There are still several things on the to-do list (painting walls/backsplash, staining trim/stairs, installing hood, installing upper cabinet latches, getting TV/couch in adjacent room, getting stools) but thought I'd post some recent photos anyway. Once we're done, I'll post some nice photos (my dad's!). Thanks, Lisa 0527, for mentioning it!

My biggest complaint is that DH isn't so anal about putting the doors back in the proper config, so sometimes the right door is closed first and the left door is resting on it, but no big deal. I just go in and fix it when I see he's done that.

Here's one:

Before:

After:


We still had to replace one tile near the stove when we took this picture. Now after seeing the images, I'm pretty sure we're going to break out the tool sand carry the tile back between the microwave and stove as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Renovation Blog

A 36" corner cabinet with a single fixed shelf and a full-height door lists at between $783-$1529, depending on wood species and door style. (According to a StarMark price list that I have.) The same cabinet with a curved in door goes from $2747-$3616.

A 24" angle base cabinet lists from $888-1750; A curved out 24" corner cabinet lists from $4539-$5971.

A 12" angled end base lists from $450-879; the same sized curved out base end cab goes $5000-$6599.

Yowsa.

(Disclaimers: YMMV; these prices would be discounted a ton but the percentage differences from angles to curves could be similar; I do not sell or make cabinets for a living; I do not even know if these examples make sense for your kitchen. There's nothing to see here; move along.)

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!

I'm not sure about the curtain material, but I like your little dresser. You seem to like turquoise and green...have you thought of a vintage/farmhouse look? Here's a few pictures.

And other wine glasses and drinking glasses in shallow cabinets on either side of the wine fridge, here:

I enjoy looking at upscale spaces and trendy ones and am getting a real kick out of hearing about budgets and tastes of those of you who are "totally kitchen obsessed" but I suspect that like me, there are others who really need more modest and personalized (or quirky) mentoring.

Let's see who else is just a little different here. Show us some successful kitchen spaces that won't show up in the high-end ads and mags. Images of spaces by successful local contractors, creative do-it-yourselfers, repurposers, and the just plain resourceful. No mansions need apply.

I'll start. Today I stumbled into the House Tours for "The Kitchn" and/or "Apartment Therapy." Here we find some people who live with limitations or manias or old interesting stuff.

Here is a link that might be useful: House Tours from

Everyday I come home and DH has more surprises for me. Drawers are up, pullouts installed. We have a few little tweaks and issues... but nothing major. The top drawer on the 3 stack below is the wrong one but it'll get changed out. Anyway... exhausted and thrilled. After work moving "stuff" out of my other house, loading up my car, and bringing it down here. Then put away and organizing this kitchen. I have so much more storage I don't quite know what to do with all the space yet. As I get more and more things down here and get to IKEA to buy organizers for my drawers i'm sure I change things out a few times. Here's a pic for ya'! Excuse the tools on the counter. I was too tired to clean them up for the purpose of the pic since they'll be used again tomorrow.

Really, I love you guys for all you've done for me.

Soffit link below....Images of what others have done. hth.

Peninsula,
I prefer one level. Again depends on how much space you
have but for me I like all one level for working, social
times and consistency.

Show me your peninsula (Gardenweb)
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0913253118681.html?5

Kitchens without islands
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1117195715348.html?9

Images of Stainless Farm sinks in country style kitchens.
hth
~boxer

HB Magazine

HB magazine

Decorpad

Baer Home Design Blog

Double Apron

Here is a link that might be useful: What to do with a soffit

We moved into this house several months ago, and it was more country than I prefer, but we love the house and the location, so we're working with it. I finally have the kitchen like I want it; trying to tone down the country influence while staying true to the the farmhouse feel.

Anyway, cost breakdown:

New lighting (3 pendants, and chandelier over the dining room table, all IKEA) : $130
Backsplash (lowes subway tile): $120
paint: $25
Range hood: $250
Sold existing micro-hood for -$100
Total $425

Before pics, with the old owners' stuff (not exactly a train-wreck of a kitchen, but the red uppers sucked so much light out that it felt kind of like a cave):

After:

It's so much more airy in there now, and I love having a real range hood. That micro hood was awful; barely any lighting underneath, and useless as a range hood.

.

We are all here in a sort of Victoria's Secret for the TKO. Surrounded by brassieries and bustiers for the kitchen. Marble, writhing. Porcelain, swelling. Polished nickel, arching. I don't avert my eyes - I'm not him, I'm the guy over there, leering and fingering the camisoles - but sometimes, just sometimes -

Don't you ever want to just rip one off? Crank The Clash to 11, kick every burner to max, slam an iron pot down so hard it rings, throw a hunk of meat on a scarred slab of wood , chop it, chop it good, flecks and blood spitting, and to hell with cross-contamination, because everything that isn't seared black is going to be wire brushed, doused with bleach and put away wet?

In those, not infrequent, episodes, there are some brutal truths, it seems to me. You shall not slam iron on marble. You shall not scarify polished nickel with wire brushes. And you shall not wear a silk camisole to chop bloody meat. Precious fireclay, polished and beaded wood, delicate ogee edges, those are for smooth jazz and elegant cooking. For my Clash nights, I see stainless steel and painted slab wood.

Unfortunately, big expanses of stainless steel aren't everyone's aesthetic teacup. SWMBO has expressed her preference for not cooking in a battleship boiler room. Even I get tired of monochromatic gunmetal, and (I just added it up) there could be as much as 122 square feet of it in my kitchen, if good sense doesn't prevail, and you know, sometimes Good does not in fact triumph.

I went looking for stainless steel that isn't dull and institutional. My, there are many possibilities.

Classic engine-turned jeweling:

Spiral burst wire-brush patterns:

Random anti-graffiti pattern:

Industrial checkering and diamond plate:

Contrasting brushed and polished:

Black coatings:

Powder coating:

Zinc and cadmium plating:

Weirdly creative metalworker stuff:

Maybe that is the answer. Decorative, but amoured-plated. Built for show, and for go. Catherine Denevue . . .

. . . in a chain-mail camisole. Rowwwr.

Or is this too off-putting? Too ghetto, too brutal, too much Beast and not enough Beauty?

Here is a link that might be useful: integrated drainboards / runnels link on forum

Before:

After:

Another view:

Favorite detail:

I'll post a link to the rest of the gallery for anyone who wants to see more.

Details: The house is an 1895 Tudor Revival with a couple modern additions on it. Hopefully the kitchen bridges the two periods of construction in the house.
Cabinets: Crown Point. Farrow & Ball Shaded White paint, Sapele stained cabinetry. Banquette, open shelves, and tv cabinet by local custom cabinetmaker. Polished nickel hardware.

Counters: honed Virginia Mist granite and Carrara marble

Backsplash: Bejmat tiles in white, 2" x 6", Mosaic House. Antique glass resilvered, Olde Good Things.

Faucets: Wingnut by Sonoma Forge in Rustic Nickel.

Fridges: Subzero, Range: Wolf 48AG with grill (love)

Hood: Modernaire, custom.

Lighting: Salvage

Here is a link that might be useful: histokitch's gallery

My husband is semi retired and now grows EVEN MORE than ever in his miscellaneous gardens. He even sold raspberries this past summer at a local farm stand (150 bushes!!). Here are some photos of just a sampling of his bounty and my attempt to can, freeze, dehydrate, cook, bake it all in my new kitchen. I must say, having all this room and organization makes it sooooo much easier to handle these big projects, while still allowing space to make lunches, dinners, etc. at the same time. I'm so content.

Here are some veggie photos first . . . and in a subsequent message I'll post some fruit and berry photos.

We had lots of pepper this summer. I dried the hot ones to be used as crushed red pepper and I froze the sweet ones. These peppers are sweet, believe it or not. Notice the apple peeling, coring, slicing project going on at the sink in the background.

Our 4' long garden sink came in handy this summer. Here are tomatoes being washed and readied for canning. I canned 50 quart jars of tomatoes this year.

This is our canning cupboard : )

Top shelf down:
Dried apple rings, dried eggplant, dried string beans
Canned peaches, dried hot peppers, apple sauce, peach jam, raspberry jam
Apple butter, tomato puree, and some more hot peppers

I made fermented pickles in a crock this year!

We live in a 1920's house that had a tiny kitchen and a poorly designed family room and garage that was added on at some point in the '70's. We lived in the house for about 6 yrs before working with an architect to improve the layout and move the kitchen (we also added a mater suite above and addressed the exterior of the addition so it blends more with the original home). The kitchen was so small, we simply added it on the our existing DR.

We moved the kitchen into the space that had been a 1970's family room and then added a family room to what used to be a (weirdly enormous) patio. Arches that mimic those in the front of the house connect the new part to the old. My overall approach was everything wood leans historical (gothic cabs, big moldings, chunky window trim, etc) and everything metal (faucets, hardware) leans modern. Anyway, THANK YOU for everyone's help and collective genius! laura

old kitchen

with a crazy layout!

new kitchen

love our chunky and curvy and functional(!) hood

a shot of the kitchen and new family room

Here is our dining room now, the old kitchen went from the far wall to the left of the window.

Again, thanks for everything!!

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

Jay

Here are some pics of the hardware and the floor stain. Nothing fancy, we kept it simple. But, darn, even simple knobs and bin pulls were EXPENSIVE!!!

Before:

After:

Cabinets painted a mix of Farrow & Ball Lime White and Light Blue

Marble countertop Crystal Carerra - Kitchen Aid Diswasher

Wall of cabinets painted with desk top faux finished F&B Light Blue paint

backsplash (Walker Zanger Vibe Blue Shadow mosiac and Sonoma Tile creamy crackle, stovetop (Wolf 30") removed over the stove microwave and added custom hood

backsplash feature tile WZ Vibe Blue Shadow

island (marble top - painted Farrow & Ball Light Blue)

Leibherr Refigerator (counter depth) - removed upper cabinet built new surround

Where's the microwave?

it's in here - an old, old TV cabinet from my grandfather's hardware store that I attached to the end of the old island and painted to match.

Undermount Kraus Stainless sink single bowl & Rohl Perrin & Rowe faucet in polished nickel

Cabinet hardware - Old World Hardware from Myknobs.com

Chandelier (I need to lower it a little) Visual Comfort from NYLighting online

Kitchen Aid Double ovens (no convection just plain ovens) fit in the existing cabinet perfectly - that thing was heavy

More shots to show the layout:

I will post the details in more depth later.