Ask Kim! Kitchen Update
Hi Kim,
We had some water damage in our kitchen and need to replace the tile, a few cabinets, and to repaint the kitchen/cabinets. We would prefer non-white floor tile and non-white cabinets. We love Scandinavian and mid-century modern design however, we recognize that it isn’t for everyone and we want to make sure the home is eventually something we can sell.
We are keeping the doors to the cabinets, which are a shaker style. The backsplash will be the same blue glass tile and the granite will be the same. We really dislike white for cabinetry and tiles. It’s been very hard to keep clean.we gravitate towards bright colors and particularly like navy blue/other blues and yellows. As far as the tiles go, we like the idea of having colorful tiles mixed with a darker hexagonal tile. The appliances have been switched out and are stainless. Below is a picture of our current kitchen and then an inspirational picture I found.
Thanks! Allie
Hi Allie,
I love to see that you are not afraid of color and I love the Scandinavian/modern designs you are drawn to! Because your current style cabinet leans more transitional then modern I looked for choices that will blend these two styles together.
One of the tricks of the trade for making cabinet’s look and feel more expensive is to paint them a darker color. With that thought in mind I think it is necessary to remove the navy backsplash. If you have darker cabinets, back splash and countertop… the entire kitchen starts to feel extremely dark. Replacing a kitchen backsplash is a relatively low cost project. It can be completed in a day for around $500 including materials (depending on which tile you choose).
My recommendation would be to keep the solid black countertops, add a white/off white hex shaped or other more modern shaped white tile, paint the cabinets a pretty navy or emerald green and add a black and white Scandinavian patterned floor. This will give you that touch of Scandinavian/modern feel while adding some color and still appealing to the masses. It also works with your existing cabinets.
For your cabinets I would suggest Sherwin Williams color Kale Green or even the color Isle of Pines are great dark emerald green options. You can also try navy or another pop of color of your choosing. It’s important to you know, the cabinet color will appear lighter than the actual sample will appear in a smaller scale. (I don’t know why, it’s just a weird thing that happens, and through almost 2 decades of experience I would err on the darker side than the lighter side.).
I hope this helps with a visual guidance and direction. Thanks so much for sending in your question! If you move forward with the concept, I'd love to see pictures after you are done!
Here are some pictures for inspiration and here are some tiles I would recommend.
I hope all is well, and you and your family are safe! - Kim
Tile 1 - Nolita Matte Porcelain - The Tile Shop
Tile 2 - Villa White Hexagon Tile - Floor and Decor
Tile 3 - Canvas White Double Hexagon - Floor and Decor