Shaker vs Modern, Dark Blue vs Light Colours, North Facing

[irrrina]

Hi all,

We've bought a house in our dream location a couple of months ago, however we got a fixer upper and currently a lot of work going on and many decisions to take - one of them the new kitchen.

The style we like generally is more modern, a bit of a mix of scandi and mid-century modern. Looking at DIY Kitchens, IKEA, B&Q and Wickes, and probably the decision will be made mostly based on price vs. quality, as they have similar styles (except for IKEA).

I'd like some opinions from those of you that had to deal with my decisions below and please let me know any feedback positive or negative.

1. Do you think a shaker kitchen works well in a more modern decor - something like this? Maybe if it doesn't have V-grooves, or if it has more modern handles? Make it look more modern in other ways...?
2. If we're going with shaker I'm seriously considering a Dark Blue colour - would this be too dark given the room is facing North? Other options are Dove Grey, Cashmere and White for modern kitchens.
3. Do you find tall wall units (900mm) are worth it? They might be difficult to reach and they do add about £500 to the cost depending on supplier (the height of the room is 2650mm)

Thanks

I would say yes to the tall wall units - if you don't have them you will probably store bits and bobs on top of the units which doesn't look great plus it gets very dusty up there.

I’d also have tall wall units.

I’d say shaker kitchens are classic/traditional. The one in the linked pic has a more modern colour and fitted appliances making it less traditional but still... if you prefer mid-century type style, I’d probably go with flat fronts, maybe in matt and a simple colour. I’ve got a navy kitchen and I was bored of it within months.

I have a north facing kitchen and have this year fitted a dark navy kitchen and it's great. It will date but we really like it. However, we have no wall units but three tall units in navy with the fridge, freezer and ovens in in a tall bank of high units. Granite tops and warm toned wood floor. Also have additional tall larder units and bookshelf unit in off white to tone down the blue, so it is not overpowering.
Have ikea carcasses with bespoke shaker doors in own colours - so height of 248cm

we had the doors painted little green basalt - which is a very dark navy

wufti could you take a pic? sounds intriguing!!

We are mostly finished with our kitchen (still needs a final coat of paint) and have a dark blue in-frame shaker kitchen with square cornicing, much like the picture you posted. All base units save for a tall pull out larder, and breakfast cupboard.

The navy will date but I think the Shaker style is timeless and we will repaint it in a different colour when it gets tired.

I've gone for normal wall units, but my front height is 2,300mm.
With your extra 350mm height I think getting 900mm wall units instead of standard 720mm would be worthwhile. What is the extra £500 on total cost? £500 on £50,000 is a no brainer whereas £500 on £2,500 is a lot.
As someone else said more storaage instead of putting things on top.

I personally don't like the darker styles, but it is personal preference.

I've got the DIY Norton referred to in the linked article about v grooves. Again personal preference.

Just wanted to say someone on here got amazing results using Ikea units with handmade doors. I think that’s the road I’d go down as they have so many useful bits and bobs for their units.

We had the 900 wall unis in our old kitchen (Ceiling 3.5m) I fount the top portion far too high to be useful and hated having to constantly get the step out

Second attempt to show photos - not quite finished but getting there

Edwardian house. Have a ceiling hob extractor which was £££ but keeps a really clean look

We had an Ikea kitchen fitted (I liked the fittings and storage features) but couldn't decide on doors so had some made from birch ply and Formica. I loathe door handles (irrational) and these doors have recesses cut in for handles. Kitchen is almost entirely wide base drawer units - no wall cupboards.

I had a pantry built in on the edge of the kitchen and that's been mega useful too!

Some pics!

Wow so many replies and thanks for all the idea. I loved all the kitchens posted in the photos, makes me want to see more :-)

Out of curiosity, did anyone put in a modern kitchen in dark (navy) colour? As DIY Kitchens also do Luca in Cobham Blue, so that would be another option... Although being MDF not so easy to paint over if we get bored of it.

With regards to budget I was looking at roughly £3000 for units & worktops. Appliances, sink & tap on top of this.

Otherwise I had some really nice designs done by one supplier... one was with shaker cashmere having black handles & accessories. Made for a nice contrast... at least in the architect tool they had. I’ll share some pics once I figure out how to do this from my mobile

I love love love navy kitchens but HATE shaker style. My current (inherited) kitchen has shaker style magnolia doors, and the 'ledges' catch every bit of dust or spilt coffee or unknown sticky substance. I'll be going for plain, easy clean doors when we replace it.

Second Nature do a couple of more modern takes on shaker. Ellerton is a true handless one and very sleek.

www.sncollection.co.uk/kitchens/ellerton-painted.html

And Litchfield is a handless one. I have Litchfield in Rye which is a warm pale oak and porcelain. We have a north facing kitchen too and we love our kitchen. Even OH who generally has no strong opinion on kitchen doors loves it LOL!

www.sncollection.co.uk/kitchens/lichfield-espresso.html

I would say that blue will work but only if you've got a bright room as else will feel dark and cold.

I too am thinking about a navy kitchen. Was going for gloss but asked on here and general advise is no! So for those with matt dark kitchens, do they show marks much?

OP, tall units definitely worth it.
I too hate the dust on shaker kitchens but think they look lovely.

I have a NW facing kitchen and went for DIY Kitchen's Luca Matte White with tall top cabinets and colour matched f&b elephants breath (got dulux quartz grey). I always wanted a traditional kitchen with solid wood worktops but...the budget did not permit. If you want to go traditional, and to do it right (and justice), it'll cost more than £3k :(

We spent about £4k on our kitchen inc. Worktops and we got a lot out of that! It even stretched to x2 1200mm width larder cupboards.