I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

The place we just bought has oak cabinets and lighter oak wood floors. This is the cabinet color (this is not a pic of our kitchen):

We have stainless appliances in the kitchen.

My first question relates to mixing wood finishes. In the livingroom, which is right off the kitchen, we are using darker wood for the furniture. This is a pic of the sideboard we're using as a TV stand:

My original idea was to carry this same wood color into the diningroom. We have a country kitchen I guess - the dining area is in the kichen. But with the Oak cabinets, can we bring a darker color diningroom table and chairs in or will it look funny?? This is the dark table:

OR this is the option is we stay lighter in the kitchen:

So the question is - do we stay conistent and keep the darker furniture throughout the main area of the house even though the kitchen cabinets are mich lighter? OR will it look funny and should we do dark in the livingroom but go with lighter wood in the kitchen to try to match the cabinets?

The other question is...we have stainless appliances and we cant decide between brushed stainless hardware (door knobs, faucets, etc) or a bronze finish like this:

First, we dont know which finish will look better with the oak cabinets. And secondly, we're not sure if you can mix the bronze finish with the stainless appliances.

Anyone who has oak cabinets - can you share pics of what you did to your kitchen for ideas?

Also, we're going for sort of a country/traditional or pottery barn type look to the house...I dont know if that help at all.

Thanks so much ladies...I'm sooo confused with all of our options right now

Message edited 8/8/2011 11:39:01 AM.

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

I would def mix and match wood tones.

Are cabinets in the new house are a natural oak. The floors use to match, and I recently had them refinshed to to a dark walnut stain. The combo of darker floors with the lighter cabinets looks nice.

Then We have a large eat in kitchen, where the table is a bit darker than the cabinets.

Then attached is a den. Which I have dark furniture...( with a lighter area rug).

I think def mix and match wood tones. I always here Jeff Saying it on the Show "Flipping out"

I would prob do nickel, chrome hardware.

Hope that helps!~

P.S I like the lighter shade dining room set you posted with your kitchen....it's a little bit darker then the Cabinets....( and yet not too matchy ..matchy.). Then you could def go darker in your den.

Message edited 8/8/2011 11:59:57 AM.

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

i did in my house.. my floors are natural, cabinets are cherry and table and stools are almost black. i like the way it looks. i say go for it!

Message edited 8/8/2011 3:09:15 PM.

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

Posted by HomeIsWithU

Posted by LadyGIGI

i did in my house.. my floors are natural, cabinets are cherry and table and stools are almost black. i like the way it looks. i say go for it!

IMAGE

No pic I'd love to see it!

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

I would also mix and match the wood finishes without worrying about it. I wouldn't go crazy with it, but I think having a darker wood dining table in the eat-in area is totally fine with your lighter cabinets. It creates more visual interest to have different tones. If everything (floors, cabinets, furniture) is monochromatic throughout a large room or adjacent rooms, it can look flat and bland, imo.

As far as the hardware, I would do the brushed nickel or chrome. The oiled bronze is the "hot" look now -- I see it a lot in new construction homes that also have stainless steel appliances. But in those homes, the cabinets are usually a darker color that goes with the warmer, richer look. With the lighter cabinets and the stainless appliances, I don't think I'd go for the oiled bronze look, although I love it!

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

I think the dark color is fine, but I don't think that style of table goes. I think you need soemthing a little more rustic looking to pull together the dark LR wood & the oak cabinets.

Let me see if I can find an example.

ETA-Like, this, but in the "cider" finsh.

Pedestal table

You can also mix the table & chair colors & have the chairs be light like the cabinets or vice versa.

Message edited 8/8/2011 3:54:19 PM.

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

Message edited 8/8/2011 5:15:10 PM.

Re: I could use advice! kitchen help (mixing wood finishes AND hardware finishes)

I only shose the round/oval one b/c the frist sample you posted was oval. I think its the chunky legs that are key.

Any of the tables you chose in your last post would work--I really like the Ethan Allen one.
If you look at t the "other views" for that piece it shows it with different colored chairs.

I think I would do dark table, light chairs, but I am not sure if it matters which you get light & which you get dark. Maybe see which comes in colors closer to match what you've got?

A dark table, especailly if it is casual or rustic in style, while make it a little more formal which seems like what you need to bridge the gap between a kitchen table & a dining room table, sicen yours is doing double duty.