kitchen cabinets, worktops, floors - opinions needed!

[KathleenMay]

Hi, we?re doing up a house we just bought, standard 3 bed semi-D. Very excited  We?ll have a garden and a 3rd bedroom, so glad as DS1 is 10 months and we?ve another due. More room and a bit of outdoors is great.

However! I?m so stuck on the kitchen. We?ve knocked through to make a kitchen dining area. But I?ve made up and changed my mind so often on the cabinets etc. Current fav is ikea?s high gloss white kitchen, dark worktops (prob cant afford granite, but composite or laminate) and a rich almost mahogany colour wood floor. I thought it was a great plan till someone mentioned how high maintenance the gloss cabinets are! And tiny fingerprints all over them doesn?t fill me with joy. Needs to be livable with kids, unfussy looking, and hopefully saleable as we would like to move to the country in a few years (the grand plan, may never happen, but if we even need to sell the kitchen can make or break it I know).

What combination of Cabinets, worktops and flooring? Anyone any combinations they love or have seen in someone else?s house and thought ?wow?? Something fairly modern I think, not to the point of new age, simple, clean, not too darkening in the room? Ideas would be so welcome!

[hobnob]

Hello KathleenMay

Your idea sounds lovely - though I take the point about the high gloss and fingerprints.

Since you asked for combination suggestions I'll tell you what we eventually decided on for ours, and which we love (and get enthusiastic feedback on):

Grey-green painted oak cabinets
Oak worktops
Bamboo flooring (natural strand woven)
Light walls (Dulux 'Subtle Ivory 3')

As I say - this is only because you asked, and not because I think it sounds better than your ideas! If you want to keep the cabinets light but non-gloss I have also seen lovely kitchens where people have cream units, with an 'accent colour' somewhere (a wall, or tiles or something). We don't have tiles, by the way, but a sheet of glass behind the hob.

If you put 'kitchens' into google images, you'll get plenty of pics to give you inspiration.

[DitaVonCheese]

I think my DB and DSIL have those glossy cabinets and they definitely have a 15 month old - I'll ask them later about fingerprints if you want.

FWIW both combinations above sound lovely :) I think we are going to go for white cabinets, wood top and quarry tiles on the floor (to match the rest of downstairs). Like you, we aren't planning to stay there forever and I thought this might be a good saleable combination as the new owners could easily change the wall colour to whatever they wanted.

[castille]

I have glossy cabinets. Yes my 4yo does his best to leave his fingerprints everywhere but one swipe of a microfibre cloth and they are gone.

Mine aren't white though.

[KathleenMay]

Thats brilliant thanks all. We changed our mind yet again last night - if we do manage to ever move to the country, I'll go down the white units route as I've decided I love them. Though the pale painted oak cabinets sound gorgeous. Think we've settled on a more boring conbination with hopefully a wide enough appeal - warm wood units, pale tiled floor, dark worktop, pale splashback. Not very adventurous. But hopefully can bring in some colour with accessories etc and will still look mod enough for a resale.

[hobnob]

That sounds lovely, KathleenMay. Good luck with it all!