Details:

Ikea Tidaholm cupboards, professionally sprayed in Cloud White with alot of customization. Unfortunately, these have since been discontinued.

AEG Electrolux 36" freestanding stove. Bought for less then half price because someone bought it, used it once and returned it because they decided they wanted gas. We don't have gas and recently put in Geo Thermal heating/air conditioning. Wasn't in the budget to bring in propane. Stove was so reasonable that if we decide to do so later we can.

Liebherr 30" freestanding refrigerator. Purchased for half price because it had a dent dent in the bottom half. Bought a new door so it was good as new, until they delivered it and dented the top half. They replaced the door. Neither will be installed until house is complete (just in case).

Ikea farmhouse sink and dishwasher. I'm actually very pleased that it works as well as it does.

Perrin and Rohl Aquatine faucet in polished nickel.

Island and Jam cupboard - Special Order from Camlen Furniture in Quebec. Purchased with hand planed top in pine and may or not replace with marble. Will live with it for a while.

10" random length pine floors. All hand finished and dinged and finshed with Waterlox. This alone took us several weeks. We love the finish.

Honed Absolute Black granite. Bought the kitchen at Ikea's 20% off sale. Rather then cash back you get Ikea gift certificates. Used these and another $1300.

Faber Inca Pro hood

Light fixture- Sescolite, Burlington, Ontario

Finished kitchen, $19 thousand including all the small stuff.

I would like to thank the GW community. I found you when most decisions had already been made but early enough to make some positive changes based on the vast amount of information shared on this site. I didn't ask for much advise but I can assure you that I read everything written on the subjects that I researched on this site and then some. I do not have the incredible knowledge that so many of you do who share so willingly to those who ask but have from time to time tried to help out on the very few subjects I know a little about. I have taken much more than I have been able to give. I am grateful to have had a place that I could frequent with people who share the same desire to have a kitchen of their dreams no matter their budget. And to those who think their day will never come, keep the faith. I never thought that I would get here. After seeing so many unbelievable kitchens, big and small, elaborate and understated, new and updated thanks for looking at mine.

We're doing a mix of hardware - chrome knobs, chrome pulls and glass knobs on the glass cabinet. What do you think of these Restoration Hardware pulls called Aubrey? We saw them in person on the weekend and they look great. Just wondering if anyone else has used them or seen them in person. I'm having a hard time visualizing what they'll look like on actual cabinets. I really with RH put real-life photos of their hardware on cabs!

Thanks!

RH Aubrey Pulls

RH Aubrey Knobs

RH Glass Knobs

Here is a before and an after photo of my kitchen.

and after

And now that I have hopefully figured out how to post photos, I shall start another thread and hit you up for backsplash ideas for this new pet rock of mine;)

THINGS WE LOVE:
--Our cabinets were so reasonable and they work beautifully. We LOVE Precision Cabinets! Their install was immaculate and perfect. When we had a glitch with the warming drawer, they fixed it perfectly! While I couldn't afford every "bell & whistle" inside the cabinets, I love them.
--White Princess honed. It's gorgeous and I no longer have the OCD urge to constantly wipe my counters (our old granite was polished). I also love my backsplash done in the same material--I am attracted to visual simplicity so couldn't pick a tile :)
--Cheap dishwasher. Paid $500 and we love it.
--Deep cheap sinks. Our main Ebay sink is awesome($500)! Love the 10" big single bowl. The island sink was cheap too, and is the perfect size, $150.
--White everywhere and one big room. Not for everyone, but my DH and I love the big open light-filled room. Far cry from the dark rancher that it was. We tore down two walls and raised the ceiling.
--The soapstone buffet. It was a remnant piece and I love that it doesn't match the rest of the kitchen. Sets it apart and boy does the texture feel nice!
--The papertowel niche. Not important, but I like that the towels are off my counter and totally accessible.
--The two hidden cabinets in the island near the stools. All my Xmas dishes, Thanksgiving platters and everything fit in here!

THINGS WE WOULDN'T DO AGAIN:
--The Vent Hood: Modernaire was a NIGHTMARE to deal with here in the NorCal area. You have to go through a distributor who will upcharge you $2,000 to order a hood. Modernaire won't sell directly to anyone who is in the area of one of their distributors. The rep here was a complete idiot, ripped me off and in the end didn't deliver what I had ordered. I had to then hire someone else to fix the goofs. Not worth it!

--Order our range through AJ Madison. Total pain to get this stove delivered. The rest of our appliances came without a hitch but the delivery of the range was a disaster. They refused to deliver it until we had a concrete pathway, but our city had some issues with solid pathways and the runoff, etc. Had 4 delivery dates and they turned around each time and refused to bring it in the house. In the end I would have purchased this through our local store (there was no discount on this by buying on internet, unlike the other appliances).

THINGS WE STILL NEED TO DO:
--Help me pick kitchen table chairs! Those pictured are folding chairs for holidays. Our old ones were falling apart, so we ditched them in the move. What should I put there?
--Shades ordered and we are waiting for them to come and be hung.
--The stools (CB2 Vapor) are too tall and we need to have the legs cut down. They only come in 30" or 24" and one is too tall and the other is too short. Sigh.

THE DETAILS:
Cabinetry—Precision Cabinets, Brentwood, CA; painted in stock color which matches Simply White
Walls—BM Simply White
Kitchen Counters—White Princess granite, from DaVinci Marble & Stone in San Carlos, CA, with 2.25" mitred square edge
Buffet Counter—Brazilian Black soapstone from Texeira, SF, with no edge finish
Door and Drawer Pulls—Top Knobs, Square Pulls, Polished Chrome; ordered off the internet
Main Sink—Ebay purchase 36" SS Farmhouse w/apron front , single bowl, flushmount
Island Sink—Dawn 19X17 single bowl, undermount
Main Faucet—Blanco Meridien Semi-Professional in Brushed
Island Faucet—Santec Penza pull out in Brushed
Refrigerator—Electrolux WaveTouch; ordered off Homeeverything.com
Dishwasher—Whirlpool Gold Quiet Partner III; ordered from AJ Madison
Microwave Drawer—Sharp 24"; ordered from AJ Madison
Range—Viking Range w/6 burners and griddle; ordered from AJ Madison
Hood— Modernaire custom hood
Trash Compactor—GE Profile in SS; ordered from AJ Madison
Warming Drawer—Kitchenaid Architect Series II; ordered off Homeeverything.com; panel from cabinet co.
Backsplash—White Princess granite
Windows—Semco
Flooring-DuChateau pre-engineered floors in Lugano
Big Slider Door—Custom made 10’ bypass doors by McFarland Doors, w/custom screen
Island Pendants—Hudson Valley Pelham 13" ordered from Butler Lighting
Breakfast Table Pendant—Round 26" linen chandelier by Restoration Hardware
Buffet Sconces—Boston Library Sconces by CircaLighting.com

Before:

Family room:

After:

So are some snaps of our 90% finished kitchen. You won't see the wall with freedom columns without their doors, or the lunch station without it's backsplash, the pot filler, the appliance garage doors, the glass shelves to replace the wood ones currently or even any blasted hardware (shakes fists in the air still). But you'll get the general idea!

Without further ado - my island:

So - lemmie hear your cheers for the final mile...
"Don't lose your mind! Don't lose your mind! Don't lose your mind!"

So details....
Cabinets: custom, antique white. Island is maple stained dark walnut with a dark glaze or something.
Hardware: Polished nickel pulls and knobs, through cab company
Island countertop: statuary marble, honed
Perimeter countertop: aqua grantique (a granitic gneiss, apparently) - brushed finish
Backsplash: statuary 12x12 cut down to subways, statuary herringbone, and cut statuary slab
Floors: Brazilian walnut
Walls: SW Silvermist
Chandeliers: Schonbek New Orleans mini
Appliances: 30" Gaggenau fridge/freezer columns, GE Monogram Advantium 240 oven, GE Monogram Convection single oven, Wolf 36" induction cooktop, Miele La Perla dishwasher, and GE Monogram microwave (in end of island)
Sinks: Rohl 30" and Kohler Irontones for prep
Faucets: Rohl Country in polished nickel (avoid the burgundy felt "protective" bags. They stain when wet - stain things like new white marble. Don't ask how I know. Bags. Are. Evil.)

Hood/cooktop wall:

Sink wall (well, part of it anyway):

Fridge/freezer wall:

Perspective on location of pantry/butler's pantry:

Breakfast room and Family room:

Breakfast room hutch:

Aqua Grantique Close-up:

Countertop and Backsplash:

Cooktop backsplash:

Built-in Pantry (across from butler's pantry cabinets/counter)

I have posted the names of my sources/installers/contractors as they were wonderful to work with and I would highly recommend them!

Details:
Cabinets:
Shiloh Inset, soft close, full extension drawers
Perimeter: Maple Off-white Peninsula: Maple Heritage Alder
Plaistow Cabinet: Joe Dolansky, Plaistow NH
Installation: Brian Bennett Construction, Revere MA

Countertop: Perimeter: Silestone Stellar Nights Peninsula: Quartzite White Suprema Leather Finish
Supplier: Boston Granite Exchange Haverhill, MA (Quartzite)
Fabrication/Installation: Select Stone Corp Billerica, MA Pati (Sales)

Floors: Wide Pine, Clear Satin Poly, Hand Cut Nails
Materials: Seacoast Mills, Brentwood NH

Paint: Walls: BM Revere Pewter Trim: Muralo Beige Cream
Painter: B&G Painting, Atkinson NH
Hardware: Amerock Highland Ridge Polished Nickel: 4" pulls, 6" pulls, 1.25 knobs
Website: MyKnobs.com
Sink: Whitehaus Noahs Collection Single Bowl Undermount Kitchen Sink
Website: Quality Bath.com

Faucet: Price Pfister
Lowes
Pendants: Pottery Barn Serena Pendants (3)
Website: Ebay

Backsplash: Lunada Bay Kukai Silk 1x2
Website: mosaicsource. Com (40% off sale)

Appliances:Frigidaire Professional Stainless Pkg
Beach Sales, Revere MA. Kelie Friedman
Recessed Lights:Lowes

From LR:

From Main Entrance:

Pendant:

Peninsula:

Soon to be Message Center/Charging Station:

Appliance Garages (doors to be installed):

Lights On (love the effect on the ceiling):

Cabinets- custom built, inset. Color- SW8180, almond white
Counters- Antiqued Nordic Black

Here a few more pictures with more of the decorating done-

Here is a link that might be useful: Original post

The backsplash that I've ordered.

view from livingroom
(please ignore the mess, we were tiling the entry in this photo)

Pantry door has since been frosted..

Thanks to the GWers who offer so much expertise. I don't post often (since I have no expertise) but I read all the time and this has been such a tremendous resource. Thank you to all who selflessly contribute.

My original kitchen was a 1937 galley. We knocked out a wall between DR and kitchen and opened a new door between nook and LR. Here's what we put in:

Cabinets: Legacy Bertch
Counters: honed virginia mist
Backsplash: 6x12 carrera on top and bottom. Mixed marble mini-brick in the middle (Vessel by Artsaics in carrera, bardiglio and thassos).
Floors: Red oak to match the rest of the house. Jacobean.
Paint: BM Natura. Thornton Sage in the kitchen. Down white and Iron gate in the DR.
Recessed lights: Cree LR6.
Faucet: Kohler Vinnata

Here are the pics. If they are too big, please let me know and I'll try again.

Old kitchen and nook:

New kitchen:

This one shows a little of the DR (but was taken before BS was in).

Jet Mist is on the brain right now!

What do you think looks better with it - white or slightly off-white cabinets?

What about honed vs. polished?

I had Uba Tuba in a previous kitchen and disliked the streaking that you'd get when wiping it with a cloth - had to go over it with second swipe to dry to eliminate the marks. If possible I'd love to get something that would help with this issue.

FYI - I do have 6 young kids.

Does honed jet mist show fingerprints?

What else should I consider when it comes to Jet Mist?

THANKS SO MUCH for any advice!

I've been searching for pictures online but haven't been too successful, so if anyone has any pictures I'd love to see them.

Thank you!

We have made all decisions based on this sample.

The granite place does not leather - it will have to be bought from another place and will cost more.

I make jokes one step forward and 2 steps back. But I'm really starting to feel that way. I bought sinks based on that granite. I picked out floor with it.

I guess I will just get the leathered jet mist and pay for it.

Does anyone know anything about leathered jet mist?

We are TOTALLY THRILLED with ours. It is beautiful. I am not having nearly the issues I was anticipating having read all the forums.

With that said, 'meticulous' is not exactly a word that anyone would use to describe either my husband or myself.

I will post pictures (because that's all anyone ever wants anyways!!) very soon.

We have the whole cream colored shaker cabinets / oil rubbed bronze hardware / nickel finish - thing going on.

Believe it or not, it's been a whole month since I've even thought about THE DAMNED TOWEL PIG! HOO-RAH! Now thats progress...

Are you happy with yours? And finally, do you have any pictures you could share?

Thanks so much!
Stephanie

I say almost finished as I still need to decorate and fill those windows and I have a problem with the cabinets - Almost all my cabinet doors need to be replaced. You can't see it in the pictures, but the paint job is pretty bad and the seams on almost every door are starting to split. I knew this would happen eventually, but not as soon as I moved in. ARGH = frustration. However, no one really notices but me. However, between the problems with the paint job and the splitting seams I feel like my cabinets look 5 years old.

Also, still need some fillers, the kickplate on the island, and my window treatments are getting put up on Friday (woven wood shades).

So far, I am loving the kitchen. The "barrier island" some warned me about hasn't been a big issue. I just get what I need from the fridge and put it on the island. My fridge drawers help durign meals at the island as I keep what I need during meals in there. My ovens are awesome and have made great cookies, chicken, steaks, pork roast. I love the microwave drawer and have used the warming drawer to keep cookies, pancakes, waffles, and dh's dinner warm!

As some of you know, we did a whole house renovation and 1900 sq. foot addition (the original whole house was 1500 sf). I have some other pictures on flickr, but haven't taken pictures of everything yet as some rooms still have boxes, no pictures have been hung, and some rooms have paper taped over windows for privacy until our window treatments come in. If you'd like to see what I have so far, you can visit my flickr album.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91801398@N00/sets/72157625738507421/
Here's my info - hopefully I won't forget anything.

Cabinets - Holiday Cabinets. White shaker doors and walnut island.
Granite - BIANCO ANTICO!!! :) Love
Backsplash - American Olean 3x6 white subway tiles. This is where I decided to save money and I love how they look
Appliances - Wolf 36 inch rangetop, best 42" hood, Wolf L series double ovens, subzero fridge, sharp microwave drawer, kitchenaid warming drawer, u-line fridge drawers, Miele La Perla dw
Sinks - big one is a Kraus 32 inch single bowl, prep sink is Ticor, can't remember the size.
Faucets - Delta touch faucet
Lighting - pendants are Hudson Valley Randolph, 10 inch, kitchen table light is Murray Feiss American Foursquare 6+2 light in ORB
Hardware - Amerock Kane in weathered nickel
Floors - White oak to match the 75 year old floors in original part of house.

Without further ado:

View of kitchen from family room

View of kitchen from eating area

View of kitchen from mudroom/outside pantry door

Fridge & oven wall

Love my bianco antico!

More of the granite

Love my runnels

This was taken on Superbowl night. My prep sink used as a drink cooler. An unforeseen but very handy use! It took a lot of ice to fill that 10 inch deep sink!

Kitchen table taken from the kitchen. My table has 2 self storing leaves, so we can seat a lot of people!

My pantry. There's more shelves tothe right that you just can't see from this angle. Terrible lighting, but you get the idea and can definitely see I'm not one of those super organized pantry people!

Family room. More shelves that need to be decorated! You can see my desk area to the right of the fireplace. DH has an office, but this is my space.

I want a black granite that looks like oiled soapstone. Any suggestions?

I will NEVER again remodel a kitchen without picking out the counter top first!!!!

Details:
DW, Fridge, microwave/convection oven (Kitchen Aid)
6 burner dual-fuel 36" range (Thermador)
Thermador Traditional Silent 42" Hood w/remote blower
Perimeter countertop Black Minas Soapstone from Dorado Soapstone
Island Countertop Honed Statuario Marble
Perimeter Cabinets custom built with BM Simply White paint
Island Custom Built Alder
Floor Owens PlankFloor 6" Walnut with Satin Water Based Polyurethane
Delta Allura Faucet and soap dispenser
Danze Pot Filler
Cabinet hardware from Restoration Hardware

I'm awaiting my Statuario Extra marble for the island top and my Minas soapstone for the perimeter to be fabricated. The templating was done this past Wednesday.

Thank you to everyone who made numerous suggestions to other posters to check into custom cabinets!

We're so excited, the granite was installed yesterday. This is the beginning of the end (I hope!) Here are some pictures.

www.pinkroots.blogspot.com

Thanks!!

Cabinets: Brookhaven
Sinks: Ticor
Faucets: Moen
Counters: GM Original soapstone perimeter & honed carrara marble island
Backsplash: honed carrara marble 3x6 tiles
Floor: travertine
Appliances: all Electrolux except for KA dishwasher
Hood: Vent-A-Hood
Cabinet hardware: from Restoration Hardware
Chandelier: from Restoration Hardware
Chairs: from Arhaus
Stools: from Crate & Barrel

Here are some before pics at the start of renovation:

Here is the new kitchen. It was bumped out about three feet which gave enough room for an island/table combo:

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics of new kitchen

Here is a kitchen with it that I think is beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: jen4268's kitchen

Of all the funny things, DH is now totally in love with the white cabinet/espresso island look. (Despite throwing hissy fits early in the planning process about how much he HATES white cabinets. Yes. He actually typed "HATES" in all capital letters when we were emailing about the kitchen design). In any event, I am delighted by this development and am going to run with it. So now the question becomes, what countertop?

I love love love the look of white carrera marble on white cabinets, but DH wants to go with something more bulletproof. So, OK. Does anyone have or have photos of white cabinets with white countertops other than marble? White quartz, maybe? I would love to see them, thanks!

But just to drool over marble a little....

On to the pictures.

So far the kitchen is working out really well for us. Other than not loving the performance of my wall oven, I am happy with how it all turned out.

The details:

Perimeter cabinets: Decora (Chantille finish on maple)
Island cabinets: Sorrento (Hermosa finish on alder)
Backsplash: Walker Zanger Gramercy Park (Heirloom White and Pipe Smoke)
Granite on perimeter: Antiqued Nordic Black (love this!)
Granite on Island: Alaskan White
Pendant lights: Schoolhouse Electric
Knobs & pulls: Amerock Highland Ridge
Barstools: Restoration Hardware (bought during Friends & Family sale--20% off--yay!)
Wall color: BM Revere Pewter
Flooring: walnut w/ Waterlox finish
Sink: Shaw's farmhouse sink
Sink faucet/soap dispenser: Danze Opulence
Range: NXR
Wall oven: Kitchenaid
Fridge: Bosch
Dishwasher: paneled Bosch
Micro: cheapo GE

Thanks again!

This took just about a year to complete. We utilized our family room for the kitchen and made the living room our main gathering place. My old kitchen will be re-purposed as a laundry room.

We have 2 or 3 minor things to tinker with. We need to move the family computer to the desk and put the stools in at the pennsula.

We're still debating what to do about window treatments - in a couple months when the leaves drop, we'll be like fish in a bowl.. any suggestions would be helpful!!

Please excuse the plastic that we left on the fridge.. lol Have no fear, I finally took it off. But some of the photos show with it on...

So here is my old kitchen which will become my laundry room. It is wedged in the center of the house. It measures 8x10.. and only had ONE drawer..

And this is the Family Room we moved the kitchen into:

We have tons (probably WAY too many) progress photos..Only going to post a couple to calm any question of these actually being built and painted in the space and in my dining room.. LOL

Forgive the Large Photos.. Photobucket and I werent getting along this evening and I got impatient trying to post this :)

I have to thank everyone here for being so fabulous!! I lurked 99% of the time, but I got a lot out of reading everyones posts, comments and advice.

I'll have to figure out how to unlock my kitchen albums on Photobucket so I can share the rest of the photos without boring you all to death ;P

~ Dana ~

My goal: a timeless kitchen with high power (gas BTU) range and a second oven to facilitate my love of baking and cooking.

We also had a terrific GC who said it would take 8 weeks and delivered. If you are near in the SW Philly 'burbs and need a recommendation, just email me!

I still need finishing touches, like photos, pops of color etc.... and probably will be turning to the Decorating Forum for help on that!

Some pics:
(before)

After:

This shows the Marron cohiba withoout the sunlight shining on it,

and with it:

Guess which feature was all DH's planning?

The details:

Range: Capital Culinarian 36" with wok grate
Hood: Rangecraft (curvette)
Fridge: Liebherr 2x 24", cabinet depth, smartsteel
Oven/Micro combo: Electrolux Icon 30"
DW: Miele Optima II
Faucets: KWC Eve for main sink; Eve soap dispenser; Eve Demi for island sink; Kohler simplice for mudroom

Water filter: Royal Doulton ceramic
Airswitches/ disposals (2): insinkerator
Sinks: Krauss SS near-zero radius for main and mudroom; "Belmont" sink from stainless-sink.com for island
Granite: "Ice Brown" on island- Fabulous experience with StoneMasters in Kennett Square (Thank you Beekeeperswife!!!!) And "Marron Cohiba" on perimeter; and honed absolute black (or something like it) on the FP

Cabinets: Wellsford Cabinetry, Stowe, PA- Crystal White with Oyster glaze on perimeter and Cherry with Sable glaze on island; full overlay
Hardware: Amerock "Revitalize"

Backsplash: Walkerzanger "Helsinki" minibricks and 1x1s
Flooring: Qtrsawn Whiteoak site finished in Minwax (25% ebony with 75% red mahogany plus 3 coats semigloss poly with 1 finish coat of satin)
Windows: Anderson
French doors: Pella with internal shades

Paint: BM aura matte Ashley Gray walls; ceilings cut to 50% in family room and *about* 25% in the kitchen. BM aura matte Wolf gray in mudroom. BM aura Marscapone trim and cabs (cabinet coat)

Pendants: Jamie Young (large St. Charles in mercury glass)
Chandy: Quoizel DW1824 "Downtown"

Stools: overstock cosmopolitan dark brown leather (Thank you GW!)
Chairs: overstock Soho cream leather (Thank you Beekeeperswife!)
Table: Costplus Worldmarket Charlotte table 42" round w/ ext.

Before pics: we moved the kitchen into the family room, the dining room into the kitchen, and the breakfast area into the dining room. (The living room turned into the family room, and the office will soon turn into the living room ... more to do around here.)So these photos are not exactly classic before/afters. (And it's a snowy day, so bright outside, not the best for pics. Oh well.)

Old kitchen

Corresponding view

Old family room:

Corresponding view

Old dining room (both visible walls are now gone)

Corresponding view

I was previously opposed to knocking out both walls, but I am glad we did. For the way we live, it works much better. Entertaining is a cinch now. Because the kitchen is vaulted but the other ceilings are low, it doesn't feel like a huge empty space (that's what I was worried about). And I liked my "other" house, just not the kitchen. It was awful.

I'll post details here, and more specific photos in a subsequent post.

-Cabinets-
Aspen Leaf Kitchens in Denver/Berthoud, CO; proprietary Primer White, BM Taos Taupe on island and butler's pantry, and custom-stained antique pine on breakfast hutch

-Appliances-
SubZero BI-36U fridge, pro handle
Wolf 48 DF range with 4 burners and double griddle
Viking 54 in. hood liner with heat lamps
Thermador DWHD64EP dishwashers
KitchenAid KBCO24RSBX three-zone beverage center
SubZero 700BCI refrigerator/freezer drawers
Sharp 0.8 cu ft microwave

-Counters-
Minas soapstone on perimeter cabinets and hutch
Calacatta gold marble on island and butler's pantry

-Hardware-
Restoration Hardware Gilmore cup pulls, Aubrey knobs and handle pulls, Clear Glass knobs in antique brass, and Season knobs and Hanson pulls in ORB

-Sinks-
Main: soapstone farm sink crafted by Terra Bella/Denver CO
Prep: Ticor S3650

-Faucets-
Main sink: Kohler HiRise bridge with sidespray
Prep sink: Kohler HiRise bar faucet

-Lighting-
Wilmette Clark pendants in ORB (breakfast nook)
Wilmette LaSalle wall sconces in antique brass (later photos)
Visual Comfort Classic Ring chandelier in AB (dining room)
Visual Comfort Four-Light Siena pendant in AB (butler's)

-Island stools-
Ballard Designs Dorchester counter stools in rubbed black (all other furniture and rugs previously owned)

The previous kitchen had been remodeled within the last 10 years, but it was separated from the rest of the home and lacked sufficient counter space for a family of four. We decided to tear down the wall that separated the kitchen and laundry room and expand into the dining room to give us more counter space. The windows in the corner were too low to run counters and that proved to be a design challenge. Instead of raising the windows which would have altered the architecture of the exterior of the home, we decided to make the area a banquette. We also moved the old doorway off the foyer and created two larger arches which open up the kitchen to the living and dining room.

The space was too small for an island, so we had our counter top fabricator make us a work table that is movable -- it has wheels and we can roll it out of the way if we want to open up the kitchen.

Details:
Cabinets - custom by Los Angeles cabinetmaker - maple shaker style (bar area is espresso finish)
Countertops - Madre Perla quartzite
Backsplash - White onyx staggered tile
Faucet - KWC Eve
Sink - Franke
All KitchenAid appliances, except for GE profile microwave Vent-a-hood
Lighting - onxy pendants purchased at Lighting Emporium
Pulls - Great Indoors
Floors - White Oak hardwoods to match the rest of the home
Paint- Martha Stewart "Fossil"

Before:

During:

After:

and, of course, a photo of Pip himself, enjoying his new kitchen...

I had to cut myself off from posting too many photos. So, the rest of the album is here: ALBUM

Or, for the slideshow version: SLIDESHOW

Please feel free to ask questions.

Details:

Cabinets: Huntwood (Custom) Cabinets with shaker, inset doors (Huntwood does custom cabinetry. The color is their white paint option, as opposed to their creamy option. The closest match I can find to this is between Benjamin Moore's "white" and "super white." My door trim, baseboards, etc. are all BM's "Super White." It is just slightly brighter than my cabinets, but not noticably.)

Countertops: Cambrian black granite in a leathered/antiqued finish

Backsplash: White US Ceramics 3x6 subway tile

Appliances: are all Frigidaire Professional, except for the Electrolux cooktop (and my cheap GE microwave in the pantry)

Hood vent: I have no idea. It was whatever the builder used standard. I didn't splurge here, but the unit works perfectly.

Plumbing:

* Main Sink: Grohe Bridgeford Bridge faucet with sidespray in ORB

* Island Sink: Grohe Bridgeford pull-down faucet in ORB

* Reverse Osmosis/cold water faucet: Newport Brass (I had to add this after the fact, upon learning that I needed a RO system. The Newport Brass model matches the Grohe faucet surprisingly well. The finish is almost identical.)

Sinks: Blanco Silgranit sinks in anthracit - larger is BlancoPrecis Super Single and smaller is BlancoPrecis 15.5" x 19.5"

Hardware: Rejuvention Hardware latches, pulls and knobs in ORB

Flooring: Lewis & Clark hardwood - color is Beacon Rock - wood is hickory - very distressed (this is a small company... it isn't the line Shaw offers)

Paint: Pittsburgh Paint's "Moth Gray" cut down to 75%

Window treatment: I didn't want any window treatment in the kitchen, but some days the sunset glares on me when I'm cooking dinner. To solve this, I put in a cellular shade that is almost completely hidden when closed. It looks like there is no window treatment, unless I really need it during those 10-15 minutes of glare.

Lighting: 10 recessed lights - I ended up opting out of pendants so the space appears more open. The three recessed lights above the island are on a different switch, for less light or future pendant additions.

Counter stools: Sturbridge Yankee Workshop's "Henry Leather stools" in black

Island dimensions: 51" x 91"

Island overhang: 19 inches on the long side, 11.5 inches on the short side (it was supposed to all be 19", but nothing ever goes right in construction! I still would prefer 19", but this doesn't bother me now with the stools in.)

Well, we brought samples home and all the clear, true whites were just too bright, too blue for our space. We tried many different whites. Many.

It turns out that for our space a creamier white (not a white with a glaze, as you mentioned) is the way to go. They'll be Sherwin Williams' Dover White.

You might also want to check out this gorgeous kitchen. It's a bright white (Sherwin Williams' Pure White) and I think it looks great there, with their lighting conditions.

Have you brought the two samples home to see how they look in your space? I'll be interested in hearing what you think.

Good luck!

Any thoughts?

For instance, these are some kitchens I like the style of from the FKB
http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n283/rotag5/
http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2005/06/orchidluvrs-kitchen.html

And this is the cabinet style I am probably getting, the first is the glaze, the second is the white :

Thanks for humoring my obsessive nature!! (DH just nods and says "whatever") And for helping me out! I'm so glad I found this forum. Everyone here is the best.

I spontaneously decided to just post the near-finished photos tonight. I'll post finished/finished-finished/no-really-finished photos on my website once all of the above happens, so feel free to visit it again in a couple of weeks. But for now, enjoy!

This forum has some of the most generous and spirited people I have ever encountered. I loved and still love coming to a place where people are as enamoured with design and details as much as I am, and dedicate so much time into making their house into a home. I love reading your stories and helping out whenever I can. I wanted to celebrate the success of our kitchen with all of you, and thank you as deeply as one can in the online world, because I can honestly say that our kitchen would never have turned out this way if I didn't "find" all of you on GW. So, thank you.

Click on the link to my website below for more photos and all the details.

Redroze's White and Espresso Kitchen

I included a picture of the Sharp microwave draw that someone had wanted to see. Also, included close-ups of the backsplash (very plain but to my taste), and spice rack which I can't wait to use!

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/frombar.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/fromdoors.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/backsplash.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/sharpmicrowave.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn62/mamadadapaige/spicerack.jpg[/IMG]

After, view of kitchen from family room

Before, overview of kitchen; entrance to dining room is in between wall ovens and refrigerator

After, overview of kitchen; former entrance has been closed up (is now my baking corner) and new entrance to dining room is not in shot but is in between refrigerator and freezer

Before, view of eating area

After, view of eating area with new wainscoting

Before, view of pantry

After, view of pantry, broom closet pull-out and freezer

primary flatware drawer

knife drawer

easy dishwasher unloading

doors around oven and refrigerator open

broom closet pull-out

Many (many!) more pictures are in my finished kitchen album.

I joined GW the v. first day I "found" it online. I was doing research on soapstone and a link to this forum popped up and I read it. If I’d had any idea the amount of time I’d spend here and the relationships I’d come to have, I never, ever would have picked as pedestrian a handle as "rmkitchen." But I thought I’d just be here on GW that one time. Nearly fourteen months later and ha ha on me!

Well, it’s still not "done": we’re waiting for roman shades to be made and I need to wash those windows …. But I’m feeling silly having a finished kitchen and waiting for some roman shades! So it’s not magazine-worthy, that’s okay. I had a really hard time deciding whether to attempt the vanity shots or how we really live. Because seeing everyone’s pristine, to-die-for kitchens hurt my self-esteem, I decided to do a warts-and-all. You’ll see fingerprints on the cupboard doors, smudges on the polished nickel hardware and crumbs on the floor: even still, I think it looks pretty good. Also, since my photographic skills are poor it made the choice really easy!

With the risk of coming across as gauche I am going to include approximate prices for our items. I was terribly naïve when it came to determining our budget and found it immensely beneficial when others here would give prices. (in all fairness, it sometimes made me feel bad either that we weren’t as hoity-toity as others as well as making me feel ridiculous for spending so much when others achieved fabulous kitchens for a fraction of our budget) It gave me a real-world benchmark, and hopefully it will help someone else put their own project into some perspective. I wish more posters would share their budget – I think it’s that helpful. Let me preface this by saying I'm in Boulder, CO -- prices will vary continent-wide. We are less expensive than the San Francisco Bay Area and more than RTC, NC.

Caveat: I absolutely believe and know our kitchen could have (and I’d argue should have) been done for significantly less. Like our gorgeous countertops / backsplash were ridiculously expensive and I could have had a white marble for less than half. However, every time I look at the marbles from which I could have chosen I realize I would have been v. unhappy and any amount spent on them would have been too much. So it was "smart" to spend more to get what I really wanted and what I LOVE. ("smart" having a v. fluid definition depending on my mood!)

Same about our sink, well, similar. We searched and searched for a stainless apron front single bowl sink, and the one we liked the best was the Bates & Bates. My husband insisted on a low gauge (thick steel). Only after our kitchen was complete did I learn about the Lavello. While not as thick as ours (ours is 12 gauge, the Lavello 16 gauge), I think for the >$1,000 price difference we could’ve lived with it!

We (I) shopped around like crazy (love the internet!) for our appliances, hardware, etc., and feel I did a fabulous job getting the best prices for these items—everything was either on special or purchased on sale or using some sort of incentive. But at the end of the day, the appliances were still expensive—exactly what we want / need, though. At the end of the day, the hardware was still expensive—exactly what we want / need, though. At the end of the day, the cabinetry was still expensive. (Although I actually have mixed feelings about this—for the level of detail I wanted and all the bells & whistles we got I’m not sure it was expensive. The semi-custom lines at which we looked [i.e., Cuisines Laurier, DuraSupreme] were coming in significantly higher. If we'd gone with framed we could have come in for less, but not gotten the exact door / hood I wanted. If there were an IKEA nearby [the closest is in Utah], we probably could have used their boxes and had doors made up elsewhere. But we went neither of those routes.)

Our kitchen is approximately 13’w x 21'l (not completely true, as only one side is 21' long; the other wall is 11 1/2'). Our ceiling is 9’ high (the upper cabinets are 47 ½" high with crown moulding running from the top of the cabinets up to the ceiling).

cabinets, ~$55K
custom frameless painted (catalyzed lacquer) a custom white, island painted BM Onyx
all drawers and roll-outs full-extension with Blumotion glides and all doors with Blum soft-close hinges
one Rev-A-Shelf wood drawer divider
one Rev-A-Shelf plastic double tier flatware divider
custom wood drawer dividers (five drawers)
steel pegboard "broom closet" pull-out (thanks to dianalo for sharing inspiration pictures)
three chrome pull-out pantry units (Rev-A-Shelf)
four spice pull-outs (Rev-A-Shelf)
pegboard with wood "divider" dowels in (three) dish drawers
foot pedal four-canister trash / recycle unit (thanks to lowspark and alku05 for the foot pedal instructions), Rev-A-Shelf
magnetic chalkboards (two)
hood (design inspiration courtesy of mwardlb’s lovely hood)
maple butcher block island countertop with bow detail
tempered, safety glass-front doors and glass shelves
delivery and installation of these cabinets and attached custom crown moulding (but not including cost of custom crown which was ~$350)

appliances, ~$22K
refrigerator: Thermador 30" Fresh Food Freedom Column T30IR70
freezer: Thermador 30" Frozen Freedom Colum T30IF70
oven: Gaggenau 30" BX281610 convection double oven, (thanks to the supportive folks in the Appliance forum who talked me through this decision & held my hand as we waited five+ months for its delivery)
cooktop: Thermador Professional Series PCG366E 36" gas, six burners
vent: Broan 900 cfm external blower 332H
microwave: Sharp Over-The-Counter R-1214
refrigerator drawers: GE Monogram 24" ZIDI240PII
(delivery and installation of above appliances was ~$700)
instant hot / cold faucet and tank: Mountain Products Little Gourmet MT1401
under-sink water filter: Culligan
sink: Bates and Bates S2133.SS stainless apron front
faucet: Pegasus Professional Kitchen, from Expo (thanks to susanandmarkw)
soap dispenser: Danze Parma
dishwasher: KitchenAid KUDS03FTPA
air switch for above-sink light: Mountain Plumbing, stainless
disposal: Insinkerator Evolution Cover Control

hardware, ~$1,100
pulls: Restoration Hardware 4" Gilmore Pulls, polished nickel
knobs: Restoration Hardware 1.25" Cut Glass Knobs, polished nickel
fridge / freezer pulls: Hickory Hardware Studio 13" bright nickel
broom closet pull: Hickory Hardware Studio 5" bright nickel

lighting, ~$300
undercabinet lighting: Pegasus Associates Microfluorescent T4 fixtures
lighting inside cabinets: line voltage (120V) xenon pucks, American Lighting

countertop & backsplash, material, fabrication and installation ~$19K
Calacatta Xtra (seriously, that’s its name), honed, 3cm, with eased square edge – thanks to mnhockeymom for the inspiration!), runnels and a dishdrain
backsplash: Calacatta Xtra, 2cm
island butcherblock countertop provided by cabinetmaker

painting, ~$1K
walls: BM 871 Pearl River, Regal Matte Finish
ceiling: 50% BM 871, Regal Flat Finish
wainscoting: BM Impervo, custom to match cabinetry
toekicks: BM Onyx (which I painted myself with "help" from our puppy)

floors, price unknown as bundled in with installation of hardwood for entire first floor and staircase
red oak, "popped" with water then one heavy coat of Dura-Seal Ebony Stain (thanks to my husband for finding out how to get the dark finish I wanted from red oak), three coats of Bona Satin Water-Based Sealer

construction, ~$16K (I think, as it was bundled in with a nearly-whole house remodel)
removal of old cabinets, closing up old doorway to dining room, framing new entrance to dining room, moving almost all electrical plus some new, moving all plumbing plus much new, drywall (inc. smooth-coating existing orange-peel), fabricating / installing wainscoting in breakfast nook and sink wall facing family room and new casing around sliding door and window, crown moulding installation and painting

kitchen designer, $3K
(we contentiously parted ways v. early in the process, but not until she had suggested moving the doorway to the dining room down the wall, and we love this change)

Things we love
or, what we did right
-Sans doute moving the opening into the dining room down the wall so as to make a U-shape kitchen was the smartest thing we did. It has increased the function / made better the ergonomics tremendously!

-Large, single bowl, apron front sink. Having all that continuous room for washing large pots / pans / baking dishes is so incredible! I love how the apron front eliminates any lower back pain– not far to reach into the sink. We also have no splashing, as opposed to what we had with a shallower, drop-in sink.

-Raised dishwasher. It just makes sense! I know many love their dishdrawers but as we run a full or nearly-full dishwasher nightly, it would not have made sense for us to have dishdrawers.

-Side-opening wall oven. I was on the fence a long time on this one: that oven set (the Gaggenau 30" double wall ovens) was really expensive, but oh how we love the side-opening mechanism! It just makes so much sense.

-Foot pedal trash. Hands full of broccoli remnants + foot pedal trash = genius.

-Magnetic chalkboards – my children adore them! My older son (four years-old) loves drawing his robots and writing; my younger son (two years-old) loves standing and "coloring." We love being able to keep our timer and grocery list in a central and easy-to-locate spot.

-Full freezer and full refrigerator: we wonder how we lived before with combined units. It sounds insane, but for our vegetarian family with little children we are absolutely utilizing these separate units to their fullest.

-Polished nickel hardware: it’s beautiful. It’s just beautiful, and it takes a lot of work to get them looking icky / dirty; plus, I have to say they are a breeze to clean (when they do get icky)!

-Getting our puppy one month to the day after the remodel started (and three months before it ended). It was such hard work – miserably hard, puppy-training and living amidst chaos (as we were doing nearly the whole house). But man-oh-man am I glad we did it all at once! I am so grateful to have had all the ick and dreck at once. (She’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and we swear she’s part-cat: v. gentle, smart, affectionate. She’s never ever growled / been angry with our two little children, and our youngest is not the gentlest. He loves the puppy, but his love can be a bit rough. Cavaliers are also known for loving cats, and our youngest cat is the puppy’s best friend. They adore each other. But the puppy really really loves the children.)

-Not fighting. In our normal lives my husband I occasionally bicker – we’re married and we’re both strong, opinionated people. But for some strange (and miraculous) reason, we never had a fight during the entire remodel; we got along splendidly and truly were a team. Well, maybe not a team: I was definitely The Chief, but he was 100% on board and totally supportive. I wish I knew why that was because I’d like to bottle it!

Things we don’t love
or, things we’d do differently
(There are only two things we absolutely wish we’d done differently, things which we notice [and which irk us] on a daily basis. I’ll list those two first.)
#1 thing which drives us crazy
-Think about where countertop accoutrements (inc. countertop appliances) would live when planning light switches. I had one undercab light switch put, I thought, in an inconspicuous spot near the corner. I absolutely should have figured out where I’d be putting our toaster because, as it happens, the toaster now blocks the light switch. We’ve tried moving the toaster around but that’s just the spot where it makes sense. But yet it doesn’t make sense because it blocks the light switch. This is already frustrating and totally stupid on my part!

#2 thing which drives us crazy
-Pantry pull-outs. HATE them! Maybe hate is too strong a word (not really), but we realize now we would have been so much happier with standard shelves, not even roll-out shelves! (although those are divine) We have the pantry units from Rev-A-Shelf and find a) they are "adjustable" in name only, b) they don’t hold as much as you’d think, and c) a space-waster. If we’d had shelves we could have stacked cans or seen at one glance all our dry-goods. As it is, we have to pull out three separate units and honestly, we think it’s crap. Never again!

(These other things are things which we’d do differently in the future but which aren’t frustrating us daily.)
-24" deep lower cabinets. Too shallow! We didn’t realize until too late (as in, unpacking into this kitchen) that our penultimate kitchen had 32" deep lowers. What a difference! In all fairness to myself (as in, trying to make myself feel better), given the tight quarters of this kitchen we could not have afforded even 30" deep lowers; well, we could have, but then we would have lost our island which we are really enjoying. Next kitchen will be really different!

-Symmetry. I don’t know if it’s just for symmetry’s sake or for my husband’s, but flanking either side of the cooktop are spice pull-outs. Granted, he’s got them both filled to the gills with his goodies, but I could really use those 6" in my stack of baking supply drawers. Given the particulars of the layout of our kitchen the symmetry there would not have mattered.

-Having our microwave built-in. My husband was adamant he did NOT want a built-in microwave (the kind which have the trim-kits, I mean), so we found the Sharp over-the-counter microwave. Turns out there was some sort of "miscommunication" with the GC (so I guess I’m responsible). The "problem" is that the drywall behind the microwave wasn’t removed and reframed so as to accommodate the 1.5" the microwave juts out past its surrounding cabinetry. It’s already not bothering me so much, but when I do think about it I think "I wish we’d been clearer." Hopefully I’ll learn to live with it because I just don’t want to pay for the work!

-Double Ovens. We’ve always (well, in the US) had double ovens and I love to bake, so I never thought of a single oven. But so far, I’ve only been using one oven and as we’re the strictest of vegetarians it’s not as if we’ll ever have a turkey in one and pie in the other. I think how differently the space (& money) could have been utilized …. Who knows?

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank so many of you for your incredible kindness and support, both here in the forum and offline via e-mail. I’ve developed a genuine fondness for many here, and seeing your handles online always brightens my day. To a one, thank you. You are my community.

xo

Hope I'm not putting too many pictures!

Quick description (feel free to contact me if you have questions)
-Soapstone: Julia
-Cabinets: Custom, inset/flush shaker style with single bead (waiting to see if we get some issues resolved before I recommend the cabinet maker)
-Bookcase and desk tops: walnut
-Sharp microwave oven drawer (love it!)
-GE fridge
-Shaw 30 inch apron sink
-Wolf range top
-Thermador double ovens
-Vent-a-hood hood
-Dal tile
-potfiller: Newport Brass
-hot/cold faucet Newport Brass
-Main faucet: Mico
-Door to garage: one panel painted with chalkboard paint...fun! The kids love this and it's fun to put messages to guests, each other, holiday wishes, etc.
-Pull out baskets (love these...I keep bread in one and potatoes, onions, etc. in the other)
-Wine shelf--love it!
-Bar stools from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop (love these and they were so reasonable!)
-What would I do differently? More than 12 inch overhang on seating area of island (maybe 14-16 inch). And I might skip the bead board in the backs of the bookshelfs and glass cabs.

Happy kitchen designing to all! Thank you again!

Cabinets-Wood Mode
Perimeter Counters-Calacatta Crema-honed
Island top-Sapele Mahogany
Range-Wolf
Wall Oven-Miele
Refrigerator-Sub Zero
Dishwashers-Miele
Main Sink-Shaw's Original Farm Sink
Wet Bar Sink-Sink-A-Link Hammered Copper

The island countertop was finally installed yesterday. DH came home and said, "Wow, it looks so huge. What will we ever do with all this room??" My daughter promptly demonstrated today how useful all that surface area is when she started working on her science project! Excuse the mess. =)

Cabinets are russet stained, framed inset. Countertop is honed carrara. This side has two shallow banks of "junk drawers on each end and room for 4 stools (only have 2 so far).

This side has a MW drawer and drawer below, 2 banks of drawers, 36" fridge drawer and prep sink base. There's an overhang on this short end for a 5th counter stool.

Here's a pic showing my pull-out trash/recycling, my warming drawer (much prefer it here rather than under my wall oven!) and other storage drawers. Note the tall, narrow door which I had made deeper than it looks so it can store all my cutting boards, including the one we use to carve a turkey! It's next to the garbage pull-out. There is a small shelf on top for small cutting boards, and the larger ones fit on the bottom. The bottom section is about 5 inches deeper than it appears to be. You can sort of see what I'm talking about in the next picture showing the inside of the cabinets where the stools go.

Here's a pic showing storage space for rarely used items in cabinets behind stool area.

I will use both, but have to decide which will go on the perimeter.

I LOVE both white AND wood kitchens! How in the world did you ever decide? What swayed you one way or the other?

I am afraid that stained is 90's cause I will not go dark if it's perimeter. Something equivalent to toffee maple. (For those who saw me ask about walnut, it's in the game still, but barely. I am scared of the risk of it being dark.) But then again, my friends who have kids with white say do not do it cause it gets so dirty with kids - and we have a ton of kids in and out daily.

I really want both. How did you pick!?!