Kitchen Remodel Design Constraints

The kitchen is in the center of my home creating challenges and constraints this One Room Challenge.

If you are new here, this is week 2 of the One Room Challenge, where I document an 8 week journey making over the kitchen.

Yes, so many choices to consider in a kitchen remodel from paint color, to tile, and light fixtures.

Because my home is open concept and the kitchen sits right in the middle, it is posing some serious design constraints I need to consider and share with you.

WEEK 1 | WEEK 3| WEEK 4

Budget and Design Constraints

Literally, inspiration can come from anywhere: a friend’s home, magazine, catalog, Pinterest, Instagram or a home tour.

Well after visiting a house for sale in FL, where I documented the incredible tile, it made me realize I am tired of my white beveled subway tile backsplash.

The backsplash was a safe choice back when I built my home in 2010 and taking it up the hood wall was really “new” at the time.

Closing-Day-and-Dinner-kitchen-island-eating-pizza
Closing Day: May 13, 2010

Now the current trend is to use tile or slab like wallpaper behind the cabinets and stove hood for lots of visual interest.

It’s an expensive proposition, but one I definitely wanted to explore to see if I could do it within my budget.

Here is an example of a backsplash treatment I saw in a $6M modern coastal home and I LOVED the look.

modern-coastal-kitchen-with-large-format-marble-or-porcelain-tile-backsplash

However; considering my kitchen sits smack in the middle of the downstairs, I had to stick with my current transitional design style.

Yes, I’d like to do a more modern look but that will have to be saved for another home some day!

If I only had a couple of homes, I could fulfill all the design ideas I love LOL.

Plus this custom hood and slab was definitely WAY out of the design budget in a mid-priced home.

Pin It for Later!

Kitchen-Remodel-ORC-WK-2

Open Concept Design Constraints

A big design constraint you may not realize looking at pictures is that the kitchen and family room sit together as a cohesive large unit.

Modify one room and you have to modify them both, which poses budget problems if I go too far away from the current look.

When I built the house, to visually join the two rooms, I chose to paint the ceiling blue.

open-concept-design-constraints

It is a detail I love and want to keep because it is such a soothing look.

Everyone looks up when they walk into my home because the blue ceiling highlights the deep mouldings and 10 ft ceilings.

Then there is the concern of complementing the various light fixtures found downstairs.

As you stand at the kitchen island, you see 4 rooms: dining room, foyer, family room, and master bedroom.

kitchen-dining-room-design-constraints

Anything new over the kitchen island would need to work with the family room, dining room, and foyer too.

You can see how this turned into a kitchen facelift and not a total remodel job due to all of the issues I had to contend with in the surrounding rooms.

So off I went in search of tile, lighting, and paint colors that would update the kitchen and still work with the downstairs of my home.

Kitchen Tile Backsplash Shopping

The Tile Shop is the BEST resource to shop for lots of tile options at one time with inspiration for days!

Their stores have large boards with tiles and real life vignettes to show the various ways tile can be installed too.

The Tile Shop was my source for the master bathroom remodel last spring, so I knew I could find something I loved that was in my budget.

Plus, my local store partnered with me and offered the tile I chose at a discount…YAY!

Please mention PORCH DAYDREAMER, if you visit The Tile Shop

Tile-Options- Kitchen-Facelift

At first, I thought I would go with a mosaic or textural backsplash and was drawn to these types of tiles.

Once I brought a couple of options home, the mosaics felt like they had too much pattern and the white textured tiles felt like not enough of an update.

Plus the mosaics ended up being REALLY expensive considering I wanted to go up the wall to the moulding with the tile.

Then I started looking through the Annie Selke tile catalog and said WOW!

Annie-Selke-Craoshatch-Sky-Tile-Shop
Image Courtesy of the Annie Selke Tile Catalog

Ah my blues with woven textures…be still my heart!

This look feels like home to me and I love grass cloth wallpaper.

It’s funny because the Annie Selke catalog inspired the color palette for the dining room makeover too 🙂

Seeing this type of tile with texture and color got my creative mind kicked into high gear.

That same day I headed straight to the store to look at the entire collection and see if the colors would work in my home.

One Room Challenge: Follow Along

Yes, I left you hanging to see what tile I ended up choosing.

That was mean wasn’t it?

But…I’d like you to come back next week, so a little suspense is in order don’t you think?

ORC-Guest-400white

We’ve got eight weeks together so enjoy the ride!

In week 3, I promise to share the tile I picked and the paint selections too.

Looking for lots of design inspiration for all of the rooms in your home?

Please visit the One Room Challenge Blog to see all of the guest designer’s plans and the featured designers too!

Each Wednesday, I’ll be sharing a One Room Challenge update via the blog and posting on social media too.

Need some kitchen cabinet color inspiration?

Need help determining the size and height of kitchen island pendants? Demystifying Kitchen Island Pendant Light Height, Size and Spacing

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Have fun following along with the twists and turns of a kitchen makeover!

Until next time…

Porch Daydreamer

Tracey

5 Comments

  1. I can’t wait to see what you picked out for your backsplash.

  2. Ahh thank you for including our space! We are so excited about it. Looking forward to watching your transformation come to life as well! 🙂

  3. Have you considered a light “taupe”, woodsy like your chair frame, with blueish veining to tie in both rooms?

    1. Oh thanks for your suggestion! I’ve been looking at using that driftwood look around the space to bring it through.

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