Kitchen Remodel?

Kitchens are an extremely hard space to consider and reconsider.  People redo their kitchens and spend upwards of $20,000 easily and sometimes much more than $100,000 on kitchens such as Varenna and Baultaup(which I adore).  I am more in line with a mini-Ikea renovation price tag. 

It is really hard to justify spending too much on a kitchen that is pretty new and functioning really well.  Definitely, the color has to go.  I could never stand the tendency for Seattlites to paint dark dull colors in their homes when there are so many days of gray here.  See below for what I am starting with:

Now the colors aren't unexpected or so bad that you want to projectile vomit.  I just can't handle the orangey red.  I also can't really handle the fake maple floors, with the ikea fake maple cabinets.  It is just too much fake maple.  The layout is just amazing to work with, and an extra wall in the kitchen which is perfect for use as an 'appliance garage'.   One other thing I really like is that we have a beautiful and still functioning vent! 

And then one thing in the kitchen I detest is the lighting. Not only is the lighting inadequate but the lights the previous owners 'updated' look more like a biopsy of a Grecian statues' breasts.  Is this really the statement I want in my kitchen?  I understand that you can buy these breasts at Lowes for $30 for a box of 5, and while that is great and all, I just have to say good bye to these gems. 






So far, Bob and I have agreed the colors need to change.  We landed on a color after a bit of debate.  The color is less 'appropriate' for the kitchen, than just makes us happy. It is a Teal Blue/green that is just a cool color, and very of the era for the house. Check it out.

Like my pal Chasten said when I asked about the color, he said the woods would start to look a bit yellow.  While I agree with that estimate, I just know that the rest will be changing sometime very soon.  I have been really attracted to Ikea's Glossy kitchens and I think a re-facing would do a lot for this kitchen. How much refacing to do, is of course up for debate, but just look how amazing the kitchens at Ikea look these days.

 I just love everything about this kitchen. I love the asymmetry the variability of the colors and the life it has.  I really want a colorful carpet and some wall shelves. 

The next two pictures show only the Gloss kitchens that Ikea carries.  This could help give some dimension to our kitchen with the reflective quality.  I also like the way Ikea brings in the outdoors with some greenery.

There is definitely a lot up for debate at the moment.  I think I have to hit the drawing board first before biting off too much. The blue-green makes Bob and I very happy at the moment, and I think that is all that matters right now.  I will try to sketch out some ideas of what to do and post those soon. I will leave you guys with the kitchen color and some samples of the cabinet choices we currently like from Ikea. Just not sure how we are going to mix and match the colors quite yet.