Come and give me some KITCHEN inspiration

[JustCallMeDory]

We're - finally - hoping to start work on our new kitchen extension next year and alongside all the more boring planning regs, etc, I'd like to start getting a bit excited about the finished room.

The problem is, I just can't seem to think of a style of kitchen that would suit the house.

When it's finished it should be a decent sized room: approx 6.5m long by 3.8m wide (21ft long by 12ft wide) - but I just don't know what to put in it.

Here's the problem. It's a late 60s/early 70s house. Boxy, angular. But the location is fairly rural - a leafy, largely unmade country lane.

I don't want anything country kitcheny styley like this as I don't think it goes with the house

On the other hand, I don't want anything with an urbany feel like this

Is there a middle ground?

The rest of the house is going to in my dreams have a mid-century feel. The only thing it has to have (besides fridge, oven, sink, cupboards) is a decent sized table for which I'd happily forfeit an island unit.

Any of you lovely vipers care to give me some desperately needed inspiration?

I like the colours and the blackboard doors of this one - although not the handles. I think it would go well in a mid-century house although, I suspect, you're going to struggle to get something really mid-century as kitchens tended not to be showrooms back then. Probably best to buy a retro fridge and a good 1960s dining suite.

I quite like that lala.

I'm not really thinking of a mid-century-ish kitchen, that was more of a pointer to where the rest of the house is hopefully heading.

It just seems that kitchens divide into country/farmhousey and glossy/industrial/contemporary. Not sure how or where to find a different feel.

What about handleless but matt not gloss?
Or really clean shaker style, but more contemporary than country kitchen?
This kitchen is divine
www.remodelista.com/posts/house-call-skye-gyngell-chef-at-home-with-british-standard-kitchen

Matt handless
www.thedesignchaser.com/2014/05/mater-beautifully-ethical-design.html

Mmm - I like the first link CeeCee and I love the floor on the second, even though it would probably cost as much as the extension and kitchen combined.

British Standard are worth a look - made by Plain English but doesn't require selling an organ on the black market.

Love the Skye Gyngell one CeeCee

Our last house was much older than yours, Dory, but was also rural. We didn't want the typical cutesy cottagey style kitchen either though, although our style does tend towards the more traditional/eclectic/quirky. Instead of the obvious flagstones we went for antique limestone tiles. We had hand painted units (DH made the island but not the units and we painted them ourselves) and opted for open shelving rather than lots of wall cabinets although we did succumb to a plate rack with pewter coloured brackets that matched our pewter handles. We added vintage accessories like the bread bin and an antique pewter jug from Liberty. The tiles were a splurge (Fired Earth), but I loved them so much we're doing them again in this house.

I'd definitely steer clear of uber trendy units and try to aim for something more timeless that you can personalise with vintage things you love!

Tiles and shelving not finished in the attached pic......

What about a more modern version of the country style, a kind of shaker type of thing. We have one like that and it is classic yet modern at the same time, something like this

I think the second one CeeCee linked to is a great idea as it is nod to what the original kitchen would have been like while feeling modern. Maybe have a look at pictures of 60s/70s kitchens and find something which is essentially an update on that style?

CeeCee what kind of organ we talking here? Think I could manage without a pancreas? what does a spleen do anyway? You may have hit on a new kitchen fund generator...

Raphaella when I first saw the photo you posted I thought it was from a glossy brochure, not a real kitchen! That's gorgeous. Come on, fess up, you're a professional kitchen designer, right?

I think I need something even less trad for our house though, sadly.

Our house is no where near this cool, but very much along these lines except in a fairly rural setting.

Thank you, Dory , but no, not a professional kitchen designer although DH has worked in interior design in the past. Our trouble is we tend to throw too much money at a house do up a place with the intention of staying long term when we know in our hearts it's not 'the one', only to have to start from scratch at the next place and have to try to make that as good......boo hoo!

This is the kind of look we're going for, I think it's fairly timeless.

Lula I like that look - a friend has something similar, but I'm not sure I could go with something so dark...
Maybe I'm just too picky! I just can't seem to find the right 'feel' for this house.

Have a look at Roundhouse kitchens. Super expensive but you might be able to get the look cheaper elsewhere. They do wood and painted wood that is in frame but flat fronts instead of shaker. It looks a bit cleaner and more modern. I also like the 'Bryans'. That could look good in your house.

Anything on www.houseandgarden.co.uk/interiors/kitchen here to inspire?
IMO it's a lot more than just what cabinet doors. There's a kind of slightly vintage industrial look with space, mixture of modern and vintage items, natural materials, quirky colours that is very individual. You could do it with painted flat or Shaker cabinets but not wall to wall of them with all the matching feature units, have some personal touches instead. It's not the kind of thing you get in a showroom, more a case of putting the bones of a kitchen in and then adding your own extra bits like as suggested a 1960s dining suite, art, shelving etc.

Shit didn't realise it would show my photo will ask for it to be removed

With your house style I might have suggested separate unfitted pieces for a large kitchen area? That might not be the way you prefer to go though.
You could look at Ikea with work surfaces from elsewhere, there's no rule that everything needs to be from the same place. But personally I'd go to a local joiner and then paint the units myself. I'd choose from slate, wood and stainless steel on the worktops and absolutely no tiles on the walls.

I think something very plain, linear and unfussy/clean looking would be fab in your house. This link has a photo inspiration, but with colours and flooring to suit obviously.
Plain English

It seems like a brilliant opportunity to design a cooking and eating room that's contemporary but comfortable and not too pristine to be welcoming...quite the opposite. It will be somewhere stylish but relaxed enough for people to want to spend their time there and plenty of space for the working area to work really well too.

I've never lived in a 60s or 70s style house but imagine it to be easy to work with compared to other eras and their restraints.

What about something like this? Pretty classic shaker, wooden worktops, no overhead cupboards? We have something similar, it's not so mid-century it's kitsch, not so industrial it's stark, and not at all cath kidston. I love it and hopefully it won't date.

Following with interest as just moved in to our mid-century house and I HATE the kitchen. It's beige gloss and badly laid out and totally not in keeping with the house. Struggling to think of an alternative though...

Crikey MrsJamin - that is the exact picture that I printed off Pinterest and had stuck up whilst our kitchen work was going on to remind me that the shit won't last forever to keep focussed on the end result. Kept waving it under the builders' noses too

We haven't copied it but used it as our inspiration as it was the same dimensions / layout that our new extended room would be.

We are literally just finishing this week by having the sofas delivered (they are going at the end by the bifolds rather than a table) - we started on 15 June.....

Entertainment and Raising yes! I think that's exactly the kind of look I need to go for...

... but whether I'd be able to pull it off by myself...

Mrs Jasmin I think I'm going to steal your line:

not so mid-century it's kitsch, not so industrial it's stark, and not at all cath kidston

whenever I tal to anyone about buying kitchens...you've summed up what I'm after in a nutshell