I live less than 15 minutes from our local IKEA. Most times, it’s convenient. Other times, I probably don’t need to be there spending money but, well, it’s just so darn close! Tonight was one of those convenient times. I think. The few items from our IKEA kitchen in the making that weren’t available at the time we purchased the rest of our kitchen were finally back in stock today. I called IKEA ahead of time to make sure they were in stock and had them hold them for me until close. After dinner, while Handy Hubby was busy working on the Underdog, the boys and I made an IKEA run. I remembered to grab my camera although I did have to turn around at the end of our street to come back and get it. At least I was still close to home when I remembered it. Anyhow, I thought I’d snap some pics of the cabinets we’ll be using in our future kitchen and go into a little more detail about how we ended up choosing mix-and-match lower and upper cabinets.
First up is this kitchen display. I’d already been eyeing inspiration photos of kitchens with contrasting cabinetry when Handy Hubby saw this display in real life and loved it. The decision to use the black-brown RAMSJÖ cabinets as our lower cabinets was an easy one.
I also liked the idea of open shelving that was used in the display kitchen. We haven’t purchased any shelving yet but I could see some stainless steel shelves like those ending up in our kitchen. We did purchase the same hood as shown above. I haven’t made up my mind on the contrasting grout lines in the backsplash. They feel a little bathroom-ish and busy to me. But that’s just me. Anyway, this black and white kitchen got our wheels turning and we definitely wanted to use the dark base cabinets. Next, we headed off to find the white version of the RAMSJÖ cabinets to use on the walls. Easy enough, right?
The only problem was I didn’t like them. The picture doesn’t do it justice but the ‘white’ finish is more of a whitewash. The wood grain shows through the paint. From a distance, they almost had a pink or beige tint to them. It obviously wasn’t a bad paint job…that’s how they were supposed to look and they would look great in a kitchen with a cottage or country feel. They just weren’t what we were looking for. We quickly moved onto the white {actually listed as off-white} ÄDEL wall cabinets.
They were the right color and very similar in style to the RAMSJÖ but…but…but I didn’t like the seeded glass fronts. And I knew I reeeeeeally wanted glass-front cabinetry on the wall where the kitchen desk would go to bounce light around and keep things feeling open on top. {I wanted the uppers on the wall opposite the desk – where the fridge and microwave will go – to have solid fronts so the only area affected by the glass-front issue was the desk area.} The seeded glass just wasn’t doing it for me. I know it hides clutter better but I’m not a cluttery person to begin with and the effect felt {dare I say it?} cheap to me. Gulp.
I asked about the glass-fronts and the white ÄDEL glass-front cabinets only come with seeded glass inserts. So, onto the next white, glass-front wall cabinet candidate. The LIDINGÖ.
It was the right color and had the smooth glass fronts that I wanted. However, it was a different style than the RAMSJÖ which we had already decided on for our base cabinets. The frame of the door was slightly narrower and the added framing on top of the glass pane mimiced that of a window. I did like it though. For comparison, here’s a picture of the RAMSJÖ vs LIDINGÖ wall cabinets. Again, from the picture you can’t really tell a huge difference but I assure you, that RAMSJÖ one is beige-y.
I asked the IKEA kitchen designer on duty her feelings on mixing the two different styles in one kitchen and she actually liked the idea. And the more I thought about it, I did too. Maybe the mixed styles would give the kitchen a more custom look as opposed to being matchy-matchy? So, we selected the LIDINGÖ cabinets as our upper cabinetry. That’s how we ended up with two different styles of cabinetry in our future kitchen. Were you able to follow all that past tense mixed with present tense chaos?
As a bonus, I snapped this desk area within a kitchen display at IKEA while I was there, too. It’s a little smaller {and a different color} than the one we’ll be implementing in the Underdog’s kitchen but you get the idea.
I like how the handles on the upper cabinets run horizontally on the doors. I think that’s how we’re going to install ours as well. I’m also up for DIYing a chalkboard above the desk. I could just tape off a rectangle of wall and paint it with chalkboard paint then frame it up with some store bought trim. Now, there’s an idea.
After I played the unpopular role of crazy-lady-with-a-camera-and-two-Matrix-reenacting-kids, I paid for the remaining kitchen items that were missing from our original order. FYI: I still got the 20% off discount that we were awarded in April for purchasing at least three appliances along with our kitchen order. I just had to show the original purchase receipt from April along with our order number. IKEA gives you a folder to keep all your order related papers in, so I just brought the entire thing with me when I picked up the missing items. I had to pay in the kitchen design department then pick up my pieces from the special order desk in the warehouse. By the time me and the boys got down to the carryout desk, the items were already pulled and waiting for us.
That’s because I ran into this on the way down…
I tried very hard not to look at anything on my way from the kitchen department to the checkouts but my will power was not strong enough for this sale price. I’ve been coveting cowhide rugs for months now. I love them. I want one. Call me cruel. It won’t change my mind. At the previously listed price of $250, I couldn’t talk myself into buying one. But at $89, I couldn’t resist. So I grabbed one up after I contemplated getting two. I think it will look great layered on top of a jute rug in the Underdog’s living room someday. Some. Day.
UPDATE: Apparently, the $89 price tag on the cowhide rugs isn’t the case at every IKEA store. Please check with your local IKEA authorities before making a special trip!
images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY