Black, White and Glam

Search articles on the internet about updates in the home and there you will find written in black and white one re-occurring theme; update the kitchen. A potential buyer sees an out of date kitchen and the dollar signs start blinking, warning them to move on to another home or ask for a deep discount due to all the work they will have to invest. An updated kitchen doesn’t have to break the bank, if you re-face instead of replace the existing kitchen. Let’s take a peek into a Colony villa and see how the use of black and white added a touch of glamour to the newly re-faced kitchen somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Re-face don’t replace
Often people think they have to buy all new cabinetry and that is not the case. IF you are staying with the same footprint of your original kitchen it is not necessary to pull out all the cabinets. If there has been no water damage, and the original boxes look intact then leave them in place. We reface a kitchen by removing the old doors. The cabinet boxes are then painted white or off white depending on client choice. I usually stay in white or off white colors because those colors are light, bright and always in style. We added more cabinetry boxes to the top of the original cabinets so they would extend to the ceiling. This made the space look larger. New doors are then purchased to replace the old doors but the new doors are much larger than the old doors. The new doors meet in the middle so that very little of the old cabinet boxes can be seen. The larger doors add to the illusion that the kitchen is bigger! The cabinets in this kitchen are finished with crown molding that ends at the ceiling.

• Granite
This homeowner was adventurous and chose beautiful granite called Black Forest Mist. At the granite yard this granite looked grey and white and originally we bypassed it. Finally, when we compared it to granite that was mostly black, we thought this would be a better choice and it looks amazing! The homeowner agreed that a full granite backsplash was the way to go, not only did she get more of the beautiful granite but there is no grout to clean. I personally love a granite backslash because it looks shimmery and expensive!

• New appliances
This homeowner had all new white appliances and they look great with the all black and white kitchen. Remember, if you are buying a new refrigerator it might be taller than your cabinetry will allow. Don’t let that stop you from getting the refrigerator that you want, because the cabinet above the refrigerator can always be moved up by a kitchen re-facer or any cabinet professional.

• Wainscot
We had wainscot applied around the walls in the kitchen and under the bar. This application of white wainscot in “3d” molding style added a timeless treatment to the walls that visually tied into the cabinetry making the space feel pulled together. Under the bar, tile had been installed years ago. We did not want to bother with the mess of tile removal, so we installed the wainscot with heavy glue. The tile is gone and there is no mess! Having the bar wainscoting was important to visually tie into the kitchen and it looks so good with the granite on the bar.

• Table
The homeowner loved the granite so much that she wanted the extra piece made into a table. The cabinet re-facer built a new cabinet that would act as a table base. The new table base provided her with lots of new storage as well. The new granite was fashioned for a custom fit to the table base and it fits into the space perfectly.

• Bench
The key to making a table of this size work in a colony kitchen was to place a bench along the wall as seating. The bench stays put and people slide in eliminating the need to leave room for a chair to be pulled out. On the wall side the bench seats two and on the side of the table that floats out toward the refrigerator we placed two chairs. This works very efficiently in a colony kitchen.

• Lights
The homeowner wanted to showcase her favorite light above the sink and it worked nicely with all the white cabinetry. We swagged the chandelier over the table for a quick fix and it complements the light over the sink.

• Mirrors
The homeowner loves sparkle and mirrors. We gave her mirrors! We hung four rectangle mirrors perfectly between her favorite boarder and it kept the space light by reflecting light from the opposing window.

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! I give free decorating programs! It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.