Kitchen Inspiration

I shared some “before” shots of our new kitchen here, and now I’m back with my plans to transform it. After Hannah’s room, the kitchen and shared dining area are next on my list. I love the two-toned cabinets in our old kitchen, but I want to try something different in this house. I’ve been dreaming about black cabinets for awhile, and I’m on the hunt for a soft, warm black in a satin finish (similar to Dana’s painted armoire) rather than the glossy black colour in my inspiration photo.

1 – Before I paint the cabinets, I’ll brighten up the room by painting the walls, trim and wainscotting the same creamy shade of white (CIL’s White on White). I’m using a satin finish on the walls, and a semi-gloss finish on the trim and wainscotting. This room doesn’t get a ton of light, so I want to see how much the white paint brightens the room before I commit to dark cabinets. Update: this painting is done and I love how it turned out – photos soon.
2 – My inspiration photo is a great example of mixed metals done right. Our plan is to upgrade to stainless steel appliances over time, and this hardware from Lee Valley will let us enjoy the brass trend without the commitment of say, a faucet.
3 – Our kitchen’s current faucet has a few issues (no pressure, and it doesn’t switch between the ‘spray’ and ‘stream’ functions properly), so I can’t wait to switch it out for this IKEA version (or something similar).
4 – I’ve long wanted a farmhouse sink, and the DOMSJO sink bowl has the added bonus of allowing us to get rid of the dated false drawer on our current sink cabinet.
5 – I miss the open-shelving in our old kitchen, so I’d like to add a few shelves for our everyday dishes on the wall between our kitchen and dining area. I love these simple, but pretty Rejuvenation brackets. Update: I stumbled across a set of shelves and brackets on Kijiji and we’ve been using them for a couple of weeks now. 
6 – Adam and I both love the look of butcher block counters, and wood is a nice way to warm up black cabinets.
7 – I know subway tile is everywhere, but these gorgeous tiles are a slightly different take on that classic look. Perfectly imperfect.
8 – I had the pleasure of seeing Heath Ceramics in person while I was in San Francisco, and I would love to build a collection. How great would these dishes look on our open-shelving?
9 – This simple light is a perfect replacement for the current wall fixture, and will help show off the new shelves. The kitchen has a ceiling fan I’d like to replace too, but I’d like to wait until we experience some warmer weather. Maybe it’s there for a reason, you know?

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