above image by Jonas Berg
we’re lucky to live in a wonderful apartment in an old art-deco era building. it’s unusually big (a one bedroom that’s the size of a typical 2 bedroom), has wooden parquet floors, and is solidly built – so it’s warm in winter and cool in summer. only thing is, the previous owners remodelled the kitchen… in a style that, erm, i kind of HATE.
the cupboards are a dark reddish-brown laminate “wood” colour that just isn’t to our taste and the wall tiles (which seem to creep almost up to the ceiling) are a dark, creamy ceramic. the space is especially unsuited to this style, as it doesn’t get a lot of natural light, so it ends up looking even smaller and more cramped than it actually is. in fact it’s not dissimilar to the kitchen in this before feature by Amber Interiors – and the after is almost exactly what i want.
so now all i can think about is redoing our kitchen. i’ve even thought of maybe painting our existing cupboards, but i’m afraid of going through the effort of covering dark laminate cupboards with white paint and the result just being crap. anyone have any experience in this arena? if you live in Cape Town and you have any suggestions for great kitchen designers & contractors please let me know in the comments!
above: this is the kitchen i mentioned from Amber Interiors. what an inspirational before and after! i don’t necessarily want white, white, white – but it does lend itself to a more open feel, doesn’t it? and it complements the wooden floors so well. we have no space for a huge marble-top island, unfortunately. this kitchen is also great.
above: i love the open cupboards and the interesting backsplash. another good example of how well white goes with wooden floors. photo by Joe Schmelzer, designed by Kishani Perera.
above: looking at Sarah’s kitchen makeover makes me do one of these. the marble, the green cupboards, the gold hardware… wow. her cabin kitchen makeover is also AMAZING. i’m definitely convinced by those open shelves.
above: i quite like the idea of stainless steel surfaces, especially in a small kitchen. the Swedes always get it so right.
above: and on the other end of the spectrum: wood, wood and more wood. also a proponent for open shelves (as long as you have cool kitchen things to display?) i also like that handles aren’t necessary here.
above: some more great wooden kitchens. left: Toby Scott & right: Shannon Baird at FvF
above: i love how well these dark cabinets go with the wooden floors. maybe i can just slather some dark grey or navy paint on our existing laminate cupboards? i think this only works on the bottom cupboards though, you’d need open shelving or white cupboards overhead. kitchen by deVOL.
above: this interesting grey backsplash is a nice change from the usual white subway tiles that we are seeing all over the place now. design by Doherty.
above: i’m not sure if i’m entirely convinced by black cupboards in our own kitchen, but this combination of black, white and gold is just so cool. let this be an inspiration for you if not for me… photos by Jonas Berg.
above: this kinda greeny-grey colour on the cabinets is all sorts of dreamy. also: marble, marble MAAAAAARBLE! (Oprah voice) and, once again, gold hardware.images from Karlavägen 76.
above: look, if i had an unlimited budget i would probably get someone like Fiona Lynch to design the kitchen for me, cause DAAAAAMN. this entire apartment is dreamy.
more kitchen, and other interior inspiration, at my Pinterest.