And yet, when you are done, your kitchen looks like this:

What the heck happened? Why doesn't my kitchen look like my inspiration?

1. Layout schmayout. Why do I need to move anything around? Yeah, so I only have 18" between my sink and stove and stand in that corner for everything I do in the kitchen. I've lived with this for 10 years and gotten used to it. It's fine.

2. Wow! cherry is expensive! I'll save $1200 by going with oak instead. It's close, so it'll be fine.

3. Full overlay doors are $800 more than partial overlay doors. No one will will ever notice the difference. It'll be fine.

4. I know the KD is recommending honed Absolute Black, but black counters are just so DARK! I want my kitchen to be light and bright. I'll go with a light countertop instead. It'll be fine.

5. Wood floors in a kitchen make me nervous. What if it leaks? Tile will stand up to a flood much better. I'll go with tile. But I hate cleaning grout, so I'll pick a dark grout that won't show dirt. I'm all about easy care and this will be fine.

6.That black crown molding is going to be dated at some point and I'll wonder why I spent my money on it. I'll just do the plain wood. It'll be fine.

7.I'll go ahead and replace the fridge, because the ice maker is shot, but why should I buy new appliances when the others I have are still working? It'll be fine.

8. Undercabinet lighting? Recessed lighting? Are they serious? I've lived without it all these years and I'm not spending money on that now. It'll be fine.

9. Wrought iron knobs? Nah, the black will show all kinds of dirt. Nickel will be a lot easier to clean. It'll be fine.

10.OMG! My kitchen is so beige and brown and boring! And it's dark with that dark wood. I'll hang that light in the spare room above the sink. And I'll paint the walls red for a POP of color. It's fine.

And, it's---well, fine. It's a new kitchen. With the selection of decent quality products, it will last you a while. It's not BAD. It's not ugly.

It's just not ANYTHING like it could have been!

Speaking of "starting" with the backsplash, can someone tell me why absolutely no one on GW ever seems to start with something like this:

I can see why most people wouldn't. But no one?

I've incorporated used, salvaged and inexpensive unfinished materials in the remodel, which is more of a facelift, keeping as much of the old cabinetry as possible, re-using doors and drawers. We'd found some great deals on craigslist and ebay, including a discontinued faucet from a showroom display. The hood is DIY, using an old feed bin from the barn. The countertops around the sink and stove are epoxy resin lab-tops from an old school, and the island was a $100 used table, found on craigslist.

Not including a new (low-end) fridge and microwave, the cost so far, without flooring, is around $3000. If you want to start at the beginning, here's a link to my kitchen album. Or, you can go to the end, and scroll backward.

Here are a few pictures, going around the room:

View from the dining room. Not sure if I'm keeping the coffee grinder here--it's huge, but I love it:

ebay sink, faucets and sprayer:

With cutting board:

Old stove used for storage. It's in the dining room, my next project:

Except for the ceiling trim and flooring, and maybe some short curtains on the glass cabinets, the kitchen is finished. I started posting my kitchen progress in the Smaller Homes forum, and with encouragement from one of my friends there, I've decided to tell the rest of my story.

Some of you who have looked through my kitchen album may have noticed that last October (2010) I stopped referring to my husband, and started talking about having help from my father, BIL, and brother. Three weeks into our kitchen remodel, my wonderful husband of 32 years, suffered a massive, fatal heart attack. It was totally unexpected--in September he had been given medical clearance form his doctor to apply for his private pilot's license. We were high school sweethearts--still happily married and best friends.

I was left reeling, with my life turned upside down, and the kitchen torn apart. Family members stepped up and volunteered, but I realized early on that if I wanted the kitchen that I had envisioned, I'd have to learn to do it myself. I pestered my father, FIL, brother and BIL with dozens of questions, and with their help and encouragement, I've ploughed ahead, sometimes stepping back and starting over, asking for help when I had to have it, but making steady progress. Working on the kitchen has been therapy for me, helping me to cope with my desperation and devastation.

I never wanted the kitchen remodel threads to be about my loss--I've had plenty of support from family and friends, and from my GW Smaller Homes friends, too. I've learned so much from the Kitchens Forum, and many times read GW threads into the wee hours of the morning, when I couldn't sleep.

Since my kitchen is essentially finished, I want to say thank you to you all--your help and encouragement have been invaluable. If anyone has questions about my kitchen, I'd be happy to answer them and provide more information. You can also read my kitchen thread in the Smaller Homes forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen thread in Smaller Homes

Here is a link that might be useful: Millenium

And if the final color you are after is darker than red oak, then red oak will be fine, but it will always be softer than white...

For a 'Stickley' look, I think the essentials are >Quartersawn >appropriate style >dark stain >'period' hardware

Those who are tired of their golden oak might want to try a gel stain, formulated to stick to anything, before resorting to paint.

My cabinet guy is in Morgan Hill. But I saw him installing some kitchen cabinets in Oakland & San Francisco too. Try to ask him a quot. His price is very reasonable. I took a picture from a magazine & he made it for me. I'm happy with his job.

California Custom Cabinet
16890 Church Street #12
Morgan Hill,CA 95037
Phone 408-782-1304
Cell 408-282-1479

I spent countless hours pouring over photos of finished kitchens here, and now I want to share my space with those who helped me and those who I might help as well.

Here are the details:

Cabinets: Custom made maple, Buttermilk stain (one shade darker than natural). Island has a black glaze over the stain.
Granite: Juparana Crema Bordeaux with Black Galaxy on desk. All granite with beveled edge.
Backsplash: 1x2" tumbled travertine brick mosaic with SGM 127 sanded grout. Color: Beach
Flooring: Rapalano 20x20" rectified porcelain set in diagonal. Grout color: Light Smoke
Lighting: Pendants: Murray Feiss Parker Place, white opal etched glass for island and brushed steel over sink. Under cabinets: GE Slimline fluorescent with warm white bulbs (great bang for the buck! We would never dim these lights so no need to pay more, plus they stay nice and cool)
Faucet: Hansgrohe Talis S
Pulls and Knobs: Jeffrey Alexander Milan collection in satin nickel. One Soko Manhandle in stainless steel.
Drawer Slides: Accuride side-mount, full-extension with soft close. Wonderful!
Appliances: All were existing and include a Bosch dishwasher, LG refrigerator, Panasonic microwave and Jenn-Air slide-in range.
Special features: appliance garage, spice pullouts, tray storage drawer, pantry storage drawers for canned goods.
Favorite features: large drawers instead of base cabinets (except under sink and beverage storage cabinet), tray storage, pantry drawers and pullouts

Before:

After:

Pantry and refrigerator wall:

Sink area and pendant lighting:

Desk:

Appliance garage:

Tray storage drawer (I opted for this over a trash pullout and love it!):

Upper pantry area:

Lower pantry-storagedrawers for canned goods (need to get dividers!):

Spice pullouts:

Bowls, pasta bowl, even canisters fit in drawers:

Love my in-drawer knife storage-Henckels from Amazon:

Beverage storage cabinet includes a basket for storing onions, garlic, etc.:

Cabinets: Custom White Shaker
Paint: Cabinets - Benjamin Moore Simply White
Wall - Benjamin Moore Piedmont Gray
Faucet: Kraus
Counters: Black Pearl Granite
Fridge: GE Profile
Stove: JennAir
Backsplash: Carrara Random

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the great advice and for simply listening to my vents at times! I've met such great people through here and hope to keep in touch! My only complaint is that while waiting for my kitchen to finally be done, I've had to endure looking at too many gorgeous finished kitchens and seeing things "I should have done" - haha :)

So...let's see, the process began in Sept 2008 (yep, you read that correctly!) and it's now almost 2010 - yikes, that looks even worse in print! :) The kitchen was part of a 1000 sq. ft. addition that included a master suite / kitchenette on the second level. I could go on and on about what went wrong (might be much easier to say what went right!), but I won't - it's too depressing :) The second floor is *almost* finished but the outside is supposed to have 2 decks and a balcony off the master, none of which have even begun, so who knows when everything will be complete. I'm just VERY thankful that at least the inside is approaching the point where I hopefully will not be dealing with anyone coming in and out and getting things dirty as soon as I clean! Well, other than my husband and dog of course - they do a good job of dirtying up the house all by themselves - haha!

I've tried to list the major details, since I know everyone on GW usually wants to see those, but if I've forgotten something or you have a question, feel free to ask :) So without further ado, here are the photos!

Here's the old kitchen "before":

And here's the old kitchen "after":

Sorry, couldn't resist - that really is the old kitchen, since the current kitchen is an entirely new addition to the house - so here it is:

With island pendants and plinth lights on:

An unstocked pantry :) It's actually a walk-in but hard to tell from photo

Countertops:
- Perimeter: Cambrian Black antique finish
- Island: Persian Pearl antique finish
- Crackle glass shelf on island: Custom by Advanced Glass Designs, Atlanta, GA
Backsplash:
- Tile: Calcatta Gold 3 x 6 subway tile, honed, Buildersdepotdirect.com (less than $7/sq. ft.!!)
- Grout: Silver Grey StarQuartz QuartzLock
Appliances:
- Range: 48" gas American Range, 6 burners with grill
- Vent hood: Vent-a-Hood
- Dishwasher: LG (already had)
- Refrigerator: SubZero 48" (already had - just painted the panels to match the cabinets rather than getting stainless steel))
- Wine fridge: Vinotemp? (not sure, but I think this is the brand - we got it at Costco)
Sinks:
- Main sink: Lansen double bowl stainless steel 15 gauge
- Island sink: Ticor stainless steel 18 gauge
- Faucet, main sink: Industrial polished chrome pull-out faucet (no brand?!) - Ebay
- Faucet, island sink: Delta, polished chrome
Floor:
Red oak, ebony stain (refinished all existing hardwood throughout house to match), satin finish poly
Walls (what little paint can be seen): SW Argos
Bar stools: Overstock.com "Modern Silver Bar Stool"
Lighting:
- Island pendants: Local Atlanta lighting designer - pendants are called "Droplet"
- Sink pendants: Mercury Glass Pendants from www.shadesoflight.com
- Island toekick lighting: Small LED plinth lights (more common in UK)
Cabinets (custom by local Atlanta cabinet maker):
- Perimeter: Shaker style maple wood, SW ??? (supposed to be Snowbound, but isn't - long story, but basically we found out months after that the paint isn't Snowbound, so have no idea what it actually is!)
- Island: Shaker style cherry wood, custom stain
Cabinet Hardware: MyKnobs.com
- European style long bar pulls, stainless steel
- Knobs: Hickory Hardware, stainless steel, Euro Contemporary 1.5 inches

I hate to see an outlet sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of a beautiful backsplash. We were very lucky to discover that the travertine subway tile backsplash we installed in our recent kitchen remodel was an almost perfect color match to the Lutron Desert Stone switchplate color. I think they actually blend in pretty well with the backsplash at least.

We have 4 outlets/switchplates in the backsplash here at the butler pantry:

This is the Lutron color chart:

I think the issue of having a sufficient number of separate circuits is a big one. We had to install a 50amp circuit for the induction cooktop. Several of the counter outlets are on the same circuit which is only 15 amps so I can easily blow the fuse if I hook up too many appliances/devices on the same circuit. Knowing what I know now I would have designed a much different electrical layout than what we did 20 years ago. Personally I don't think you can ever have too many outlets....but the placement, amperage and circuits really need to be customized to the planned usage.