CENTRAL CONDOMINIUMS : DESIGNING KITCHENS

Part of my work with Central was to help unit owners select finishes for their kitchen. We created color schemes that best suited their needs and budget, based on the available samples. The owners had to choose from a group of nine cabinet samples, eleven countertop samples and fifteen backsplash samples. The available colors were neutral for the most. It's always a good idea to choose a neutral palette for items that are fixed and use bright colors as accents for items that can easily be changed at a reasonable price (in case you grow tired of a particular color).





Needless to say, there are a lot of possible combinations : 1485 to be exact (just for the kitchen). That's a little more than 6 times the amount of available units! So it would have been possible to make sure that none of the kitchens in the building would be identical.  Granted, not every sample works well together and some finishes were more popular than others. Still, the owners had a lot of choices and it was fun putting various combinations together during our meetings. 

All in all, there is an interesting range of color combinations for kitchens throughout the building. The installation of the kitchen happens after the walls have been primed. Prior to fabricating the cabinets, the kitchen suppliers visited the site and checked the dimensions of the kitchen space in various units, marking down the position of each appliance.


After carefully checking the dimensions on site, the kitchen suppliers started delivering and installing the cabinets a couple weeks ago. On a recent visit to the site, I took pictures of the progress in some units where the kitchens were almost completed. The surface still needs to be washed, but you can still see how different combinations of color can alter the mood of the spaces, as shown below:


With a medium colored cabinet, the white glass backsplash and white countertop brightens and freshens the look.


The metal backsplash is a nice contrast against the dark textures cabinets and the dark counter. Once the track lights are up, it will look spectacular.


The lighter cabinets with the warmer countertop and backsplash softens the look of the space and gives it a bit more traditional look while staying contemporary.


Using the same traditional style counter with the darker cabinet and complementary glass backsplash, modernizes the look a little more than the previous combination.


The dark countertop and backsplash mixed with the lighter cabinet gives a very graphic look due to the high contrast. This look is more dynamic and will look great with a bold accent color.


It's possible to go completely dark with a dark cabinet, dark countertop and dark backsplash. With the white appliances contrasting the dark finishes, this combination will require a good balance of color with the accessories. Using stainless steel or black appliances instead, this space could look very sexy with dark walls to get more of a lounge ambiance.


The darker cabinets also look great against the white countertop and white glass backsplash, which softens the look of the kitchen and brightens the space.