The Yellow Cape Cod: Griege (Gray and Beige) Kitchen and Dining Nook

I love a good kitchen makeover project and this is one for the books. This is a two room design plan that we just wrapped up for our client's kitchen and adjoining breakfast nook…

(Product Sources Listed at The End of This Post)

Let me start by telling you all about the kitchen. The home is an exceptionally beautiful, traditional style, lakeside home. The kitchen already had great bones, my client was just looking to make a few changes and update the look. It had a great layout with a stunning panoramic view of lake. The cabinets are a beautiful chocolate color, they were made custom when the home was built. My client came to us and asked for assistance choosing new counter tops, back splash, lighting and accessories that all complement the existing cabinetry, but give the space a new look.

Here is what we came up with...

The granite we selected is from a local granite yard. It's similar to what is commonly called "Cold Springs". We chose a gorgeous gray subway tile back splash that pulls the gray out of the granite beautifully.

These gray accents look gorgeous with her existing wall color, "SW Balanced Beige". The wall color highlights the beige tones in the granite and provides warm contrast to the cool toned back splash. This kitchen re-fresh also included a makeover on the kitchen island. The existing island was too small for the space, it was removed and a new custom island was built in it's place. To break up the dark cabinetry, the new island was painted warm white.

To draw attention to the new and improved island, we selected an over-sized, rectangular shaped light fixture that features the most amazing oil rubbed bronze metal work design.

With all of the pretty new finishes in the space, we kept our recommendations for accessories simple as to enhance the new elements rather than compete with them for attention. A tiered serving tray was chosen for the island. Practical, but pretty crocks were selected for the counter tops.

A comfortable and eye catching rug from Ballard Designs was recommended for the area in front of the sink. This not only gives our client something cozy to stand on while doing dishes, but also brings in a little softness and pattern to the design.

In the dining nook, we selected a round chandelier from the same collection as the kitchen lighting. It will hang over a stunning new dining table we found to pair with four chairs upholstered in a beautiful dark gray fabric that our client scored at a discount home store.

Adjacent to the dining nook is the bar area from the kitchen. The bar stools were chosen in a soft beige color that contrasts with the gray upholstered chairs. Since the areas are close in proximity, the variation in color of the upholstery gives the design interest and depth.

Both the bar stool and dining chair upholstery fabrics pull colors from the fabric that was used to recover our clients existing cornice boards...

(Fabric: Mill Creek Boxtree Lynwood Pearl)

To keep the focus in this space on the amazing lake view, the table top centerpiece we recommended was simple in design.

Before deciding on the perfect rug, we contemplated quite a few of them. A round shape was a must due to the bay windows surrounding the breakfast nook.

The following rugs were all considered for the new dining nook space, they are available in a round shape and all complement this design...

I'm so excited to see this space once it's complete. The home is local to me, so I will have the opportunity to see it person. I've seen some of the progress so far and I have to say, it is one of my favorite kitchen transformations to date!

More to come in my month long, "New Year, New Room" series where I will be sharing our most recent design projects throughout the entire month of January. We have been busy creating hundreds of custom online design plans behind the scenes for our clients. My hope in sharing some of them on the blog is that you may find inspiration to help you create the room of your dreams. And, if you decided you would like personalized assistance, I'm here to help through my custom online design plan service.