Designing the Kitchenette
In case you missed it, we’re in the midst of transforming our basement hallway into a kitchenette. We have it prepped and ready to install everything. In this post I’ll walk you through our design choices and finishes!
Selecting Finishes
The main purpose of this space is to be a functional kitchen for any basement dwellers we may have at the house. Think of a kitchenette as a half bath. It doesn’t have all the features a full bathroom would have, but still provides the basic functions and gets the job done. Sorry for the bathroom analogy while we’re talking kitchen… But you get the point!
We want to keep this space simple and resemble the look of a full-sized kitchen. Clean, uncluttered and most of all BIG. This space is only about 70 square feet, so we’re doing all we can to make it feel roomy. There’s no need to over clutter or embellish it. That’s why we’re not taking many design risks – we want this pint-size space to have some authority.
Flooring
This is our new carpet for the stairs going down to the basement. Thanks Dad and Grandpa! We got a bunch of this for other parts of the house and had enough extra to recarpet our stairs.
We both wanted some laminate or luxury vinyl for the kitchenette. Since it’s going right over concrete in the basement, we needed something that would hold up with any potential moisture/movement issues. I was originally drawn to these two hexagon patterns on the left, but they are glue down. We also didn’t want to do tile because of the chance of cracking.
Then I spotted this LVT floating flooring. It’s a click together install with a built in underlayment padding, so no need to have a subfloor. I didn’t want any wood plank looking floor, I wanted it to really feel like kitchen tile. It was actually hard to find something that was the best of all worlds. This marble LVT fits the bill, was in stock at Lowe’s and will be easy to install (cut with utility knife) and low-maintenance for this high traffic area. I think we paid just under $300. I’m really excited to try this!
Paint
So now that we have our grey color palette built from the carpet and flooring, we can add paint to the mix. From here I looked at a variety of neutral color swatches. The ones on the right are all pretty safe choices. On the left I would consider a little left of center if you’ll pardon the pun.
The funny thing is, I really like the wall color that was originally here when we moved in! Repose Gray from Sherwin Williams was the closest thing, and it’s a tried and true color that again will give this space some authority and integrity. It also brings out the veining color in the “marble” floor.
Hardware and Backsplash
I actually picked up this small pendant light and this tile for a backsplash when we were out buying the cabinets at the MN Home Store. The pendant was $40 and tile was probably $30 total. If there are any funky design elements going on here, it’s with the geometric pattern of these two items. I think the mini tiles and mini pendant light will make this kitchenette feel like a true kitchen.
Butcher Block Countertop
Finally, for the counter above the cabinets we chose a butcher block top. Here’s a sneak peek of it coming together. We looked at some black formica and stone remnant options that would have looked nice within budget, but butcher block can’t be beat. Affordable at $80 for this piece at Menards, and it doubles as a cutting board. It’s easy to maintain and adds in some warmth with the white and gray. Very modern looking, but is a classic that we won’t tire of. Down the road, we could easily cut in a hole for a sink, or mount some accessories for a future wine bar I have my mind on.
I also debated painting these cupboards a fun color, but again, not trying to do anything too crazy. Just want to have a mini version of a very normal kitchen so I stuck with white to keep it feeling big. I don’t think they’ll get too dirty here, fingers crossed. And my philosophy with paint is that it can always be changed! We’re using restraint for this kitchenette space.
Lastly, I ordered some brass drawer pulls from amazon that I think will go well with the pendant light fixture. I got a pack of 3″ pulls that should be perfect on the cupboard drawers.
I can’t wait for this to all come together! It’s looking so good already. Now, off to get the painting done. I’m touching up all the doors and trim while we’re at it. Next week, we’ll be putting all the pieces together.
Stick around!
-Leah and Joe
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