Kitchen Design Nanaimo: Fir floors and Custom Cherry cabinets

The All-Natural Kitchen

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might be familiar with my saying, ‘just because it’s wood, doesn’t mean it’s good’, and that saying rings true in this room – because it ISN’T good, IT’S FREAKIN’ GREAT!

And while personally, I have a soft spot for painted and white cabinets, I have to say I’m loving these natural cherry cabinets that we chose for my clients.

Keeping things natural, warm and slightly rustic, we went with an ‘all-natural’ palette of woods and natural stone surfaces:

cherry cabinets with a natural sealant on them – cherry ages so beautifully that it rarely needs a stain colour

natural fir flooring

black granite countertops with a gold and cream vein

subway tile travertine backsplash with stone-enhancing sealant

and while the paint colour looks greenish in the photos, we can blame that on my photography skills – the actual colour is Benjamin Moore Cable Knit, which is definitely NOT green

My client had originally hoped for an island with a different shape, but due to the design of the home, we made the best of the space with an 8′ long island with a smaller raised bar at the end.

The raised eating bar gives a bit of definition between the kitchen and the family room, which is what the homeowner was hoping for. PERSONALLY, I prefer one level (but it’s not all about me – not ALL the time anyway – wink wink).

Contrary to what this photo shows, this room lacks a lot of bright, natural sunlight. The warm tones of the wood and reflective surface on the granite help to balance this out.

The Best Paint Colours with Wood Finishes

This photo is a better representation of the amount of natural light coming into the room (it also shows the paint colour more true to form).

This photo shows how the warm-toned travertine tile works with both the black granite and natural cherry cabinets – I’m just DROOLING over the grain on that drawer front!