Modern-ish Kitchen Amid Original Detail
Hello everyone, My wife and I are considering a kitchen reno in our apartment. The current kitchen was done in 1980 and is heavy on formica; we’d like something a bit more modern looking. Trick is, our apartment has a lot of terrific original detailing, most of it in lightly finished cherry, including an cherry-framed…
Hello everyone,
My wife and I are considering a kitchen reno in our apartment. The current kitchen was done in 1980 and is heavy on formica; we’d like something a bit more modern looking. Trick is, our apartment has a lot of terrific original detailing, most of it in lightly finished cherry, including an cherry-framed archway that connects the kitchen to the living room.
We’ve considered buying cabinets to match the cherry (or get as close as possible), but doing so will make for a very dark and heavy-looking kitchen. What we’re lacking is inspiration for how to pull off a lighter, brighter approach against a traditional backdrop.
If any one has any suggestions (blogs to check out, books worth reviewing, photos of your own kitchen), we’d really appreciate it.
That’s exactly what I put on the highest shelves of our ceiling-high cabinets — the stuff we never use! Seasonal holiday cooking & baking items and party items like serving pieces and paper plates and cups are perfect for way up high. When those things are taking up needed space lower down where we put the things we use every day it drives me crazy.
Wow Brooklynista, what a great link. I can tell you that my 1919 kitchen looked a lot like those kitchens in its original state (original sink and stove were in the basement but not many changes otherwise). One thing that took me a long time to notice from period photos is that you never see an icebox. A big fridge makes a kitchen look modern right away. Add modern cabinets and nothing else you do will look authentic. They used to keep the icebox in the butlers pantry or on the back porch so the ice man could get the ice in there without getting the kitchen dirty.
I think a lot of people are not going to want an authentic 1910-20 kitchen with its tall-legged appliances and work tables. What they really want is a 1930-50 vintage kitchen with fitted cabinets and sleek vintage fridge and stove. It’s best to really know the difference and think about what you want instead of muddling through and coming up with something that is only a compromise and end up looking dated. Think of those 1970s kitchens that people really though looked Victorian or colonial. They just look outdated now. Also, in the OP’s case, they are not dealing with a kitchen in its original spot, so there aren’t the supporting pantries, doors, and storage areas surrounding most likely.
prosheights, to your question about whether painted cabinetry would look odd directly juxtaposed with the cherry–I’d say yes, it likely would… We chose to leave some of the woodwork (also a cherry color, but light), as we thought it was a separate space (not a food prep area, off to the side). Even though it is not DIRECTLY next to the painted stuff, it feels a little off, I’m afraid. Since, I’ve come to admire the kitchens/houses that go balls out and just paint ALL of the woodwork off-white. To my aesthetic, it is a beautiful way to keep the original details (the moldings, for example), while updating them dramatically.
This link was just posted (in of all places) the Garden Web Kitchen Forum!:-)
http://slumberland.org/vintage_kitchen/kitchenimages.html
BTW, this must be the PLG kitchen section of this thread. ’cause we’re in PLG as well! I forgot to mention when I posted about our kitchen earlier that we have painted white shaker, inset cabs. They do not go all the way to the ceiling. But that was on purpose. The ancient kitchen we inherited from the PO had a run of cabs that went all the way to the ceiling; the opposite wall of the galley was unfitted. We found that we never, ever used the items that we stored on the top shelves of those cabs. Instead, those areas ended up serving as dump and fuhgeddaboutit space. With the reno, we decided to downsize and get rid of a lot of unnecessary stuff. We also increased storage by putting in uppers on the opposite wall of the galley. However, now with a run a cabs on both sides of the galley, we were able to maintain the sense of openness that we previously had with a largely unfitted kitchen. That’s because, instead of running all cabs to the ceiling, we instead stopped them about a foot below the ceiling and installed dimmable,above-cab lighting. (We also have under cab and in-cab lighting in the run of uppers that have glass doors.) I must say that, although we have soapstone counter tops, our kitchen never looks dark with this combo.
Cool blog, janeinteriors! I have the same kitchen in same neighborhood and per my prior post I did put in the cabinets all the way to the ceiling. But weirdly, it’s not oppressive. People comment on the drama of the very tall high cabinets all the time and love them. For me the decision wasn’t aesthetic; we absolutely needed the storage. Wasn’t even a question.
There’s such good advice here and links for references. I just wanted to jump in and say our kitchen has dark cherry cabinets all the way to the ceiling but doesn’t look dark because we have a pale stone tile floor and white countertops. White counters are key; they bounce light back up and brighten the whole space. Dark countertops are what makes a kitchen feel dark even when the cabinets are pale IMO. I chose our cherry cabinets for the same reason the OP is worried about matching to the house’s woodwork — but now I see I need not have worried about that. I’ve seen more neighbor’s houses now and everybody has a different kind of kitchen and even the ultra modern kitchens look totally fine with these brownstone interiors. If I could go back and do it all over again I’d have gotten painted wood cabinets in white or a light green. As for trying to match ornate details in the cabinets, ugh no don’t do it. Insane to try to keep such a kitchen clean and those kinds of ornate kitchens are so tacky. Very suburban ironically – more likely found in new houses not old ones.
I recently did a gut renovation of a kitchen in a limestone. The adjoining dining room had painted woodwork to begin with. I think the simplicity and scale of the cabinets plus using a dark floor, ties it into the rest of the first floor which is natural wood. The space is very narrow and tall wood cabinets in any style would have made it feel oppressive.
Here’s a write up on the kitchen:
casacara.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/before-after-prospect-lefferts-kitchen/
I used a lot of walnut panels and a box for a bar but juxtaposed it with laminate to give it a modern look.
We have a nice chimney with tiled bricks and a great tin ceiling. We also painted a small brick wall white to give a little texture. It’s still a work in progress but here are some photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ali_lac/4118907290/in/set-72157607132111842/
I’ll be a somewhat opposing voice here, as when we renovated our brownstone kitchen (parlor floor, lots of original detail and moldings), we went the other direction, creating a modern kitchen that contrasts rather than attempts to look “period” or old–along the principle of it’s a new kitchen, it’s a new kitchen (and most attempts to recreate just looks bad or fake old). We put in colored lacquer cabinets (from Ikea, love them) with white Carrara countertops, very clean and given that it is natural stone, it looks terrific with the lacquer. We also put in a row of glass faced cabinets on the uppers, as others have recommended; it definitely lightens everything and breaks up too much color. I love the kitchen as do most who visit.