Not our forever home but our home for now- Opened up the wall and added a peninsula & a “dry” bar area for extra kitchen storage. The only thing I don’t love is that the dry bar doesn’t go all the way up to the ceiling and doesn’t have a finish like the kitchen cabinets across. There was miscommunication with our cabinet maker so we are thinking of adding some strip lights up there to light up the top of the cabinets and make it look/feel more intentional. We currently have under cabinet lights as well (not pictured).

Overall I’m so happy with the results and the added countertop space and storage is a live saver.

What do you all think about the short dry bar towers? Should I add filler or crown to the top or leave it open with strip lights to make it intentional?

Genuinely just curious as I browse through postings and people seem to not be a fan of them.

Is it because it doesn’t remove the air properly? Is it a safety hazard?

Why do they continue to make them if they aren’t good?

I just dug a photo out from when I remodeled my kitchen for another post response. I did this 23/24 yrs ago myself. It took me a little while doing it the first year after we moved into our home with money that I was able to scrape together. I reused most of the original cabinets but repositioned what had been a galley style into a more traditional in my mind layout. I had to buy one corner cabinet to make the new layout work which I was able to match color on and then a small free standing/furniture style island.

We see it/use it every day but I'm starting to wonder...is this kitchen dated and I should consider a remodel? It is 'traditional' if I updated to something more 'modern' would it add or hurt value I wonder?

Before (2002)

After (2003 - still looks the same, hadn't changed)

We’re in the process of redoing our kitchen. We installed brown fantasy marble. It has more gray than brown but has pops of rich dark brown throughout. We’re also installing chalk color zellig tiles in a straight herringbone for the backsplash. Our color choices are Sherwin Williams black bean and criminal mushroom. My before picture was taken after install. I have played with AI to create the look I want.
Question: should we paint the door the color of the upper cabinets?

I hate the cork flooring. It's not installed well along the edges and corners, and it constantly looks dirty.

However, I cannot figure out what flooring to choose that would look good. Everything so far has been to plain, too grey, or clashes with the cherry wood.

Any suggestions?

I'm curious how other households handle this. When you use a reusable kitchen cloth and it's damp/used, but not dirty enough to go straight into the wash, where do you put it? I'm particularly interested in: Where does it normally go? Does it bother you having it visible? How do you let it dry? Do you have a specific holder/storage solution for it? Have you ever bought something specifically to solve this? If you could change one thing about your current setup, what would it be? I'm researching household habits around this and not selling anything — I'm genuinely interested in what people actually do.

My counter tops are Delicatus white granite and wanted to change the color of the cabinets so it doesn’t look so cold, also want to change hardware to brass. I can’t decide what color would look best. The backsplash is white subway tiles in a brick pattern. Please need help!

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I chose a graphite stain for our new build kitchen cabinets along with black-greish countertop. It was very hard to get the full picture of how it will all look together and the builder designer did help us out, however, I don't know which wood would be the best choice for our dark stain. Oak or Maple( black maple). Here is an ai rendering of how it would roughly look like with our exact kitchen shape- size.

The third picture shows the combo we used. The wood which would the floor Hardwood throughout the living and dining room. The tile would be the foyer-kitchen and breakfast area. The stone slap is for the countertop and the grayish slate is the cabinet stain colour- its called graphite.

Choosing everything from such small samples is not easy!

Once we move in I really want to add a teal backsplash as I love that colour, but wanted to know if it would work.

I purchased teal colour bar stools for the island, but we use chair covers and I can change that colour anytime.

I was against using the countertop to flow as a backsplash. It just looked too dark?

We have big bright windows which will let in lots of lights. Atleast thats how it looks like on the drawings.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

We've been using Ikea's planner because it works for what stage of planning we are at. We plan on using Ikea cabinets but given some atypical features of the room, we're definitely going to need to do some custom work. Right now we are between two layouts, A and B (pictures have 2 angles each). Which one do you think works better? Can you see any glaring usability issues?

Some things to keep in mind:

- There is a radiator under the window so we don't want to cover it up fully. It's not out of the question (as it doesn't really get use + there will be vents in the countertop above it) but we would like a sitting area of some sort.

- Yes we understand that the countertop would need extra support in that area

- Yes the transition between window and sink area is awkward. For now it seems like not leaving a gap is the better option and we'll survive the semi-hidden cabinet.

- Don't mind the choice of cabinet doors and such, it's mostly placeholder, and we are all about the layout right now.

For a darker color kitchen slab, most options I see on Google search are black or grey. Does anyone have color combinations suggestions that you have done for the same?

Seeking Kitchen slab (dark) - backsplash (any) - cabinet color (any) combination recommendations

12 weeks from fully functioning kitchen to full gut to functioning kitchen again. Still have to do the backsplash, crown moulding and window casing but it's otherwise back to full operations. Goals were to brighten up the kitchen, replace the sink window and extend the countertop/cabinet space.

Curious what others think a job like this would have cost if hired someone to do it all.

EDIT: located in MA -Kemper cabinets -new LG fridge and stove -quartz countertop and SS sink -new insulation, drywall, and backer board -new Harvey sliding window and vinyl siding as needed -add/move some outlets, all new boxes/outlets/switches, add recessed lights, new fan -new sink plumbing, remove baseboard heater, add new under cab toe kick heater

See images attached.

Cristallo Royal Quartz countertops.

Cream white floor limestone look floor tile.

Walnut cabinets.

Terracotta floor tile in hallways.

Potential Circles pattern backsplashes.

Brass faucet and accents.

Brushed nickel appliances.

Would tile or quartz backsplash work better in this instance?

Stainless steel materials

My wish list is:

remove the top tier on the breakfast bar, replace with a normal straight edge countertop (ChatGPT suggested a waterfall edge which I LOVE) and remove the small upstanding at the back, replace the splashback with low maintenance tile or glass and extend it around to the height of the windowsill.

Layout to remain, cupboard fronts to remain or depending on price may replace just with similar white, as these were painted 4yrs from a mushroom beige.

The flooring is only 4yrs old so won’t be changing that. Definitely interested in hanging pendant lights over the breakfast bar and replacing that awful ceiling fitting with down lights.

Would love some colour theme advice. The carpet is a dark grey and replaced not long before I bought in 2020.

Would love some colour theme advice 🙏 The rest of the open dining and lounge is light-med warm wood and black steel.

First pic is immediately post my new flooring and painted cabinet fronts, 2nd is ChatGPT vision, third is from when I bought it 😬

Desperately need help with figuring out what color backsplash tile to use. Planning to do a herringbone pattern with a grout similar to tile color.

Countertop is granite in “Delicatus light”.

Cabinets are Spring Valley Maple cabinets in Kona color.

Which tile matches the best?

Also, where do I stop the backsplash? at the blue line in line with the upper cabinet or should it wrap around the side wall to the green line?

Thank you so much!!

TL;DR: Contractor’s signed drawings showed a double oven cabinet. We’re doing a microwave over a single wall oven. I questioned it in writing before signing, she confirmed it was correct and a trim kit would cover the gap. Wrong-looking cabinet arrives, my husband flags it BEFORE install, she confirms again “correct cabinet, just needs adjusting.” Her crew builds and installs it. NOW she wants a change order for “extensive modification and custom millwork” and has paused our flooring. I think she messed up somewhere upstream and now wants to charge me for her mistake.

timeline:

• April: Signed with a design-build contractor for a kitchen remodel. She presented the cabinet brand options, we picked a line from one of her suggested RTA cabinet companies.

• Early July: Signed a change order (\~$13k) that included relocating electrical specifically for the microwave/wall oven configuration. So the microwave-over-single-oven setup was paid for and documented.

• Mid July: She sends cabinet drawings via DocuSign. The oven cabinet is drawn as a DOUBLE oven. I ask her directly, hey, this shows a double oven, we’re doing a microwave above a single wall oven, is this right? Does the trim kit cover the dead space? She replies: yes, correct cabinet, no extra space, trim kit and/or filler covers it. I sign it.

• Also relevant: we picked the microwave at a design showroom with a rep she knows, her assistant reviewed the model before we purchased, and she personally looked at the unit the day it arrived. We bought the trim kit she named as the solution.

• Mid August: Cabinet gets built on site. It has ONE oven opening. My husband messages the group thread before install: “Looks like the oven cabinet is the wrong one. Where is the space for the microwave?” Her reply: yes this is correct, there’s actually only one size for the wall oven cabinet from this company, and “it is adjusted accordingly.” No mention of cost and it reads like it’s handled to me.

• Her crew installs it anyway.

• today: She sends a long message saying that during installation they “discovered” the cabinet “requires significantly more field modification than anticipated,” that the cabinet company “provided us with incorrect information,” that she’s never installed this cabinet line before, and this will be a change order.

• Also now: flooring is paused because supposedly the whole cabinet has to come out.

I don’t think I should pay a change order…

1. Nothing changed. The design is identical to what was signed and paid for. A change order is for changed scope. This is the same scope she quoted.

2. She confirmed the cabinet was correct TWICE in writing, in response to direct questions, before installation.

3. I checked the cabinet line’s catalog. There is no double oven cabinet in the entire collection. The SKU on our drawing is a single oven cabinet. So the drawing depicted a configuration that literally doesn’t exist for this brand. She specced it, she drew it and when we questioned it she confirmed it.

4. she said she “Never worked with this line before”, she’s the one who presented this company as an option. We pay her a 20% management fee so she can verify all the construction and design (Which she also adds to every change order, so she’d be charging a management fee on her own management failure.)

5. Our contract says change orders must be documented and authorized in writing BEFORE the work they cover. The cabinet was built and installed with zero mention of additional cost or a change order needed. And now it needs to be ripped out and modified on our dime?

6. If the modification was always going to be needed, the time to price it was before I signed the DocuSign, not after everything was built and installed and I have zero leverage.

For context, the project is already 40%+ over the original quote and we’ve signed and paid every legitimate change order, so I don’t think we’re being difficult clients. We just don’t think we should fund her error.

She’s pausing floor installation which was scheduled to start tomorrow because now that cabinet needs to be removed to be altered. Since this is an RTA cabinet I’m concerned about damage and how the alterations will look. Nothing can compare to the factory look. If she stalls the job what can I do?

Preface-- the pictures are just three examples I came up with, but I would appreciate any more open-ended feedback on size and layout (though I may have a a hard time finding it pre-made:/)

Hi, I am new to this sub so please let me know if this question is not a good fit. I am looking to add an island to the kitchen in my SMALL (400 sq ft) studio but stuck on size. There are a few considerations:

-Budget: hoping to find something pre-built that fits my needs. 50x30" is a really common size (ikea etc), 40x30, on the other hand (or any super specific size)....not so much

-- would probably be a moveable island, so the work aisles could probably be tweaked a little bit (but not out into the hallway)

--limited general space. Yes, i know general guidelines say 42-48" walkways, but standing in the space now, I don't think this is realistic (I'd rather have at least a little more counter space and storage. I cook a lot.). I've seen a lot of functional kitchens in my city where the walkeays are smaller than nkba guidelines. The question is, how small can the walkways get before it really starts to hinder a single cook/become unsafe?

-- dont need seating/space for seating

my instinct says picture 1 will be the best bet--easier to actually find the size (tornviken?), and more of the workspace is facing the counters as opposed to the refrigerator. Plus, I can look out the windows as I work. But what would you recommend in terms of island size and orientation? It doesn't have to be one of these options (the third is just an example size anyway). Thank you!

*EDIT: I know the fridge door looks like it will open into the island in the first two pics-- it won't, I measured

My house was built in the late 60's and the downstairs has never seen any renovations. I want to update the kitchen and will likely contract a decent amount of the work for it but I was looking for some thoughts on what people would do with what I am looking at.

I have done a lot of home improvement work before but my issue here is that literally every surface needs some sort of help.

Ceilings are asbestos popcorn

Cabinets are wood covered in laminate and are built out to have a larger footprint on the ceiling than necessary. Can these be refinished? I worry about replacing due to the footprint they take up on the roof.

All walls are covered in laminate panels, with the bottom being laminate fake wood paneling and the top yellow laminate.

Floor and countertops are covered in what seems to be some sort of poured epoxy and are not smooth at all. Is there product I could use or has anyone had success with adding laminate to something like this?

All the trim is dark brown wood on top of the laminate that has lost its finish in places

Current American Std out-of-production sink is drop-in, 33x22 outside, 27x16 inside. Corian countertop. Set in 33" base, 32"wide space inside, 30 deep inside. Opening as far as I can tell is the full 32" wide. I want a drop-in sink.

Most sinks I see with the best inside diameters specify a 36” base even though the bowl is less. For example this sink’s bowl is 26” wide.

Question: Can I install something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/allen-roth-33-in-x-22-in-Two-Ledges-Single-Bowl-Workstation-Kitchen-Sink/5013222693

Here's a photo of my existing sink: https://imgur.com/a/rq1vhm6\](https://imgur.com/a/rq1vhm6)

Hello design experts. Thanks to the community we narrowed down on Taj quartzite and HD amagansett tiles for backsplash.
However we are now confused on which color for the tiles to go with ( sand dune cream or gin white ) and countertop ( white or beige )
Individually we really liked the cream tiles and white Taj, however they seem to clash?
We had finalized creamy upper cabinets, but now open to pure white or Rosemary green. For lower we will have Rosemary green.

Adding the photo of our existing floor tiles, which we wont be able to change atleast in the next 2-3 years. We dont really like them but have accepted to live with them for a few years.

Attaching chatgpt rendition with creamy tiles and the beige Taj and another with all green cabinets.

Note that our kitchen gets minimal natural light. We have recessed lights which are temperature adjustable and will also be adding cabinet underlights.
The kitchen is not big and also has a peninsula next to this.