Creative Kitchen Ideas Curated by Shutterfly

Our kitchen is almost complete, well, it's just missing the backsplash, under-cabinet lighting, valence... It's still a work-in-progress, which is why I never tire of researching for the latest trend in kitchen design and decor.  Afterall, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and a kitchen reno is most likely the largest investment in the house.

As I expanded my scope of research, I stumbled upon Shutterfly's Home Decor directory.  Instead of scrolling through thousands of similar images of room design, Shutterfly has curated 100 design ideas for each room of the house.  Naturally I went to check out the latest and greatest in the Kitchen category.

I know a lot of homeowners have variety phobia - they get hung up on all the different choices and would feel bombarded.  If this sounds like you, then you would be glad to know that Shutterfly has built-in filters of different styles.  This filter is also perfect if you already know the kitchen style you prefer, just click on the style to narrow down the images.

Our kitchen is currently a mix of classic shaker cabinets, modern minimalism, and a bit of French flair.  So I dove into Shutterfly's Classic, Modern, and Global filters.  Here are my top picks as they speak to current trends while encompassing each style:

CLASSIC

This classic white kitchen is as classic as can be, with a contemporary twist of a contrasting island cabinetry color.  Calacatta gold marble countertop surrounds this classic kitchen beautifully with an elegant step ogee edge.

PHoto by:  Artistic Tile

Here's another classic white kitchen, accented with oil rubbed bronze cabinet hardware.  It has all the contemporary touches, including a custom range hood, contrasting black granite countertop, and hardwood floors. 

Photo by: baahouse + baastudio

GLOBAL

I love the French flair and bistro vibe this kitchen exhibits.  The black cabinets act as an elegant background to the statement range hood, and gold cabinet hardware and faucet.  Even with the dark cabinet color, the kitchen doesn't appear too dark, thanks to the upper glass cabinets and white dinnerwares they display.

Designed by:  Max Kim-Bee and Kirsten Kelli

Here's the ultimate kitchen that displays a contemporary yet old world feel.  The metal trims on cabinet doors are such an amazing accent that matches the brand's classic range.

Photo by: Officine Gullo

MODERN

Modern cabinetry has simple lines that may otherwise look dull.  This kitchen takes modern cabinetry to the next level, with a mix of dark and light wood.  To add the needed "oomph",  a row of gold upper cabinets make this kitchen exceptionally stylish.  This kitchen's minimalist look was also the inspiration for our kitchen's even row of upper cabinets.

Photo by: Brooke Holm

When I think of a modern kitchen, this would be a kitchen that comes to mind.  A waterfall island is the essence of this bright and modern kitchen.  Its contrasting streamlined white uppers and warm wood lower cabinets, accented by stainless steel kick plate and marble countertop and backsplash, give this modern kitchen a top-of-the-line vibe. 

Photo by: Katya Grozovskaya

I hope this has inspired you to start brainstorming about your kitchen reno/ makeover!  Since our kitchen is still missing a backsplash, I'll hop over to Shutterfly to see what inspirations I can find.  I'll try not to spot another DIY project for the Mr. 😝

Are you planning a kitchen reno or a design/ DIY project?  Head on over to Shutterfly to check out their curated library of beautiful rooms!

Kitchen Update - DIY Pots and Pans Drawers

If you know me, then you would know how much I LOVE drawers.  Especially those with the full extension slides...  ah I'm in heaven!  No more crawling into the cupboards, no more heaps falling onto piles of stuff.  I'm convinced there's not a problem that drawers can't solve!

I'm super excited about the pots and pans drawers that the Mr. newly installed!!  They're not as obviously beautiful as a new backsplash (we'll eventually get to that), but it has improved exponentially the functionality of a small but heavy duty spot in the kitchen!

A lot of you may already have pots drawers in your kitchen, so did we at our previous home.  We took ours for granted, as the builder of our previous house included them (not an upgrade).  We felt spoiled when we found out from our current home's builder that the drawers cost close to $1000!  Seriously?  And don't even dream that they come with the "no bang" soft-closing mechanisms, like the ones you see on IKEA's kitchen commercials!

We couldn't fathom how 3 builder-grade drawers can cost "close to $1000", so we didn't go with the upgrade.  For the longest time, the pots and pans cupboard was of 2 doors, with a half-depth good-for-nothing shelf.  You don't want to know the daily curses that go on (in my head) when I try to take out a pot or pan from a stack of them.  

I became the champion of one pot pasta, thanks to my annoyance at the pots and pans cupboard.

Did you notice the mismatched lower cabinet hardwares in this Instagram photo?  Gold pulls vs. pewter knobs?  The hardwares are now finally consistent!!

The Mr. was completing a playroom storage unit for little man, but I made a special request to skip the line with the pots and pans drawers.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I need to get there NOW!

We've ordered the drawer fronts from our kitchen cabinet vendor together with the glass cabinet doors.  With the experience from building our dressing room's drawers, these kitchen ones were not a challenge for the Mr.  He just needed time to get to building them.  

The Mr. built the drawer boxes with 3/4" maple and used 100 lbs full extension soft-closing drawer slides for these 3 drawers.  Without further ado, here's a brief video tutorial on the installation process.

The drawers make dinner prepping so much more efficient and enjoyable!  It reminds me of the pull-out pantry shelves that were the Mr.'s first build for our previous home.  Drawers/ pull-out shelves make use of the entire storage space in the cupboard, while making storage of and retrieving items much easier.

No more crawling into the cupboard!

If the kitchen is the heart of the house, then these pots and pans drawers must be its major arteries.  At every single meal, you access the drawers how many times to pump out yummy dishes.  I'm no longer afraid of the pots and pans cupboard!  I may even make several dishes at our dinner, just to show my drawers some love 😁

Drawers => Happy Wife => Makes good food => Happy life

See below for our previous kitchen updates:

• Mirrors - The Luxe Factor in a Kitchen
• Giving a Builder's Kitchen a Personal Touch - Cabinet Hardware
• New Kitchen Update - Integrated Hood + Upper Cabinets
• Our Marble Alternative Kitchen Countertop Revealed!

Mirrors - The Luxe Factor in a Kitchen

SEE OUR MOST RECENT KITCHEN UPDATE!

Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors!  Seems like these recent blog updates are all about mirror installations.  Can't help it, they're the easiest way to give the illusion of added square footage and improve brightness in a small space.  

Installing the mirrors at the back of the kitchen glass cabinets was one of our to-do items on the list, found here.  When we placed the order of acrylic mirrors for our DIY closet doors, we also included an order for the kitchen glass cabinets.  We could've gone to our local home improvement store for a sheet of acrylic mirror and cut them to size ourselves, but we figured we would let the professionals at the plastic company handle the custom-sized cuts.   The cost difference in terms of time and effort would work out to be the same.

The Mr. handled the easy installation process, which was the same as for the DIY closet doors. He test fitted the mirror against the cabinet's back before the installation.  He used the thinnest double sided tape to avoid the wavy reflections.  See?  Doesn't get any easier than double sided tape!

Here's a glance at the quick process:

The "before" shot, taken after we changed out the builder's knobs and pulls.

And this is the "after" of the mirror backs installation:  (The above photo was taken on a gloomy day.  This one below was taken on a sunny day...  what a huge difference especially with the mirrors!)

The mirrors add brightness to the otherwise dull cabinet backs.  Not only did the mirrors multiply the brightness and give an illusion of depth, but they seem to have doubled our inventory of stemware as well!

Here's the view of the kitchen from the dining room.  The mirrors are reflecting the light from the patio doors and large windows from this space.

The brightest time of the day in the kitchen is a bit past noon.  On a bright sunny day like when this set of photos was taken, I usually don't bother switching on the lights in the kitchen.  With the lights on, the mirrors catch and reflect the light right back.

The simple addition of the mirrors livens up the little cabinet space, while making the kitchen more welcoming. Now that I'm spending more time at home, nothing makes me happier and more relaxed than a clean and bright kitchen. 

The designs we've integrated into this builder's kitchen allowed for ample counter space, which was a priority for this utilitarian kitchen.  We've added our personal touches to make it more luxe and less utilitarian.  

The kitchen is very close to completion.  It's got most of the large items down, and it looks and functions amazing as is.  Here is a list of what's left to tackle:

• Install mirror backsplash

• Build more drawers in lower cabinets

• Install glass shelves for the glass cabinets

• Install LED rope lighting for under the upper cabinet

• Install valence

• and I forgot to mention to the Mr. that I want the builder's dinky trim at the bulkhead replaced with a thicker one ;-)

To see how this kitchen design came about, check out our previous posts:

• NEW HOUSE - RANGE HOOD AND MINIMALIST KITCHEN DESIGN

• OUR MARBLE ALTERNATIVE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP REVEALED!

• NEW KITCHEN UPDATE - INTEGRATED HOOD + UPPER CABINETS

• GIVING A BUILDER'S KITCHEN A PERSONAL TOUCH - CABINET HARDWARE