I live in Austin, Texas and I love it. Green hills, blue lakes and great weather if you don’t mind a little heat in the summer. I have lived here since it was just a sleepy little college town. Now it is a metropolitan city with over a million people and some of the best music and restaurants in the country. But as for following trends in the interior design world, it is a bit behind. The Old World/Tuscan trend of the early 2000’s is still very prevalent.
Tired of an Outdated Kitchen?
I do a lot of consultations in homes built with Spanish style red tile roofs, Travertine tile floors and dark stained cabinets. Many of my clients are tired of the look, but changing tile, cabinets and the busy granite seems overwhelming and expensive. Here are 5 tips on how it can be done without breaking the bank:
- Paint existing cabinets white or reface the doors
- Choose a countertop that is simple and durable like a man-made quartz. You won’t get tired of it in a few years if it is a neutral color like black, white, or cream.
- Choose a simple white subway tile backsplash. It is classic, timeless and inexpensive.
- If you need new cabinets, check out IKEA. They have several styles and most have a soft close feature. They will also come measure and do the installation.
- Shop for your appliances in November so you can take advantage of Black Friday deals.
Transforming a Small Kitchen
My client Naomi had a small kitchen with a small island and dark cabinets. She dreamed of white cabinets, a bigger island, new countertop and backsplash. The Travertine floors in the kitchen extended into the adjacent family room so they had to stay. The beige wall color also had to stay. We had to choose a countertop that would complement the flooring and wall color. Crema marfil was our top choice, but it is really a marble and therefore very porous. She didn’t want to worry about etching or stains because she had a young child. We chose a durable Caesarstone quartz called Dreamy Marfil. It looked a lot like the Crema Marfil.
For the backsplash we choose InterCeramic 4×20 tile in bone. Behind the stove top we laid the tile in a herringbone pattern.
We took off the raised panel cabinets doors and refaced them with recessed panel doors. We painted them Ballet White by Benjamin Moore to match the undertones in the limestone around the stove.
A custom sliding barn door made of reclaimed wood replaced the basic white pantry door to add the architectural interest we needed and the grayed wood added some warmth to the white kitchen.
The breakfast area was tight for a family of five so we created a built-in breakfast nook. I had a custom bench cushion made and brought in some navy throw pillows to go with the new navy stools from Ballard Design. The tufted chairs are covered in a gray performance fabric by Restoration Hardware.
If you like the layout of your kitchen, sometimes changing the counters and backsplash are enough to update it. The kitchen below had gold counters and a travertine backsplash, but my client wanted a classic kitchen with light gray walls and marble counters. As we went looking for marble slabs we talked about the porous nature of marble and my client decided she would rather have a granite that had white and gray veining like marble, so she had less upkeep. We choose River White granite and a white subway tile backsplash.
If you know your dated kitchen needs a refresh, and you are not sure where to start, contact me. I’d be happy to help you get started!