Hi all,
I would like to know some suggestions to modernize the look of my kitchen and what colour should should I try to make it look clean, modernize and cozy. I was thinking of painting out the cabinets and walls. Any specific colours recommended for the cabinet and kitchen wall? (FYI, wall colour going up the stairs and foyer is BM Stonington and the kitchen is currently BM OC-08 Elephant tusk. 
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There are many kitchen renovation magazines and websites that showcase some of the best kitchen designs that they have but you should keep in mind that every house has different needs and space area and therefore your kitchen design should be unique as per your needs.
Oh wow, thank you Mrs Peacock! The very first one is something I would consider to replace the two tracklights. Base on the pictures I have update in my very first post; you can see exactly where the lights will be situated and the third light I was thinking something fancy because its closer to the living room. The third power outlet is not shown in the picture but its at the end of the right tracklight and its closer to the living room too. I was thinking maybe the light that look like leaves being put there :) That will looks very nice.
I think they are way too simple. They look too much like boob lights. I would like to see something with a bit more character. Below are a few ideas, maybe something appeals to you.
Thank you :) I love to do a DIY project around my condo but I am just the worst when it comes to creativity unfortunately. Okay will try those too lights and see how it goes :) Thanks again.
Yes.
Way too simple. My daughter did something very unique for her kitchen that I think looks fantastic. She had a four tube flourescent box with a plastic yellowed and cracked cover. She went and got some etched privacy glass and then stained it and it looks simply great. She turned something simple into something very sophisticated. She gets that talent from her mother, not me.
There are lots of lights out there and any good lighting store is so much fun going through and looking at them. You will come away with some great ideas and maybe even a light that stands out and makes you happy.
What did you think of these 2 lights? Is that simple enough for the kitchen at least?
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Cement in the ceiling? You must have a condo I guess. Scrap recessed lights then. Go for something simple and then maybe around the tops of the cabinets you could run LED lights. Just a thought.
So I had two people coming in to take a look at my track lights and they both said it is going to be hard to drail through the concrete above to put two more holes for the potlights. Are the recessed light mentioned require drailing through concrete? Right now there are only three spots where there are power source coming out are the "bulbs" on the two track lights and one not being use (covered up with plate closer to the livingroom). Can you recommend any other kind of light fixtures which looks contemporary and modern? I've looked at Home Depot and found these one? What do you think, haha. I dont have really good taste picking out stuff but I do try.
To be able to have a modern look kitchen you gonna have check what are the latest style and treading color. As you have those initial update you will know then what is your kitchen going to be look like.
You might wanna check new styles of Kitchen appliances or products that could help you make your kitchen neat and organized. www.valuepointdistribution.com
You are welcome, Kingwestlady. All we can do here is toss some ideas out there. Yikes! 18 feet! Will you paint yourself? It might be safer to rent scaffolding. I don't think it costs very much to rent. We did just that when we added an addition to our home. You can get up there and walk back and forth without having to go up and down a ladder. Maybe your brother would help you set it up in your home. It is all food for thought, anyway. The most important thing is that you are happy with your choices. You have a lovely place there. You want to wake up in the morning and be happy with it. You hear of people selling their homes and that is when they decide to fix things and decorate. I say... do it as you go along and enjoy it while you are there.
Ikea has some reasonably priced frame and prints. www.art.com has quite a choice for art work. Esty is another good website for original art (a lot of unique and handmade stuff too)
lol, bunny matches decor!
Be sure to post your progress.
Hi Enrol,
Thank you for all these ideas and contributions you made in my inquiry. Okay I will think about painting the living room the same as the kitchen. When I get it done I will post an update picture. Its an 18 feet ceiling so I do have to wait for my brother to lend me his industrial ladder. Will work on painting the stairs white when I get a chance. I do have some pictures but I have to get more picture frames (probably black and white) for the stair wall.
PS..my bunny is black and white so he blends in the living room for sure, lol.
Linking you to Ikea site on how to hang pics...................... http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/categories/departments/decoration/tool...
Good for you Kingwestlady! Your cabinets really look great in white!(and the bar!) What shade did you use? Leave your red wall if you are still enjoying it and you could still paint the rest of the livingroom RP. I still think with your open concept home that it will unify it. It is such a lovely neutral colour (nice backdrop) that your reds and blacks will still go with it. I have one black wall! I think your reds look nice with the RP but maybe you are looking for a change? Pretty much any accent colour will go with it. (blues, greens, orange, rust, purple, yellows? Another suggestion for you would be maybe a gallery wall on the way up the stairs?( mirrors? add some sparkle or ikea frames?) I don't want to overwhelm you but it may be something to think about later. I think you are doing a fantastic job so far!
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I saw those lights on sale at Rona - 6 for something like $40 when they are on sale - I'll try and post a link. Bottom line is they are not expensive.
http://www.rona.ca/shop/jib_recessed-light-fixtures-accessories_indoor-outdoor-lighting_lighting-electricity_shop
Yes I agree :) I did had my brother to have a look at it but he is way too busy right now to help me out. I am thinking of changing from track to pot lights but its a budget and time matter. I will look into that later on for sure.
Hi Anrol
Thank you so much for the support :) Ya I am so happy that I took that leap to paint my (stair wall and kitchen) the same colour - BM Revere Pewter. But I am really scare to paint the rest the same colour in the living room :( I am not that daring but I know that as time goes on I will start to change but little step is just what I can take. I get stress out when I don't see the result fast enough. I was SO STRESS out with the cabinet painting already and thank God it turns out nice. Here are pictures of the progression and final looks in the kitchen. I know you mention that I should consider painting the spokes "white" same as the kitchen cupboard. Don't worry, I am thinking...:) Once I want to change it will be done!
Actually what I really want to change is the wall behind the Ikea shelf (where the TV is). I sort of grew out of the red and I find it a bit tacky (lol) with the contemporary look I have in my place now. I want to change it to maybe a softer/light colour that will got with the rest of my living room or Revere pewter. Can you suggest anything? My living part is more of a black and white theme :)
Kingwestlady - question for you. Do you think that the ceiling with those two sets of track lights is just a little busy?
To me they overpower the room in look and lighting. I like the new colour you have chosen and would perhaps suggest putting in some recessed light fixtures - small halogen buld ones that you can put on a rheostat and make them bright when you need them, or dim for accent or mood.
You don't need many of them and based on what I see I would think four of them would do the trick. Just an idea,
Hi kingwestlady! I love it! I think it is a much more cohesive look now! (looks good with your flooring and the carpet on the stairs) Did you continue right through to your livingroom area? When you click on your pics they are huge but I was able to right click on the big picture and view it smaller. I think it looks great night or day. Looking forward to seeing the cabinets painted white! Cute bunny!
Hi I finally decided to painted all the same colour (its BM Revere Pewter :-) between the kitchen and the wall leading up the stairs. I am not sure what your guys think. The wall colour looks darkers going up the stairs vs what's on the kitchen walls. I mentioned that I face north with two storey loft light shining in the living room/kitchen. I also have 2 storeys lights coming in from the west eventhough the picture does not show it.
Kitchen cupboards and the stairs are going to get done painted in "White Cloud" soon. I am just not too sure about the colour difference during the day.
Hi, i think that you should go with the cool color scheme and some thing that goes with floor,then it will be great and even if it does not go with floor you can cover the floor with kitchen rugs.....
Revere pewter is a beautiful color but when I tried on the wall going up the stair which also a wall of the bedroom it was abit too dark and dull looking for me for some reason. Because my place is not that big I find Stonington recede and thus gives you abit if illusion that it's more spacey-er.
Sounds like a plan! One step at a time! Leave the railing as is then. It seems to go with the floors. It looks like a different stain than the cabinets.(a different kind of wood?) They are a PITA to paint. The cabinets would look nice in white and it would give them an updated look. It is your home and if the Stonington makes you feel good then that's great. I would love to see your place when you do the cabinets. Please post when they are finished. Good luck. If I can find a pic of my old cabinets sometime, I will post it for you. The before and after........... Oh just looking at the Stonigton in the BM fandeck and Revere pewter HC-172 is on the same chip as the stonington gray. Might be worth a look too.
Hi Enrol,
I will definitely paint out the cabinet. But I am really scare about painting out the handrail. It is so beautiful in its own. Maybe when I am ready to move forward once I am done painting out the cabinet and the kitchen wall. About painting the wall, the colour you recommend were intended for the kitchen only right? I really do like th look of the BM Stonington Gray going up the stair. It is so calming and peaceful with that being there. It tooks me years to settled down with this colour because I have spend so much money trying out this and that paint and end up in the end paying one hour for interior consultation to get that wall color right. With that said I am really trying to save up now on putting in the right stuff in the kitchen. I like the Smoky taupe colour :) Okay I will work with the cabinet first (maybe with BM cloud white or BM calm) and submit new pictures later.
Hi kingwestlady! Really nice place you have there! I don't see the Stonington gray working with the warm wood tones of the cabinets now. I had almost the same colour of cabinets before I had our cabinets refaced a few years ago (done in white now----had new doors and drawer fronts made--- painted the original cabinets and added to them to put in under cabinet lighting. also painted my oak railing white!) If this were my condo I think I would try to pull a wall colour from the countertop, probably in the taupe shade. It would warm up your space. Your countertop has some nice shades in it. Work with it. You could look at BM smoky taupe CC-490 or BM rocky road CC-470. You might pull a gray from countertop, as well, more so if you change the colour of the cabinets. I tried this but I am not great at it and and you would probably pick a softer white.............
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Hey Anrol,
Here is another shot stand at the kitchen facing the living. I am not sure if that help for you or not..thumbnail.JPG "Image")
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Hi kingwestlady. Could you take some other pics of the kitchen? It is hard to see what is in the kitchen (maybe a shot from the stairs and a shot from a distance? Other furniture ajacent to the kitchen?) Would be nice to see a pic of the countertops! Just by what I can see, I would probably paint the whole railing.(white?) The cabinets would look good painted white and you could change the hardware. I can't really see the countertop or your other furnishings to really advise a colour. You might be able to pull a colour from the countertop.(or not) Do you have a backsplash or no? Would really like to see more pics!
I did submitted to 'ask a designer column' but I have not heard back.
Hello kingwestlady,
Personally, I love white cupboards. How about Cloud White from Benjamin Moore? This would also be a great question for our Ask A Designer column. Submit your question with photos via email from this page:
http://houseandhome.com/design/design-decorating/ask-designer
Good luck with the kitchen!
Gwen McAuley (gmcauley at hhmedia.com)