Our house honey oak floors throughout. Nothing has been updated since the 80s/90s other than this kitchen in 2012.
It feels cold and sterile and doesn't match the rest of the house at all.
Without major renos, how would you match/make this room flow with the rest of the house??
Kitchen and adjoining room pics attached.
Kitchen no longer has the microwave, now it's a stainless steel range hood. (These are from the listing)
by PintaLOL
7 Comments
You could vinyl wrap the worktops or replace them if it’s in your budget. Replace or Sand and paint the cupboard doors or if you don’t want to do that paint the walls with colour or use a colourful patterned wallpaper. You could look up inspiration online. Of you have a certain aesthetic in mind Google those kitchens
I actually don’t think it’s that bad. It’s a nice bright work space like it’s supposed to be.
Pick [soft color drapes](https://assets.wfcdn.com/im/88052356/compr-r85/3134/313441899/Farmhouse+Kitchen+Curtains+Striped+Tier+Linen+Short+Curtains+Pinstripe+Cafe+Curtains.jpg), add broad leaf plants, consider repainting the cupboards again [with soft colors](https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/pictures/kitchens/kensington-gardens-kitchen-lydia-maskiell-interiors-img~7421cf120e83b97d_14-4059-1-ee23dcd.jpg).
The white cabinets on white walls is not doing you any favors. Also the white, very dated backsplash is much worse than any other feature even though the floors are also dating the room. Eventually, I would replace the floors, but that is a lot of work.
Instead, as always, the answer is to start with painting the walls. If you consider touching the backsplash to be major reno, then wait, but otherwise, I’d ditch the backsplash too. If you are married to white, then I would pick a much warmer cream for the walls. It has to be complimentary to the brighter white of the cabinets but different enough to clearly be intentional. White monochromatic schemes are tricky to pull off well, so it might be a bit of trial and error to get the right combo, but looking at the white throughout the house, I’m guessing you aren’t necessarily looking for more color in this room.
Here’s a guide to picking color to pair with honey oak: [https://www.true-design-house.com/blog/2016/3/14/bestpaint-with-honey-oak](https://www.true-design-house.com/blog/2016/3/14/bestpaint-with-honey-oak)
It’s a perfectly nice kitchen and doesn’t really look out of place with the rest of the house. I would just add some accessories that bring in some warmth. A honey oak cutting board and paper towel holder, a large patterned rug – small changes that can make a big difference.
I would update the cabinet pulls to something more modern, and either replace or wrap the counters, and replace the backsplash. There are a lot of warmer metals and interesting finishes now. I would create some mockups, because I think you would be surprised how happy you were if just those two were done.
I love a tile backsplash, but we’re currently upgrading our old house. The realtor from Sotheby’s who sells multimillion dollar homes said the trend is to go full quartz for backsplash too. (Pic from showroom yesterday).
One last note, it looks like it has a decent amount of natural light which is nice, and your other rooms have warm light. What temperature are those recessed lights? I replaced all of the recessed in our new house with selectable led and it made a huge difference.
https://preview.redd.it/xq63viqbuzdh1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b9b513cbe131fbdffdb779b901de37646ad9726
I like the cabinets and countertops. I’d switch out the backsplash if possible. If you don’t want to replace the backsplash, get some colorful canisters or a fruit bowl for a pop of color and to distract the eye from the backsplash. Get a small colorful rug to cover some of the floor. Get a tension rod and get a coordinating valance for the window. It’s not a terrible kitchen