Oak Kitchen

flyingsouth77

We are purchasing a home that has an oak kitchen. Normally, I'd be all about painting the oak, since its really NMS. However, the cabinets are custom built, and really, in spite of the oak, amazing.

I really prefer a coastal cottage sort of vibe. The home has just been painted golds, browns, and burgundy. The burgundy is going immediately, but the gold is pretty soft and does look nice with the color cabinets.

 Thoughts on how to get the style I want? I'm thinking that changing out the outdated brassy light fixtures in the breakfast room and dining room would help as well.  We do have an island that I could paint white, to add a little contrast. 

 

 

Sue-n-Kevin

I love coastal/cottage looks myself. My home is done that way on the main level (living room and kitchen), and our bedroom upstairs is as well. I just re-did my kitchen in a coastal style. I had plain builder's grade cabinets when we moved in that were painted a country-style blue. I painted them white about 13 years ago, then just re-did them with a chalk/clay paint in yellow. This link takes you to the blog written by the local woman who owns a store that sells the paint. She also runs workshops. My kitchen is on this page, if you page down to the yellow cabinets, where it says "Sue is kind enough to share". But, it's a real idea starter for ways to get a coastal feel, even if you don't paint the cabinets:

http://fabulousfinishes.wordpress.com/ 

You can get the coastal feel with chairs & table, other decor items, and yes your island if you paint it. If you don't want to paint the cabinets with paint, you can always do a white wash on it. These chalk/clay paints don't require sanding beforehand, which is always a plus. The primary makers are Annie Sloan, Ce Ce Caldwell and The American Paint company. They have very vivid colors, but also have pastel tones as you can see in my kitchen. They are SO easy to work with. If you want a distressed look, after the paint dries you just wipe it off to show the wood underneath, or a lower layer of color you painted on. In your kitchen you'll need the finish layer over the top, at least one for cabinet faces, 2 for table tops. I've spilled stuff on my kitchen table and island table top and they just wiped off. I used Ce Ce Caldwell's paint and satin finish "over layer". I assume the others have one as well. Her blog has tons of ideas and pictures.

If you are interested in the nook I made, the seating are individual Ikea Expedit wall shelf/cubes arranged in an L shape. They are the right height for nook seating, and provide storage underneath. I used Martha Stewart fabric cubes from her collection at Lowe's, but Ikea makes baskets that fit as well. I made the seats and backs from foam I purchased at Joann's and sewed the fabric to make the cover.

I can't comment on the brass without a picture.

Good luck. If you have any questions, just post them here.

flyingsouth77

I'm totally on your wavelength! My table and chairs, as well as free standing wooden recycling sorter cabinet are distressed white and black. The adjoining, open, family room will have a dresser I painted and repurposed as a tv console using chalk paint. I'm hoping that all of those elements help create the vibe I want. It's so hard to "start over". This is a wonderful home...just not my style. Yet. 

gymbugmj2k

I think your choice of paint colors (whites, beige, light blues/greens) will help that as well.  Kitchen accessories do a lot to set the tone, too (towels, appliances, canister sets, etc)  so you may be able to keep things on the light side

TarHeels&Rebels

Well, not cottagey, but I think this is just about the best oak kitchen I've ever seen. http://pinterest.com/pin/198932508512512917/ You could add turquoise accents instead of magenta. 

flyingsouth77

Thanks Tarheels! I was thinking gray might be a beautiful contrast to the oak. I'm going to live with it a while too, before I make a snap decision. I pinned that kitchen to my Pinterest board to remember it. 

cakergirl

The house we bought has really nice oak cabinets and I actually love them.  I now others would consider them dated, but I think it meshes really well and the color scheme helps.  We have a tile black splash which is mostly grey with a little tan and a hint of orange, white crown molding and trim, and grey countertops. Black and stainless appliances.  We also have bright orange walls which is kind of random but I love it.   The cabinets also have crown around the top, which i think modernizes any cabinet regardless of finish. Our previous house had cabinets and colors that coincidentally were very similar, except the crown molding  around the top cabinets was also a dark grey, which help it look super modern.  I think the grey and stainless sort of tones down the honey oak color.  And the dark trim really compliments our really dark furniture to tie it all together. the Old house had oil rubbed bronze knobs pulls and light fixtures, which also helped to modernize it and tie it in with our darker more modern furniture.

Personally I kind of hate the trend of painting every wooden surface in the kitchen.  Yes,I know it's popular and yes I know it's a way to modernize a space on a budget.  But I think if you cabinets are high quality there is really no reason to.  I much prefer the look of a nice natural stain rather than the painted or opaque stain look that is popular now. So I would never consider painting the cabinets.  But, it is an option.  (But then again, i don't really granite or stainless that much, so I'm pretty old fashioned anyway. So keep that in mind)

 

however, I would start by trying to add some crown molding (either to the wall or the cabinets, or both), white trim to help everything "pop", updating your knobs and pulls, or maybe  adding in a more modern backsplash first.  Then you can decide if you still don't like the cabinets.