Do you think the cabinets are painted gray? Distressed? Limed/pickled wood? Is that back countertop a charcoal soapstone? Dark limestone? Thoughts are much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Image link: Help replicating Inspiration Kitchen Photo (36 k)

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.

BUT, check out this pantry I found on Houzz, it's just so cool, I had to share:

and poof,

so hopefully i can answer all of your questions. the easy one first: my ceilings are 9' tall. the island, FYI is 10'x6'. it's hard to reach the center to clean so i'm wishing i didn't spec it as deep, but c'est la vie. it is what it is and i still believe i needed the size to fill the space. another aside: you can't see it in the layout, but my turbo chef oven is located under counter in the island directly across from dishwasher #2, facing the windows.

note: the walk from the range to the refrigerator is 8-10 steps, depending if i'm standing right or left. it's definitely closer than it appears in the drawing. it's a large space but i the zones makes it work nicely.

this is a general layout of the kitchen. the dimensions are 22' wide x 17.5' (i think) deep. the breakfast room is off to the right and is 14' square, with a porch right outside for outdoor dining. formal dining room across the hall, other side of fridge/freezer wall.

this is the fridge/freezer wall. the center panels open up to reveal toaster oven, microwave (coming soon), coffee maker. also kept here will be cereal, bread, etc, ...your basic breakfast items, plus pop corn, et al. silverware is out and scattered waiting for the cabinet maker to come back and install drawer inserts. fridge is shown open on the left, freezer is on the right. here is it is in the closed, and open positions:

i'm not finished setting this up yet but to get a better idea of my zones, this is the baking cabinet. it houses -or will house my mixers, food processor, etc.; bowels, condiments, baking pans and all things baking will reside in the four drawers below. they're not set up yet so sorry no pics. the baking sheets will live in a base cabinet just to the right.

some of the shots are old, but i will update when i give my reveal -hopefully sometime within the next four years. interesting to note: i was not menopausal when we started this project, september 29, 2009. i guess it finally through me over the edge.

Also, did you use 3cm granite or was it cut down to a narrower width?

Thanks!

Our new home is finally complete! Here is our kitchen. Now, it's not perfect for everyone, but it suits me just fine :) We took our past experiences with what we've lived with in the last 3 homes and married with what I thought I wanted from gleaning through GW and magazines (and kitchen standards from NKBA). Some of it works exactly like I hoped, other things I'm still warming up to.

For budget reasons, I did an extensive amount of leg work to get everything I wanted! By searching online and locally for the best deals, coupons, free shipping, etc. I got almost everything to stay reasonably at our budget. I did have to let go of 2 major items, but they can be added later. First, the backsplash, a relatively do-able thing to add ourselves. (I originally wanted Oceanside Glass Tile's 1x2 rectangular shaped stained glass tile in iridescent white.) Second was the built-in china cabinet/buffet/bar in dining area. The niche is there waiting and for now our old beat-up vintage cabinet lives there... not what i'd envisioned, but working enough for now. And as it turns out, I've decided it's a good thing that it will be added later as I want to totally redesign the unit and get it priced by a local custom cabinet maker.

Paint: (all SW brand paint but colors are below)
walls in Kitchen - SW Sea Salt SW6204
walls in all other public areas - BM Natural Wicker OC-1
all trim - BM White Dove OC-17

Floors:
4" Red Oak with a mix of 3 parts Natural & 1 part Antique Brown stains (sorry don't know company name). Floor guy also tinted one of the top coats a bit to make finish a tad bit darker, so that formula is only partially correct.

Cabinets:
Cheaha Cabinets, painted Pinhoti door style in company's standard "Pure White" throughout home except on kitchen Island which is SW Rainwashed SW6211

Countertops:
3cm Cararra marble, honed, eased edge

Hardware:
knobs - Martha Stewart Living @ Home Depot 1 1/4" polished nickel "Finial Knobs"
Pulls - Martha Stewart Living @ Home Depot "3.75" Country pull" in polished nickel
pull-out trash bin - rev-a-shelf
interior doors - "Commonwealth" levers by Kwikset in Iron Black

Appliances:
Range - LG Studio 30" electric LSE3092ST
hood - Broan EW58 (with chimney extension FXNE58SS)
Microwave - LG LMV1813ST
Frige - LG LFX31925ST
Dishwasher - LDF6920ST
undermount Sink, main - Ticor S1205
undermount Sink, island - Ticor S815
faucet, main - Delta Leland in Chrome 978-DST
faucet, island - Delta Leland bar/prep in Chrome 9978-DST
soap dispenser @ main sink - target blue glass
garbage disposals @ each sink
air switch with countertop buttons @ each sink - ordered through Galaxy Tool Supply

Lights:
School house pendants & semi-flush mount in Pewter by Savoy House through LightingDirect.com
4" mini recessed cans
Mariestad 6 light chandelier by Ballard Design
under cabinet LED dim-able lights - InspiredLED.com (custom kit, AWESOME customer service)

Random:
the "Tiny Kitchen" - designed by me, built by my dad, delivered by Santa
Child's easel - Land of Nod, honey finish
thru-wall dog door - trimmed out by our contractor to match our home, energy efficient locking unit by Freedom Pet Pass. (I highly recommend them!)

Also, we will be adding stools when we can afford them. Some of our images show two black stools, we borrowed those for a home pilgrimage we participated in. I have since decided that I definitely want white stools! What I'm holding out for is Crate and Barrel's "Vienna" stool or Design Within Reach's "Era Counter Stool" each in white.

That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure there will be more questions and I'm happy to answer!

FYI these 1st 3 pictures are fancy pics taken and digitally stitched by my husband with the computer (no clue how, that's his deal). Those pics were taken right before we had an open house on the local Spring Pilgrimage. The last 3 pics are from today, very much lived in and REAL. So it's why you see the booster seats, my daughter's easel, art supplies, the tiny kitchen, dog food and the dog door open...

I just saw this magazine (Country French) and I really like the darker butcher block and the range. Not just the color (it's a little too dark a blue) but the big vent/hood! Finally, a place to put my husband's french fryer and George Foreman grill (don't you love Christmas presents?) but he does like to use them...and this would finally get the oil and steam out of the kitchen :)

And, I think that island is wonderful! I'd have to turn it to fit in the space, but Rhome has made a good argument for a prep sink and I think the butcher block work area and the little marble table with stools would be a great combination. Yes, not as warm to lean on, but we will have the wood dining table, right behind it.

Here are the pictures and how I would hopefully fit that idea into my kitchen space...

From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Another view of the range...but without the bull's head! LOL

From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

And my plan...

From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

I'm thinking the color should be somewhere between the whitish and light tan colors (first two) in this first photo:

I found out he can match BM colors so I'm off to look at paint chips tomorrow to see if I can find the sandy beach color I'm looking for. Any thoughts on the color??

Here's my bigger dilemma... he put some broken wine bottle glass pieces in a sample to give me an idea of what it will look like if I incorporate seaglass. Some of the pieces you can feel and if they are curved parts, there can be little "lips" on the edge. He can fill in some of them to a certain extent but he doesn't want the overall look to be patchy with a lot of fixes. My fear is that since my seaglass is all different shapes & sizes and if I get too many of those lips then food and dirt will get caught in the little areas between the concrete and seaglass. We are doing a huge 13' island and I want it to make a statement but not at the expense of practicality. So I need advice!
He did say I could come help place the seaglass so I can put exactly what pieces I want in there in whatever position. That thrilled me as I'd love to help create my counters first-hand.
I'm REALLY excited about this idea and want it to work out. I just need some input from others to see if I'm being crazy or if this sounds okay.... what do you think?? It's an expensive project to have something turn out yucky. So I want to be sure of it before taking the plunge.
Sample with his broken wine bottle glass:

Here are some more pics of samples next to my kitchen wall and tiles:



Some of my seaglass:

Kitchen layout:

I was thinking of having most of the seaglass in the radius area where people can sit up at the counter and maybe sprinkle out to the other parts of the island. I have 2.5 jars of it and just not sure how far it will spread or what will look good.
Thoughts, suggestions, anything???

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Anyway, here are the details:
Appliances: all KitchenAid, except for the Sharp MW drawer
in the island. Range is 36" dual fuel, with a
griddle.
Cabinets: Mid-Continent, maple painted white, with soft
close drawers and doors. We chose all wood
construction.
Perimeter counters: Honed Carerra marble
Island top: Dark walnut, with a mineral oil finish
Floors: 5" wide white oak, stained 75% jacobean, 24% dark
walnut.
Lighting: Pendants, Quiozel, I think. Breakfast chandy is
Overstock.com!

Things I love so far: 1. Soft close!! Love!! Although we have it on all the drawers in the house, we only did the doors on the kitchen and butler's pantry cabs. Wish we had done it everywhere.
2. KA dishwasher and range...both of these have been wonderful so far, DW is so quiet and cleans really well. Range and oven are very easy to use and have nice, consistant heat. Plus, I think very pretty! :)
3. MW drawer...so awesome, love it to pieces!
4. Under cab lights...never had these before, we have them on a dimmer, they are wonderful.
5. Walnut top...everyone who visits swoons over it...it is a wonderful, warm surface.

Things I DON'T love:
1. Fridge! Counter-depth french door is awful! We had to buy an auxiliary fridge for the garage, and I am contemplating adding a fridge drawer to the island.
2. The distance from the range wall to the island seems a scooch too big, I think it is 48". I could have moved the island a few inches closer to the range.

I will do a seperate post about my experience with honed vs. polished marble (I have polished in the master bath.) There are pros and cons to each, I have found.

Anyway, Nini's kitchen!

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

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!

I guess more information would be helpful!

Very traditional painted brick georgian style house. I tend towards the simple, rather than the ornate. Dark stained (Coffee Brown) 5" wide white oak floors. Kitchen opens with a large paneled jamb into the den.

I love the concept of color (love blues and greens) but am scared to do it. . . I am a white on white person, so probably will go that direction.

Here are a few more pictures of the house so you can see the style. . .

Exterior:

Rest of kitchen and paneled jamb into den

A few months ago, I asked for feedback about pairing Jet Mist granite w/ my painted cabinets, BM Inner Balance. I went for it - and granite was installed today! I wanted to share some photos, to show how it turned out. I am really happy with the granite and the color combo with the cabinets. I mentioned to the granite installer that I was still choosing a tile for the backsplash, and he said 'You've got black countertops and white cabinets, how hard could it be?' If only he knew! LOL Any great ideas to help me get started...?

Cabinets are DIY painted BM Inner Balance
Countertop is honed Jet Mist

More pictures here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy6qfGM

A few legs

There are actually a few unfinished things, but they're not in the kitchen. The dining room door hasn't been made, but I'll have time to draft it soon. There are still some old kitchen things in the entry hall awaiting time to be relocated to their new homes (i.e., I have to clear room for them). Things like that.

I had a great GC, and an equally great, superlatively amazing GW Kitchens Forum who, combined, allowed me to have every little thing I wanted, and things as close to exactly the way I wanted them as human endeavor allowed. And if that took living for a year and some with a big box of grout taking up floorspace, so be it.

I owe more thank-yous than I can contain in one post. You all know about the advice and encouragement, the reality checks and the commisseration that happen here. More people contributed to the project than I can name, but I'd like to acknowledge a few who provided unforgetable inspirations. To Rhome410, I give all my thanks for taking seriously all but one of my bad plans, and for impressing upon me the importance of avoiding dark, useless corners. That advice literally shaped the Southwest corner of my kitchen, and was the one thing I had to model over and over and over again. The result is the best it can be because of that. To Igloochic, who early in my learning process explained to me the benefits of an outstandingly expensive European faucet and opened my mind to them, and many of the things that follow (it's a quality thing). Also, for introducing me to Ann At Home. To Jdesign for helping me find the glass I wanted in a form I could actually buy, and for amazing patience and helpfulness on this and the dining room door issue, going above and beyond just helpfulness.

I have a brevity problem. You know that if you've seen my posts. I promise there are very few paragraphs in my presentation and lots and lots of pictures (but small files so they should load decently). So I'll stop talking and get on with the big reveal (okay, you've seen and heard about a lot of this, but there's still plenty you haven't seen before)...
..
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..
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REVEAL!

What, you expected an actual picture? Click the link. I promise you'll either love or hate what you find.

Okay, here's a picture. You've seen it before, but it sets the tone for and defines my kitchen. And was even my holiday letter photo last year (I don't usually do holiday letters, but a picture is worth a plethora of words and is much, much briefer).

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.

" ......I want the new kitchen to be fun and functional... We love the qs cabs but worry it could look too mission, and also too serious, ...."

Have you tried the sweeby test?

You might try to write a mission statement.
What do you want your kitchen to be? What feel, mood,
idea, style,? You have already chosen a sink. Now you can
build on that and go with the favorites in every catagory.
Don't let this tear you down, this is the time for fun.
Creativity, joy and exploration into what you truly LOVE.

Here is a link to the sweeby test.

Meanwhile here are some visual ideas. I tried to find ones
with your sink choice. And your pre-plans of

"........ white painted cabs w/ wood counters, black cabs w/ wood or marble counters, or quarter sawn oak cabs w/ honed granite counters.........."
~boxer

Have you thought about mixing wood, black, white and oak?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sweeby test...

--pip aka pipdog

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