The kitchen measures approximately 21' wide X 15' deep. The ceilings are 10' tall. Cabinets are custom built. I hope you enjoy and feel free to ask any questions you may have, and thank you for answering mine as we progressed.

The island is 9'-2" x 4'-8" The granite, which we love is delicatus juparana.

Another view

The floors are site-finished quarter and rift-sawn white oak stained in 'spice' color, I forget the manufacturer. The distance between the cook top and sink is wider than what is usually preferred, but we love it...lots of room to maneuver and great for entertaining a crowd. It's 56" wide.

We went with the 'package' of Thermador appliances. Dual Topaz dishwasher (LOVE having 2 of them!) and a 33" Krauss single-bowl SS sink. I need to find better outlet covers, ones not so wide, and possibly not white...looks a bit odd.

Alsoi went with a Krauss faucet. I love it, my wife thinks it is a bit too large. For the price, $300, I feel it is a good deal and looks fine. We wanted something to stand out and give some height on the island. The Waterstone we liked was just too much money, maybe we will get something different down the road. The soap dispenser needs to be longer, and this one leaks....so 0 stars for it! Also, there are drawers inside the two sets of doors on either side of the cook top. Looking back, I wish we had just used regular drawers, but we may elect to do that in the future.

The double ovens work great and are accurate with the temperatures, I have used 2 thermometers to verify this. The microwave is huge inside, but a handle would be better...there are constantly fingerprints all over it...having 4 kids doesn't help!

Storage on both ends of the island and the back as well...we like it! No knobs on either side, we don't want to 'catch' them as we walk by.

Different pulls up high for the small glass-fronts

A good look at the granite island

3 x 6 Henry tile is bone finish...color is off in picture, but we like this tile

A look at the BS. 36" Thermador cook top. PS...that is a Lodge griddle/grill, we love it and it gets used nearly every day. Best $45 dollars spent in a long time. 600cfm hood from Thermador.

42" Thermador fridge, no in-door ice, we have another fridge in our nearby laundry room. Again, very happy with this refrigerator.

A few more...just for fun!

I hope this helps someone, and I figured I'd get some pictures while it was relatively clean! Have a great day!

Kitchen

EDITED TO ADD...some more phone camera pics!

The counters are marble and my ceilings are 9 feet so I am not sure how tall the uppers are but they are the standard off the counter and extend all the way to the crown. Thanks for all the kind comments!

This post was edited by quelyn on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 20:55

remodel

This is our third try at expanding our kitchen (by 5+ feet out the front,) the first two coming at inopportune times. In hindsight, that was a good thing as it gave me more time to have a better plan in order. We had hoped to use our neighbor's contractor who works on time and materials but when the time came, he was not available so we went with our #2 choice. For the most part we feel quite lucky to have had him do the work as he is honest, reliable and excellent at replying to any and all of my questions in a timely manner. He also has two delightful Australian shepherds who gad about with him. :) His crew was wonderful all the way through, and I rather miss those fellas. My only disappointments were in trying to get the contractor to understand we needed to see on paper the order in which work would be done, and to give me enough decision lead time on factors I hadn't anticipated or decided on yet--paint colors, anyone??? All but one of his sub-contractors were great; the painters, not as much.

Our old kitchen was mostly original, with perhaps a refacing of the cabinets done in the 80's or 90's. The house is a ranch style, built in 1951. The 4-doorway kitchen was small and had an eating area at the far end. It was difficult to have more than one cook at a time in the small space, the refrigerator pushed several inches into the doorway, and I prepped on 12 inches of tile next to the electric stove. I'm still mourning my little-bit-of-a-porch that I used to keep pots o' plants upon and am currently working on the new garden space outside of the kitchen; no money for a new porch. :( Well, I could go on and on about the process which was a first for us, but now I'll cross my fingers and hope the pictures post.

Countertop: Belvedere Soapstone from M. Teixeira in SF
Love it, though I wish I'd oil more often.

Backsplash: White square tile, with two accent rows of
"Stained Glass" 2x2's from Bullnose Tile in
San Jose
I wish I'd gone with a slightly more creamy white
and another row or two of blue, which I love.

Cabinets: Custom frameless, formaldehyde-free cherry with
slab doors; maple cab and drawer boxes,
dovetailed, with natural finish
My favorite element of all! Loved, loved the cab
guy who bent over backward to make us happy
and is still doing so after my little water mishap
this week. VERY fortunate to have found him.

Sink: Kohler Bakersfield cast iron single
This sink gets the grey marks so easily--maybe I should
have sprung for a fireclay.

Faucet: Watermark two-handle
The first one installed leaked and had to be sent back.
Belmont Hardware was good about the exchange. So
far, so good on the new faucet.

Rangetop: Bluestar Rangetop, 36-inch, 6 Burner
Never cooked with gas before, getting used to but
like it very much. One ignitor is on the fritz which
we have to figure out.

Oven: Wolf E-Series single
Works great

Micro/SO: GE Profile Advantium 240V
I swore I wouldn't buy GE again, but I've got to
say I do like it, both as a micro and extra (speed)
oven. Let's hope it lasts!

Hood: Trade-Wind 42-inch 1266cfm liner, blower and silencer
This is another one of my favorite things--thanks to you,
Trailrunner! I can't believe how well it handles our high-
heat sauteeing, etc.

Refrigerator: Kitchen-Aid counter-depth 36-inch French Door
(Don't tell Antss) I like it fine and hope it lasts.
Still don't think they should charge a grand more
for cd!

Dishwasher: Miele low-end model from 4 years ago
It works well and I didn't mind that it's black rather
than ss

Lighting: Rejuvenation Lombard orb flushmount and the
pendant over the table is from Murray Feiss
(Amazon)
Saleswoman at Rejuvenation was wonderful!

Flooring: Marmoleum (Forbo Fresco) Green Wellness
Dh gave in on the color but I love it--very soothing.
No hardwood due to my messy style of cooking and
it's a good thing since I tried to flood the kitchen last
week. No edges came up! I got this from and had it
installed by Conklin Bros. in San Jose.

Old Kitchen

New and Improved Kitchen!

Master bath:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg0312293027171.html

Other baths:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg0312481917657.html

And now for the kitchen!

Our little bar area:

Where we keep the dog food:

The view into the family room, now open to the kitchen (oh now how to furnish that room?!?)

the microwave hiding spot (garage door/pocket door):

Pantry - just 12" deep

Mudroom - widened by about 1 foot:

Mudroom bench

Here's some general info:
Granite - Bianco Antico
Tile backsplash - Red Rock 2x8 in Twig
Hood - Modernaire in Oil rubbed bronze with blackened steel accents
Lights - Hudson Valley Garrison (bronze) and Winfield pendants (bronze)
Faucets - Rohl
Knobs - colonial bronze in pewter and brushed nickel, pulls Omnia brushed nickel, and mudroom pulls/knobs Emtek in bronze.

Thanks to the many GWers who helped me address and navigate the issues as they arose. I only wish I'd discovered GW when I was going through the design! But we love it and it's incredibly functional.

I’m not sure if I’m going to do a good job at explaining what all got changed, but here goes. And let me know if anyone has any questions!

Kitchen before :

The picture below is the old family room (what we now use as a dining room) and you can see the kitchen through that small doorway with the doggy gate. On the other side of this wall was the dining room (what we now are using as a family room).

We knocked out the wall between the family room and dining room, and widened the opening to the kitchen. It was a lot of demo:

And here’s what it looks like now (please excuse the snackers):

Here’s the view from the new family room (still need stools for that peninsula):

View from the new dining room:

View from the back wall to the new family room (old dining room):

Back wall:

Stove wall:

LOVE the Thermy :

What’s a contemporary kitchen without open shelving!

The peninsula is to the right under the shelves:

Here are some shots of the island (btw, the best thing about the remodel was adding a sliding glass door):

Some more random shots:

Does anyone have any suggestions for the far wall color? Green made sense before but now not so sure…

Thank you to anyone who’s made it this far!

This post was edited by amandasplit on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 18:38

What is NOT finished:
*Still waiting on banquette bench for between the 2 built-ins
*New Dining Table
*2 ends of the Backsplash Tile are not installed yet b/c they were sent back to manufacturer to get a bull-nosed edge.
*Custom light switch cover to match BS tile.
*Deciding on window treatments-whether or not to do them...

Specifics:

*Custom Cabinetry- Cabinet Maker in PA.
Perimeter is 36" finished, island is 34" high, baking area 33" high

*Colors of Cabinetry- BM Barley 199, BM Mascarpone AF-20 Cabinets were finished with a catalyzed lacquer (not paint) and clear top coat.

*Wall Paint- Kitchen- BM Elephant Tusk OC-8
Dining Area/Living Room BM Woodlawn Blue HC-147
Living Room BM Putnam Ivory HC-39

*Countertops- Vermont Imperial Danby Marble 3cm (purchased from PMI in NJ); Black Walnut 2" Thick Island Top finished with Satin Waterlox (constructed by our Cabinet Maker)

*Appliances-
Thermador CIT365GM 36" Induction Cooktop (mirrored finish)
Electrolux Icon Double Ovens- Professional Series E30EW85GPS6
Electrolux Icon French Door Fridge- Professional Series E23BC68JPS5
Bosch 800 Plus Dishwasher- SHV7ER53UC
Miele H4080BM Speed Oven
Marvel 60RDEBBO Fridge Drawers

*Floors- Red Oak finished with Minwax Provincial Stain and Vermeister Commercial Finish Poly. Matte

*Hardware-
Renovation Hardware Gilmore Cup Pulls in Chrome
Top Knobs Cabinet Latches in Chrome
Emtek Old Town Clear Knob in Chrome
Schaub & Company 6" Chrome Pulls and 12" pull for Dishwasher

*Lighting-
UCL & In Cabs- Seagull LED lights 3000K temp
Drum Pendants- Lamps Plus
5 light Chandelier- Visual Comfort- Michael S Smith Eiffel Chandelier in Polished Nickel

*Sinks-
Main- Kohler Whitehaven K-6489 36" Apron Front Cast Iron Sink
Prep- Kohler K-6584 Iron/Tones Cast Iron Sink

*Faucets-
Main- Moen Woodmere in Chrome S7208C
Prep- Moen Woodmere Prep Faucet in Chrome S6208C
Soap dispensers- Moen
Pot Filler- Moen Showhouse

*Insinkerator Evolution Essential Disposal
Insinkerator Instahot Faucet F-HC2215 Chrome
Insinkerator SST-FLTR

*Backsplash by Wizard Tile
Design is Ribbons & Feathers with Crackle Glaze in Custom Color

*Stools- Counter Height from Grandinroad

BEFORE: This project included pushing out the entire back of our 1950 Cape 7 feet. Also, removing about 5' of our living room wall which involved moving the basement steps over. Removing a wall between the dining room and kitchen, adding a covered porch. We also did all new siding and other exterior things but I'll stick to inside.

Kitchen was originally a galley measuring about 19' x 9 1/2'. Dining Room was about 8 1/2' wide. Now it's really one large room 28' x 16 1/2'. Kitchen side alone is 16' x 16 1/2'

Choosing reveal photos was worse than narrowing down pics for our Wedding Album! SO sorry in advance for the quantity! Hopefully you'll never have to ask me for more pics : )

AFTER:

BAKING AREA SIDE OF KITCHEN:

Most of my drawers like these are adjustable which I'd highly recommend. If they weren't I wouldn't have been able to remove partitions to fit taller pieces.

Key Cabinet

My KitchenAid

COOKTOP SIDE OF L:

SINK WALL:

TV Pocket Doors Over Fridge

ISLAND:

Thanks, Breezy : )

Storage at Back of Island (Shelves are 9 1/2" deep)

NOW GOING TO THE RIGHT OF THE SINK/FRIDGE WALL into Dining Area:

6" DEEP BROOM CLOSET

LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING/SUMMER VIEWS:

MY ORGANIZATIONAL SPOT (cork back, file drawer, printer, BluRay player, desk items, charging drawer)

WHERE BANQUETTE BENCH WILL BE:

BAR AREA:

REFRIGERATOR DRAWERS:

CUSTOM SLIDING DOORS-- These were at one point supposed to be pocket doors but I didn't want to close off views by having 3' of wall pocket on either side so came up with this which is working well at blocking sound but still gives an open feeling to the space.
I also love the 3 lights on the top so it's less busy and easier to clean!

INTO LIVING ROOM:

LIVING ROOM LOOKING INTO KITCHEN:

The blue looks brighter than it does IRL:

A FEW LAST SHOTS...

THANK YOU GW for this FUN, FULFILLING, (and often STRESSFUL) Experience : )
Fishies

The original kitchen had a small laundry and half bath attached, and a door to the back yard. The kitchen was bumped out 3 feet towards the back of the house and a hallway added from the garage to the downstairs office. The hallway now separates the kitchen from the laundry and a tiny full bathroom, with a small niche for table linens and display. The door to the back yard is now through the laundry room. The new kitchen is approx 14x14.

From start to finish the process took 7 months, with 2 months of planning and permit back-and-forth, and 5 months of demolition/construction. We remodeled the existing full bath, added a master bedroom & bath, added an office, took the kitchen down to studs and enlarged it, put in all new electrical, plumbing and HVAC, new roof and gutters, etc, etc. For the kitchen, we built all the cabinet boxes and my contractor installed them. I purchased all appliances and fixtures.

Design considerations: we wanted a bright contemporary look that was inviting and uncluttered. We wanted mostly light surfaces because we were concerned the room might be dark. The kitchen faces north and the one window has an overhang from the master above. We also needed to be budget-aware which we mostly followed with the exception of one big splurge (details below). We loved the look of grain-matched walnut and after a visit to SemiHandMade in Southern California, we decided to go with their custom drawer fronts. I'm the cook and wanted a good expanse of work surfaces. My husband is the clean up guy so he researched and chose the sink and dishwasher.

The island is 60" x 30". In order to have an overhang for seating, we needed to have drawers that were 18" deep. Ikea doesn't sell 18" deep drawers, so we ordered these from Sherr's in the custom size we needed. The walnut end and back side of the island were made by a finish carpenter we hired who wrapped it with a mix of walnut veneer and solid walnut to our specification.

Things we love:
- the marble island (aka The Big Splurge)
- the grain-matched walnut doors. We were glad we got the end panels for the upper cabinets as well.
- lots of drawer space
- the trash pullout
- the tall pantry cabinet
- the butcher block counter
- dimmable LED lights
- Sherr's drawer boxes
- Ikea's 20% off sale and exchange policy

Things that aren't done yet:
- glass shelves for niche
- need to find lower bar stools
- some tweaking of door alignment and repair of edge banding

Gardenweb ideas used:
- lots of drawers
- offset drain in the sink to allow for a trash pullout underneath
- air switch for garbage disposal
- induction stove
- Ikea boxes and hardware
- under cabinet LED lights and outlets
- over-the-counter microwave
- recessed fridge
- did I mention lots of drawers?

Things we had to compromise on:
- no room for a double oven and separate cook top
- clearance behind the island is slightly less than ideal
- more filler by the upper cabinets next to the sink than we'd prefer, needed for symmetry

Things that didn't work out the way we thought
- the window was supposed to come down to the counter
- the finished sink wall was 2" narrower than planned, which meant we had to cut down the drawer fronts of a 24" cabinet to 18" and leave a little gap at the end of the corner cabinet (not visible)
- the corner cabinet needed a lot more door clearance than we thought, so the stove wall had to be adjusted
- the beautiful Mockett finger pulls needed to be recessed into the tops of some of the drawers just a little so that they would close properly. My contractor used a chisel and hacked the edge band badly on some of them. My husband and I are working on repairing all of them as we don't want the contractor to touch them at this point.
- the Abstrakt doors and deco strips show every nail and ding, and so were difficult to use at the top of the cabinets where they needed to be mitred.

Cabinets
Perimeter cabinets: Ikea
Door fronts on Ikea cabinets - white are Ikea Abstrakt, grain-matched walnut are from SemiHandMade

http://semihandmadedoors.com/

Counters
Perimeter: Caesarstone in Arctic White. Purchased during the Ikea sale, fabricated by United Marble and Granite (Ikea's fabricator)
Island - Calacatta Oro, honed. Purchased at Da Vinci Marble in San Carlos, CA, fabricated by Marblus Granite in San Jose

Walnut butcherblock counter from Hardwood Lumber Company

Appliances
Electrolux 30" Slide-In Induction Range Model EW30IS65JS (Sears Outlet)
Sharp 1.5 cu. ft. Over-the-Counter Microwave (Home Depot)
Waste King 1HP Eco-Green Garbage Disposer with air switch (Costco)
Hansgrohe Metro HighArc Kitchen Faucet with 2-Function Pull-Out Sprayhead (Costco)
Ancona Tornado II 30" Range Hood (Costco)
Bosch-SHX68R55UC 800 Series 24 In. Stainless Steel Bar Handle Dishwasher
Elkay Gourmet Elumina Stainless Steel 30-1/2" x 18-1/4" Single Basin Kitchen Sink 10" Depth
Kenmore Elite fridge (existing)

Mockett Door pulls 3" Tab Drawer Pull - Satin Chrome (26D)

Omnia Pulls for niche cabinet

Floor - strand-woven bamboo from Teragren in Chestnut

Lights - LED undercabinet and can lights.
Pendants - Bruck Rainbow I (dichroic)

Wall color - BM Decorator's White

Kitchen before with dining room beyond

From Kitchen

Kitchen during with island mock-up. The original subfloor is on the diagonal. New exterior door/laundry room in background.

From Kitchen

6 inch recess for fridge

From Kitchen

Looking from hallway; entrance to dining room was enlarged

From Kitchen

From the dining room, niche and hallway at right rear

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

Fridge wall

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From dishwasher to plate drawer

From Kitchen

Trash pullout

From Kitchen

Pullout left of stove

From Kitchen

Tall cabinet

From Kitchen

Mockett pulls and damage to edge banding (since repaired)

From Kitchen

Niche cabinet before mirror was installed

From Kitchen

Marble close-up

From Kitchen

Here is a link that might be useful: Post with in-progress pictures

Details:

Custom QS Oak cabinets in custom stain
Hirsch Glass tile backsplash
Samsung Fridge
Sharp MW Drawer
Danby Beverage Fridge
Same 5 y.o. Kenmore DW and range we had in old kitchen
XO Ventilation hood
Elkay faucets (both kitchen sinks and laundry sink)
Julian 30" stainless apron front sink
Hickory Hardware pulls

So, here we go:

Before, just for perspective. This looks into the direction of the new kitchen. Our dining table is now in this location

We added on a new family room. Used the former family room and dining area space for a new laundry/mud room and new kitchen, then moved the dining area to the old kitchen. Here's a general plan:

Here's a tour working counter clockwise starting with the fridge wall:

Sink wall - no window, and we don't miss it at all.

Range wall - see new family room to left

Prep sink/bar/peninsula area

Our GC built a custom mantel surround to match the cabs. Matte black tile is from Sonoma, with more Hirsch glass tile to tie into kitchen

Overall view from family room

The new laundry/mud room - sorry this is the only pic I took, and it is in use constantly, so I'm probably never going to take more!

smooth

I was not a frequent poster, but I was a regular lurker and received a tremendous amount of help and inspiration from the folks on GW. ICFGreen, in particular, was a huge inspiration for me in the "style" department. Their kitchen reveal gave me the "a-ha" moment which turned my vision of light cabs/busy granite to dark cabs/simple white quartz. I never looked back and am SO HAPPY with how it all turned out.

Others on GW steered me toward lots of drawers and the Silgranit sinks (love!!) and gave me confidence to bargain shop for appliances. We paid well below MSRP for everything, with the exception of the beverage fridge. It took a lot of leg-work and breath holding (especially buying a rangetop off Ebay from a guy many states awayďż˝), but it all turned out great. I got my dream appliances ďż˝ even the now discontinued open-burner Wolf rangetop ďż˝ and after several months of use I can say that everything works!!

Here are the details:
Floors ďż˝ Site finished white oak, random width planks; Bona Traffic finish in natural

Cabinets ďż˝ local custom, poplar with espresso stain and crystal finish

Hardware ďż˝ solid stainless steel bar pulls, Overstock.com

Countertops ďż˝ Cambria Torquay, 3cm edge, profile Z

Fridge ďż˝ 48" Liebherr biofresh - LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I would highly recommend this fridge.

Ovens, Rangetop ďż˝ Wolf e-series ovens; 48" Wolf Rangetop from Ebay

Hood ďż˝ 54" Vent-A-Hood with 900 CFM blower off Craigslist

heated make-up air unit in basement, don't remember much about details but it's there and seems to work :)

Beverage Fridge ďż˝ Electrolux

Microwave Drawer ďż˝ Dacor

Warming Drawer ďż˝ Siemens

Dishwasher ďż˝ Asko
Sinks ďż˝ Blanco Silgranit in Truffle, main sink is Precis Super Single, prep sink is Precis Large

Faucets ďż˝ Delta Trinsic

Backsplash tile ďż˝ Solistone Mardi Gras in Metairie

Stools ďż˝ Overstock.com

Paint ďż˝ Sherwin Williams Gray Clouds

BEFORE:

we knocked out the fridge wall shown here. was load-bearing. they installed a steel beam in the ceiling so no support pole in the middle of my kitchen.

steel beam:

AFTER:

please excuse the mess and child locks..

my favorite part - floor to ceiling bookshelves...cabinet guy thought I was nuts, but I filled it :)

2nd favorite part (the Rangetop, not the "complimentary" cheeseboard/trivet from the nice folks at Cambria):

here's where we hid the microwave drawer (and a little dose of cute..):

Torquay close-up (and kitchen action shot, early stages of Lefse making):

beverage station - love roll-out for coffee/toaster:

better view of other side of island (taken much earlier):

thanks for looking!!

I have been mostly thrilled with our cabinet makers. They seemed to catch our overall vision for our kitchen and were excited to try something a little out of the box for this area.

When we started working with them (months ago) we met with the owner who has since turned over most of the "smaller jobs" to his second-in-command. So, Dude (the owner) & I really hit it off. He caught the vision of the look I wanted. He customized the edging on the door panels for us. He special ordered the gray glaze. He got the color of the cabinets just right. He included soft close drawers and doors. All of these things, I love.

But when our kitchen got handed over to Guy and we reviewed the drawer style he talked me into going with a flat slab drawer front on all the drawers instead of just the top drawers. He told us, "trust me, I've been building these for a long time", and said it would look odd to have just one drawer slab front and the rest of the drawers with recessed panels, especially in the 4-drawer stacks.

When I went up this afternoon, I realized that I just don't like all the flat drawer fronts. I think they are boring and don't match the rest of the kitchen.

I don't really remember whose idea it was to use recessed panels underneath the cooktop. I think I asked if we could do it to "set off" the cooktop area. I like the way that drawer stack looks. One slab front and two recessed fronts.

So, they goofed and built the island legs in white. Guy called me this morning and asked me to really look at it, to squint and imagine it with the countertop installed and the rest of the room finished and would I maybe consider leaving them as is. He said his installer loved the idea and thought I could start a new trend.

Ummmm, No Thanks...

BUT, maybe they can take those legs apart and reuse one of the sides for the front of our narrow pull-out cabinets that flank the cooktop. Probably not, they are probably too tall, even if the width worked.

I don't know what I'm asking here. Maybe I want to know if any of you actually like the way it looks. I know you'll give me your honest opinion.

DH & I have agreed to sleep on it. Changing the drawer fronts won't slow down the countertop installation or even the closing date on our house (which has already been pushed back a month), but it will cost money which was going to be spent elsewhere and I know Guy is going to be less than thrilled when I tell him (I know this based on his reticence to remake two legs for the island).

We had a slab leak in February. The entire downstairs had wood floors and water had been leaking into them for weeks/months? we don't know. But long enough that the walls and cabinets were wet as well. So they gutted and we got to work.
Our old kitchen was a dark place for me. We have north facing window and the light was always dim. We also had light wood cabinets and dark greenish black granite (Uba Tuba?) on the counters, island and backsplash!!!! ugh! what a light sucker that was!

I had always known that if we changed the kitchen it would be to white. I know people say timeless doesn't exist in kitchens... but every decade I can think of has had white as an option. So I never thought of this a trendy thing. -til i got here, lol.
Anyway, White cabs and grey counters were the only things I had in mind for sure. The rest fell into place the more I looked around and if you see a part of your kitchen in here... THANK YOU!!!! I stole SO many details from GWer's.

Details...
Apparently we have a small kitchen,lol... didn't think so til i got here either, it's 13'x12'

Counters.... Qortstone perimeters in Cemento
Island & Bar is Statuary Marble
Butcher Block on Island.... oiled Dark Walnut End-Grain 18"x38"
Cabinets .... shaker, inset, framed
Paint on Cabs ...BM Cloud White
Paint on Walls ... BM Smokey Taupe
Hardware is mostly RH & Rejuvenation for the Latches (way worth that investment!) All Polished Nickel
Island now measures 38"x 84"
walkways are 38" on sink side; 42" on oven side; and 36" on fridge side... all plenty wide, i was worried about pushing these measurements.
Bluestar RNB 36"
Proline 36" Hood
Sharp MW Drawer
Kenmore Elite French door Fridge
Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawer Washer
Sink.. Krauss 33" double Bowl Stainless
Main Faucet is Hansgrohe Pull Down PN

Befores...

and after...

Fridge wall, Appliance garage on right and coffee station on left

Island with BB and Rubbish/Recycling Bins/drawers - love these!

Bluestar tee hee

I'll post some more pics of fun details. Things i liked seeing from other's kitchens and ended up adding to mine.

At one point, I had chosen everything and had a huge set back of worry that the whole thing would be boring instead of calm and bright and peaceful. Thank you all for your encouragement and opinions on various choices and ideas. This is such great forum with wonderful people.
I love how my kitchen turned out!

xo

House is a cozy colonial situated in central NY built in the 1980s that came with a magnificent piece of property. The inside, however, needed (and still needs) much update. We ripped out all the (irregular) flooring on the first floor and had them replaced. Structural changes took place in the mudroom/garage-entry area as well as the wall between kitchen and dining room (widened).

Prior to renovations, I had ZERO experience with reno of any sort, let alone in design. I stumbled upon GW and my world changed! You have all been fantastic and an invaluable source of information and support. I direct all my renovating friends here now! Your finished kitchens have all been sources of inspiration for me and I have most definitely borrowed some of your ideas (built-in paper towel holder, motion detector light switch in pantry, stone window sill...).

Lastly, this is my dream kitchen in the home we hope to raise our family in. White kitchens are fairly uncommon around these parts and so far, that is one main feature people are taken by when they first walk into our kitchen. I hope you all enjoy the photos!

Details
Cabinets: Custom-made by Concepts in Wood (Syracuse, NY), Shaker-style doors, painted BM Chantilly Lace
Counters: Super white quartzite and titanium soapstone
Main Sink: Shaws Original Sink by Rohl - 30"
Main Faucet: Single Side Lever Country Kitchen Faucet with extended spout and sidespray by Rohl
Bar sink: inexpensive stainless sink from Ebay
Bar Faucet: EcoPure filter faucet (runs water from an RO system)
Range: 36" Bluestar with griddle
Hood: Vent-a-hood
Dishwasher: Kitchenaid
Refrigerator: old Kitchenaid that came with house (plan to replace in a year or 2)
Island pendants: Restored vintage hologen industrial pendants with original Heisey glass
Hardware: Highland Ridge by Amerock in 4" and 6"
Backsplash: Bellevue 3x6 ceramic tiles in Glacier by Best Tile

Before:

Before (view into dining room):

Before (view into garage entry):

Before (pantry with crazy-deep shelving):

Before (view into family room):

After:

Coffee/Wine bar:

Titanium Soapstone:

View from Mudroom:

Pantry:

Microwave will sit on counter atop drawers:

Mudroom (closet on opposite wall):

I have to include this photo of our backsplash in the midst of being grouted, taken while my GC was at lunch. Amazing what a difference grout makes!

Lastly, a fun shot of my girls having fun with bubble wrap and packing paper one evening when I was trying to move all my junk back in:

It's big, but is doing exactly what we want it to do: multiple work zones. I'm a bit oc (??) when I work. I love having most of my utensils and things off of my work area, just grabbing the tools as I need them. The elevated bar not only provides a buffer between the kitchen and LR/DR, but a way to keep things handy but off of my work surface.

Not a size or style for everyone, but we are loving it.

As for the granite, I just don't know if that's the best choice for you. I'm still concerned about the noise, as well as the price. And are you sure you LOVE the granite?

I posted this before to show you the island...but I kept this picture because of the countertop change around the sink. Would something like this work for you? Maybe soapstone (my first choice for you) or granite around the sink and something else in the other areas? Wood is always nice...and you could always use stone again, by the range. Just an idea :)

From French Country Kitchen

--pip aka pipdog

Here is a link that might be useful: Original post with all the details

During....

After....

Thank you for ALL your inspiring posts and pictures! I have been lurking around here for months trying to decide on what we will use and how we will set things up! I haven't posted a ton but when I did you all helped me SO much! Thanks again!

*Countertops: Rectified porcelain from blackandwhitetile.com
*Floors: Strand Bamboo from Cali Bamboo
*Appliances: Electrolux from Best Buy Floor Model Clearance Warehouse which we purchased for a little under $350 a piece!!!!
*Cabinets: Ikea
*Silver Barstools: Lowes
* Pottery Barn Porter Pendants

Everything is done except a small walnut top (finished on Wed.) and painting of trim. BUT I COULDN'T WAIT!

STATS:

Countertops: Island is Caesarstone Blizzard and Perimeter is Caesarstone Pebble
Cabinets: Precision Cabinets (Brentwood, CA)
Backsplash and above cabinets: Heath Ceramics, Antique White 2x4 in herringbone pattern
Stove: Thermador PRO-HARMONY Gas Range 48"
Refrigerator: Kenmore Elite
Sink: Blanco Cerrano 30"
Faucet: Brizo Baliza
Knobs: Belwith (?) oval
Handles: Alno Charlie Pull
Pendants: Jamie Young St. Charles Pendants Mercury Glass
Windows/Transom/French Doors: Marvin
Floors: New growth fir/sanding and staining of old growth fir floors in fam room

BEFORE:




THE OLD FAMILY ROOM:

THE NEW KITCHEN AND FAMILY ROOM:

We tore down a wall separating fam rm and kitchen; this is the new space:

And this is where we have our computer (not sure what to do with all those cords):

TV will go here tomorrow!:

Thank you for letting me share! I am sooooo happy with everything. My favorite part is all the sunlight that comes in through the french doors and windows on that one wall. I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have!

I know it sounds trite, but I REALLY want to thank all of you for your help. Buehl was particularly helpful in tweaking the design. Rhome410, steph2000, breezygirl, and many others were there for me during my backsplash angst. I had already chosen my windows before I saw PPS7's kitchen, but seeing hers helped me feel comfortable with the decision. Her kitchen also inspired my island design. I can't name everyone that inspired me, but know that I appreciate your input.

I was going for a calm kitchen with easy-care contertops. My husband was going for "happy." When I told him about the sweeby test, he responded by writing this:

MY KITCHEN MISSION STATEMENT

"I want my kitchen to be tranquil, soothing, calm and happy. It should be cozy and bright, too.

"The perfect backsplash for my kitchen will not add an element of romance or whimsy but it might have a fish tile in it. Even a bear tile would be nice, as long as it's not within striking distance of the fish.

My perfect countertop will be level and divert attention from the mess my kids have made in the living room. When friends see it they will remark, 'Have you lost weight?' and 'You're looking quite dashing today!'

But most of all, my ideal kitchen will make my wife happy. Every time she sees it she'll smile at both the design and with fond memories of the process she used to create it. My ideal kitchen will perfectly match my wife's kitchen mission statement, even if it doesn't quite match mine."

Isn't he cute? I'm not sure if I have fond memories of the process - it's more of a fog. I was trying to make a million decisions about the entire house, so some details fell through the cracks. I don't know who picked out the crown moulding, but it wasn't me. I told the KD I wanted something simple, and sometime later this was installed. At least it's 10 feet off the ground! But I still smile when I see the backsplash, and I feel like the space is happy. Oh, and it works great as a kitchen. I just tested out the lunch-making, breakfast-eating, homework-finishing morning rush for the last week and it came through for me!

On to the details:

Cabinets: Locally-made Amish painted white (it's their standard white)

Countertops: Leathered Kodiak Brown granite

Backsplash: Sunflower mosaic in ming green marble from Saltillo Imports (purchased from Caledonia Tile in Indianapolis) and AKDO 3/4" x 3/4" mosaic in ming green light (it's supposed to be all light, but there seems to be dark in there)

Floors: White oak stained with Minwax Provincial and finished with satin polyurethane

Walls: Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray

Knobs and pulls: Restoration Hardware Lugarno knob in satin nickel and Restoration Hardware Asbury pull in satin nickel

Faucets: Brizo Solna (loved the hidden pullout spray) standard and bar-size

Sinks: Silgranit precis super single bowl and large bowl

Stools: West Elm rustic counter stool (thanks PPS7!)

Pendants: Kichler 2665OZ in olde bronze

Refrigerator: Samsung RF266 in platinum

Dishwashwer: Bosch SHX68R55UC in stainless

Range: GE Cafe Electric

Hood: Zephyr Breeze with baffle filters

Lighting: All-Pro 5" LED recessed lights, LED under-cabinet lights, and LED puck lights.

And here are the pictures (finally!)

I did all IKEA boxes with custom doors from Advantage. We did make a few modifications to the cabs to make them fit my space and layout. But those were super-easy if you have any DIY experience at all. The island and rangehood are high-end custom QCC inset cabs that I got for a steal on Craigslist because some wealthy man's wife was redoing her (perfectly nice) kitchen over again.

I have been very happy with my IKEA cabs, and in fact, when I compare the drawers and doors with the ones on the QCC cabs, there is no comparison. The custom cabs look pretty, but the drawers are loud, not full-extension and very shallow (height-wise). My IKEA drawers are deep, full-extension, soft-closing, and sturdy. Same for the doors on the QCC cabs - they "ping" and shimmy a bit when I open them (probably b/c of the little magnet thing that clicks when they close). The doors with blum hardware on the IKEA cabs open easily, have the soft-close attachment, and I haven't had to make any adjustments to them since we installed them.

For the little money I spent on this kitchen, and for the amount of standard accessories (full-extension, inserts, etc) that you get on the IKEA interiors, I love my IKEA cabs. I have them in the laundry room also - those are with the Stat white Ikea doors, and I love those too.

All that being said, only you can decide if IKEA is worth the 5 hr drive. I built this kitchen slowly over time, with many many trips to IKEA (~ 30 min away) over months and years. But I never had to go back for an extra part or because they gave me the wrong thing. In fact, I still have oodles of extra parts hanging around the basement. If anything, IKEA gives you more, not less.

I also liked IKEA because I got to be in charge of the entire kitchen project: plan it, price it, purchase it, and install it all myself (with DH too of course). But it didn't require KDs or even IKEA staff. That may be overwhelming for some people. I think you have to be pretty detail-oriented (or anal-retentive as my DD likes to call me) to successfully pull off a completely DIY IKEA kitchen. Then again, if my only IKEA were 5 hrs away, I may have had to rethink it.

Here is a link that might be useful: My IKEA Kitchen

Originally we were going to go with standard cupboards and a Pearly Shores Quantam Quartz benchtop. What we ended up with was Tupac, Granite, and soft close drawers and cupboards. So happy we spent the extra. Here's some finished pics.

Cabinets: Columbia Cabinets French White Permitter with Slate Island
Countertops: Ceasarstone Concrete Permitter and Nougat Island
Backsplash: Polished Venatino Marble Random Strips with Platinum Grout
Hood Fan: Kitchenaid with 660cfm blower
Double Ovens: Kitchenaid Convention
Dishwasher: Kitchenaid
36" Cooktop: Kitchenaid
Fridge: 36" All refrigerator Subzero
Freezer: Standup Fridrigaire Pro Series
Sink: 36" Kohler Smart Divide Vault Sink
Tap: Delta Addison
Floors: 8" Hickory Wide Plank
Pendants: DVI Lighting Essex Collection

Pantry (We just started moving in)

Freezer in pantry opposite of shelves

I'm going to post a few pictures sequentially because this seems to be the easiest way.

Perimeter counters are soapstone.
Island counter is white quartzite.
Island paint is SW porpoise.
Cabinet paint is BM revere pewter.
Range is Bluestar (love it!)
Kitchenaid dishwasher and fridge.

So nice to have a kitchen again!

Legrand Wiremold AL2000 series (clear anodized aluminum finish).

What makes this plugmold most complicated?:

1. It is recessed above a quartz full heigh backsplash. That is, instead of being mounted in front of the backsplash, it's mounted to the the wall behind, creating a recessed look and reducing the projection into the workspace. This required planning at the counter templating to reduce the full height BS enough to allow for the raceway to be mounted an an angle. We guessed a little and gave a little more height than probably necessary, but it was probably helpful to have during the tight installation. We did mount it about 1/4" outward from the edge of the backsplash to cover the rough BS material edge and hide some variation in BS height. I will probably end up caulking the bottom edge of the raceway between the BS to close the small gap visible from the underside

2. It's angled downward toward the countertop. This is a custom angled solution using plywood wedges and shims behind. This creates a more ergonomic plug insertional/removal.

3. Four pieces of raceway are lined up on three separate walls, all connected by two compound miters. One cut is inward at 45-degrees and one is outward at the same angle.

4. GFCI is located inside one of the lower cabinets. This required a lot of advance planning to have the plugmold wiring enter the lower cabinet and then re-emerge right at the point below the upper cabinets.

5. Integrated the under counter LED lighting wiring into the same raceway (for a small portion). This made for less visible wires for the UCL.

The miters were VERY difficult, and working with 12-gauge wire inside the raceway was very frustrating. The mitered edges are not bonded with anything, they are just lined up as close as possible. It's not perfect but I think it looks better than terminating the raceway before each corner.

We used raceway blanks above the sink since there is no useful reason to have plugs there.

There are no holes in the solid quartz backsplash now, which was the goal, and it puts outlets in some useful locations. The photos are taken from an angle below typical standing height so people in the room would generally not even see the plugmold or UCL's, but if you are seated at the island these are visible.

Parts were orded online from a site called Mr. Supply (they did great!).

Here is a list of the parts I used, with part numbers:

Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold, Plugmold Multi Outlet Strip, AL20GB506
Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold - AL2000 Series, Blank End Fitting, AL2010B
Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold - AL2000 Series, Coupling, AL2001
Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold - AL2000 Series, Cover Clip (Spring Steel), AL2006
Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold - AL2000 Series, Raceway Base, AL2000B-5
Wiremold, Aluminum Plugmold - AL2000 Series, Raceway Cover, AL2000C-5.

Cuts were made with a saw blade meant for aluminum.

Labor was extensive. I would guess 2 people for 6+ hours, not including the electrical rough-in.

I hope you find this helpful for your plugmold adventures!

Ok - here are all the details...
Cabinets - custom builder. Shaker style. Full overlay. Painted cabinets - Colored Lacquer used is same color as SW Impressive Ivory.
Wood cabinets - natural cherry.
Hardware - Amerock Highland Ridge in Dark Oil Rubbed Bronze. 128mm and a few 3" pulls on small drawers.
Countertops - Anasazi Soapstone from The Stone Studio in Batesville, IN
Backsplash Tile - Debris Tile from Fireclay Tile. 2x6 subways in Kelp Green with swirl accents.
Fireplace Tile - Modern Mythology Phoenix Mixed Stone Mosaic
Paint - Walls are SW Krypton. Trim is SW Impressive Ivory at 50% intensity
Floor - Historic Blend Hickory floor from Tennessee Wood Flooring with hand distressing and square nail holes. 3, 4 & 5" planks, mixed.
Range - Bertazzoni Dual Fuel 48" range in black
Hood - Vent a Hood
Dishwasher - Bosch 800 Plus
Microwave - Sharp 24" Drawer
Sink - Blanco Silgranit Super single in Anthracite
Faucet - Grohe Concetto in Chrome
Soap Dispenser - Elkay Deluxe in Chrome
UCL - Neutral White LED strips from Environmental Lights
Pendants - Kichler Sayre 12" in ORB
Chandelier - Murry Feiss Sullivan Collection in ORB

The old kitchen was not in a terrible state, it was just not functional for us. The double ovens wouldn't close and we'd been reduced to duct taping them closed. The cooktop didn't cook anything evenly and the tile was coming up. There was also a ton of wasted space, which just irritated me when I couldn't find a place to store anything.

I knew I wanted a traditional range because I have short arms and always worried about burning myself when getting things out of the wall ovens, so I knew that a layout change was in order. We also had a very dark space with almost no natural light. We opened up the room to the dining room and put in light colored cabinets with lots of great lighting. The room definitely doesn't feel dark anymore. YAY!

Here's what we were working with before:

And here's what we have now...

Love the dog food storage. It makes feeding time a whole lot easier.

And my spice/knife drawer - thanks to Breezy for the idea!

It seems like just about every decision in our space has been touched in some way by you guys. Thanks for helping us create our dream kitchen!

I tried a few different lighting scales, so hopefully it looks good.

If the images don't load for you properly the first time you viewed this page..come back in an hour or two and everything should be rendered properly.

Here you go...

I believe if you click on the images it might take you to a full scale but I'm not sure, I think these are probably plenty big for most of y'all.

Thanks for asking. The movers arrived on Monday with our stuff. Very exciting to be reunited with my things. What a thrill to have more than one pot to cook in! Got the kitchen unpacked as they were moving our stuff in. So, it was great to get one room "done". Of course, there is some tweaking to do regarding items and their locations.

Builder still has a punch list to complete. But we are so happy to be out of temporary housing. Here are some pictures.....I'll post more later.

The Before:

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And After - New Kitchen, Window Moldings & Blinds:

Overview

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Close Ups

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Night Lights

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Storage

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Woodwork

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On Being TKO & GW Grateful:
A witty post awhile back spoke of the formulaic 'reveals', before & after shots prefaced by thank you's, details, and caveats, as if our kitchens are winning an academy award or entering the show ring for judging. I forget the OP's main message now, but I remember resonating with the observation while smiling that such posts are my favorites. Everyday I jump on GW to scan for any post that includes the words "final" & "pics". And I love sharing my oohs and aahs!

Posting mine now, I get it on the poster's end too - this remodel needs an end point, even though it's never really done. It hijacked my brain, time, $; sent me into chaos and distraction, and I need to get my life back. I drove by a home improvement store last week sad that I had no reason to go hunting for a big ticket item...how crazy is that!?

But these posts are also a way to thank GWers. As I became TKO, this forum provided a solace with other like-minded obsessed people. I walk into my friends' kitchens now, and all I want to do is examine and talk about the most obscure kitchen construction minutia. They are right there with me if they lived through their remodel, otherwise merely polite until I cue to signs that it's time to contain my curiosity.

I also discovered a gold mine of technical help. I'm shocked at how many DIYers, KD & related professionals contribute to this site consisting of lots of people like me who are clueless. Design & remodeling are NOT my worlds! Thank you to all who either directly responded to my pleas for help, or posts you've made to others that answered my questions as well.

Another surprise @ GW is what I call the 'Cohort Phenomenon'. Early on, it was noticeable who among the current contributors were at the same spot, as if we are in little cohorts on the same track. A thread contains responses from those currently working on the same, infused with ideas from the cohort that just completed that task. I'll never forget the surprise & sudden camaraderie with complete strangers as we shared about our impending demolitions. It's fun reading threads of others anticipating demolition, cab install, & template day...all those major milestones that bring back (sometimes traumatic!) memories.

So here it is. I'll spare the details of what led to all the zillion little choices along the way. The biggest challenge was picking a style and going for it because I've yet to see a kitchen that I don't like...I don't have a favorite color or food or...I like them all! Quartz, granite, marble, wood, soapstone... What's not to love about each?!. In fact, my overt choice to break the 'law of 3s' and choose a different color for cabs & counters (hence 4), pays homage to my sadness over having to pick '1 thing'.

We've made lots of changes over the years, making a house lacking in charm a bit more like a home. The kitchen remodel, while not ideal in many ways, has sealed the deal...for the first time I truly "want" to be in this space.

I've named products along with the pics. How about a different kind of list:

What would I change:
Besides the location of the house and few more structural charm elements? :-): A bunch of nit-picky to unrealistic things, but practically, the bump out at the sink. I wanted variation so bad, and the bump out spoke of changing up the line. Little did I realize that it would force my sink to sit back a bit more, harder on the back if I'm not careful when washing dishes. Live & learn.

Worst design feature:
Speaking of the original architect, who puts a kitchen so close to a flight of stairs? We thought of totally rearranging everything...every possible variation, including moving the steps. We also knew we could shorten the island. None of those options worked for a bunch of those zillion reasons. We are installing a 1/2 pocket door to pull shut when lots of people might be milling about. Previous owners used a baby gate.

Favorite element:
I'm thoroughly enjoying it all - single basin sink, the bi-level island, multiple work zones, the quartz, the different colors, to induction cooking facing open space. And I did become totally possessed by all things metal tile backsplash - which was the most fun assembling. But as I said in another thread, the 3-part trash sorter. It has helped with our #1 recycling issue - the fact that our kitchen had devolved into a trash zone. Not any more!

Thank you GW anonymous posters! It has been so fun mutually commiserating with my cohort, being watched over by those who came before us, celebrating as each of us graduate, and cheering on the incoming class. And to the professionals who are always there ready to chime in - you've seen this cycle over and over, yet you patiently revisit the same topics with us newbies again and again...thank you!

Here's to graduating, never really being 'done' (you'll see me post when we begin reevaluating our current paint colors) and continuing to search for all posts with pictures!

(and yes, we broke ground on 2/15)

Before they got there, the kitchen:

The truck pulled in....

staging:

remember the dish towel holder on a pull out thingy? Here it is..

Sometimes that gray looks a little blue...but I don't even care because I love it!!

Thanks for all the well wishes. I will post more photos on Monday.

Bee

We ended up completing the house project ourselves so finalizing the kitchen and getting settled has taken some time. Hosting Thanksgiving for 14 was a major catalyst in the effort to at least get our main floor permanently decorated. Now the only thing missing is the barstools!

from the great room


Side by Side Refrigerator- Love it. I hated the previous french door refrigerator we had. So happy to go to the side by side.

Angled Corner cabinet- I know these aren't popular, but the storage is fabulous for all of our stemware.

Cabinet on the back of the island- its amazing how much fits under there!

Microwave cabinet- Since we don't use the microwave that often, I'm glad we hid it. With our open floor plan, I didn't want it visible from the great room and dining room except when in use.

5 Piece Drawer Heads- these were an upgrade, but I love the way they look.
Drawers, Drawers, Drawers- Love them! I had a lot of drawers in our old house and went with all drawers this time except for the sink base and the corner susan.

Pantry- Custom designed the shelf layout.


Lower Corner Cabinet-

Lights-

Dining Room Table- just off the kitchen. Thanks for your help on selecting the table. It was delivered just a few days before Thanksgiving. It has one more leaf that we take out for everyday use.

Some details:
Kitchenaid Appliances-
Refrigerator: KSC525MVMK
Wine Cooler: KURG24RWBS
Dishwasher:KUDE40FXSS panel ready
Range: KDRS467VSS
Lights: International Lighting 23341057 London Mist Four Light Seedy Glass Bell Pendant
Backsplash- Horus Cristalli Crackle Subway in Bianco
Knobs and Pulls: Alno Creative Inc knobs:ALN56206 1 1/4" / pulls 3 1/2" cup pulls solid brass in barcelona finish ALN56510
Faucet- Moen Brantford in Stainless
Disposal- Insinkerator Evolution Series
Sink- Blanco Silgranit in Biscuit with Offset drain Diamond Single Basin #440196
Granite- White Alaska/Delicatus
Cabinets- Brookhaven in Antique White for Perimeter and Matte Brown with black glaze for the island. Door style is edgemount recessed
Floors- 5" wide white oak quartersawn vertical grain with glitza (no stain)

Note that the second picture is our "bake zone" - which is in close proximity to fridge and oven.

Ignore the fingerprints and camera artifacts (fish eye look)

It's been a long year, but we moved in a few weeks ago and we're so thrilled!
Again, I'm so thankful to all the gracious forum members here. I get so much great information and inspiration here and your encouragement with Round 2 has been so helpful!

This is a whole house remodel of a 1940's Cape that we purchased last Spring after selling our house. The kitchen is an addition. We still need to paint the window trim and wall above sink, but who knows when....Also, the black front and back door will have better handle hardware soon, just so you know...

I still seem to have giant pics from photobucket, apologies.

Information
Cabs~ Shaker, inset, BM White Dove, custom (same cabinetmaker)
Counters~ Danby Marble on perimeter and walnut on island
Backsplash~Walker Zanger Gramercy Park in Heirloom White
Sink~Shaw's 30 inch
Faucet~Perrin and Rowe, polished nickel
Pendants~ Circa Lighting Small Yoke, polished nickel
Hardware~All PN. Schaub (thanks kateskouros) for appliances, RH Gilmore pulls, RH Glass knobs, Rejuvenation utility latches, Cliffside Brass icebox latches
Stools~Cottage Maine
Fridge~Liebherr
Range~Viking (mistake, me thinks)
Pot filler~Rohl Swing Arm
DW~ Miele (I think Inspira?)
Fridge Drawers~Kitchen Aid (Love, love,love)
Microwave Drawer~Sharp 24 inch

Thanks for looking !!

Love the Liebherr fridge, thanks Marthavila.

Banquette. Will eventually have cushions, etc.

View from kitchen to front door

I simply cut and paste the "HTML for Websites" code. If you need more help embedding images in threads, see the link below to read the Posting Pictures portion of the New To Kitchens? Posting Pics? Read Me! thread. (I had to reduce the size of your first image using html code. Other image reduction info in the thread linked below.)

I have no design feedback to offer (sorry, not my strong suit) but I had to tell you that I'm in LOVE with your range wall! And I'm totally green with envy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Posting Pictures info

Details:

Cabinets : Omega (mix between dynasty and custom) (island stain - truffle)
Range : 48 Wolf AG
Countertops: Kashmire White Granite
Fridge: 48 Subzero
Dishwasher : Kitchen Aid
Micro: 27' Monogram advantium
Floor: Porcelain tile (of hand I don't remember the name)
Hood: Rangcraft

Overall, I love this kitchen. It's proving very family friendly and I haven't had any issues with the primed shiplap as a backsplash. The marble island top DOES etch, but we're closing our eyes and hoping to make it to patinaland sooner than later. With 18 years of school fundraisers ahead of me, I'm certain we'll get there. But there's NOTHING like making pastries on it and I'm going to try my hand at fudge and candies soon!

Our FAVORITE spot, where we spend 70% of our time, is firmly planted on the BOOs block. Chop chop chop. Walnut end-grain... can't say enough. A quick sudsy soapy wipe after each prep and a once a month oiling and it's beautiful.

So here are the pics of our very lived in by a young family of five new kitchen!

Some of you might recall me, I posted my almost finished kitchen about a year ago. We recently had some new photos taken when our architect hired a pro for the day for a shoot. I figured I'd pay everyone a visit and share the new photos since my old ones were incomplete. The old thread is to old to be revived, so I'll try to repost the old original post below my new one for context as well. Hope you enjoy!

As I posted in my original thread, thank you to everyone who has posted here - your amazing example kitchens as well as your willingness to answer any questions was THE source for our ideas.

Money Shot:

Kitchen Island:

Sink View:

Rangetop:

Fridge / Pantry:

Fridge / Pantry Revealed:

Bar Area:

Pantry / Freezer:

Layout:

Kitchen Design Summary:

• Cabinets: Painted Maple built by local cabinet maker - local is a suburb southwest of Boston. Inset doors, self closing drawers. The finish is a sprayed on pre-cat lacquer that is tinted to match the BM Ivory White color.


• Cabinet Options: Includes pull out trash drawer wtih two cans to the right of sink. "Magic Corner" pullout in corner of L perimeter cabinets. Wicker baskets underneath microwave for fruit / vegetable storage. Vertical dividers in cabinet above oven. Spice drawer insert in top left island drawer. Knife drawer insert in top drawer to the left of rangetop. Dish drawer inserts (pegboard with adjustable plate holding pegs) in island drawers. Utensil and gadget dividers in misc drawers. Specialized rack on dry good cabinet that allows for storage on dor but puts weight in cabinet carcass.
  


• Colors: Walls are Ben Moore Pittsfield Buff (HC-24) and the trim and cabinets are Ben Moore Ivory White (925).


• Countertops: 3cm Calacatta Ruggine on perimeter, 5cm Utile Mahogany (edge grain butcher block) for island, 3cm Minas soapstone for pantry. Slab backsplash on perimeter is 2cm Calacatta Ruggine and slab backsplash for pantry is 2cm Minas soapstone.


• Hardware: Mix of Restoration Hardware including Gillmore cup pulls (4in), Gillmore Knobs, Traditional Clear Glass Knobs and Bistro Pulls (8in and 6in). All hardware is polished nickel.


• Lighting: Pendants are RH Clemson pendants in 14" size. General recessed lights are Cree CR6 LED lights. Oversink recessed lights are Cree LR4 LED lights. Undercabinet lights are xenon dimable light bars. In cabinet lights are xenon puck lights. all lights are dimmable.


• Floor: Rift sawn white oak stained to match existing floor (seen in family room pictures.) Floor has radient heating underneath, hence the need for rift sawn.


• Bar Stools: Pier One Mason Bar Stool in chocolate.


• Rangetop: Wolf 48" gas open burner with grill and griddle. Model #RT484CG


• Ventilation: Wolf 48" Pro Range insert in custom wood enclosure. Model #462212. Fan is 1200 cfm remote blower located on far side of garage (~20 ft connected by 10" duct.) Model #801642.


• Ovens: Wolf E series double oven - convection on top, regular on bottom. Model #DO302FSTH


• Dishwasher: Miele Optima II mounted to the right of the sink. Model #G2472SCVi


• Fridge: Subzero 27" Integrated Fridge only - located on sink wall next to paired wall cabinet for dry good storage behind island. Model #700TRLH.


• Pantry Fridge: Subzero 24" Undercounter Integrated Fridge located in pantry area on wall with freezer. Model #UC24R-LH.


• Freezer: Subzero 27" Integrated Freezer only - located in pantry area. Model #700TFIRH.
  
• Wine Cooler: Subzero Integrated full length wine fridge located in pantry area. Model #427GLH.


• Microwave: Sharp R530 countertop microwave installed in custom enclosure within island. Cubbie for microwave is ~26" x 21" high.


• Sink/Disposal: Franke Bowl and Half - model #PRX-120. Insinkerator Evolution Excell 1hp disposal. Bar sink is Franke KBX-110-13.


• Faucets: Main sink faucet is Rohl U.4702 in polished nickel. Bar sink faucet is Rohl U.4759 in polished nickel. Filtered water faucet is Rohl A1365 in polished nickel.


• Misc Appliances: Air Switch is Rohl polished nickel button with Insinkerator switch. Water filter is Watts Premiere UF3 from Costco.


• Backsplash: once installed the backsplash will be Ann Sacks Glace tiles in Ice. The tiles will be 1x6 sticks in a running bond pattern.


• Ceiling Speakers: 10" loudspeakers from Monoprice linked into Sonos wireless home music system (this system is amazing!)

Now for the details (if I can remember them all!)

The cabinets are custom cabinets from a shop here in Atlanta called The Town Carpenter.
The cabinets are painted Sherwin Williams "Creamy White" with all of the black removed. This became known as "custom creamy" at the cabinet shop and they sold several more jobs of this color while my cabinets were being made.
The walls are painted Benjamin Moore's "You Are My Sunshine."
The floors are white oak from the trees we cut down while clearing the lot to build with multiple coats of tung oil - no stain.
The library ladder was made from the leftover floor boards with the same tung oil treatment.
The perimeter counters are honed Crystal Pearl Quartzite.
The island countertop is honed Virginia Mist.
The range is a 48" dual fuel Five Star (one gas oven one convection).
The hood is a Ventahood with a custom cover.
I have two dishwashers. One is a top of the line Kitchen Aid and one is a Miele.
The clean up sink is an Ikea Domsjo single bowl undermounted.
The prep sink is a Kohler stages 36" mounted wrong ways about.
The refrigerator is a SubZero and the freezer is a Thermador Freedom Column.
The warming drawer is a Miele.
The microwave is my old countertop model given a spot under the island. I'm not a fan of built in microwaves.
Behind the range is a sheet of brushed stainelss steel.
The other backsplashes are beadboard painted to match the cabinets.

I think that about covers it. I'll be happy to answer any questions and thanks again to the gardenweb community.

The old radiant heat cooktop was at least 30 years old, and one of the burners had permanently failed.

We worked with International Kitchens & Bath (Santa Clara, CA), who is a Wood Mode dealer. We went with Brookhaven cabinets, which fit our needs well. The look we had in mind was more contemporary than traditional.

The peninsula is the same height as the main countertops, and used as a breakfast nook, as well as prep area.

Two small windows were replaced with one larger bay window over the sink. The linoleum floor was replaced with oak flooring that extended the existing hardwood floors from the dining area. All lighting is LED based.

The project is just wrapping up, with some trim work left to be done, but it's functionally complete and (so far) working well.

Not done:
light fixtures
tile
knobs on uppers
pantry door handle
drywall repair around outlets
paint
stools
kitchen table, banquette, chairs
DR chandy
DR chairs

Excuse any dirt or mess you see in the backgrounds!

Details

Perimeter: Carrara marble, honed 4cm
Island: Black Walnut
Custom Cabinets: Cornerstone Cabinetry, painted BM Simply White
Hardware: Restoration Hardware Aubrey pulls, 4', 6' and 8'
Rangetop: 36' 6 burner Capital Culinarian
Hood: Rangecraft, Viser model
Fridge: KA built-in
MW: Sharp 24' drawer
Sinks: Blanco silgranit in metallic gray
Faucets: Hansgrohe high-arc

From the Dining Room.

Closeup of beverage serving area. (Wow, that's a lot of booze. We're really not alcoholics!) We entertain a lot so I plan to set up beverages, which end up to mostly non-alocholic, here. I rotated this in photobucket, but it shows here the other direction.

I bought these pendants on sale and plan to do a DIY mercury glass technique on them to see if I can cut the glare but not make them look cheap. If they don't work, then I'm not out much and will continue the hunt.

I'll put a link to my photobucket album with more pics. My flickr account was full so the album will only have pics since we moved back in.

Oh, and I said I'd post some pics of the new cats, too. That's next!

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics

Before:

Now here's the finished OTK:

To be fair about that OTK slur (marcolo, are you out there?), we kind of had an OTK from the beginning, at least in the white cabs, which we always planned to keep. They are old but well-made and perfectly functional. A few add ons from Bed Bath and Beyond - dividers for cookie sheets and cutting boards, a roll-out drawer for pan lids - and we were good to go. Okay, we don't have soft close. But we recycled! The cost to have new cabinets made would have taken up our entire budget - and was too wasteful for the frugal Yankee in me!

We redid the countertops (okay, okay, honed Black Absolute - but I love it!), including the island top (walnut), replaced the appliances, and we are guilty of putting in white subways, though they're hand-made and a little unusual. Honestly, by then I had decision fatigue. We stayed under budget. Almost half went to the appliances.

A million thanks to GardenWeb for helping me choose our appliances:
Subzero 36" bottom freezer - total love
Electrolux 27" double ovens - meh. Made-in-China shiny on the outside, don't love the styling, or how they bake, or the super complicated dashboard (nitpick: why is the Cancel button so close to the Start button?) Best thing I can say is they were affordable
Miele 36" induction cooktop - jump up and down with joy every time I cook (and I've burned plenty!)
Perrin and Rowe faucet - not worth $1,500. My cheap old faucet was better.
Blanco stainless sink 30 x 10 with grate - it's a sink. Very nice. Probably not worth it.
Top Knobs knobs and pulls - is there any other brand?
Miele dishwasher - retained from old kitchen - fabulous dishwasher, but at least ten years old, so I can't evaluate what they're making now

I had to buy all new stainless cookware, but I will post my recommendations on Appliances, not to take up even more space here.

Here is the Appliance Depot:

This was the only cabinet we custom made, and it took three tries to get it right, even though all the cabinet maker had to do was take a picture with his phone of the existing cabinets and copy them. I wish I had taken a picture of the first cabinet he made. Beautiful - but in whose kitchen? After the contractor fired him - second cabinet was even worse, and a month late - we had this one made, which - wouldn't you know it? - isn't as high quality as the first, but is perfectly functional, even if the doors are slightly off plumb (my personal curse).

Here is the island top:

I posted a lot of my unhappiness about this on GW a few months ago. We were told it was going to look like a 'beautiful dining room table.' That was before they forgot to measure for the overhang. When the top came back, it had one portion with six narrow planks, and another with two wide planks. I don't know any dining tables that look like that. The contractor said, "Oh, no one will notice." Do you? I do. But life is too short. I live with it.

This is one of the steel braces I had to ask for - that is, demand - after the overhang was installed without any support (probably because they totally forgot about it).

There were supposed to be three braces, somehow I only ended up with two. I never seemed to get what I asked for with my contractor. I got plenty of 'You really think you need support under there? Really?'

This is the sink run:

I love the honed Black Absolute. I read plenty of posts here about how high maintenance it is, but we have had zero problems with dust or stains. The sink splashes plenty and we wipe the counters down every night after doing the dishes, but we did that with the old Formica counters, too. I think the black and white looks sharp! OTK, anyone?

The worst part about the granite was that the contractor failed to level the base cabinets before installation and the sink run was definitely on a slant. Thank you to everyone on GW who answered my post, complete with a picture of my level resting on the counter, and encouraged me to stand firm. Don't let anyone tell you 'In a month you won't notice,' or 'You're using the wrong kind of level,' or 'It's your floors that are the problem.' Bottom line, I made him redo it. He didn't have to remove the granite - though he knew, by that point, that I would insist - but he did spend almost an entire day under the cabinet, making adjustments with an electric saw. I think he was as shocked as I was that he worked so hard, and got it right.

I know some people might think I'm a harda*s or a nitpicker or too demanding (those are my good qualities) and some might think my OTK is boring (I see your point, believe me, I wish I had more time to get creative) but for those of you who can benefit from my mistakes, or take advantage of the decisions I made, or just take heart that you'll get through it - that's exactly what I got coming here, many times over, from all the incredibly informative and entertaining (you know who you are!) posters on GW, so I'm happy to give back.

So thank you, all! I could go on (and on) but I don't want the distinction of having the longest finished kitchen post in history!

The kitchen is finished, but I'll check back in to see what's cooking. Happy New Year!

Eugenie

ps - here's how the kitchen looks IRL when it's not prepped for its close up

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

Now onto the details...

The project was conceptualized last October, construction began in mid November. We had semi functional use of it during Christmas but it still had a long way to go. After lots of structural repairs and slight idea changes along the way the project was probably completed with decorating done by late February. The place is considerably more functional and the floor is no longer going to collapse through to the basement. I decided to remove a large pantry which was taking up too much space, as well as remove the dining room closet which was too small to be used for anything. Those you can see in the before pictures. The lovely lady in those pictures is not me btw.

It took me many trips to the stores and many conversations to finally get everything dialed in exactly the way I wanted it. I feel that the style I have is very fitting to the home which is from 1922. Not sure exactly how I would categorize it but if I had to take a stab I'd say, somewhat traditional, somewhat french country, somewhat professional. But the final product came out very warm and inviting. We use the kitchen 10 fold now compared to the old one for entertaining purposes alone.

The old kitchen was a functional disaster and I wish I had some pictures of it before, but I only have pictures of the day of first removal. I have a video though of the kitchen before which I will post here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFlVyHeKd5I

Moving right along then... and since everyone loves to know what every little detail is I guess I'll have to run down the list which as follows:

Countertops: Super-white quartzite, and yes the island is all one single slab
Backsplash: herringbone Carrara marble with matte finish subway tiles
Flooring: Virginia hardwood wide plank hickory
Fridge: Sub-zero 36SXS
Micro: Viking designer series
Wall oven: Bertazzoni 24 inch classic electric
Range: 36 inch Bertazzoni gas
Hood: 40 inch Viking designer series with 650cfm
DW: Fisher and Paykel tall dishdrawer
Sink: Elkay stainless farmhouse
Bar sink: Kohler trough
Main faucet: Rohl country in satin
Bar faucet: Rohl country series, not exactly sure what model
Washer+dryer: Samsung front loaders
Chairs: Restoration hardware french cafe Madeline chairs
Other goodies: full extension soft close drawers, heavy cast knobs and pulls (some outfit in NJ) love the pulls because they actually are screwed directly into the face. The beer setup is a Khrome design tower with Perlick no drop faucets. Entryway color tiles on the stairs are from Pewabic pottery in Detroit, the steps are a shale of some sort.

Enough talk I'm sure you've already passed by all that and moved right down here to where I've stashed what you are all waiting for...

Before:

During:

And completed:

Any other pictures of specific areas I will try and make happen if you'd like. Ask any questions as well, I'll be around to answer them for you. Thanks so much for looking, and thanks for the great ideas and the knowledge I've gained from using this fine website.

I've been waiting for it to be finished to take the final pictures, but I've come to the conclusion that if I wait for all of the "blue tape" issues to be addressed, for the cleaning crew to clean up the construction gravy and/or to borrow someone's wide-angled lens, well, then it will be filled with our stuff. And with baby #3 on the way, well, God knows how long before the boxes will be broken down and we're truly settled.

So, aside from a missing microwave, plastic still on the fridge doors (which are in the middle of their THIRD reinstallation) and general mish mash in the sandwich area - here's as close as we're going to get to photos of a finished kitchen this year : )

Details as follows:
Cabinets - Custom cabinet maker, inset shaker, SW Pearly White, Walnut Stained Trim
Floors - Teak hardwood stained Jacobean (very hard, does not absorb to typical Jacobean dark!)
Range - 48" Thermador Combo
Venthood - Ventaire with 1600 CFM roof-mounted blower
Sink - Franke
Faucet - Brizo
Pot Filler - DRATS I can't remember :)
Hardware Pulls - Amerock Highland Ridge, Polished Nickel
Hardward Knobs - Atlas
Countertops Island - Alabama White Marble 6cm slab
Countertops Perimeter - Caesarstone Pebble 2cm with mitered edge to 6cm
Island Chopping Block - Boos Block Walnut End Grain 4inch
Island Pendant Lights - Restoration Hardware Royal Seamaster (Discontinued)
Refridgerator - Thermador 30" Freedom Column
Freezer - Thermador 30" Freedom Column
Double/Single Oven - GE Profile
Backsplash - 4" Shiplap Wood Paneling whitewashed

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots... heck, I barely know my name. So if anyone has any questions, please let me know. You've all been wonderful, and I sincerely enjoy just knowing that a community of such substantial depth and helpfulness exists. I wish I could invite you all over for coffee!!

Marble ledge scribed to chimney

the cabinetmaker is working on hanging the sliding glass doors that close off the space under the ledge.

View of the whole ledge. Behind the big flat panel in front is a pull out spot for the flat screen tv. Mind you, we do not have such a thing but the architect wanted to ready the space there for some future date.

China cabinet side of the kitchen. Glass doors not in yet. The top row are pull down doors that can double as a buffet serving area.

fixing the edge of the Hudson Ash soapstone

First the "before" kitchen - (and to think that we lived with our kitchen this way for almost 11 years!) I think this can be entered into the "most ugly and unfunctional space EVER! contest" - can you say "WINNER!"?

And, after blowing the above room off of the back of our house...here is the finished product! (We stil need a light over the kitchen table and the stools are temporary until I find something else...)

Window treatments, accessories, plants, colors? Please share what you would do to warm it up!

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for your help with the planning. Couldn't have done it without all your wisdom, whether you shared it in response to my questions or to the questions of others. This is such a fantastic resource.

As you may recall, I was seriously worried about storage space, going topless, but there is oodles of space, thanks to the fantastic pantry built by my wonderful fiance.

Here are some of the after pictures!

Custom cabinets, teak veneer, Chroma quartz counter in 'Sandcastle', Forbo Marmoleum in Scarlet 3131

Blanco 440175 Diamond White Single Bowl Silgranit Undermount Kitchen Sink, with Kohler Karbon faucet

Futuro Futuro Murano Glow Range Hood

Kohler Karbon faucet

Custom knife block, made from Ikea KRAFTIG cutting board

Electrolux Wave Touch Induction Cooktop

Sharp R930 Microwave

Long view of the pantry

Interior of pantry!

SOSS hinges for the extra weight on the doors

Lee Valley pull out drawers

This is a new build and the cabinetry is almost a year behind schedule...long story. I'm just figuring out how to post pictures which I have not downsized. I found so many great ideas on this forum! I'll give the details I can remember off-hand, further details I will have to look up.

Countertops: polished Quartzite on island (can't remember the exact name), honed Basaltina on the perimeter

Kohler sinks -main sink is a smart divide. I switched between the smart divide and the Rohl fireclay single bowl twice. Very happy with the smart divide.

Hansgrohe faucet at prep, Dornbracht at main-both have Dornbracht soap dispensers. I put dish soap at main sink and hand soap at prep (I added the prep sink dispenser after-the-fact and highly recommend.

Pulls, top knobs

Cabintery-custom walnut veneer. I'm happy with my frameless cabinets, but my cabinet maker has more than tried my patience. He does great work, but I moved into my 4 month over schedule build with only cabinet boxes (throughout my whole house).

Butcher block-end grain walnut- I am chopping directly on it and love it!

Bar stools-From Crate and Barrel -They swivel, but not fast and they don't show fingerprints. Have been great for children!

I'm going to post more pictures showing the great ideas I got from this forum. Thanks for answering questions and posting pictures!

We live in a 1910 house in urban Connecticut, and have been gradually renovating it for the last ten years. We hope to live here another twenty--thirty years or so, next stop would be assisted living vs. skilled nursing! So: nardellos-to-the-wall renovation, amortized over decades.

The original space included a walk-in pantry, originally the ice-box room, and the "telephone closet", which we ripped out when we moved in. The "servant's dining hall" and kitchen had long since been combined into one room. So the "before" space was raw and ugly but functional, and we installed our old Aga range and were happy for a decade. Five years ago we acquired the Subzero when our old fridge gave up the ghost. Maybe I pronounced the old fridge dead while it still had a thready pulse, but I hated it. With this renovation we ordered an Aga Module to append to the old 4-oven gas-fueled Aga range, so that we could turn the latter off in the warmest months. In the winter, we are glad to have a separate heat zone in the kitchen, where we tend to live. The rest of the house is kept just above freezing. The windows and doors were restored, except for one new window that was built to match the old ones.

Steven Marchetti of Peix & Marchetti is our friend and architect. The space was gutted last August, and our excellent builder friend Allen Mathes built around the Aga and the large refrigerator. Allen built a fir "floor" on the ceiling and "strapped" it. The Aga is vented into the old flue and could not be moved -- the range hood could only be vented through one bay between joists to the rear of the house, so we held our breath until the custom Rangecraft hood arrived and was installed and fit like a glove: that's why the ducts are assymetrical. Very Terry Gilliam.

The floor is cork, and here is a picture of unwaxed Jucca soapstone countertop. The cabinetry is custom-made in New Haven, by fantastic Bryan Smallman:

Here are the just-about-finished pictures: there's a little trim to be done yet. We love the kitchen and it works well -- prep sink at the window and the utility sink accessible from both sides of the island are especially handy, because several cooks can work comfortably together and clean-up seems more communal. The Profi faucet is terrific for clean-up, also accessible from both sides because it is side-mounted on the Julien undermount steel sink. Friends off to one side at our old kitchen table seem happy and it they're not, we just pour more bourbon....

We worked with an architect friend, and were influenced by a favorite space, the Yale Center for British Art: the palette and the quiet feeling of the materials were what we tried to emulate, even as almost every material in the museum was switched for something else. Tennessee Golden Oak became vertical grain fir (oak today isn't Louis Kahn's oak), travertine became cork (who wants to stand on stone?), brutalist concrete became soapstone (who wants to worry about sealing concrete). Steel is still steel! The cream Aga that we have had for years dictated the choice of the biscuit fireclay farm sink and the cream ceramic subway tiles.

I have this idea that it's okay to mix a lot of materials if the palette is restrained, or it's fine to mix a lot of colors if the number of materials is restrained, but I'd be interested to see examples of lots of materials AND lots of colors working well. But that's just me.

I'll list materials in a subsequent post. Again, sorry for the many pictures: I get cross-eyed trying to post these things! Let me know what you think. Except maybe you, marcolo ;)
Lynn

Enjoy! My only wish was that I had known about this site before this first kitchen remodel!

Before:

After:

The intent was to open up some views.

It's been like this now for about 2 weeks whilst DW and I anguished over tile choices. The tile won't come in until thursday and we got the pendants yesterday.

Here's where we are now, please disregard the ugly DR set since it will be replaced but I think you will get the idea.

There was a fair amount of scope creep during the project and the floors needed to be redone after the first attempt at refinishing.

This was the before

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.

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 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.)

Here are some pics and a few details:
Island:

Overview:

Refrigerator and pantry:

Message center:

Breakfast nook:

Our KD wanted an extremely large window area to bring in light, but made it fit into the old house by breaking it up and using leaded glass:

Sink w/glass filler, runnels, & built-in compost bin:

Built-in compost bin close-up:

Mug shelf:

Charging drawer. This entire cabinet is deeper than it appears because it is built into the interior wall behind it, gaining an extra 4" or so of storage space without creeping into the walkway in front of it:

Island cabinets:

Miele ovens installed as flush inset (I searched and never did find pictures of this, so hopefully these will help somebody else):

Cleaning closet in "invented space" from interior wall:

Extra depth for the vacuum was made by reducing the depth of the drawers under the pantry:

The placement of the outlet underneath the music player shelf allows the nasty cordness to be hidden from eye-level:

Toe-kick heater vent. The toe-kick face under the message center & island is covered with stained oak flooring. From eye-level, the toe-kick absorbs the correct amount of light and gives the appearance of freestanding cabinets.

The freestanding appearance is clearer here:

Drawers under nook seating area:

There is a powder room off the kitchen. This wasn't our first choice, but ended up being our only choice in this old house, and has been okay, especially considering its placement is directly next to the hallway and away from the primary cooking area:

Adjacent mudroom, which became part of the kitchen remodel. The door is to a laundry chute which we use mostly for kitchen towels & napkins.

Here is a link that might be useful: More pictures

I love my kitchen. My 9' island, my banquette, my hood! Everything! Thank you GardenWeb!

Originally, I wanted a dark wood kitchen but then decided the kitchen would be too dark with the dark wood floors so we went white and I am so happy we did. As for the countertop, I was lusting for a calacatta gold marble but DH was adamantly against it as he didn't want the maintenance. When we walked by the Bianco Antico granite in the slabyard, we had a visceral reaction to it and fell in love.

(I've reposted this as I don't know how to combine pictures in a post)

Here are some details:

- Dunn Edwards Swiss Coffee on paint grade wood cabinets
- Espresso stained island - rift white oak wood
- Wolf 48" Sealed Gas Rangetop with grill
- Wolf Double Oven
- Modernaire hood (this was an incredible deal as it was 55 3/4" wide and I got it less than dealer cost!)
- GE Monogram 48" fridge
- Jennair warming drawer (hidden behind a drawer front on island)
- Bosch Evolution 800 Dishwashers
- Never MT soap pump extender
- Kohler Polished Nickel Soap Pump
- Kohler Vinnata Polished Nickel faucet on Master sink
- Rohl Perrin & Rowe Polished Nickel faucet on island
- Kohler sinks
- Floors are 2" oak stained dark brown without any red in it.
- Baldwin knobs and pulls in Oil Rubbed Bronze
- Dahl 2" x 4" white #100 subway tile
- There are two toekick drawers for platters
- Cookbook shelf is at the end of the island near the rangetop
- Microwave (Sharp) is in the upper right cabinet to the left of the fridge
- Island Pendants are Aspen Iron Ceiling Lights from Circalighting.com
- Shade above banquette from onekingslane.com

The banquette was custom made by a local restaurant banquette manufacturer here in Los Angeles. www.customqualitybooths.com.

From Cavendish house

From Cavendish house

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From Cavendish house

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From Cavendish house

Details:
Cabinets maple painted white dove; end piece - cherry wood
Countertops: honed antiqued Carrara marble
Sink blanco
Faucet- hans grohe
Fridge - Kitchenaid
Ovens and cooktop Thermador
Microwave drawer - Sharp
Hood - Best
Backsplash - Ann Sacks
Paint - BM Silver Marlin

Here it is: I tried to arrange photos before and after...

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:

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!

I've tried to compile everything I saved over the past 8 months that I've been on this Forum. Most of it was taken from a write-up by StoneGirl (Natural stone primer/granite 101); other threads and sources were used as well.

So...if the experts could review the information I've compiled below and send me comments (here or via email), I will talk to StarPooh about getting this on the FAQ.

Stone Information, Advice, and Checklists:

In an industry that has no set standards, there are many unscrupulous people trying to palm themselves off as fabricators. There are also a number of people with odd agendas trying to spread ill rumors about natural stone and propagate some very confusing and contradictory information. This is my small attempt at shedding a little light on the subject.

Slab Selection:

On the selection of the actual stone slabs - When you go to the slab yard to choose slabs for your kitchen, there are a few things you need to take note of:

• Surface finish: The finish - be it polished, honed, flamed antiqued, or brushed, should be even. There should be no spots that have obvious machine marks, scratches, or other man made marks. You can judge by the crystal and vein pattern of the stone if the marks you see are man-made or naturally occurring. It is true that not all minerals will finish evenly and if you look at an angle on a polished slab with a larger crystal pattern, you can clearly see this. Tropic Brown would be a good example here. The black spots will not polish near as shiny as the brown ones and this will be very obvious on an unresined slab when looking at an acute angle against the light. The black specks will show as duller marks. The slab will feel smooth and appear shiny if seen from above, though. This effect will not be as pronounced on a resined slab.

  Bottom line when judging the quality of a surface finish: Look for unnatural appearing marks. If there are any on the face of the slab, it is not desirable. They might well be on the extreme edges, but this is normal and a result of the slab manufacturing process.
  

• Mesh backing: Some slabs have a mesh backing. This was done at the plant where the slabs were finished. This backing adds support to brittle materials or materials with excessive veining or fissures. A number of exotic stones will have this. This does not necessarily make the material one of inferior quality, though. Quite often, these slabs will require special care in fabrication and transport, so be prepared for the fabricator to charge accordingly. If you are unsure about the slabs, ask your fabricator what his opinion of the material is.


• Cracks and fissures: Yes - some slabs might have them. One could have quite the discussion on whether that line on the slab could be one or the other, so I'll try to explain it a little.
  • Fissures are naturally occurring features in stone. They will appear as little lines in the surface of the slabs (very visible in a material like Verde Peacock) and could even be of a different color than the majority of the stone (think of those crazed white lines sometimes appearing in Antique Brown). Sometimes they could be fused like in Antique Brown and other times they could be open, as is the case in the Verde Peacock example. They could often also go right through the body of the slab like in Crema Marfil, for instance. If you look at the light reflection across a fissure, you will never see a break - i.e., there will be no change in the plane on either side of a fissure.
  
  
  • A crack on the other hand is a problem... If you look at the slab at an oblique angle in the light, you will note the reflection of the shine on the surface of the stone. A crack will appear as a definite line through the reflection and the reflection will have a different appearance on either side of the line - there will be a break in the plane. Reject slabs like this. One could still work around fissures. Cracks are a whole other can of worms.
  
  
  • Resined slabs: The resin gets applied prior to the slabs being polished. Most of the resin then gets ground off in the polishing process. You should not be able to see just by looking at the surface of a slab whether it was resined or not. If you look at the rough sides of the slab, though, you will see some drippy shiny marks, almost like varnish drips. This should be the only indication that the slab is resined. There should never be a film or layer on the face of the stone. With extremely porous stones, the resining will alleviate, but not totally eliminate absorption issues and sealer could still be required. Lady's dream is an example. This material is always resined, but still absorbs liquids and requires sealer.
  
  
  • Test the material you have selected for absorption issues regardless - it is always best to know what your stone is capable of and to be prepared for any issues that might arise. Some stones indeed do not require sealer - be they resined or not. Baltic Brown would be an example here. It will not absorb one iota of anything, but it is still resined to eliminate a flaking issue.
  
  

Tests (especially for Absolute Black) (using a sample of YOUR slab):

• To verify you have true AB and not dyed: Clean with denatured alcohol and rub marble polishing powder on the face. (Get denatured alcohol at Home Depot in the paint department)


• Lemon Juice or better yet some Muratic Acid: will quickly show if the stone has alot of calcium content and will end up getting etched. This is usually chinese stone, not indian.


• Acetone: The Dying usually is done on the same chinese stone. like the others said, acetone on a rag will reveal any dye that has been applied


• Chips: Using something very hard & metal—hit the granite sharply & hard on edges to see if it chips, breaks, or cracks

Measuring:

• Before the templaters get there...
  
  • Make sure you have a pretty good idea of your faucet layout--where you want the holes drilled for all the fixtures and do a test mock up to make sure you have accounted for sufficient clearances between each fixture.
  
  
  • Be sure you test your faucet for clearances not just between each fixture, but also between the faucet and the wall behind the faucet (if there is one). You need to be sure the handle will function properly.
  
  
  • Make sure that the cabinets are totally level (not out by more than 1/8") before the counter installers come in.
  
  
  • Check how close they should come to a stove and make sure the stove sits up higher than the counter.
  
  
  • Make sure they have the sink/faucet templates to work from.
  
  
  • Make sure have your garbage disposal air switch on hand or know the diameter
  
  
• If you are not putting in a backsplash, tell them


• Double check the template. Make sure that the measurements are reasonable. Measure the opening for the range.


• Seam Placement: Yet another kettle of fish (or can of worms, depending on how you look at it, I guess!) Seam placement is ultimately at the discretion of the fabricator. I know it is not a really popular point of view, but that is just the way it is. There really is more to deciding where the seam would go than just the size of the slab or where the seam would look best in the kitchen.

  Most stone installations will have seams. They are unavoidable in medium or large sized kitchens. One hallmark of a good fabricator is that they will keep the seams to a minimum. It seems that a good book could be written about seams, their quality, and their placement—and still you will have some information that will be omitted! For something as seemingly simple as joining two pieces of stone, seams have evolved into their own universe of complexity far beyond what anybody should have fair cause to expect!
  

• Factors determining seam placement:


• The slab: size, color, veining, structure (fissures, strength of the material an other characteristics of the stone)


• Transport to the job site: Will the fabricated pieces fit on whatever vehicle and A-frames he has available


• Access to the job site: Is the house on stilts? (common in coastal areas) How will the installers get the pieces to where they need to go? Will the tops fit in the service elevator if the apartment is on the 10th floor? Do the installers need to turn tight corners to get to the kitchen? There could be 101 factors that will influence seam placement here alone.


• Placement and size of undermount (or other) cut-outs. Some fabricators like to put seams in undermount sinks, some do not. We, for instance will do it if absolutely necessary, and have done so with great success, but will not do so as general practice. We do like to put seams in the middle of drop-in appliances and cut-outs and this is a great choice for appearances and ease of installation.


• Location of the cabinets: Do the pieces need to go in between tall cabinets with finished sides? Do the pieces need to slide in under appliance garages or other cabinetry? How far do the upper cabinets hang over? Is there enough clearance between the vent hood and other cabinets? Again the possibilities are endless and would depend on each individual kitchen lay-out and - ultimately -


• Install-ability of the fabricated pieces: Will that odd angle hold up to being moved and turned around to get on the peninsula if there is no seam in it? Will the extra large sink cut-out stay intact if we hold the piece flat and at a 45 degree angle to slide it in between those two tall towers? Again, 1,001 combinations of cabinetry and material choices will come into play on this question.

You can ask your fabricator to put a seam at a certain location and most likely he will oblige, but if he disagrees with you, it is not (always) out of spite or laziness. Check on your fabricator's seams by going to actual kitchens he has installed. Do not trust what you see in a showroom as sole testament to your fabricator's ability to do seams.

With modern glues and seaming methods, a seam could successfully be put anywhere in an installation without compromising the strength or integrity of the stone. If a seam is done well, there is - in theory - no "wrong" location for it. A reputable fabricator will also try to keep the number of seams in any installation to a minimum. It is not acceptable, for instance to have a seam in each corner, or at each point where the counter changes direction, like on an angled peninsula.

Long or unusually large pieces are often done if they can fit in the constraints of a slab. Slabs as a rule of thumb will average at about 110"x65". There are bigger slabs and quite often smaller ones too. Check with the fabricator or the slab yard. They will be more than happy to tell you the different sizes of slabs they have available. Note, though, that the larger the slabs, the smaller the selection of possible colors. Slab sizes would depend in part on the capabilities of the quarry, integrity of the material or the capabilities of the machinery at the finishing plant. We have had slabs as wide as 75" and as long as 130" before, but those are monsters and not always readily available.


• Generally, it is not a good idea to seam over a DW because there's no support for the granite, and anything heavy placed at or near the seam would stress the stone, possibly breaking it.


• Rodding is another issue where a tremendous amount of mis-information and scary stories exist: The main purpose for rodding stone would be to add integrity to the material around cut-outs. This is primarily for transport and installation and serves no real purpose once the stone is secured and fully supported on the cabinets. It would also depend on the material. A fabricator would be more likely to rod Ubatuba than he would Black Galaxy, for instance. The flaky and delicate materials prone to fissures would be prime candidates for rodding. Rodding is basically when a fabricator cuts slots in the back of the stone and embeds steel or fiberglass rods with epoxy in the slots in the stone. You will not see this from the top or front of the installation. This is an "insurance policy" created by the fabricator to make sure that the stone tops make it to your cabinets all in one piece


• Edges: The more rounded an edge is, the more stable it would be. Sharp, flat edges are prone to chipping under the right (or rather wrong) circumstances. Demi or full bullnose edges would almost entirely eliminate this issue. A properly milled and polished edge will be stable and durable regardless of the profile, though. My guess at why ogee and stacked edges are not more prevalent would be purely because of cost considerations. Edge pricing is determined by the amount of work needed to create it. The more intricate edge profiles also require an exponentially larger skill set and more time to perfect. The ogee edge is a very elegant edge and can be used to great effect, but could easily look overdone if it is used everywhere. We often advise our clients to combine edges for greater impact - i.e., eased edge on all work surfaces, and ogee on the island to emphasize the cabinetry or unusual shape.
  Edge profiles are largely dependent on what you like and can afford. There is no real pro or con for regular or laminated edges. They all have their place in the design world. Check with your fabricator what their capabilities and pricing are. Look at actual kitchens and ask for references.

Installation:

• Seams:
  

  One hallmark of a good fabricator is that they will keep the seams to a minimum [StoneGirl]

  
  
  • A generic good quality seam should have the following characteristics:
    
    • It should be flat. According to the Marble Institute of America (MIA) a minimal amount of lippage is acceptable (1/32"), but conscientious fabricators all strive for a perfectly flat and smooth joint.
    
    
    • It should be narrow - as in smaller than 1/16". (I think the MIA stipulates no larger than 1/8", but that is pushing it - and only if the fabricator bevels the edges of the seam, almost similar to the edge of a stone tile. This is, thank goodness, not a standard practice any more!)
    
    
    • The color on either side of the seam should match as closely as possible. On regularly patterned stones like Ubatuba for example - there should be no variation. On stones with variation in colors or veins, the match should be made as close as was humanly possible.
    
    
    • Vein direction should flow. The MIA suggests a single direction of vein flow, but it is acceptable IF DISCUSSED WITH THE CLIENT to change vein direction on a seam if no other option is available. This would happen in book matched slabs - you will have a "butterfly" seam in this case. In other cases, the fabricator could put a miter seam in a corner and change vein direction 90 degrees. This is usually done with extremely linear veining like Bamboo Green, for example, but this is something that should be discussed with the fabricator and agreed upon by the client.
    
    
    • The seam on the finished edge of the stone should NOT dip in and create a divot in the edge. When you run your fingers over the edge, you should not be able to feel the location of the seam at all.
    
    
    • The thickness of the slabs on either side of the seam should be equal (or feathered out so that there is no discernible difference)
    
    
    • The glue in the seam should be of a color that matches the stone as closely as possible. Glue joints that are too light or too dark will show up something terrible. The idea behind tinting the glue is to try to make the seam "disappear" or something relatively close to it

• Checklist:
  
  • Check the seams for evenness and smoothness.
  
  
  • Make sure that the seams are neat and clean.
  
  
  • Make sure that the seams are not obvious.
  
  
  • Make sure the seams are butted tight
  
  
  • Make sure that there are no scratches, pits, or cracks
  
  
  • If sealing is necessary (not all granites need to be sealed):
  
  
  • Make sure that the granite has been sealed
  
  
  • If more than one application of sealer was applied, ask how long they waited between applications
  
  
  • Ask which sealer has been used on the granite.
  
  
  • Make sure the sink reveal is consistent all the away around
  
  
  • Check the gap of the granite at the wall junctions.
  
  
  • Check for inconsistent overhangs from the counter edges
  
  
  • Check for chips. These can be filled.
  
  
  • Make sure the top drawers open & close
  
  
  • Make sure that you can open & close your dishwasher
  
  
  • Make sure the stove sits up higher than the counter
  
  
  • Make sure that you have the appropriate clearances for your appliances
  
  
  • Check the edge all around, a good edge should have the following characteristics:
    
    • Shine: The edge polish should match the top polish in depth and clarity. The edge should not be milky, dull, or waxy.
    
    
    • The edge should not have "waves". Eyeball along the edge. A good edge should have a mirror like reflection and be fairly flat. Waves that you can see or feel are not a good thing.
    
    
    • The aris (very top of the edge) should be crisp and straight, even on a bullnose edge. Once again you can see this by eyeballing along the very top end of the edge profile. A wavy, dippy aris is poor craftsmanship.
    
    
    • A good edge will have a consistent profile. It will not be larger in some spots or smaller in others.
    
    
    • A good edge should also have NO tooling lines. These will be fine lighter/white lines running along the edge. This is a mark of a poor edge polish, of a CNC machine that is not set correctly, and a lack of hand finishing. This is common when a company has only mechanical fabrication (i.e., CNC machines or line polishers) and no skilled hand fabricators to finish the work properly.
    
    
  • Run your hands around the entire laminated edge of yor counters to make sure they are smooth
  
  
  • Check surrounding walls & cabinets for damage

Miscellaneous Information:

• More than all the above and below, though, is to be present for both the templating as well as having the templates placed on your slabs at the fabricator's
  If you canot be there, then have a lengthy conversation about seam placement, ways to match the movement, and ways to color-match the counters that will be joined at the seam


• Find a fabricator who is a member of the SFA


• When they polish your stone for you don't let them wax it. It will look terrible in 2 months when the wax wears off.


• Don't use the Magic Eraser on granite--especially AB


• Any slab with more fill (resin) than stone is certainly a no-no!!


• When you do check for scratches, have overhead lighting shining down so scratches are easier to see


• Don't let them do cutouts in place (granite dust becomes a major issue)


• Granite dust can be a problem...some have heard of SS appliances & hoods damaged by the dust, others have heard of drawer glides being ruined by the dust


• If you have wood floors--especially if you're in the process of staining or finishing them--make sure that they don't spill or drip granite sealer on the wood floors. Apparently the sealer interferes with the stain or finish process.


• Suggested Prep for Installation:
  
  • Remove any drawers and pullouts beneath any sections that will be cut or drilled onsite, e.g., sink cutouts and/or faucet, soap dispenser, air gap, instant hot etc. holes, cooktop cutouts.
  
  
  • Then just cover the glides themselves with a few layers of blue painter's tape (or some combo of plastic wrap and tape)
  
  
  • If you make sure to cover the top of the glides and attach some of the tape to the cab wall as well (to form sort of a seal)and cover the rest of the glides completely with tape, you should be fine.
  
  
  • Usually the fabricators will have someone holding a vacuum hose right at the spot where they are drilling or cutting, so very little granite dust should be landing on the glides. What little dust escapes the vacuum will be blocked by the layer(s) of tape.
  
  
  • When done w/installation, remove the tape and use a DustBuster (or similar) on all the cabinets and glides
  
  
• Countertop Support:


• If your granite is 2 cm thick, then there can be no more then 6" of of unsupported span with a 5/8" subtop


• If your granite is 3 cm thick, then there can be no more then 10" of unsupported span - no subtop required


• If you need support, the to determine your corbel dimensions:


• Thickness of Stone - Dimension of Unsupported Span = Corbel Dimensino


• i.e., an 18" total overhang in 2 cm would require a 12" corbe; the same overhang in 3 cm would require an 8" corbel

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!"