Let's renovate my kitchen

[mountainash]

It's time to remodel my kitchen and I need some help. I have some pictures from when we bought the place. The only difference now is that we have black appliances and the microwave is over the stove. The hideous wallpaper that we said we were going to remove when we moved in is still up. It's been almost five years. The cabinet doors in the kitchen are painted white. It's not a quality paint because it has started to chip. I have a love/hate relationship with the tile floors. With the radiant heat in our house, they're nice and warm in the winter time and nice and cool in the summertime, but they show every crumb and God forbid you ever drop something glass.

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...ywallpaper.jpg

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...wallpaper2.jpg

The laundry room joins the kitchen. It's nice to be able to fold a load of laundry while my children are having a snack in the kitchen, but I don't enjoy hearing the dryer all of the time or the linty dust that gets everywhere either. The laundry room has matching maple cabinets and a large pantry that I want to keep.

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...nt=laundry.jpg

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...ent=pantry.jpg

My budget is about $1000 which should include new countertops, paint, backsplashes, and possibly light fixtures. There's a distinct possibility that we'll sell this house within the next couple years, so it's important to make sure that whatever we do is going to be appealing to potential buyers. That's my main struggle. I know what I would like and I think I have good taste (is there a pat yourself on the back smiley?) but I worry that my tastes are too contemporary for my small town. I'll be back in a bit to run some of my ideas by you, but in the meantime take a look at the pics and feel free to offer your ideas.

Thanks!!

[mountainash]

Ugh. Went to get the kids a snack last night after posting here, then my son was going to use the bathroom before bed. Turned on the bathroom light and noticed the ceiling was dripping through the light fixture. Ran upstairs to find water in the upstairs bathroom light fixture, too. Went to shut off the water supply to the house and noticed the bathroom in the basement was also leaking from the ceiling! Long story short, there was an ice dam on our roof that was causing all the rain/snow that was running down the roof to pool around the sewer vent pipe. 11:00pm hubby and I were up on an icy roof trying to carve a channel through the ice dam with the garden hoe. The garden hoe broke, but we got it chipped through enough to pry it apart with the snow shovel. What a night.

Here are my ideas for the kitchen.

•Paint lower cabinets dark, espresso brown/black.
•Strip off wallpaper and paint cabinets toasted wheat color.
•Replace counter top with light tan granite tile or formica.
•Tile backsplash. Not sure what color/material. Possibly a stainless steel backsplash.
•Strip paint off of upper kitchen cabinets.
•Replace cabinet hardware with brushed nickle to match kitchen faucet.
•Use turquoise accents--flower pots, fruit bowl, plates, etc.

I'm going for sort of a hip cafe style. I like bold, warm colors but don't want to do something that would be un-appealing to buyers in the future. I want the kitchen to coordinate with the laundry room/pantry area and don't want to do anything that will clash with the tile flooring.

Here are some images from flickr of cabinets that have been painted brown/black:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saucydr...7608205947109/

http://flickr.com/photos/champagnech...7601685956254/

And here is a collage of my ideas:

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r...rent=ideas.jpg

So any input?

What a night! I want to read thru everything you posted, so I'm subbing for now Looks like you have some good plans already though...

[mountainash]

Bump >>

I love you ideas!!! They are gorgeous!

I'm currently renovating our house and will be stealing some of your ideas. I love the brown and turquoise.

Just a few questions?

Are you keeping they floor tiles?

What kind of lighting are you looking at putting in?

So are you going to paint the doors in the laundry room as well? I can't tell very well from the pictures but it looks like the laundry room flows into the kitchen.

I have already decided our need kitchen is getting a glass splashback like this one
http://www.ultimate-splashbac.co.uk/...ash_backs.htm#
I think that's why I am so drawn to your dark/turquoise design.

Don't know if I can help but I'd love to see more.

I love your ideas! We have dark brown cabinets (I think the color is cherry spice) and our granite counter top is cream with brown (I forget the name). So...I really like your ideas (probably cuz they are similar to mine ).

[mountainash]

I am planning to keep the tile. I should put a swatch of the tile in with my other swatches to see how it would look. The dark brown painted cabinets and the light green tile could be icky together. For lighting, I'm envisioning some funky pendant lights over the kitchen table. I know my husband would love to do recessed lighting in the other part of the kitchen.

[RiverRock]

I like your plans, too!