European Bistro-Style Kitchen

Marc Monney wants a European bistro look in his white-walled kitchen. Can the design team make it happen?

After

All About

Product Ideas

Marc Monney wanted a European bistro look in his white-walled kitchen, but the lime green cabinets had to stay, which made for a challenging design task for the decorating team.

Before

The Dilemma
Host Kristan Cunningham determines what needs to happen to create the bistro look Monney wants. She, along with design coordinators Spencer Anderson and Dave Sheinkopf, decide that the room needs bright color to coordinate with the lime green cabinets, new window treatments to replace the mini-blinds, a less cluttered countertop to maximize the workspace, matching light fixtures and a new covering for the dated linoleum floor.

The Solution
Monney's dated kitchen is transformed into a contemporary Euro-style bistro with the following design elements:

The walls are livened up with a tangerine faux finish that coordinates with the lime-colored cabinets. The walls are first painted a lively yellow-orange, then toned down with a tangerine faux finish to add more depth to the color.

Anderson purchases a decorative steel band and has it bent into a semi-circle at a machine shop. He drills holes into the face of the steel, hangs it from the ceiling with chain and uses S-hooks to hold pots, pans and kitchen utensils.

Sheinkopf creates a custom floorcloth to cover a majority of the linoleum floor. He paints his own design onto a large piece of canvas and covers it with a clear varnish to protect the finish.

Cunningham makes cafe curtains for the windows and seat cushions for the bistro seats out of complementary fabrics that help unify the citrus-hued color scheme.

Finishing touches include two new light fixtures, stylized vegetable photos in black frames and Monney's own plates on a plate rack and his handmade cutting boards.

The Cost

Art and accessories — $370