Decoratin'

[LadyShea]

Hey any decoratin' types. You think it's okay to mix metals in a kitchen? I have all stainless appliances getting installed, but want to decorate with copper. I have never had a fancy kitchen before and and feeling unsure of myself for the first time.

Hows about mixing woods? I need to pick cabinets and hardwood floors, and don't think I want everything all matchy matchy because that would bore me to tears. Seems like I can mix all kinds of wood tones attractively, but again, I have never had nice stuff to work with.

I am great with a 10.00 budget and a 40-year old house to work with, but seem to be having problems with nice new stuff.

[Ensign Steve]

Mix! Mix! Mix!

I saw a kitchen on the TV that had an island whose top was half butcher-block type wood and half granite. They were even different heights! There was stainless steel and glass brick and all kinds of different colors and textures in this kitchen and it was gorgeous!

(Then again, I also wear silver and gold jewelery at the same time, I know that makes some people nuts.)

Pier One is having a springtime sale, btw. I just went crazy with candles and vases. Had to hold myself back from the photo frames.

from http://www.parr.com/Resources/News_Articles/The_Countertop_Encounter/
An important point is that there is no rule against using multiple surfaces in the same kitchen. You might put granite by the cooking area and solid surface at the cleanup area. You might have a butcher block island, or even have two countertop heights on an island with different surface materials on them. Different counter materials have different functions, benefits, and disadvantages. Sometimes it is up to the budget to decide.

[pescifish]

Mix! Mix! Mix!What she says! I think the only reason people don't mix things is because it's safer if they aren't sure about their choices. You've got a gorgeous sense of style, so your mixing will be low risk.

I know you have another thread about cookware: stainless, copper, cast iron, etc.., but have you considered Revere Ware? Isn't it stainless and copper? My mom had a set and it was good looking and seemed to work very well. I don't know how it is rated these days, though.


(Then again, I also wear silver and gold jewelery at the same time, I know that makes some people nuts.)Hmmm! I do this all the time, in fact, I'm currently enchanted by my latest jewelry set which includes as much white gold as it does yellow. I wish this board had one of those Random (Ok, Dammit!) Thoughts threads, 'cuz I'm dying to talk about these pieces in a hit and run post.

[Crumb]

I wish this board had one of those Random (Ok, Dammit!) Thoughts threads

This thread (http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2224) seems to be turning into one. Oh heck, let's just make it one. it will be extra funny because it is so accidental. :D

[LadyShea]

I mix white and yellow gold jewelry and I was actually a jewelry professional at a point in my life. So it's perfectly okay according to me.

You've got a gorgeous sense of style, so your mixing will be low risk.

Wow, thank you for the vote of confidence :).

[Brimshack]

Okay, so make sure you have pink curtains, and those fruity wallpaper patterns. Get a completely different kind of pot at each size. Lots of plastic cups which you can mix with 3 or 4 different kinds of cofee cups. Use silverware from at least 3 different sets. Brown small plates and tea plates, with blue bowls, and mized bluw and brown large plates. Put 2 tables in your kitchen, but make sure one is a sining room table and the other is really a desk. Now get nice desert sand chairs, but take one out and put in a maroon chair instead, one that;s flat and won't roll like the others. And while you're at it, make sure that you never take any decorating advice from me ever under any circumstances, and you'll do just fine.

[Ensign Steve]

Brimshak, you remind me of that Ikea commercial for the wine glasses. The guy is having a party and he serves the wine in two wine glasses, an acrylic tumbler with a strawberry print, and a big plastic collector's cup that looks like it could have come from a fast-food place. Heehee! "I take my chardonnay in the Big Gulp size, and don't skimp on the bendy straw!"

[Brimshack]

Hey feel free to Supersize. Nuthin but the best for you baby.

[Lauri D]

I'm with JD and pesci on this. MIX! Match. Blend and whirl while you're at it! I've always found eclectic decor to be way more interesting - and classier in a certain way - than "matchy matchy". As has been mentioned, your eye for style will guide you. Go with it!

[AspenMama]

Hey any decoratin' types. You think it's okay to mix metals in a kitchen? I have all stainless appliances getting installed, but want to decorate with copper. I have never had a fancy kitchen before and and feeling unsure of myself for the first time.

Hows about mixing woods? I need to pick cabinets and hardwood floors, and don't think I want everything all matchy matchy because that would bore me to tears. Seems like I can mix all kinds of wood tones attractively, but again, I have never had nice stuff to work with.

I am great with a 10.00 budget and a 40-year old house to work with, but seem to be having problems with nice new stuff.

Are you really stuck on stainless? I prefer black appliances myself. The stainless is notorious for fingerprints! Are you wanting to use a darker copper or are you going with a bright copper? Walk through some model homes for ideas-- my favorite kitchens are the ones that blend light and dark tones-- so if you have light wood cabinets, then dark countertops look best and vise versa. My advice then, if you're going to contrast, do a heavy contrast.

[LadyShea]

Are you really stuck on stainless? I prefer black appliances myself. The stainless is notorious for fingerprints! Are you wanting to use a darker copper or are you going with a bright copper? Walk through some model homes for ideas-- my favorite kitchens are the ones that blend light and dark tones-- so if you have light wood cabinets, then dark countertops look best and vise versa. My advice then, if you're going to contrast, do a heavy contrast.


I love stainless appliances, and my current black ones show fingerprints just as much. I have a stainless cleaner spray stuff that works great for my current stainless sink (just installed it a few months ago for putting the house on the market).

Anyhoo, I only have three cabinet color choices, and am pretty sure I will be going with the cherry cherry cabinets shown here (http://www.brickhome.net/virtual_tours.htm) , and Frankie likes dark granites for the countertops and I prefer contrast as you said, so I am really unsure. I haven't seen the granite choices yet, so perhaps can find something we both like.

I prefer aged, dark copper myself. I am considering buying copper and stainless tiles to do a backsplash and tie everything together.

[lisarea]

I nth the mixing things up recommendation. My philosophy is that if nothing matches, everything can go together. If you start out too matchy, disparate elements will stick out and look wrong. If nothing matches in the first place, then you can add whatever the hell you want. And especially in a utilitarian room like a kitchen, where there are practical reasons for having different surfaces and things like that, trying to be consistent would just end up limiting you unnecessarily in terms of utility. (Butcher block and granite, copper and stainless and cast iron and aluminum, etc., all have different functions in the kitchen, so mixing surfaces isn't a design thing. It's a cooking thing.)

It might look kind of hippy-ish, maybe, but all that does is add the element of surprise to your arsenal, so that people will be all off their guard, going, "Oh, my god! I thought you were a hippy!" while you're kicking their asses.

So it can really be an effective choice in terms of strategy as well.


Are you really stuck on stainless? I prefer black appliances myself. The stainless is notorious for fingerprints!

My mom got all over me for my stainless steel sink because of the fingerprints and watermarks and stuff, but man, I cannot even fathom ever even noticing something like a fingerprint or a stray water mark on my sink. I am trying to respect your diversity and all, but man, you clean people are from a different planet or something! As far as I'm concerned, the fingerprints are useful in drawing the eye away from stuff like the big flobs of flour and grease marks that are always all over the rest of the kitchen.

[AspenMama]

Anyhoo, I only have three cabinet color choices, and am pretty sure I will be going with the cherry cherry cabinets shown here (http://www.brickhome.net/virtual_tours.htm) , and Frankie likes dark granites for the countertops and I prefer contrast as you said, so I am really unsure. I haven't seen the granite choices yet, so perhaps can find something we both like.
I couldn't get your link to work. Cherry is a lovely wood though.

I prefer aged, dark copper myself. I am considering buying copper and stainless tiles to do a backsplash and tie everything together.
Yes, I also prefer darker copper or the antiqued look over the shiny. It sounds like your kitchen might be a tad dark if you go with dark countertops too.

[AspenMama]

My mom got all over me for my stainless steel sink because of the fingerprints and watermarks and stuff, but man, I cannot even fathom ever even noticing something like a fingerprint or a stray water mark on my sink. I am trying to respect your diversity and all, but man, you clean people are from a different planet or something! As far as I'm concerned, the fingerprints are useful in drawing the eye away from stuff like the big flobs of flour and grease marks that are always all over the rest of the kitchen.
Dawg knows I'm not a neat freak. That's why I want something easy to keep clean. My house is quite disgusting at the moment in fact. I've been sitting here in my jammies all morning applying for jobs like a madwoman. My son is enjoying his snow day greatly.

[LadyShea]

I couldn't get your link to work. Cherry is a lovely wood though.

That's weird. Go to www.brickhome.net, click on Virtual Tours. There are rotating pictures and one is of a kitchen with their cherry cabinets


Yes, I also prefer darker copper or the antiqued look over the shiny. It sounds like your kitchen might be a tad dark if you go with dark countertops too.

I'll have to see the inside of the model (I have only seen plans), there is a big window over the sink, a french door outside next to the pantry, and the kitchen is open to the vauted ceilinged great room, so I hope that makes up for all the dark. I am a little worried myself.

[Sauron]

Hey any decoratin' types. You think it's okay to mix metals in a kitchen? I have all stainless appliances getting installed, but want to decorate with copper. I have never had a fancy kitchen before and and feeling unsure of myself for the first time.

How much copper are we talking about? A few decorations? Or an entire professional copper cooking set, hung from the ceiling over the cooking island?

You have stainless steel. You're adding copper. I'd balance it with things that are black. Not black appliances, but maybe a black clock. Black Corian countertops. Stone also works well. Or salt-and-pepper granite countertop, granite chopping block.


Hows about mixing woods? I need to pick cabinets and hardwood floors, and don't think I want everything all matchy matchy because that would bore me to tears. Seems like I can mix all kinds of wood tones attractively, but again, I have never had nice stuff to work with.

#2 red oak makes a really attractive flooring. Most people shoot for #1 because the sections are more uniform, but you get a real character look with #2. And with the proper stain, it looks somewhere between red and honey-gold. Stainless steel + copper + black, set against honey gold/red would look really great.

Lighten it up with maple or alder cabinets.

[LadyShea]

Thanks Sauron, wouldn't have pegged you as an interior design type :)

I was thinking bits of copper, maybe some antique-look bowls I saw, or the chestnut roaster livius found for me. I have some black wrought iron accessories already, but hadn't thought of the black granite counters. I will look into it.

As soon as I get down there I am going to check out the floor, cabinet, and granite choices so I can get an idea. I am going off pure speculation right now, plus a verbal description from my builder's sales rep that "the cherry looks like iced tea".

[xishi]

granite is definitely cool...the right shade to balance the color of the wood and the two textures and differences in weightiness could be stunning...the cool sleek granite and the warmth of wood should look good

[Trinity]

LadyShea, the way you describe it I think you might be onto something with the mix and match. The backsplash is an inspired idea. Of course you will share pics of the finished room, in case I want to be a shameless copycat??? :wink:

[Sauron]

Thanks Sauron, wouldn't have pegged you as an interior design type :)

Well you know, after 3000 years of lava, brimstone, orc bones, and noxious fumes, even a Dark Lord fancies a change of decorating style. :P

For an example of my "style", see attached photo - honey stained pine, with a genuine Suzie Charlie handmade Navaho pot that I bought a few years ago. Pottery Barn to the rescue! :yup:


I was thinking bits of copper, maybe some antique-look bowls I saw, or the chestnut roaster livius found for me. I have some black wrought iron accessories already, but hadn't thought of the black granite counters. I will look into it.

Let me make a radical suggestion. Skip the wood floors. If you're going to do any serious cooking, there's always the potential for damaged floors, stains, etc. Save the wood for the cabinets and selected countertops. Instead, for the flooring go with ceramic tile:

http://www.ceramic-tile.com/pictorials/commaztecapix.jpg

This will look HOT with the stainless steel, black and copper. It might also look good with cherry cabinets, although I'm biased against cherry. It tends to get darker with age, and can really make a room look gloomy.

Not that the Dark Lord has anything against *gloomy*, you understand.... :giggle:

[SharonDee]

Ooh, ooh... Will your kitchen stove be using gas or 'lectric? If it's 'lectric, will you be going with the coils or the smooth top?

Eager remodeling minds want to know! :wriggle:

[AspenMama]

Let me make a radical suggestion. Skip the wood floors. If you're going to do any serious cooking, there's always the potential for damaged floors, stains, etc. Save the wood for the cabinets and selected countertops. Instead, for the flooring go with ceramic tile:

http://www.ceramic-tile.com/pictorials/commaztecapix.jpg

This will look HOT with the stainless steel, black and copper. It might also look good with cherry cabinets, although I'm biased against cherry. It tends to get darker with age, and can really make a room look gloomy.

Not that the Dark Lord has anything against *gloomy*, you understand.... :giggle:
That is a cool looking floor.

LadyShea--
Have you considered any lighter woods for cabinets? I think maple is gorgeous with dark countertops.

http://www.woodmark-homedepot.com/showroom.asp?ID=59

Here's a picture of cherry wood with darkish gray countertops: http://www.woodmark-homedepot.com/showroom.asp?ID=72

If your cherry wood is a bit lighter, I think it would look cool with black countertops. See this picture:
http://thomasvillecabinetry.com/Products/product.asp?DSFRID=338

I got your link to work-- it just took a bit to come up for me.

Check out this Home Depot link about designing kitchens:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1509908839.1113331028@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdfaddegfmjgidcgelceffdfgidgkj.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Super%20Categories/Home%20D%E9cor%20%26%20Organizing&MID=9876&pos=p04

Click on Kitchen & Bath and then below under Also Available on Kitchen Cabinets

[LadyShea]

Hello all,

Okay, we picked everything out yesterday. Although I loved many of the ideas here, the layout of the house forces me to keep the same floor throughout, so it's hardwood. We chose a lighter honey slightly reddish color, don't remember the name. Only had three cabinet color choices and I hated everything except the cherry, so we got it with brushed nickle handles. It's a lighter cherry stained maple I think, not dark dark like the Bombay Company stuff.

The granite is called St Cecilia, something like this (http://www.selectgranite.com/colors/slabs/GalloStCecilia-46291.jpg)

So, I think I will wait to pick out accessories until I see it all done and in, then I can get rugs and such if I need to lighten up, darken a bit, or whatever.