Tiny's Kitchen Plans

So, this kitchen is small. We haven't worked in such tight quarters, ever, and are getting creative to make this thing feel like a million bucks. Because of the size, we're designing it to feel light, clean, and minimal. We want to keep the space modern, with a distinguishable Scandinavian influence, but don't want it to feel sterile. As we mentioned in this post, as excited as we are to try out simple living, we are also aware that it does not come without sacrifice, and there will be days when we miss our spacious Ada home. Thus, we have decided that we want to go all out in this place - maximizing design, function, and finishes. 

One or two long, open shelves will be installed above the sink, with marble tile behind. The fridge will live in the empty space to the left of the floor to ceiling cabinetry. To the right of the fridge is our dining nook...DIY built ins here we come!
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Let's talk finishes...

I love our current black kitchen, and I know that "dark and moody" is all the rage right now, but due to the size of this home, we are going with white. To boot, I really do love white kitchens. Always have, always will, no matter the "trends."  We had such a great experience with IKEA cabinets in our current home (see this post, and this post), that we are going with  IKEA again!  I am having difficulty deciding between white shaker (IKEA Axstad) and white slab (IKEA Veddinge). Shaker fronts would add a softer, more traditional touch, while slab fronts would feel more mod and Scandinavian. I'm leaning toward slab. Slab fronts are also about $1000 less. 

We are undecided about the countertop. I'm leaning toward solid white, or potentially a marble visual. I know all of the cool kids are going with real marble, but I want something zero maintenance, so quartz it is. We wanted to select a flooring that is light as well. We are going with real hardwood, deciding between Shaw Couture Oak color champagne (which is a 7.5" wide white oak) and Shaw Fifth Avenue color Astor (European white oak in a 5x24 herringbone!). One our instagram poll, ya'll voted - about 66% herringbone, 34% traditional!
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​For the backsplash, I am going with Shaw's Carrara marble 4x16 in a vertical offset pattern (same pattern as this kitchen, but larger scale).
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Hardware and faucet will be combination of brushed brass and matte black. I'm eyeing these long pulls and this faucet. You know that our favorite matte black kettle is going to make an appearance!

For the life of me, I cannot find an image of a similar kitchen on the world wide web, but, here are some kitchen that do inspire me when I'm pinning! Follow me on Pinterest here. Click on images below for source. ​
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There you have it! Stay tuned as we go from old, dark, and  orange to minimal and modern! Can't wait to sip coffee in our new little kitchen in just a few short months! 

-HJJ