Kitchen—to change or not to change after house fire

[Curiousity1]

We bought a house last year and loved the kitchen. Objectively, we think it’s better designed than our own interior design choices would have led us to.

Then we had a fire and have had to move out of the house for at least 6 months. Sad times 😕

It does mean, however, that we can redesign the kitchen from scratch. We’ve met the kitchen designer who installed it previously and looked at lots of different choices but we’re thinking of reinstating the kitchen as it was. We will change some things—slightly bigger island, oak effect tiled floors instead of grey, a few better fitted features like spice rack and chopping board rack, new appliances, but essentially it will be the same cabinetry and colour.

Looking at design advice, a lot of people advise neutral cabinetry and shaker styles as having the most longevity, but I feel I love the colours, they give me joy, and can always be repainted if I wanted cream later…

After lots of mulling about door styles, I think we will stick with the flat handle-less oak cabinetry, so it’s really about colours that I’m struggling. I’d welcome thoughts on whether others like it too, or whether it is very individual taste and I would be crazy to not change it to neutral palettes when I have the choice!

I don't really like the layout. Seating area a bit pokey island too small. I would move the seating area over by the fridge side and move the fridge and cabinets out. That side could be a nice big dining area and then have a much bigger island or breakfast bar. Then stick a couple of arm chairs in the window where the dining area is currently.

It's a nice colour combination. Very similar to a renovated house i looked at on Rightmove this week!

Thank you!! Lots of food for thought in that. I can see we’re not using the space fully, and my husband was also saying maybe we move the fridge area but we have a separate dining room so I’m not sure we need a kitchen-diner layout. The current window bench is really only used for spillover when there’s too many people sitting at the island, but we have an old freestanding glass table against the side of the bench and I can see that’s weird, given it’s not a dining area.

Will think carefully about how we can use the space better!

I think it’s very well proportioned, but I can’t stand massive islands that take up a ridiculous amount of floor space.

The sofa is in the right place and fits nicely. What else would?

Personally, if I had money to splash, I would get some lighter floor tiles to make it look bigger and brighten it up. I would replace the stools with high end ones, and I would get some really nice lighting in there. Pooky do some lovely rechargeable ones you can dot around the place without leads ruining the effect (expensive but worth it).

I’ll look into lights, thank you!

Agree, we are going to make the island a little bit bigger to accommodate a spice rack and chopping board/tray cubby, but it won’t be much bigger.

Changing the floor to oak effect porcelain tiles is on my list.

The “sofa” in the corner is actually a tall built in window bench with storage. If we removed that we could put a dining table in the corner, but we have a separate dining room so it feels like it would be overkill to have a table at the island, the dining room, and in the kitchen.

More thinking needed!

I think it's much nicer than a neutral kitchen