Cat Lady Kydia Music 🇺🇦Kitchen update: we need a new fridge. But before we get one, we have to fix our flooring. The previous owners just kept slapping layers of plywood and vinyl on top of the last layer (there are now 3 layers that we know of).
I have my ❤️ set on an integrated fridge, so we might as well reface the run of cabinets next to it to match (def. not happy w/the red) and so we might as well move the fridge to the end so we have more counter space, so we might as well get new cabinets…
It’s easy for a project to snowball when all the parts are intertwined and there’s nothing worth saving from the original/current design.
“I hate this element too, why don’t we go ahead and get rid of it at the same time?”
It’s a 1950s post-war fixer upper with the original metal frame windows still in the kitchen, and a bad “slap-new-materials-over-old-ones” refacing sometime in the 70s and/or 90s (or both, based on clues from the layers of flooring).
I joke that this house isn’t a “fixer-upper;” it’s really a “tear-‘er downer.” Yet we soldier on, fixing it up bit by bit as we have time/money. We can’t afford to do it all at once, or live somewhere else while we do a gut job on any crucial area. Hence, why the kitchen is (almost) the way it was when we moved in. We’ve replaced the dishwasher, cooktop, and oven as each one gave up on life, and I painted the cabinets red, but everything else has stayed the same
Yes I’m the dingus who painted the cabinets red! I thought it was going to be temporary, maybe five years at the most as we saved up for a kitchen remodel. What a sweet baby bird I was in my 20s.
At the time it helped make the space more cheery, b/c the cabinets had been refaced with dark faux wood laminate and drab mustard yellow laminate on the uppers, w/ a red line in the arched beading detail. It felt like the saddest 70s McDonalds.
The red made it look like a Coke commercial, classic 50s
At the time it helped make the space more cheery, b/c the cabinets had been refaced with dark faux wood laminate and drab mustard yellow laminate on the uppers, w/ a red line in the arched beading detail. It felt like the saddest 70s McDonalds.
The red made it look like a Coke commercial, classic 50s
I was trying to coordinate the disparate elements: dark 70s cabinetry, bisque-colored fridge, cooktop, sink, dishwasher (DW promptly died and was replaced with stainless), black oven, beige floors, off-white countertops.
I was also in my Red Era, so not only did the kitchen get painted red, but so did the front door and office area. And when we replaced the W&D, we got those LG ones that came in red💀
Clearly I had a lot of red vibes to get out of my system before I could refine my taste.
Thinking about/planning a kitchen remodel is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. It feels crazy to focus on such a petty 1st world issue, but I feel like it’s literally the only part of my life I have any real control over. If I don’t have this to keep my mind occupied, I will spiral to a very sad dark place. Getting excited about finally getting rid of all the crumbling janky elements of my kitchen is giving me life right now.
Oh yeah and in 2018 I painted the current fridge and vent hood with white appliance paint. And we bought a white sink second-hand, so now there are no bisque fixtures.
The fridge and the vent are both very old; the vent may be original to the house, even. When the installers came to install our new oven, they said it was like seeing an appliance dinosaur in the wild.
So the vent is also going to be replaced when we replace the fridge, b/c it’s part of the same run of cabinets.
I originally was looking for black and white checkerboard marble-looking vinyl tiles, b/c I've been in love with marble checkerboard floors since I was a kid, but I know real marble is out of the question/budget given current circumstances.
I asked spouse his opinion on kitchen style, and after perusing some images, he named Japandi as a favorite.
I LOVE Japandi, but I'm having a hard time envisioning it w/checkerboard tiles. Japandi is all about soft tones, very little contrast.
⬆️ Sure, if you squint you can see how the kitchen on the right would look just fine (and maybe even hella cool) with the high-contrast black & white marble tiles. But consider that in both images, every single element is perfect--the proportions are large, the ceilings are high, and the materials are all high-quality and genuine.
In our kitchen, which is small and cramped, w/old metal frame windows, and faux marble vinyl tiles, it would be a poor simulacrum and feel more like a cheap rental.
In our kitchen, which is small and cramped, w/old metal frame windows, and faux marble vinyl tiles, it would be a poor simulacrum and feel more like a cheap rental.
Japandi style is so hot rn. It's a mix of Scandinavian design and Japanese design, obvs. They already have a lot in common, with Scandi favoring light, bright, airy, yet leaning a little more folksy (think IKEA when they go cottage-y) and Japanese focusing on minimalism without sleekness--a guileless use of natural materials with very little contrast in color and texture. It can go dark or light, but for the synthesis of Japandi style, tends to stay on the light side w/neutral colors.
The thing I love about Japandi is the straightforward use of materials, how easy it would be to clean, and the calm tonal vibe.
It’s not at all fussy. The more I look at traditional interiors, or even contemporary ones, the more fussy they look to my eye in comparison. Yet it’s not sleek and cold-looking the way Modern kitchens can be.
Traditional and contemporary kitchens have more detail, and tend to favor paneled cabinetry.
Which do you prefer?
Some elements of Japandi are things I’m already drawn to: integrated appliances, so there’s one less material interrupting the eye as you look around the room (and less stainless to clean), smooth surfaces without a lot of nooks & crannies to collect dust and dirt, and natural colors that warm up the space. I also like that there are a lot of hidden details and planning that go into making the space as efficient and beautiful as possible, without screaming “This costs a lot of money!”
Of course, it probably *does* still cost a lot of money. All that natural wood on the cabinets, floors, and (sometimes) ceiling, and stone countertops are more expensive than painted surfaces and tile. Plus the finely crafted thoughtful details that you don’t notice until you interact with the space, all add up even if they aren’t ornate or showy the same way a glamorous big range hood can be.
Y’all, the more I zoom in on all these Japandi inspiration images, the more I’m convinced they’re AI-generated. 😩 I’m sorry! Does no one have Japandi installed in their house for real?
The children yearn for authenticity.
Ok I found some authentic pictures of Japandi kitchens here: https://www.thespruce.com/japandi-kitchens-8550983
You can tell they’re real b/c the ceilings aren't impossibly high, the lighting isn’t impossibly soft and magical, and all the elements MAKE SENSE. The shadows are harsher and the details in the background don’t melt into deformed pudding. 😝
As opposed to this image, where the elements DON’T WORK LIKE THAT.
Of all the Japandi images I’ve posted to this thread, this is the only one that *might* be authentic. All the elements make sense. The sink faucet is over the sink, the vent hood is over an electric cooktop, and the integrated appliances look to be properly installed. The lighting and the ceiling height are still a bit sus, but there’s nothing that definitively points to it being AI.
It’s either a well-done AI-generated image, a digital render, or a VERY well-designed & lit finished space.
It’s either a well-done AI-generated image, a digital render, or a VERY well-designed & lit finished space.
MrGrumpyMonkey@KydiaMusic Remember, all the algorithm does is take a lot of junk data in order to create something that's approximately what it's supposed to represent. It's just a really expensive toy, for some reason.
Sindarina, Edge Case Detective@KydiaMusic Haha, yeah. The plants growing out of what's supposed to be the chairs is also a particularly weird touch 😂
those are the most “all-natural” chairs money can buy!
Edit: make sure you water your chairs on a regular basis so they stay FRESH!
SouprMatt@KydiaMusic Even little kids figure out to stop playing with broken toys.
WTF is wrong with our society that people are still believing in this crap???
Frank Skornia@KydiaMusic I love the "Incorporate a large plant" image where anyone sitting at that table would be in danger of losing an eye!
Rejin@KydiaMusic I love these! They seem more doable than the AI generated ones, because you can maybe integrate some existing features instead of starting from scratch.
@KydiaMusic They might very well be real, to be honest. Just very high end, and staged with accessories and whatnot for the shot 😄
(Edited to add: but yeah, these are generated)
Oh they’re DEFINITELY AI if you zoom in. One image has a faucet behind a gas stove 😂
@KydiaMusic You mean the traditional kitchen? A faucet behind the stove is actually a real feature, used for filling pots and pans without having to lug them around.
@sindarina No, I know the traditional/modern/contemporary images are real and I’m not talking about a pot filler faucet.
I just posted an image of the Japandi kitchen where a sink faucet is behind a gas stove (never done, probably impossible in real life due to gas/plumbing codes at least in the U.S.). And if you look at the accessories on the counter, some of them just go all melty and pear-shaped where they touch the counter 😂
@KydiaMusic Yeah, saw that one 😄
@KydiaMusic Yeah, understated design is expensive 😄