I love to cook, but planning a kitchen might be the death of me. Like most homeowners I know what I like, but trying to translate that into what I want in a kitchen is an entirely different challenge.
I’ve loved Plain English Kitchens for years, but the option of a full customized kitchen at their level of quality and detail are far out of our financial reach. In trying to design something for the Gorsline House, we’ve explored the gamut of options from pre-fab and DIY to partial customized kitchens to bring us a little closer to an actual plan.
Some of the best pre-fab options I’ve seen use IKEA Shaker-style cabinets, usually painted to give the kitchens a vintage feel. Unfortunately, since IKEA discontinued it’s popular Tidaholm line of cabinet doors, the remaining available styles are somewhat disappointing.
Notice IKEA’s Tidaholm cabinet door (now discontinued in Canada) has dovetailed joints forming an evenly flush face frame. These details plus the open wood grain gives the appearance of a high quality Shaker-style door, even when painted.
IKEA’s Ädel cabinet door, while still made with a solid wood frame, has beveled butt-joints forming the face, and the smooth finish does not translate well when painted. The example from Stately Kitsch above benefits from the simplicity of the Tidaholm cabinet doors.
KA suggested we use IKEA cabinets to start, but finish them with custom doors. While I like this idea, we’re working with limited space and standard-sized boxes may not be the best fit for tight spaces. Also, all IKEA cabinets use overlay doors, and I’m partial to inset doors for the simple fact that they’re an older style that we’re trying to replicate for the bathrooms (Don’t get me started on Georgian-era living standards in Upper Canada…).
So, while we’re still contemplating all the options at our disposal (keeping a close eye on our bottom line), I’m working with this current mock-up of what I would love to see in the space. I’m borrowing the cock-beading and flat drawer fronts that I like in Plain English’s showroom kitchen, and including doors with slightly larger face frames. Recessed end panels are meant to resemble the construction of the interior doors throughout the house. The ceilings are not level so a crown molding will help disguise the gap.
I wanted stone counter-tops, but R is pushing for maple butcher block. It’s usually cheaper, but our 10-foot long island will mean a custom top in any material will be required. We can’t afford all built-in, panel-ready appliances but are making efforts to integrate them where we can (two refrigerator drawers will come in handy for food and beverage overflow when entertaining).
I convinced R that we would be foolish to waste 10 inches of space on the back side of the island to blank panels. You can never have too much storage in a kitchen. With this much fussy detail we might just bite the bullet and go with a full custom kitchen. Hopefully there’s still room on our credit cards.