I was so smitten by your 2 x 4 Calacatta marble backsplash idea in your recent post (link below) that I'd be loath to make any suggestions that would send you in another direction.

I had actually looked at a very similar backsplash to your bevelled Calacatta last summer before I picked a 2 x 4 inch white ceramic tile backsplash instead. I loved it. The bevel provides a slightly more contemporary/update to subway tile (the different size format also feels fresh compared to the standard 3 x 6) which should work well with your Caesarstone/quartz.

Like you, I was torn between many different "looks" for the kitchen and also couldn't decide between gray and white cabinets.

This Michael Smith kitchen (House Beautiful June 2007) was one of my inspirations kitchens. I liked the soft contrast between the painted cabinets, Lagos Azul counters, and handmade bejmat backsplash tiles. I even got samples of Lagos Azul and soon realized that it was the most impractical countertop known to man (it itched and scratched immediately). I think I was so smitten by your Caesarstone Wild Rice sample picture because it reminded me of the soft gray brown colors in Lagos Azul. I like my honed black granite counters. And they are oh-so practical. But they don't have the soft beauty of the Lagos Azul.

In the end I don't think my actual kitchen achieved the soft "English" look of the Michael Smith kitchen (other aesthetic impulses pulled me in other directions). I haven't done the grand reveal on GW yet because I haven't yet figured out how to take good inside pictures of the kitchen. But I promise to post a reveal soon.

For now here are a few shots:

The breakfast banquette area (still waiting for a back cushion):

Here is a link that might be useful: BlackChamois's post on backsplashes

We also have a dishdrain (a large, flat surface sloping down toward the sink). Our everpresent dishrack sits on the dishdrain. (I emptied the dishrack just for this picture. And yes, we're Japanese hence the Japanese sink bucket!)

We use the runnels (I call them petit runnels as we only have three and they aren't super-long) for draining produce. We knew that going in which is why we asked for shorter and fewer runnels and we were right! The runnels and dishdrain are super and zippo complaints chez nous about those (I can and do complain about other things!).

I think $300 for runnels is a s-t-e-a-l -- ours were more expensive (bc they are evidently uncommon 'round here). I would MUCH rather see efficient runnels in a counter than a towel or tray under a dishrack -- the runnels don't take function away from the counter (you can still put a chopping board atop them).

We use our runnels for draining produce or setting the colander. The drainboard always has the dishrack in it (and the dishrack always has stuff in it).

This is how we'd envisioned using both the runnels and the drainboard and for us they're perfect. Our kiddos are still in sippy cups / snacktraps, etc., and those things are always still wet when coming out of the dishwasher, so they go straight onto the dishrack. Being that the kiddos are little I'm also a short order cook (or so it feels), so there's always something being drained on the runnels (or so it feels).

The drainboard is, of course, super easy to wipe clean, and we love not having puddling water under the dishrack! The runnels are, of course, not as easy to clean but we're more of a live-and-let-live family, so I don't obsess about it. Weeeell ... we have marble slab countertops, and maybe a month ago I decided to poultice the runnels. Holy cow did they look sparkly white! So I immediately sealed them and then we were back to our slovenly ways. Whatever, life's too short to futz with all that. I'd rather eat a snow cone while pushing children in a swing.

runnels:

drainboard:

It was two+ years ago and I do not recall exactly how much they cost. I do remember the drainboard was more than the runnels, but maybe for both they were like $700. ??? I remember the runnels were going to be a few hundred dollars (total), but the drainboard pushed it over. Ouch. The first fabricator with whom I wanted to work was going to charge $2,000 for the runnels alone because he'd have to purchase the bit to use to cut them and I (and I alone) was going to pay for it. The fabricator we used is a bigger outfit so they already had the bit. Truthfully, I don't really want to remember how much everything cost -- fuzzy memories can be a good thing!

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!"

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

For the creamy based salad dressings, I usually just wing it and make a little at a time. I use a small (6 oz) mason jar and that usually makes enough for my family for a meal+.

for the base: 1 HEAPING T. of mayo, 1/4 c. buttermilk,
1 t. vinegar (I like red wine, but apple cider or white balsamic are also yummy) 1 clove garlic-minced or grated and 1/4 t. of worchestershire sauce, pinch of salt. Screw the lid on and shake well.

After that, if I am making ranch I will usually add various herbs from my garden,but always dill, a pinch of chopped basil and then whatever else looks good. Dry herbs work too. I like a little lime juice or zest too.

If I am making blue cheese, I always add lots of cracked pepper and crumble some blue cheese in. Chives are nice if you have em.

You can make all kinds of dressings, adding other things like parmesan cheese, mustard, etc. I never make a lot, so if I don't like it, I can always make more. Good luck!!

balsamic vinegar. (or in a pinch lemon juice. Just lemon juice).

From there, it's all gravy, so to speak.

There are various ways I dress it up.

For example, on the super-dry lettuce leaves, I grind salt and pepper and dump in to the palm of my hand some dried tarragon and dried basil. I rub those together just to increase the flavor as they fall on the leaves. Toss all together (it takes a little more work to thoroughly mix than you'd think), and then back to the cardinal step: balsamic vinegar. Just pour a little over the top. done.

Here's my all-time favorite variation, but it takes a little bit of work (which can be done well in advance and stored a very, very long time):

Grab a whole head of garlic and wrap it in tin foil. Pour in a little olive oil (maybe some rosemary leaves if you have some, or something else leafy and green and savory) to keep it from drying out. Next time your oven is on - slow heat is best - toss the thing in there for at least an hour, depending on freshness of course. [you might want to slit the top of each clove so the oil can get in; dont know if that's essential but if you have the time go ahead. I'm guessing you could potentially have an explosion if you didn't do that, but it's hard to imagine a clove that truly air-tight. I haven't done that experiment though, I've always slit them. This can be a little time-consuming and may be expendable].

Let the head of garlic cool and squeeze the cloves into a glass jar. You can mash them with the back of a fork if you like. They should be a pretty golden brown color and very soft.

This mash will keep in the fridge a long time.

When you need dressing, find a glass jar with a secure lid. Spoon some of the mash in and maybe some salt & pepper, then pour in some ... balsamic vinegar. Then shake the daylights out of it. It turns thick, thick and beautiful. And tangy and delicious. But it's just essentially balsamic vinegar. The only thing tastier than balsamic vinegar is: (balsamic vinegar + salt). :)

You can go on from there to taste. Try dry mustard powder. Try wet mustard if you'd rather. Etc. It doesn't really get any easier.

BTW, I used to have all the roasted garlic I wanted when invited to endless tiresome potlucks with very boring-palate people. I'd bring several heads of roasted garlic with bread -- you're supposed to squeeze the former on the latter. But no one would eat it and I'd be begged to take it home, which I happily did. Then proceeded as above. :) Its not as if this isn't supposed to be a real gourmand offering; not my fault they wouldn't bite, right? (I have been to potlucks with more gastronomically adventurous in which a whole dozen heads of garlic were scarfed in 45 minutes, so I wasn't really intending to stiff anyone).

***
I agree the bacon grease is toxic. But not necessarily in small quantities. The big problem is when we eat too much of it, any of it. I'm guessing the poster who switched to real butter and sugar is savoring the real flavor so much that she's eating less of it. Quantity is the real killer of diets/nutritional health. I think I'd extend that rule to include bacon grease, maybe. It's true though, that pretty much pushes the envelope of acceptability! In condiment-quantities, rarely, then maybe.... (I'm intrigued by the idea of using the fat for eggs. I actually have some bacon in my fridge at the moment, first time in at least 4 years. Maybe I'll try that....)

The baking stuff (just 8 jars plus some vanilla beans and extracts) goes in a 6"x8" lightweight plastic bin I can lift down from the cab over my baking area.

The cooking stuff is in a pullout next to the range that has smaller bins. The jars are arranged alphabetically. And each bin is labeled with the name of the first and last jar in it. The labels on the shelves can be read from my standing position at the range.

I keep salt and pepper mills, a kosher salt cellar and a crock with dried parsley on the hood directly over the cooktop 'cause they're in constant use.

Those little bins were CD storage I got on sale at Targets for under $4 each. They each hold 9 jars for potential storage for 54 jars plus the larger items.

The drawer is 24" wide, 21" deep; the face front is 6 1/4" high and the inside sides are 4 1/4" high. I have just under 40 spices stored so it's not a huge collection but I also have room for a 7 1/2" wide knife block and utensil storage as well so it could hold a lot more spices if I removed those.

Mine are in a 18" wide by 30" deep draw next to the cooktop and under the baking area. I store all my spices and seasoning except for salt and pepper in this draw. I used 3 oz glass bottles ordered from www.specialtybottle.com and labeled them with my labeler.

They were very easy to deal with. I used a rubber mallet to tap them into the wood. Didn't take a whole lot of effort. I bought the wood strips at Lowe's.

I didn't want to hammer the dividers directly into the drawers because I didn't want permanent holes in the wood. So I made a frame for each drawer and attached the dividers to that frame. The entire set up in each drawer is fully removable without leaving any permanent signs of ever having existed in the drawer.

Here are pix:

From New Folder

Soup drawer pulled out:

From New Folder

Cookware drawer (bottom drawer below cooktop):

From New Folder

Copper pots and pans (these are SUPER heavy!)in middle drawer below cooktop:

From New Folder

Utensil drawer immediately below cooktop:

From New Folder

Knife drawer to right of cooktop:

From New Folder

Cooking spices - pullout to right of cooktop:

From New Folder

Baking spices - pullout to left of cooktop (and nearest the baking center on the far left run of the long counter):

From New Folder

Dishware drawer, just to the left of the sink:

From New Folder

Garbage pullout - left side below apronfront sink:

From New Folder

Garbage pullout and cleaning supplies pullout (both below sink):

From New Folder

Cookie sheet storage above double wall ovens:

From New Folder

Today's artwork: :-)

From New Folder

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see! :-)

But I also really like this pic posted earlier by boxerpups (again with the white backsplash/wall tying in the white uppers):

We measured the height so that it would fit a half sheet pan on its side, which is the longest that we wanted to store in the dividers. The horizontal area on top is for full sheet pans and other large platters, etc.

Year-round, I also store vases & seldom-used water bottles in the back and in the very front napkin holders, hot pads for the table, and often-used water bottles.

The napkin holders (w/napkins) and hot pads are stored in it b/c the refrigerator is next to the DR and it's very easy to grab them when setting the table. One thing...we're a tall family. I'm the shortest at 5'10". So the front, at least, is easy for us to reach. I do have to get a chair for the very back, but it's only 3 or 4 times a year.

Tray storage...I understand your range has a bottom drawer. But, have you ever tried to store your cookie sheets, cooling racks, muffin tins, pizza pans, roasting pan (& accessories), etc. in vertical storage? It's so much easier to access them than in a bottom drawer under a range! We stored our cookie sheets and other flat items in that drawer location in our old kitchen and I'll never go back to that kind of tray storage! (Our pots & pans were all stored in the corner susan.)

Keep an open mind and think about it...you might find something new that works better than what you've been doing. Yes, you're used to what you have...but be open to change (or at least to consider/try something new). I'm so glad I was...my kitchen has so many "new" things and I love the vast majority of them! Not all things will necessarily work out, but at least give things a try.

I did this over my ovens. You can do something similar over your refrigerator. (The bottom shelf holds platters & my griddle lengthwise front-to-back.)

First of all, thank you SOO much to everyone on this site who was a huge help, inspiration and motivation. I very much appreciate the many thoughtful, creative people who gave me advice along the way.

I am sure I will forget some details so feel free to ask questions. We did an entire first floor remodel (mostly cosmetic) so there was a lot going on.

Cabinets- Shiloh, inset beaded soft white with slate highlighting and brushing. Tons of details on these, everything is upgraded and pull out or soft glide, etc. They were our biggest expense.

Kitchen Table- Antique tables made daily. Chairs painted and distressed from my old set

New Windows (expanded in kitchen, replaced in entire house)- OKNA. And very glad I went with casement in kitchen in the end as I wasn't going to originally.

Pendants- Mercury glass, shades of light

Range- GE Monogram 36 inch dual fuel with grill (love it)

Sink- Shaw 3018 (love it), also got the stainless grid, love it too.

Prep Sink- Rohl Round 18 inch with Tapmaster (tapmaster nice but not end of world if not)

Faucets- same for both sinks, Delta Leland single hole

Air switches- from home depot (very frustrating. Don�t place these near a faucet handle!)

Floors- Character walnut random width, distressed edges,

Waterlox finish, Blackford and Sons. LOVE!

Vent- GE, free with range 1200 CFMs, loud but works and free is free

Undercabinet lights- seagull ambiance lighting on dimmer, great lights

Disposals- Evolution and Evolution compact, no trouble

Dishwasher- Meihl, some trouble here. Had a flood already! Due to filling the soap dispenser up with soap, apparently a BIG no-no.

Backsplash- subway, Emser cape code in artisan cream crackle ordered from Studio Tile in Fl for around 14/ft, Above range, not sure, some small mosaic from a local store.

Hardware- cabinets, hafele antique black, doors ordered online , Emtek black ordered from simpsons hardware

Paint- Ben Moore (have to look up colors, forget)

Warming drawer- Kitchenaid (used every day!)

Microwave- Sharp MW Drawer (fine)

Fridge- Samsung with convertible fridge drawer (can be used for wine, kids snacks, deli meats,etc) (like it)

Wine Fridge- Uline Captain (some trouble here, two repair visits)

Railings- Iron panels and railing elements ordered from

Kings Architectural Metals and welded locally (love the result)

General Contractor- Tom Christie, Quality Craft Carpentry in Northern Virginia. An absolute doll and has an amazing team. We cannot recommend him and his work highly enough and thankful to our friends who referred him!

We also replaced all our dishes, silverware, glassware, baking and cookware- love all the new stuff!

I think that's it! It took about 4 months of real work for the renovation then some minor details dragged on for a long time.

Overall we LOVE the new kitchen and the new house overall. It's amazingly functional and comfortable and we are really happy with it. Thanks again to everyone for their great advice and support!

From Kitchen Remodel

Let me know if these links dont work, I moved to Picasa and never tried to post from it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creamy French Classic

For example:

We discovered that an ice-maker (a standard feature in our fridge but not one we sought out) is a truly wonderful feature.

We meant to have our countertops form our window sills as one continuous slab but a height discrepancy forced us to add a stepped up sill. Now we love it. Not only does it keep water away from the wood of the window, it gives real presence to the windows and looks like a planned architectural feature.

What are your happy kitchen accidents?

here are 2 gwer's I copied out for my 'idea' folder hoping I could have a raised dw also.

from a local Lowe's -

A caution...for some reason, my builder insisted the backsplash go in before my appliance garage, because that's what he "normally" does. Due to the unplanned thickness (most people before me had 4" backsplashes and somehow the appliance garage measurements were "standard"), the sides of my garage had to be cut down to fit flush with the front of the upper cabinet. The extra thickness inside the garage reduced the amount of space I had.

Of course the shortfall of space meant my perfectly planned/measured, well-thought out toaster oven purchased specifically for that space...would NOT FIT!! Grrrr....I was so mad!!! Lesson learned. Put in appliance garage before backsplash...regardless of what builder "normally" does. Haha!

The house is a 1924 Tudor. Not very big by today's standards (<2K sq ft), but had a kitchen and breakfast room that we could remodel into a single kitchen without adding on. The total space is about 16' x 12'. Here's the rough floorplan we worked from:

Cabinets: http://www.seattlecustomcabinets.com/
Highly recommended if you're in the Seattle area! In addition to making beautiful, high quality cabinets, it was Tim who came up with a lot of the cool storage ideas like taking advantage of the interior walls.

Compost Bin: Blanco Solon. http://www.blancocanada.com/frames/BlancoStart.htm#/pages/wasteManagement.htm
It's out of Canada but there are US .com vendors if you do a web search.

Tile: Oregon Tile & Marble's Isole line. They have a showroom in Seattle, but also sell through retail tile stores. http://www.oregontileandmarble.com/ & http://www.oregontileandmarble.com/Tear%20Sheets/IE%20Lanka%20Isole_2pg.pdf

Here's a closeup of the backsplash:

Hardware is all in polished nickel (except the glass filler, which was the only one we could find that didn't require two hands and was only available in chrome).

Cabinet latches: http://www.lookintheattic.com/vhln250.html
We chose ones with large knobs on the advice of our cabinet maker (who said as we got older our hands might have a harder time turning a smaller knob).

Drawer pulls (incl fridge) are Restoration Hardware Aubrey: http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1283069&categoryId=cat1512023

Hinges are White Chapel Ball-tip: http://www.whitechapel-ltd.com/category/lpbtfch.html

Paint:
Cabinets/trim are Benjamin Moore Bavarian Cream
Walls are C2 Sugar Cookie
Ceiling Benjamin Moore Paper Mache

Counter: Some sort of Brazilian Soapstone. I wouldn't recommend our fabricator. If you're shopping for soapstone, definitely bring a water bottle / damp cloth with you and view each piece wet. Ours was light grey when we bought it, but turned almost jet black when we oiled it with mineral oil, and the damp cloth gave us a much better idea of the final color.

Sink: Franke GNX-110-28. http://www.frankeksd.com/productdetail.php?prodid=71&node=10&group=53&lvl=3
This was one of the few sinks we could find with a drain in the corner. The corner drain allows the plumbing to be tucked away in a corner and gives you much more usable space under the sink. Here's a shot of the sink and the usable space underneath:

Appliances:
DISHWASHER: Miele G 2183 SCVi
REFRIGERATOR: Sub-Zero 700TCi LH
HOOD: Vent-a-Hood SLH9-130SS
MAIN OVEN: Miele H4780BPSS
STEAM OVEN: Miele DG4080SS
COOKTOP: Miele KM5753+

Just let me know if you have other questions- I'm happy to tell the good and bad and it's the least I can do after all the help this forum has given me. :)

I'll also link to JH Carr, a major booth fabricator in my state. (They're the ones who made our old booth and will make our new one.) They have a gallery of many different styles they make. Click on a booth you like and then click on the spec sheet to see dimensions. This was also very helpful to me in planning my new kitchen's booth. Mine will be custom made by them because I need the back height to be very specific in order to fit in perfectly with the island around it.

I love the pics of the ones Lavender posted above, but they don't look extremely comfortable to me. I've never sat on one to judge it though!

Here is a link that might be useful: JH Carr, booth fabricator

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