RESIDENTIAL KITCHEN RENOVATION
(in collaboration with Phoenix Kitchens) Wilmington, DE
Background
Brandywine Design was brought into this project after the space plan had already been completed, with the kitchen cabinets and brown cabinet stain previously selected.
Objective
Assist clients in choosing finishes for the walls, floors, countertop, backsplash, and the lighting for over the peninsula eating area.
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Client Interview
We met with the clients and Gary Robbins of Phoenix Kitchens. The clients preferred a neutral palette, but they didn't want the floor or countertop to be a color that would show everything. They wanted a "warm, rich, and dramatic look" that wasn't frilly or feminine. We discussed magazine kitchen pictures that they liked, yet none of the cabinets in the pictures had the same brown stain they had selected. Based on the sample pictures, it seemed that they gravitated towards the warmer and richer look of a light cherry finish. We decided to change the cabinet finish to cherry on hickory wood. This was our starting point for selecting the other finishes.
Design Recommendations
In keeping with a neutral palette, the final selections were a medium beige ceramic tile for the floor (a color that is great for hiding floor traffic), and a medium beige and cream striped wallcovering to go above the chair rail. The tile backsplash was also a cream color and the grout just slightly darker. To make the clients' kitchen unique, we recommended using black to accent the neutral colors as it lends a very rich and dramatic look to the overall neutral color scheme.
Details
Although hesitant at first, the clients saw how well the black enriched the neutral tones. Next, a granite countertop combining the cream and pale cherry wood colors along with significant flecks of black was chosen. To complement the granite, a matte-finish cream color backsplash was installed on a diagonal to offset the many vertical and horizontal lines of the cabinets and countertop. The backsplash was accented with a beautiful hand-painted black ceramic tile border that ran horizontally through the center of the backsplash. This created a line that leads the eye down the full length of the counter. We again used black for the stems of the small pendant lights that hang over the eating peninsula and also on the base of the counter stools.
Result
The overall effect was exactly what the clients wanted - a rich, warm, inviting kitchen with dramatic and bold presence.
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