Mum and I have been chewing over her kitchen project for the last six months. After we put up a new T.V in her bedroom and installed Neon, she now realises how good an updated life can be. With her new lease on life, Mum is eager to start on her long over-due kitchen project. I’m excited to take on this renovation because not only do I love to design, but to create beauty and ease for the special people in my life is priceless.
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my memory card (lol) for my DSLR camera, so these snaps were taken on my iPhone. Apologies in advance for the grainy shots. Anyway, here is a 180 Degree tour of this tiny but ever so cute kitchen.
As you can see, she is pretty compact, all right! The tile, Melteca cupboards, rangehood are in good condition, and the layout is functional. It took me a while to figure out what colour these neutral cabinets were. Initially, I thought they were pink beige, one of the most limiting neutrals to work around when designing a colour palette.
Thankfully, I have learned they are a Taupe in the Killam Colour System. A taupe is generally warmer than a grey (due to its violet or pink undertones) and cooler than a yellow-beige.
Taupes look pretty with soft blues, blush pinks, and clean whites. If we don’t change out the cupboards, I am sure we can come up with a harmonious colour palette for the adjoining lounge.
Although we can work around the colour, I think Mum can do much better beauty-wise than these Melteca boxes, but of course, I will let her have the final say.
Last but not least, the fridge with another Taupe cabinet.
Here is the inspiration photo that kicked started my ideas. I know you have to have some imagination with the image, but if you knock out the island, it could look like Mum’s kitchen profile? I love this kitchens simple elegance, starting with the marble herringbone tile, the brass hardware, and tap. I also love how Rachel Cannon introduces gentle colour through the pink Turkish rug, soft baby blue cabinets, and Roman blind – so pretty!
With this starting point, I mock up the plan for the kitchen in SketchUp. I would like to take her cabinets all the way up to the ceiling because it looks custom and elevates the kitchen. But if I can use the standard measurements in the Kaboodle range, that will keep the cost down.
We might not be able to take the cabinets to the ceiling, but I am hoping that if Mum decides go ahead with this plan then we can at least tile all the way up to the ceiling on her window and oven side. Remember this gorgeous kitchen I posted a while back from McGee and Co?
You may be wondering how much is this all going to cost, and I am sure Mum is too. My friend recently ordered her Kaboodle kitchen with similar dimensions and hers came to $5000 without bench top and appliances. If this is out of Mum’s price range, and her desire to be displaced for awhile, we have other options. We can replace the cabinet doors at a Kitchen Resurfacing company potentially between $2500-$4000, or paint her doors using specialty renovation paints. From what Paul tells me painting a kitchen is never a good looking, forever solution.
So what will it be? A gut reno kitchen or a superficial tickle of paint? The ball is now in Mum’s court. If you have any words of encouragement or advise about her options, we would love to hear from you in the comments below. Find out next month what Maggie Mum decides to do.
As always – thanks for reading!
