[B]

Awhile back, jgsearls posted some Ikea kitchen pics, one of which has become my default Adel-Birch inspiration picture (default because we were strongly leaning towards Nexus BB): http://www.flickr.com/photos/5800927...7594276458499/.

Anyway, I'm happily planning for the Adel Birch kitchen, and would appreciate your design advice on the cork flooring that we're going to go with!

All other things being equal (and for kicks, assuming that cost is not a factor(!)), which of the following floors would you put in the inspiration kitchen? We're not copying the above picture to the "T," but close enough for horseshoes (light countertop, light walls), so I'm thinking that it's okay for the floor to have some character without overpowering the simplicity of the overall kitchen design. Here are the options:

Floor 1/Granada: http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_10411,0...da/product.htm

Floor 2/Moreno: http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_10411,0...roduct.htm#NAV

Floor 3/Toledo: http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_10411,0...roduct.htm#NAV

Floor 4/Santiago: http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_10411,0...roduct.htm#NAV

Thanks for your time!

[DesignDiva]

My vote is for Moreno

Here's a photoshop of them with the Adel Birch

Granada


Moreno


Toledo


Santiago

[B]

Eva,

Thank you so much for your photoshop wizardry. That helps tremendously! I gave you props in another thread, but let me repeat myself here: without yours and Susan's handholding, this entire process would have been nigh impossible. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you again.

By the way, on closer inspection, your photoshop of the Toledo color has given me a great idea of the "floating" aspect of the floor during one of our earthquakes out here!

Dare I ask whether you like Moreno because it's the best of what I gave you to look at, or do you like Moreno for Moreno's sake? Brutal honesty is appreciated!

Thanks heaps,
B

[DesignDiva]

B, I'm happy to help! But give yourself a lot of credit, you're doing something that will pay off in more ways than just a beautiful kitchen. It could very well change your life, in terms of how you live and how confident you become through accomplishing it!

LOL It was just a quick little photoshop, not perfect but it's late and I just wanted to get an idea myself how it looked, then realized you'd probably appreciate seeing the pix too!

I like the Moreno because it doesn't cast a yellow tone on the birch, which is pretty yellow as it is. The Moreno seems a bit dustier gray than the others, which have a more terracotta undertone. And it also looks more "natural" to me, I don't know exactly why...maybe because it reminds me of autumn leaves on the forest floor?

[Tigratrus]

I'm pretty sure that Moreno is the cork we went with for our breakfast room/Kitchen annex. It's great stuff. They all look more orangeish in person than in the pictures if I remember correctly? In any case, you'll love it...

James

[Susan]

Yep, we used Moreno, and I love it. It's a nice warm chocolate/coffeeish brown color with darker streaks, and an almost burled look to it. I think it would look great with Adel Birch and wouldn't tend to case a bad light. I know one of them Tigger liked was way too orange, and I recall telling him that I thought if we put it in, I would puke everytime I walked into the room. He conceded that I might have the stronger of our opinions, so I won.

If you haven't already seen a sample in person, I can send you one of Moreno. If you're interested, send me a PM with your personal info.

Susan

[B]

Susan, thanks for the offer of a sample, but we've seen them up close and in person. Even took our shoes off and stood on them at a la-de-da design center this past weekend; and these were the four that stood out to us when we looked at them with our door.

Incidentally, the la-de-da design center expert did not believe us when we told him that the Adel door was birch. He swore it was maple, which is apparently the door that everyone wants at the la-de-da design center. Bless those folks for paying design-center prices, so that I can peruse, and walk all over, their samples!

And thank you guys for participating in the poll!

[DesignDiva]

Unfinished maple is almost a perfect match to my Nexus birch. I ordered the appliance garage in maple and it is indistinguishable. It might age differently, though, don't know about that yet!

[B]

Hello again,

I just got off the phone with a potential countertop supplier. (Incidentally, anyone want to talk me down from Pionite's Bianco Marble as seen here in all its glory, as a substitute for the marble in the actual design picture?: http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/...tchen/?start=0 .) (With all the bells and whistles I may end up adding to the Pionite, granite may become budget-friendly after all, but I can't seem to find a granite that's got a less "concentrated" look -- like the look of marble -- which I understand has to do with plate tectonics and such, but does not help my kitchen design in the slightest! And, with the budget and all the citrus we eat and wine we drink, we can't have the real-deal marble in this kitchen.

Anyway, her company also sells cabinets, so when she asked me what cabinets I had, I kind of sqeaked out the name, "Ikea," because I didn't want her to keep me from my Pionite! (It's super hard to find!) Good news: she told me that as someone who's been in the biz for decades, even once owning a custom cabinet shop, she really, really likes a lot of Ikea's kitchen stuff; and when she mentioned the Blum hardware, I knew we were kindred spirits. She said she was there last week, in fact, and encouraged me to skip the 4" Pionite Backsplash in favor of the Imperativ panels -- in order to "fool" the naked eye into believing that I went with granite or marble over laminate. She'd also like me to think about going with a bull-nose edge, over the straight edge (as seen in the inspiration photos above), but I really like the straight edge in both the inspiration pic, and in the Pionite kitchen (although I'm not a huge fan of what was done to the corners in that Pionite picture). Anyone have a preference re: bull vs. straight edge?

All that said, she hasn't seen my inspiration photos. So, I'm wondering if I can call on my Photoshop Fairy to see if Imperativ will will work, or if I should stick to the 4" backsplash, or if I should just tile the darn thing. My one huge bias against tile is that it is EVERYWHERE in my current kitchen, and as a result, I have a HUGE aversion to grout. But, I could be talked down from the ledge if need be, since I do acknowledge that we (thanks to the POs) have the old 70's look with creamy tile and dark-brown grout, just like Doreen's former kitchen. Did I say that it was EVERYWHERE...blech!

So, this post could also work in Backsplooziesplat (which I do feel a-comin' on), or in "Why Ikea," but I like it here, too, near my Eva photos.

Thanks again,
B

[dafogle]

B: that countertop is lovely.... your kitchen is going to be beautiful!!!
You've picked a wonderful inspiration photo to base your decisions on... very calm and serene feeling - yet very welcoming as well.