Oak-ey Dokey

My sister in law Kriston and her family were here in Calgary a week ago and her and her husband Scott were throwing around the idea of possibly... maybe... let's think about it some more.... moving. With a recent teenager in the family and two more kids close behind things were starting to feel a little cramped at their place. This weekend (only 5 days after they left our place) she called to tell us they bought a house and are moving in next weekend!! The house is a beautiful 100 year old character home on a tree lined street backing onto a park. The house is full of rooms covered in wallpaper which for me makes it even more exciting. This place screams dramatic before and afters.

The previous owner was a carpenter and he put a lot of love into this home. The cabinets in the kitchen were built by him and Kris says they are in great shape. However they are oak, which definitely can look dated. There are tons of great tutorials in the blogger universe on painting cabinets but it's a huge job.  A lot of people buying older homes are left in the same boat- wondering how to make the oak work. I got excited about the idea of creating a mood board centered around oak cabinetry, which can hopefully serve as inspiration to other oak kitchen owners who are paint-over-wood adverse.

In Kris and Scott's new place the kitchen is large enough for a table but thanks to the attached dining room Kriston is opting for a big butcher block island instead. This family is not afraid of bold design choices so I think painting out the island in a fun color like this would look great.

 

via dustjacket attic

Scott's brother makes gorgeous pottery and they have a beautiful collection of his work including most of their kitchen dishes. Removing some of the upper cabinets is a great way to open up the kitchen, eliminate some of the oak and provide a functional area for displaying some of their dishware. Win, win, win. 

 

via Traditional Home

Adding in some woven roman blinds to the windows in a similar tone to the cabinets will keep the taller cabinetry from feeling unbalanced.

To make the kitchen light and bright I would paint the walls a soft grey with a slight blue undertone to prevent the cabinet's from casting an orangey tone on the walls.

Kris and Scott plan to replace the countertop with granite and with this color scheme I think something not too busy in grays and whites will look great, a few golden flecks will tie in the oak.

 

Bianco Romano Granite from MSI stone

Back splashes are a great place to add in some personality and with this you could go in a million directions. I personally am loving this hex tile...

 

via amazon.com

A classic white subway tile or penny rounds would look great too.

And here are all these ideas mashed onto one mood board...

Kris and Scott both love interior design and whatever they decide to do is sure to look great.  I was constantly inspired by their first home which was very modern- it looked like it could have rolled off the pages of Dwell magazine. I can not wait to see how they tackle this more traditional home and bring it into this century!

Congratulations Kris and Scott! You've had me dreaming of moving to Moose Jaw all week. Can't wait to come and visit and take down some wallpaper. We'll bring the Dr. Pepper and skittles:)