Floor Fluidity

I often despaired about the state of my kitchen in my previous home. The cabinets were a streaky cherry color, the countertops were a muddy red/brown, and the tile was decidedly orange. I liked none of it, and didn’t have the means to correct all of it at once. It felt pointless to put in the effort to fix one area, such as painting the cabinets, only to continue hating the other two-thirds of the kitchen.

If this before kitchen had belonged to me, I probably would have thought the same thing.  So much tan and cherry! Why try? What’s the point? What’s the point of any of it? Why are we here? Where are we going? And then I would have thrown myself dramatically on the couch.

But then I noticed that the super tan tile floor in the before picture …

… is the same neutral tile floor in the after. Who would have guessed that it would work so nicely with fresh white cabinets and gray walls?

The key is the countertop that Kristi chose, along with all the other wood-toned accents she used throughout the space. From the butcher-block to the shades to the shelf, it all ties together and balances out the warm and cool tones. If she had gone with a white or black countertop instead, the results wouldn’t be nearly as cohesive.

So, the moral of the story is don’t be afraid to work with what you’ve got. You already know that. But do you know not to be afraid to work in what you don’t got? Like a long expanse of countertop where there used to be a blanks space, for instance. Go ahead and add that in.

 

Add in some subway tile to the ceiling while you’re at it. I’m never mad at that look. Tons of other great details to see in Kristi’s kitchen on her blog Chatfield Court.