Kitchen cabinets

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An interesting aspect of our builder’s process is that we had to make our cabinet choices for kitchen and bathrooms practically within a few months of signing the purchase agreement. Down to providing specs for appliances. Needless to say, us being detail oriented design junkies, we relished the process way too much.

We made it through by stressing out our designer and appliance sales guy (both of whom were absolutely wonderful), changing our minds a million times and generally asking them for things they were not used to being asked for.

A lot of the super cool design elements we were unable to get due to them just simply not being practical. I had my heart set on a little spice shelf above the range, like so:

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But had to forgo the idea because kitchen design team couldn’t guarantee that it would stay put. Broke my heart into million pieces. I also considered floating open shelving. But changed my mind in favour of closed everything to keep our clutter hidden. We reworked the layout of the kitchen, reducing the number of cabinets, so there really was no good place for decorative open shelving.

With some of my more design-y ideas out the window I still really wanted to do a standout kitchen that was not like any of the kitchens we've chosen before. Going into this selection process I had no "dream" kitchen I wanted to do, no real idea of where to start. All I knew was I wanted the house to feel practical, interesting, earthy, cozy, neutral.

Hubs on the other hand knew exactly what he didn't want: (1)  no shaker doors, he was vehemently for flat panel cabinets from the start; (2) no white cabinetry. I took his ideas as a starting off point and a challenge, working with what he wanted to get a kitchen I would love.  

With direction from him, my idea was to do flat panel doors that didn’t look too modern/industrial/cold/minimal. I was looking for that sweet spot of balance between cozy and simple, with a bit of edge.

HERE - check out the house tour, it's pretty spectacular

HERE -  love the oak floors in this image, our floors will be very similar (just hoping not quite this orange!).

This kitchen was my inspiration. I love it as much today as I did last fall when we were making our selections. To me, it’s that timeless not-really-in-so-never-out kind of kitchen. This kitchen would have grabbed my attention 5 years ago just as much as it did last fall. It definitely has personality and edge, while checking off hubby’s wants. It feels neutral without being boring, and practical without being utilitarian. With a few accessories, it can definitely go cozy and earthy. I particularly loved the warm putty/gray/green colour of the cabinets and the glass doors. I think the glass really gives the space that live-in quality I want. We didn’t copy this kitchen verbatim, but it was a huge inspiration and a solid jumping off point. 

Two other kitchens images I carried around with me:

HERE - too modern, but love the cabinet colour and the half-up backsplash behind the sink

HERE - a total departure from the cabinet colour, but can't get enough of that lived-in feeling, and the backsplash feels so right

And just a teaser, these are the pulls we chose for our drawers (surprise, nothing like our inspiration images). Now, fingers and toes crossed that we will like the end result!