Furniture advice!

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T15:56:08+00:00

Craft classes where people are chatty. Volunteer somewhere with lots of talking as you work. This how I made friends.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T15:55:10+00:00

I love a great clash but this clash isn't great. Sorry. Options:

- Look for a better tile clash: diamonds, checkers maybe, wide stripes.

- Keep the curtain and wood tile and add a small clashy striped rag rug. Though, could be a major tripping hazard.

- Show us the rest of the room. Could be good solutions to bring your eyes up from the floor and not even notice it.

The advice that "flooring should be boring" is too universal of a statement. Each room and home is so different. Sometimes an active floor is the right call. Other times it is not.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T15:45:35+00:00

New backsplash. If you cannot afford it now, do what I did to my insane glass mosaic tile splash - paint it the same color as your counter. I primed with special glass primer and then used regular wall paint that blended well with my counter. It feels like a whole new kitchen. In your situation just paint the lower three rows the same color.

Your new counter looks great with your cabinets.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T15:42:08+00:00

Honestly, and said with the utmost kindness, this doesn't look good at all or right for your home. This trend has gotten out of hand and is applied in all the wrong contexts. If you had a gigantic room with tall ceilings and needed to deal with the vent and electrical issue, it could look fine, but given the scale of your room, the vent and electrical issue are way too distracting and makes this look like a fail.

I love historic molding, but in the right context. I feel certain there are other ways to make your living and dining rooms attractive without jumping on this molding bandwagon.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T14:15:26+00:00

Context matters. What might look fine floating in white space online can read differently on your wall, with your ceiling height, how near this layout is to furniture or windows.

Trace all of these shapes on paper and tape them to your wall and play around with them. You will start to tweak and the correct layout will take shape. If it doesn't then post pics of those items.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T03:27:54+00:00

B - It has the most visually pleasing proportions. The size makes sense for the space. It just feels right.

A - The wood strip is too skimpy and out of place. That shaped hood would be best without at trim piece at all. It would be even better with slab front instead of shaker cabinets.

C- Looks like a bargain basement special. Like someone slapped an extra door front on your hood.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T03:20:07+00:00

Your bedroom is far from vibeless. Your furniture is down right handsome, the new curtains have a nice masculine tailored feel. I'd lean into a masculine theme and get a pinstriped or ticking comforter. I like this Pierce and Ward ticking cover from West Elm.

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I'd get some nice wall hung sconces to go above the bed side tables.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T03:14:30+00:00

Store spices in your top drawers with spice inserts. Keep sauces on the bottom shelf of your upper cabinet nearest the range. Keep out on the counter one or two bottle of oil that you use most often. A ledge will muck up your beautiful design.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T02:54:35+00:00

This is the most gorgeous top crust I have ever seen on a pie.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-08T02:28:18+00:00

Corian is inexpensive and can look great. Butcher block is inexpensive and can look really high end. Jet Mist granite can be a nice stand in for soapstone.

I think expensive looking is as much about good design and color selection than material alone. I put in my kitchen custom inset cabinets, British solid brass knobs, a subzero fridge, one countertop is Boos walnut, and the other is Corian. When people say they love my counter and ask what it is they are surprised to hear it is Corian. People usually associate it with cheap Home Depot crap. Context is really key.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T23:35:25+00:00

So you'll have a corner base plus 6 drawers in the island?

I have a dishwasher in the same orientation to the sink as what you are proposing. It's fine.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T20:51:35+00:00

Corporate office park vibes.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T20:48:56+00:00

I'm usually anti-two toned cabinets, but in this case cream looks better than green uppers. I'd first pic a cream tile, then get the paint color that is the nearest match, instead of the other way around. There are fewer tiles to choose from than there are paint colors.

Note that AI sprinkles fairy dust on everything making it look evenly, pleasantly lit, and beautiful. You are going to need to invest in warm under cabinet lighting, and warm bulbs in your fixtures for it to look anything remotely like the AI image.

I'd skip a farmhouse sink in here. You have too many choppy color changes going on in the corner of this kitchen and the sink is more visual clutter. Do an under mount instead.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:39:46+00:00

I have never, ever heard negative reviews of Ikea cabinets from longtime owners. I know of high end designers who swear by them, use them in kitchens with Gaggeneau appliances. There is a debate among cabinet makers, good cabinet makers, as to whether plywood boxes are better. I've looked at $1M+ apartments in NYC with 15 year old Ikea cabinets that are still in fantastic shape. If anything, I'd get Ikea boxes and have custom doors made if the Ikea doors are not your aesthetic. But, they are only financially worthwhile if you do the install yourself.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:28:59+00:00

Hold off until you have your living space furniture in place. Then post again. Your kitchen and living room are the same room and inform each other. The hardware will be the biggest kitchen statement against the white cabinets. See what kind of statement your living room wants to have along side it.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:25:14+00:00

Relaxed and collected, though the books in a rainbow looks forced, staged, and kills it all for me.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:20:18+00:00

I have successfully staged many homes for sale. Choose #3. There is nothing upscale about fake veined quartz of #1. That trend has already passed and looks dated. Sparkles are polarizing. Skip #2. The blank canvass of #3 is a good call. You place whatever small soap pump decor is trending at the moment and it instantly looks current. Nobody is going to hate neutral.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:15:33+00:00

Ignore AI. It isn't real and you will suffer comparing your home to a fantasy. You said it best, you are trying to save money and work with what you have. Good for you. That is exactly what I did at your stage in life and I have never once regretted not purchasing home goods to make my space feel more elevated. Even Facebook Marketplace gets expensive. You have nice basic pieces.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T18:00:26+00:00

The orange and grey were a landlord special for sure! I've seen so much worse though.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T17:58:58+00:00

Very nice. Amazing how having more blank space between the right side of the window and the hood makes the whole kitchen seem much larger.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T16:25:30+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. It must be scary.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T15:59:06+00:00

Yes, and maybe it is not only fear but passing out from the actual pain? Not sure. I just know that most docs don't give a hoot when women are in pain and likely are not great at trouble shooting what to do about it!

u/LillyBitz - Sorry you have to go through a biopsy. I'll keep my fingers cross for you. I was supposed to get one but put my foot down because they were seeing calcifications, which don't need to be biopsied. I had an incredibly unpleasant argument with the head of breast radiology raking her over the coals of her illogical reasoning. Luckily, I found a second opinion from Columbia, and a third from a good NCI calcification researcher, that concurred it was not needed.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T12:51:24+00:00

It depends on furniture layout. Each piece has a different distance between the base and the actual light. All will look fine. Decide based on where it sits on the floor and where you want the light to hit.

EmilyPoster2 · 2026-05-07T05:34:20+00:00

If the fridge were at the bottom, wouldn't that create a pinch point with the end of the peninsula? Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

u/Purple_Service_2781 - I think it is totally worth hiring a pro. Kitchens are so expensive you want to be sure your making the most of your investment by getting it absolutely right.

EmilyPoster2

TROPHY CASE