Axstad Black and White IKEA Kitchen

When I started designing this kitchen, I had no idea what direction it was going to go… only that we were without a doubt using the new IKEA white shaker door: Axstad.

If you are an IKEA nerd, like me, you know that the world has been waiting FOREVER for IKEA to finally come out with a true white shaker door. What about Grimslov, you say? Well, I like that door, and we even used it in our first kitchen. But most people would not consider it to be a true shaker style for a couple of reasons. Mainly because the rails are so thick, the corners are a little rounded, the lines in the rails that make it look a little less convincing. And, it’s not a true white, more off-white.

So, when IKEA finally came out with the Axstad, I was chomping at the bit to try it out… A couple things that makes the Axstad door unique:

• It’s a matte finish – this is more modern, in my opinion. And it still seems to clean nicely
• It’s a true white – this isn’t the warm off-white of Hittarp or Grimslov, so plan accordingly for your finishes. It’s like, super bright white.
• It has a stepped detail around the frame. Some people would say that this means its not a ‘real’ shaker. I say phewy. It’s a detailed, sophisticated shaker.

After choosing the door / drawer fronts in this kitchen, the other finishes followed. We chose a white quartz countertop, mainly because it’s popular and our fabricator had it in stock (this is a flip house after all). Once we chose white cabinets and white counter, the kitchen suddenly became ultra white… So we needed a way to ground it and give it depth.

We needed some legs to support the counter, so we made some out of 3×3 poplar at Lowes connected by 1×3 poplar. I stained them in black to start adding some non-white elements. After that, it was clear we were shooting for a modern take on the black and white kitchen.

I am obsessed with finger pulls and found these kind of hybrid black pulls for the cabinets. I used a shorter size for the upper doors and long black pulls for the drawers. Putting these in straight turned out to be much harder than anticipated….

So you can see a theme forming here…. pick everything else in black to try and bring some balance in this kitchen… The next element I picked out was the lighting. The island is ridiculously long (9 feet) and I was trying to pick out the perfect pendants to go over it. I had decided we needed to do three. But just before the electrician came, I fell in love with these white and black fabric shade linear pendants from West Elm. They were on super clearance for around $75 each and I snapped them up!

Check out the West Elm pendants we chose for the kitchen in our hoarder house, I am just such a big fan!

Every kitchen needs something that helps take it from typical-nice-updated-kitchen to wow-this-kitchen-knocks-my-socks-off. And in this case, while it’s a combination of things, I really believe this lighting takes the look to a new level. It’s just a little bit unexpected, a little bit oversized, and a little bit softer of a finish.

We did almost all black finished throughout the house, so I went with a black faucet for the kitchen sink as well. I like the clean modern lines, and it feels like a high end faucet for a good price.

The sink is the IKEA double bowl sink. We used their original sink in our first kitchen and it had the draining area in the back. I do agree with others that I miss this. It’s a nice sink, just not sure I’d pick it again. (Plus we broke one during install and had to buy another… so that just left a bad taste)

I asked you guys on my Instagram stories if I should be bold and go with a black backsplash for this flip kitchen.. Not gonna lie, it felt like a scary move. People just love white and this is supposed to appeal to the masses, after all. I am so glad you guys voted overwhelming “yes” to the black because I think it added that last bit of depth that this kitchen needed.

All white kitchens will never go out of style, it’s just the finishing touches that make or break them. In this case, I think all of the black grounded the white kitchen.

Another big design decision you all helped me out with was whether or not to take down the railing between the kitchen and living room area. This ended up being SUCH a no-brainer that I can’t believe we weren’t always planning to remove it. Thanks again to everyone who said TEAR IT DOWN. You were absolutely right.

When we were deciding how to build the legs for the island, I felt that it was important to bring the material around the whole island. I think it helps it look cohesive, custom, and not choppy. The extra legs are on the end of the island and around the back. This design element was really fun (and a little) stressful to plan out because it gave a true custom look.

So what do you guys think of this modern take on a black-and-white kitchen? Would you ever do black subway tile backsplash?

I learned a lot through this kitchen remodel. But, I do think that I would use the IKEA axstad cabinet fronts again. They are very pretty and clean. Maybe next time I would mix them with wood or darker painted cabinets.

The IKEA axstad drawer fronts are so nice too… I am drooling over the little subtle detail in this shot… On one hand that extra reveal on the Axstad cabinet fronts makes it look more formal, I think you could still take it to a laid back vibe with the right hardware. The hardware totally sets the tone.

I also learned that I’m pretty ok at tiling backsplash. Filing that skill away in the “can do again” pile. There are few things in our renovations that I can say I did by myself, so this one feels good. I also grouted the entire master bath shower… not so sure I would do that again… Ha!

Kitchen Sources

• Kitchen Faucet
• Pendants Lights – West Elm, no longer available
• Light over sink
• Subway Tile
• Farmhouse Sink
• Hardware
• Oven
• Fridge