Ask Maria: Will My White Kitchen be Cold?

“My husband and I are gutting our white kitchen and putting in another white kitchen but with a better lay-out. While I would love custom cabinets and quartz counters, those materials would be an “over-renovation” for our neighbourhood and type of house.

We chose Ikea cupboards in the white Applad door profile which is completely flat. We preferred the look of the Shaker-style Adel door but its off-white colour clashes badly with our new white kitchen appliances. Our recently renovated main bath also has a flat profile door and since the bathroom is fairly close to the kitchen, we thought a flat profile kitchen cupboard door would coordinate better.

In addition to the white Applad cupboards, our kitchen will have white appliances, a stainless steel sink and faucet, brushed nickel door pulls, a refinished oak parquet wood floor, a white tower fan above the stove and white subway tile.

I have two design questions:”

“1. I love all white kitchens but with a white tower extractor fan, flat white cupboard doors, and white subway tile, I worry that the whole look will be a little flat and cold. What do you think about installing the white subway in a herringbone pattern (below)?”

2. The best option for a laminate counter we have found is Formica’s Ideal Edge (the edge is wrapped so there is no brown line and it looks much higher end). The colour options in this line are disappointing; most of the lightest options look very pinky beige. 

I think the best options are

1. Bianca Luna. 

2.  Black Ebony Oxide  or

3.  Nature Solidz  but I am lost.

Our living room/dining room, which will now we open to the kitchen, is accented in shades of blue and green, my favourite colours and the wall colour is Benjamin Moore Smokey Green.

Dear Stephanie,

I love your living room and that (BM) Smoky Green colour, it’s my new favourite blue/green!

I think it’s a great idea to install your backsplash in a herringbone pattern and since you are going for a slab profile door which is more contemporary, I might consider a non-traditional subway tile in a longer length similar to this image (below):

Regarding the countertop, I haven’t seen the Bianca Luna sample but if it’s as creamy as it looks on-line I would go for the black/gray countertop instead. Black would have been my second choice after a white countertop.

Since your cabinets are white and not off-white/cream your countertop should relate.

When you choose your pulls/knobs make sure you consider something that looks custom, here’s an idea I really like. This pull (below) comes in something like 16 different sizes, however most people just choose one size and install it on every single door and drawer.

Since hardware can make or break the look and feel of your kitchen, installing this standard pull using custom sizes on each drawer or cabinet door transforms it from ordinary to special and creates a designer look and feel.

See more hardware ideas on my Pinterest board here.

Your wood floor will warm up your white kitchen and the best thing about it is you can accessorize so many ways because you won’t have colours that will boss you around forever (not that there’s anything wrong with that either).

A white kitchen needs a few basic accessories:

Herbs in pots. Wooden spoons and a matching pepper mill.

A carved bowl with two faux bananas and one or two faux apples or pears. Then when the avocados or tomatoes that you store in bowls in your kitchen are eaten, your bowl isn’t totally empty.

My nephews have a game they play when they are at my house, which fruit is fake and which is real, haha. I found some fabulous small fake melons at an antique shop earlier this year and I have two porcelain bananas that look totally real!

I bought a Lemon Cypress topiary for my kitchen at Christmas time last year, I loved the spring green colour and it lasted in my North facing kitchen for over 7 months!

Here’s a small Cypress plant in a white pot (below) that you can find at any nursery.

Three green water bottles also look great sitting against white subway tile and here’s another cool, organic looking bowl that could warm up white.

One more thing to think about is that if are installing uppers on either side of your hood fan I would either do a regular hood fan with cabinets above or give it some room.

Hood fans that are visible up to the ceiling look better with either open shelving on either side or just some space. See my White Kitchens pinterest board for lots more examples of either option.

Hope this helps make your white kitchen happy Stephanie!

If you have a question for an Ask Maria post, take photos, without flash, in good natural light and email me here.

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