Thoughts on kitchen

[blinkbonny]

We are redoing our kitchen, see attached photo. We are happy with the design/layout but can’t quite finalise on colour. The colour we have chosen, and shown in the image, is “fossil grey” but we are also considering doing the island and the top row of cupboards in white instead. We don’t want the whole kitchen in white, but DH is concerned that the grey throughout will be too dark.

Other points of consideration are whether to use the worktop material as the splashback - in the current design we’ve got a mirrored section but would worktop be better?

Then we have to start thinking about flooring - so I’m looking for any input! What is shown in the attached was just how it came out of the kitchen designer’s software.

thanks in advance for any thoughts and comments from all you clever people!

I have always loved grey… hmmm. It's dated already.

Could you go for taupe?

I have a beautiful grey kitchen.

The floor is warm and the kitchen cool. I think it would look better if either both warm or both cool. I also think it needs colour. I would go for coloured tiles as a splash back.

OP look at cashmere. It’s a classic colour and it looks lovely in a kitchen. Still miss my previous kitchen…stuck with white high gloss at the moment in our new house. I know green is very in now but that will date pretty quickly considering every house is now green, including kitchens, hallways, toilets and living rooms 😬 I feel people will get sick of it soon, same as grey.

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It totally depends on your style and what you like. For me this is cold and bland but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for you or your home.

the mirror is going to highlight any mess so I wouldn’t hesitate change that as you said.

islands are also got out of fashion, but I still like them.

the thing that stands out to me is a lack of actual cooking and prep space. You don’t have much in the way of useable surface.

floors. Easy to clean or doesn’t show marks.

2 dishwashers - that way you dint have pots stacked in the sink and ventilation for fridge freezer if built in

I agree with some posters, the mirror isn't the best idea, you'll constantly be wiping water spots, spatters off it, it also doubles up the appearance of any mess in the sink area. If you love grey and are sticking to it, I do think the top cupboards being a different colour is better, white would be better than grey and the flooring is also quite washed out looking, something darker would ground the room better. This may be my own lack of comprehension but how does the cupboard in the right hand corner work? There doesn't seem to be door clearance between it and the top row of units on the back wall?

I have an off white and grey kitchen and I love it. My bank of units are in a charcoal grey , and some wall units. The rest are off white. I like the contrast . Our floor is wood which softens it .
We previously had a softer champagne colour but in our north facing room it took on a grey-green hue which I hated. So I would bring a sample of whatever colour door you are choosing into the room because it might look completely different there as to how it looks in the showroom .
I like rooms that are simple with clean lines. I have added more colour with accessories. I hate all the “fashionable” colours. I think they all date quickly.
I also think that if you are buying a kitchen to last you 10 years it should be about what you love and not about what might make your house more saleable at some future point. No one knows what will be popular then. I’ve never bought a house where I loved the existing kitchen

splashback - in the current design we’ve got a mirrored section
Reflective is ok but not mirrored.

Take no notice of other people's opinions on colour - this is your house and it needs to bring you joy every day. What a future buyer may or may not want is an irrelevance if you're not planning to sell for years.

I too wouldn't have the sink in the middle. I know accessories can make a difference but it all looks incredibly bland, style wise and colour. Definitely do not go with grey !

@Dragonscaledaisy , OP asked for opinions.
The grey trend has passed and I'd not want an expensive new kitchen in last decade's colour

Thank you - that door is a bifold door and inside is where you can hide countertop appliances like toaster, coffee maker, etc

“Bland” is coming up quite a lot so that’s interesting. I did deliberately plan it as being pretty neutral but sounds like that is an unpopular route!

Following 'trends' are for mindless sheep.

I too wouldn't have the sink in the middle.
The sink is the messiest place in my kitchen unless I've just tidied up. I'd not want it to be in the middle of the room.

@Dragonscaledaisy , I don't follow trends.

I completely agree. I've spent the last 2 years changing the grey I had in parts of the house. Just DS2's bedroom to go, which will be this spring definitely.

So many other choices to go with. Lots of lovely greens, or cashmere or I actually love pure white with interesting tiles & floor. I saw black base units and white wall units in a shop recently & it looked great too.

It's very, very bland right now. Sorry OP. A kitchen is expensive, it should bring you joy.

Not to put a dampener on your design, where is your fridge freezer? Biggest mistake we.....rather ex made was putting it next to the oven....... if you use oven alot the fridge gets confused and will freeze...... took me 2yrs to figure that out after many (now embarrassing calls) to warranty fridge company.

We have grey on the floor cabinets and grey/brown wood effect on the tall cabinets....I am also not a massive grey fan. But our walls are sulking room pink so it brings the room together more and drowns out the grey.

How high are the wall units and are you a tall family?
I have a stepladder in my kitchen, which DP finds hilarious

Not to everyone's choice but I hate fitted fridge/freezers. I have always found there is so much more space in a free standing one.

Ignore the grey haters, it's only dated if you have everything grey so it looks like a B&W photo. If done properly it's a good cool neutral that goes well with lots of colours and wood tones so if you love it use it. F&B's best selling paints are all still greys so it's not that unfashionable. That said make sure you check how it looks in the space because a north facing kitchen will have cool light which will exaggerate the coolness of the grey so you might be better going for a taupe to get the grey effect you want. But don't go for any colour just because people say to. I think having the wall cabinets a different colour is a good idea. What colour were you thinking for the walls? A grown up pink might be nice and will bring warmth to the space while still feeling neutral (don't have any other pink in the room though).

Practically I agree with the comments about the splashback and the placement of the sink, hob, fridge and cooker.

My kitchen is a bit similar but it’s quite a greeny grey with dark granite worktops with a slight green seam in and cream tiles for some contrast. If I was having a true grey like yours I’d warm it up with a wooden worktop. You can get laminate that looks just like wood now.
https://houseofworktops.co.uk/wood-effect-worktops?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&tw_source=google&tw_adid=666060165996&tw_campaign=20196237779&tw_kwdid=dsa-3500001&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20196237779&gbraid=0AAAAApsbiONBES9w3G2Q9iHWW3ggfQrq2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkoK67tiJkwMVIplQBh00ugdTEAAYASAAEgLuT_D_BwE

Are you absolutely wedded to that particular style of kitchen? I think soft grey can look gorgeous in a more traditional style, but when it’s in a modern contemporary style to me it looks rather cold and corporate as all you see is the mass expanse of grey, there is nothing to break it up.