Will marble lighten up??
sjl1203
14 days ago
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HALLETT & Co.
14 days agodani_m08
10 days agoRelated Discussions
Painting cherry cabinets to lighten up kitchen -- long post, sorr
Comments (27)As a few people have mentioned before, posting a picture of your current space would really help! Painting your cabinets is, of course, an option (milk paint and chalk paint are two durable low-VOC options). However, I'd try a few simpler strategies first. 1. Backsplash. Try cutting sheets of beadboard to fit in that space. If your current backsplash is anything other than white, white beadboard will brighten it up quite a bit. 2. Mirrors. Do you have an area of wall where you can hang a mirror? To outsiders it may seem vain to hang a mirror in your kitchen, but reflecting what little light there is can really make a difference! 3. Appliances. Someone mentioned it before - black appliances will make the space seem darker. 4. Window. If you have any valances or window hangings, take 'em off! And check outside, too, for anything that's blocking light. 5. Upper cabinets. If you have ample storage space, consider removing a section of your upper cabinets. This is especially true if they're hanging over a peninsula or island. Other options in this vein include removing the doors on a couple sections, using glass inserts (frosted if you're worried about keeping things tidy), or replacing a run of uppers with open shelving. Or you could paint them. 6. Lowers. Cherry darkens over time/exposure to light, so it might be possible to lighten the tone by refinishing them and then sealing without a stain. 7. Counters. Replacing perfectly-good granite would likely be as expensive or more so than for professionally painted cabinets, but I think it would yield better results. Not an ideal solution, but still keep it in mind. 8. Flooring. Short of replacing your floor (what is your flooring, by the way?), try a couple of light-colored throw rugs. 9. Connections. How does your kitchen connect to the other rooms in the house? You mentioned you are in an historic district, so chances are you don't have an open floor plan. Do any of the adjacent rooms have natural light to spare? "Borrow" light with French doors or transoms above. Or remove a door completely (where it makes sense, of course), leaving a cased opening. 10. Declutter. A lot of extra stuff can make even a well-lit space seem claustrophobic. However, a few well-placed objects (especially reflective surfaces like a silver platter, or a small lamp for a dark corner) can brighten the room without having the overhead lights blazing. Let us know what you decide to do!...See MoreBacksplash to lighten up a dark kitchen?
Comments (15)Thanks for all of the advice, everyone! I took some better pictures of the kitchen in terms of light (see below), although it has no flooring right now. The impetus for the slight remodel is a flood that started two floors above me and ruined all of my hardwood floors, so they're all pulled up and my condo is entirely concrete at the moment other than the kitchen and the bedrooms/bathrooms. That being said, based on your advice, I decided to suck it up and get new counters. I'm going with quartz with a carrara marble look, and I think I'm going to go with a white/frosted white glass tile pattern backsplash. Here's a picture of a cabinet and counter that are similar to mine with the backsplash I'm leaning toward. I'm not totally married to this one, though, so I'd love some input! I'm also including a picture of the flooring I'm leaning toward (although it's a tiny bit redder in person). Now I just need to choose a paint color! Thanks again, everyone, for convincing me that it's worth it to do new counters! Pictures of the kitchen now:...See MoreHow to lighten up dark kitchen?
Comments (18)Thanks everyone for your replies and great ideas. You aren't supposed to put hot pots on granite either, less risky than quartz but can still damage it. I've had granite for 20 years and never had a problem putting hot pans on it. I don't cook with cast iron but everything goes straight onto the counter, from the cooktop and the oven. I have a small marble baking counter and don't feel safe putting a hot pot on that, but never think twice about granite. I'd install more kitchen lighting before giving up on soapstone, if that's what you have your heart set on. The kitchen will be well lit but I'm trying to avoid having to put lights on during the day. I'm really hoping that it will look brighter with the primed drywall. We'll see. Corian rain cloud is pretty popular, I think. This blog post has photos of her rain cloud slab and install. I love that Corian! I think it would look perfect in the bathrooms too. It would look great in the kitchen, but I really do like to put hot pans on the cooktop. Old habits die hard. I am tempted to find a work around though. It would look perfect! We put a solatube in our middle-of-the-house kitchen and it's been wonderful. Believe it or not, there is a path where through which we could install one or two but I was worried it would be like a spotlight. Do they spread the light well?...See MoreLighten up busy-looking baltic brown/travertine kitchen on a budget
Comments (75)HELP with new barstool, dining chairs, paint color. What barstool and dining chair designs and colors would work best? I'm still leaning towards a green paint shade and have ordered a couple samples of Behr's Sustainable and Sage Brush to try out. (BTW, everdebz, my paint prior to Oak Buff was Swiss Coffee throughout the entire house! First thing I did upon moving in, and then ten years ago I repainted the entire place with the help of a designer!) Requirements for stools and chairs -- comfortable (padded with backs), semi low profile, and small depth front-to-back. (My dining table pedestal prevents pushing the side chairs very far in under the glass top, and I don't like them sticking out a lot when not in use. Guess my table is too large for my space, but I don't want to replace it.) Here's a pick of a barstool I got from Amazon to try out, plus new picks of my existing furnishings/colors and the two paint colors: EDIT - don't like the stool coz it's too chunky and the fabric and leg colors don't work with my the dining room. Back to drawing board on stools......See MoreHU-505073710
10 days agochinacatpeekin
10 days agoHALLETT & Co.
9 days agochinacatpeekin
9 days ago
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