chef! LOL Although I grew up in a house that always had an electric stove,and all my cooking to date has been done on an electric stove, I would have preferred a gas stove in my new kitchen. Thanks for your advice on the kitchen colour and tile dilemma. I'm not sure I have the patience to hold off for 6 months in a stark white kitchen before I begin to make changes but you are right; I need to give it some time and thought beforehand.
kalliope: Thank you so much for your detailed instructions and knowledgeable advice on how to make tasteful and functional changes. The links you provided were of great help to me.
Changing the knobs on the cabinets will probably be one of the first things I do. I feel a whole lot better knowing that there are decals for tiles out there. I will have to seek them out at Home Depot.
kickpleat: I'm so glad that you too agree that the wall colour is bland. I was hoping to avoid painting the kitchen but since it seems like a common suggestion, I will take on the task of painting the kitchen walls. Or I will assign the task to my father-in-law who is more that eager to assist. :) Thanks for jogging my memory to check out Decor8 for ideas. I haven't been on that site recently. I also stumbled upon another website recently called 'Apartment Therapy' which is also very inspiring and fun!!
Would be interested to hear if you find what you like at the Home Depot. The tile decals I've seen in the U.S. are equal or worse to the ones you have now!! Contrasting the walls to balance out the stark white will make an immediate difference.
Waiting for photos... no pressure :)
I'll post an update once the transformations start taking place, kalliope! I see that you are a fan of European design. Me too!!
your kitchen looks!!! I think it has great potential and looks pretty good as is. I agree with you on the paint colour, it is definitely more of a bathroom/bedroom colour. I am not handy, nor is my husband, so I'm unable to help you on the tile question, but the fruit has got to go:)
cserdan: Thanks, another vote for changing the wall colour :) Same here, neither I nor my husband are handy around the house so whatever changes we do will have to be through trial and error...thankfully, I have a close friend that is quite good with renos...so I will be asking her a lot of questions.
It’s been years already, but I hope you’ll still be able to read this, Joanne. Scrapping those tiles and repainting them can be time-consuming. It would be better if you follow Laurie’s advice. Anyway, black, grey, and white color scheme is monochromatic, and I believe this goes well with white kitchen.
Terence Watthens
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