You can also buy no-prep spray paint at any big box store for about $5 - 6/can.

I had been wary of choosing marble because of the possibility of etching. Now, we were confronted with marble that had been unevenly and severely etched all over, and we had to decide how to proceed.

We did recover some funds from the fabricator.

And then DH rehoned the marble himself. He used 5 inch diameter 320 grit Abranet pads on an orbital sander. He followed by going over the surface with pumice. It took about an hour for the first pass and then we went over some of the areas again. The marble became silky smooth and even, while retaining the matte honed appearance. We finished with two coats of sealer.

I'm posting because I was one of many who feared getting marble in the first place because of the etching. There is no doubt that it will etch in future, but I wanted to share that it can be resurfaced.

I love the Danby marble. I feel much less worried going forward seeing how it can be brought back to a perfect smooth honed surface. Just wanted to share this with others who want marble but are concerned about etching.

Color Matches For Restoration Hardware paint in Benjamin Moore paint:

Atmosphere Blue - Gentle Gray 1626. New: Iced Slate 2130-60.

Butter - Precious Ivory 185 OR Golden Straw2152-50 which slightly more gray but a good match. No new matches.

Butter Cream - Blossom Tint 933. No new matches.

Caffe Creme - Spanish White 943. No new matches.

Celery - Hawthorn Green 379 or Stanhope Yellow 280 (both very good, but not spot on). No new matches.

Creamware - Consentino Chardonnay 247. No new matches.

Latte - This is a new color and I spec'd Crisp Khaki 234 as a close match and client was happy with it in comparison to her RH Latte chip. She nailed this.

Lavender - Same story as above spec'd BenM Porcelain 2113-60. This is now Pale Lavender and matches Venetian Marble 2114-70. I like the old Lavender better.

Saffron - Same story, but spec'd BenM Chestertown Buff HC-9. Nailed it again.

Silver Birch - Healing Aloe 1562. No new matches.

Sycamore Green - Moon Shadow 1516. Also distant match to Camouflage 2143-40.

The Right White - BenM's Super White (used on all the trim in the RH stores). No new matches.

Willow - Mesquite 501. No new matches.

New Colors:

Blue Sage. No matches anywhere.

Blush Rougissant. Behr Angels Kiss EPWN-7. Pratt&Lambert Pearly Gates 2268.

Butter Cream. Behr Night Glow PIC-6. Ace 3-G Lantern Light.

Buttermilk. No matches.

Cappucino. Berkshire Beige AC-2.

Chocolate. Brown Sugar 2112-20.

Cloud White. Glacier White OC-37.

Dusk. Mozart BLue CC-1665. In the Midnight Hour CC-1666.

Flax. Taupe 2110-10.

Hyacinth. No matches.

Lilac. SW 7078 Minute Mauve. Distant -- BM Portland Gray 2109-60.

Linen. Behr Toasted Barley PPL-60.

Mediterranean White. Behr Parchment Paper 710C-1. Pittsburgh Spun Cotton 119-1.

Orchid. No matches anywhere.

Petal. Pittsburgh Paint Peach Statice 123-1. Light Peach 122-2.

Rose. Pink Panther CC-1255.

Rouge. No matches.

Sea Green. Ace Hardware 153-C Treetops.

Seafoam. Behr Beach Wind ECC-32-2.

funcolors did most of the work so yay! funcolors!

This list was copied from the HGTV boards where it has lived and helped people for a couple of years-credit to "Funcolors" for compiling it and to 'Casey31652" for keeping it alive.

Cabinets: Brookhaven
Sinks: Ticor
Faucets: Moen
Counters: GM Original soapstone perimeter & honed carrara marble island
Backsplash: honed carrara marble 3x6 tiles
Floor: travertine
Appliances: all Electrolux except for KA dishwasher
Hood: Vent-A-Hood
Cabinet hardware: from Restoration Hardware
Chandelier: from Restoration Hardware
Chairs: from Arhaus
Stools: from Crate & Barrel

Here are some before pics at the start of renovation:

Here is the new kitchen. It was bumped out about three feet which gave enough room for an island/table combo:

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics of new kitchen

When we moved into this house 17 months ago, we knew we'd need to update the kitchen. It was the size of a postage stamp and cut off from the rest of the house. See original floor plan here:

We really wanted a kitchen that would be open to our family room, would have eat-in space not separated by a brick wall, and - of course - more space. So we decided to take out the wall between the original kitchen and dining room, move the dining room to what used to be a formal living room that we never used, and taking out the wall between the old kitchen/dining rooms and a breezeway type area that was mostly wasted space.

After discussions with several design/build firms and countless hours of looking at floor plans posted to this site (thank you, those who gave us valuable input!), we pretty much designed the floor plan ourselves and then found a contractor who was willing to do it. We did have to convince him that we really did want this design. He wanted us to have a U-shaped kitchen with a peninsula instead of the island, but we really wanted the circular flow plan and felt strongly that we wanted 2 separate cabinet runs that make a disconnected "L" so we didn't have any corner cabinets. (With his design we would have had 2 corners on an 11-foot wall). What we ended up with was mostly like this:

Changes to this design included moving the warming drawer to the island, putting the icemaker to the right of the prep sink, and shrinking down the island a bit. We also moved things around within the mudroom. Generally speaking, this is substantially what we ended up with.

This was no small construction feat - we took out 2 walls, including one load-bearing wall to combine 2 rooms and an old breezeway into a single kitchen and then added a mudroom. From the first sledgehammer to the final nail, it took about 16 weeks. There were a few in the middle when we thought that the baby would come first but they got it done on time and for that we are super grateful!

For those who want to know what is what:
Cabinets - CWP (we originally wanted Crownpoint, but decided we wanted something made closer to where we live - VA - and less expensive). So far we've been pleased though the wainscot still needs to be touched up. We're glad we did the blue island with the white surrounding cabinets. It gives the room some personality, looks great with the soapstone and matches my Polish pottery!
Counters and sinks - soapstone from Buck's County. Love it.
Rangetop, hood and ovens - Wolf
Fridge - 48" Subzero
Warming drawer - Miele - we still don't really use this...
Dishwasher - Miele
Microwave - GE spacesaver. We went through a lot of angst with our contractor on the placement of this. We had this location in a prior kitchen and really liked it but he never did. We still like it!
Wine fridge - U-line
Ice Maker - SZ (found used on Craigslist!)
Backsplash - carrara marble (we originally wanted plain white but hired a designer for a few hours of input and he recommended this - we really like how it ties together the grey in the soapstone and the white in the cabinets)
Knobs and pulls- RH
Latches - can't remember, but found them from the Christopher Peacock look-alike kitchen blog
Faucets - KWC except for the filter/insta-hot which is Waterstone (I thought I would love the pull down one but I actually like the pull-out one at our cleanup sink more)
Pendants - Hudson Valley
Floors - White oak in kitchen, soapstone in mudroom. We had 3 different materials in the 3 rooms that were combined to make this (cork, wood, and slate) and had a hard time deciding what we wanted to have. In the end, we went with wood and stained it to match the adjacent dining room.

The pictures:

The old:

The new:

To orient yourself, the pantry to the left of the fridge is in the same location that our old fridge was!

Cabinets-Wood Mode
Perimeter Counters-Calacatta Crema-honed
Island top-Sapele Mahogany
Range-Wolf
Wall Oven-Miele
Refrigerator-Sub Zero
Dishwashers-Miele
Main Sink-Shaw's Original Farm Sink
Wet Bar Sink-Sink-A-Link Hammered Copper

href="http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg92/mhamesny/finished%20kitchen%200908/?action=view¤t=DSC_0008.jpg" target="_blank">

Kitchen Information:
Cabinets Crystal Cabinets
Perimeter - Frosty White with Van Dyke Brown Glaze
Island & Butler's Pantry - Cherry with Black Highlights
Country Classic Door Style

Appliances:
Fridge: Subzero 642 - 42" side by side with cabinetry panels
Dishwasher: Miele G2180SCVI with panel
Rangetop: Wolf SRT366 36" Sealed Rangetop
Ovens: Thermador POD302 Double Electric Ovens (Top is convection)
Hood Liner: Vent a Hood 600 CFM Liner BH234SLDSS
Microwave: Sharp Microwave Drawer 24" KB6024MS
Sink: Ticor (learned about on this forum) SS508 30 5/8 x 18 1/8
Faucet: Steamvalveoriginal.com

Hardware: Top Knobs Satin Nickel. Pulls M808-96, Knobs M326, Fridge Handles M808-12

Lighting:
Hudson Valley Pelham Pendants in Aged Brass from Croft and Little.com
Ceiling High Hats are LR6 LED lights from Lightingonthenet.com. We're very happy with the lighting from these. Indistinguishable from incandescent and still dimmable.

Countertops: honed Absolute Black granite on perimeter and honed Imperial Danby on island. Perimeter is eased edge and island is ogee.

Floor - wood to match rest of house. Varied plank with pegs. Stain is a mix of Minwax Provincial with Jacobean.

Backsplash - Sonoma Tile Makers. Field tile is Otter color shiny with crackle glaze.

Paint - Benjamin Moore HC81 Manchester Tan. Trim is Linen White

Butler's Pantry: Same cabinetry as kitchen. Counters also honed Imperial Danby. Sink is Ticor bar sink, smallest they had, don't remember number.

Faucet is Blanco 157-106-ST Terra Single Lever Bar Faucet in Satin Nickel from Faucet Depot

Filtered Instant Hot/Cold is InSinkErator F-HC2215SN Country Series Satin Nickel from Faucet Depot

Wine Fridge is Marvel - bought as a sample from appliance store

Undercounter Beverege(sp) Fridge from ULine with Crystal IceMaker, CLRC02175B00 - with cabinetry panel. Don't like this at all. The back keeps freezing up and then melting (have had service call) and the ice maker is incredibly noisy.

Lighting: Chandelier is Corbett Venetian 1 Light Ceiling Pendant 78-41 from Capitol Lighting. I love the Capitol Lighting website (1800lighting.com) I ordered quite a few lights from them throughout the house and was very happy with their pricing and customer service.

Mudroom: Cabinets custom built and painted in semi-gloss BM Shadow (eggplant color). Washer and Dryer are Maytag Epic. Very happy with these. Floor is Charcoal Gray Slate from boxes of slate I picked up at Expo. Also very happy with this. The cubbies were custom built by my contractor.

Still have to get switch/outlet covers and window treatments and wall art. Otherwise so happy to be done!

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!

Details:

Cabinets Medallion Santa Cruz inset with Divinity finish
Countertop Green Mountain Original P.A. Soapstone
Butcherblock Custome made Endgrain in cherry with walnut trim
Backsplash Subway Ceramics subway tile in glossy white. Outlet covers came from them as well.
Hardware Oil Rub Bronze
Latches-Rejuvination.com
Cup pulls- Deltana Elongated Cup Pulls from www.cabinetpull.com
Knobs Restoration Hardware
Range Wolf 30" Duel Fuel
Refrigerator Liebherr 30" counter depth
Microwave Sharp 24" Drawer Microwave
Dishwasher Miele Optima
Disposal Insinkerator Evolutoin Compact
Vent Sirius 30in
Sink 30" Rohl Shaws Farm Sink
Prep sink Rohl Allia prep sink
Faucets Perrin and Rowe
Under Cabinet Lighting Kichler Xenon
Pendants Don't know! Came with house. Similar pendants at www.rejuvination.com
Paint Walls- Sherwin Williams Rice Grain in eggshell, Trim- Sherwin Williams Alabaster in gloss
Ceiling Height 9 feet
Space Roughly 11 x 15

Here is a link that might be useful: Creamy White and Soapstone Kitchen

I have been asked by several to post my kitchen redo so, here goes...forgive the repeats...forgive the length...

We began designing a rework of our home in 2004. We actually got started in September 2006 and moved back in April 2007 under duress - it was not completely finished, but we could not stand living on top of each other anymore. It was finished by August of 2007 with me having to throw tantrums every few days at my contractor to get workers here to finish the kitchen. At one point I threatened to wear a sandwich board up and down our street, reading "you would have to been crazy to use (my contractor)"

Okay, back to 2004: The back of the house (where the kitchen is located) was okay and livable, but it did not flow or have any stylistic continuity to the front of the house, which is so amazing in itself. I felt like I was in a different house when in the kitchen. The main part of the house was built in 1890 and still has a Victorian feel, the kitchen and breakfast room and porches were built about 1920 in the Craftsman era and kept being added onto and changed � to the point that an "extra" half bath had been added jutting out into a hallway and disrupting important flow. There were a few things that had been done that would make me stare and say "why???" The kitchen also felt very far away from the living areas of the house.

I have slipped in "before" shots where appropriate on the web album. Here is the link to my photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/quapaw/Our1890HomeAndKitchenRemodelRestoration#

or click on any photos below and it will take you to my album containing photos of our entire house.

before:

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

The house was near museum quality in the front rooms, but it was like entering the twilight zone in the kitchen and breakfast room, breakfast room (yes, 2 of them) and bathroom(s). Our house had 2 nightmarish half baths downstairs, one of which had been built in the middle of a major passage way and was so small a space that the previous owner who had built it bumped out the opposite wall just a funky bit to accommodate the space. I would not even allow people to use that bath as it was not vented properly (think smelly) and would not flush well (think plunger). Mainly, we wanted to restore the architectural integrity to the back of the house, which included removing a diagonal path and countertop that was the main path to the kitchen, raising doorways up to 10 feet to match the doorways in the original house � kitchen doorways etc, were all 7 & 8 feet, one directly behind a 10 foot opening, so it was readily apparent something was amiss. Another goal was getting a back door and opening up our back porch which had been totally enclosed and door removed � the room that went nowhere with a window looking into the current kitchen. I also was determined to have French doors from the kitchen that went out to a deck which was the same elevation as the kitchen floor, to the North, shady side of our property.

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

We hired an architect that we had worked with previously with great success - we saw eye to eye on everything. After several attempts, he fired ME - not the other way around. He would not draw what I wanted, kept giving me drawings of what he thought we should do, that we should work with what had been done to the house - "don't open the old back porch, build on a new one; put the bathroom in the old porch," etc. That was $3000 down the tubes, we were already starting out in the negative! A dear architect friend of mine said she would work on the design. She drew what I wanted. I would ask for suggestions, but she assured me that my ideas made sense and would be really improving our home. The drawings were not cheap, but it was well worth it and we are even better friends, although, I was afraid I would be fired at any moment!

Our cabinet maker said he was going to get me a nice "johnny-back" cabinet for over the toilet, I said no, you're going to make this...

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

A word about the bathroom: I loved this apron sink but knew I could not use it in the kitchen with the island we wanted, so I came up with this cabinet. The floor is American Restoration Tile and includes encaustic tiles. I almost went with white subway tile, but I felt it would be too utilitarian for the space, so these are travertine stone cut into bricks. They are the kind with holes and I paid a large fortune for the tiler not to fill the holes with grout! Many like the bathroom more than the kitchen. We had a family member who was very much a sportsman and inherited all his fishing and hunting items and gear and have chosen to use it in decorating to add a bit a masculinity to the house and we loved him very much so we enjoy having it around us.

I have to say that I am proud of myself for coming up with this design, the architect drew it, but it was all me and my husband thinking it out and after living a year in the house, we knew what we needed and how we need it to look. I am picky if you haven't figured it out.

The basis for the design was figuring out where the openings had to be in the rooms. I wanted the French doors on the north wall, we had to have the passage to the dining room, and we needed a double opening to the breakfast room. So with all that, that dictated where we could and couldn't have cabinets, a stove, a sink, etc. We were also returning the flow to the back of the house, so that made it easier to figure out where the back hall need to go and what was left over would become the new full bath. I will admit that in the days leading up to the wreaking crew coming, I was still trying to figure out if we could get a better layout out of the space.

after receiving yet another delivery from ebay, my husband asked how many historic fixtures I had purchased, my quiet response "I don't know..."

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

How I came to have a Lacanche range (www.frenchranges.com): One day I was researching Thermador rangers and ended up on the Gardenweb forums. Someone had written that if you are considering a Thermador then you should take a look at one of these and provided a link to a photo of what turned out to be a Lacanche range. I showed the photo to our neighbor, who we had been taking care of everyday for the past 2 years, just to show him. He was always taking cooking classes, taking photos of his food, practicing garnishes, buying every kitchen gadget on the market, etc. He had a digital Wolf range that he was in love with so I knew he would appreciate seeing this beautiful stove - I didn't know such a thing even existed. Paul saw the French Range - the Lacanche - and said "You NEED that in your kitchen!" I said "No, I don't need anything of the sort" (our previous range was 30 years old, so anything would have been better, a camping stove would have been an improvement!) and he said "You NEED that stove!" He insisted on buying me that stove as his gift to the kitchen, it was also his idea that our cabinets go all the way up the 12 foot walls - "you might as well go all the way with this." My husband likes to say he had to pay for the kitchen to go with the Lacanche!

Given how my main hobby has to do with historic preservation, I knew I wanted a classic kitchen. I wanted marble countertops and inset cabinet doors and those French doors! I spent hundreds of dollars buying kitchen magazines and found several key ideas from that process. The glass front cabinets and the stainless steel countertop on either side of the French Lacanche range came from one layout I found, the open shelves from another and the pink pantry from yet another photo from a magazine (theirs was bright yellow!). Our butler's pantry was actually in our historic house plans from 1920, so we just recreated it. About our butler's pantry: the bottom 2 cabinets on the left are false fronts - they don't open - they are where the air return in located. The vents are on the opposite side in the back stair hall, so this just camouflages the box of the air return.

air return in the bottom cabinets

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

The glass cabinets, I thought about that problem of food storage and how unattractive that is and how to make glass front cabinets work for me. I just felt glass would be more appropriate for the look I wanted - it just looks elegant to me and says "original" although I'm sure that most true Victorian cabinets had wood fronts. I planned what would go in the cabinets before we got too far in design. I have about 3 complete sets of china in addition to two sets of everyday dishes and needed a place to put/display them, so then I needed a place for food. It's hard to visualize how much space you need for food when your food is all packed up for construction! I happened to have a little nook (it was our downstairs half bath, you could get your knees knocked off if someone tried to enter the bathroom while you were on the toilet!) that we originally designed as a desk area, that I made into "the pink pantry" which actually goes around a corner and is behind the refrigerator, where all the mess of the pantry is along with microwave and toaster oven. The part of the pantry that is visible (if you're at the main sink or range)stays neat and tidy given the way that it is designed - narrow shelves for spices, baking ingredients and display. I saw it in a magazine with its Victorian-ish trim and gave it to my carpenter and he just went to work. The counter in the pantry is just wood - out of money for any other surface and since there is not a sink in there it is not a problem. It is painted pink as that is the color that my 4 year old picked out - it was a compromise as she wanted the entire kitchen to be pink! She also wanted Dora the Explorer knobs - yes, there is such a thing - but I put my foot down on that!

the pink pantry

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

Where the "extra bathroom" had been removed at the back stairs and other demolition had taken place near the new/old back door, we found exterior sub walls under the plaster and sheetrock. In old houses this material is something like 1 x 6 set on the diagonal. I had been thinking about paint colors and what I was going to do with all this extra wall and I decided how wonderful it would be if it were returned to its exterior foundations - wood siding. I love texture and my contractor thought I was nuts, but he did do the siding for me and milled corner pieces for near the back door. We painted the siding the cream trim color like the rest of our interior house. This really added a wonderful historic and unique quality to the project. The house really looks like it's evolved and been added on to in a rather careful way.

Exterior siding and trim on the inside

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

For our back hallway we mimicked the wainscoting that is in our foyer and dining room, but on a cheaper level - we used bead board and MDF. The bead board wainscoting is the cheaper stuff: it does not have as deep cuts/lines/beads as the good stuff and the flat vertical and cross pieces are not wood, they are that MDF that they are always making stuff out of on HGTV. The top piece is wood trim.

bead board wainscoting

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

When I was picking out materials for our kitchen I finally reached a moment where I was afraid that the kitchen would be nicer than the rest of the house - which I did not want at all - so I began to try to pick out elements from the original house that could be reproduced in the kitchen, if only in variation, like the wainscoting and the slider doors instead of pocket doors.

We have 4 countertop surfaces(it works because you can only see 2 at anyone time), one of which is unpolished black granite, which looks a lot like soapstone, then marble, polished granite and stainless steel. I really wanted a veined marble for the island and despite everyone, even the marble contractor telling me I did not want that as my island, I got it.

I chose polished marble on the back splash so the gray veining would pick up the gray of the stainless steel, but I also considered bead board (we used it on our butler's pantry, I really love the look and it can be an economical choice if you get the "fake" stuff) and painted pressed tin. We have the marble island and love it and all of it's etchings that my 3 kids inflict upon it. They are not really noticeable unless you look for them.

We have slider doors on reproduction barn door hardware (www.barndoorhardware.com) that divide our kitchen and breakfast room. Our house has pocket doors, but we could not afford to build 2 walls, so this was another research project and something we are really happy with and that everyone marvels over. I really think it turned out better than pocket doors would have and it is unexpected, which I like.

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

Our cabinets are creamy white with feet for an unfitted look. I did choose to get appliances that will take a custom panel, to be hidden into the cabinetry - careful if you get inset cabinet doors (where the door closes flush into the cabinet box) appliances that take a panel are designed to take full overlay doors - we just barely avoided a crisis situation that would have required me to be tried for murder. The main cabinets go all the way up the 12 foot walls, it is quite impressive looking, but fits the style of our home. Our bathroom cabinet is painted a red to give the impression of old wood - I could not afford to have "good wood" so came up with a color that happened to work really well for us. I bought most of my reproduction hardware from Van Dyke's restorers, Historic House Parts, and Rejuvenation, all online. Also Lee Valley Hardware Catalogue has some great hardward, my drop pull came from them. I have different types of drawer and door pulls, just one or two in key areas, to help the kitchen look as if it evolved (Two are fish pulls, I love them!). Our kitchen finally feels like it goes with the rest of our home.

drop pull

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

fish handle - everyone loves this one handle in the middle of all our Victorian cup pulls and amethyst knobs!

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

some other creative things that worked out really well for us: you will notice in the web pictures that originally there were 2 windows on the wall where the stove goes. The outside of our house is a rough stucco (it was "smothered" in stucco about 1920, the Victorian gingerbread and elements are under the stucco - visible in our attic!) and I doubted that my contractor could match the stucco to my specifications - we had already had previously unsuccessful attempts on other stucco repairs. On the outside of our house, the windows appear to be there - I had wood shutters installed in the openings, the windows simply look shuttered. It-s a nice touch to our exterior and I did not have to worry about the stucco being less than perfect.

On our new deck/Mayan temple, we had the steps wrapped around it - I did not want unsightly deck railings - my kids did for the pirate ship they have always dreamed of! On two sides there are plain built in benches - no backs - that provide a barrier on the sides that are butted up to the house.

From Our 1890 home and kitchen remodel/restoration

We had a TON of ups and downs with our project. We were supposed to be in construction for 4 months, but it really took a year and we were out of our home 9 months (we moved in with Paul our next door neighbor - all 5 of us!) Toward the end, May 2007, I actually said to our contractor over the phone, in my most stern and reprimanding voice "it's hard to appreciate how beautiful you have made my kitchen when you keep screwing up even the new stuff that you put in!" His response, "I know." He did not want to put the siding on the wall, but later came back and asked me if "he" hadn't had a good idea(he was kidding, telling me I had done good). Ask me sometime about what happens when the concealed appliances don't fit far enough back into their holes!

Lacanche Range, Sully Model - High performance, dual-fuel, double-oven stoves from France, one oven is electric, the other gas, top is gas and has the French cast-iron simmer plate over one of the two 18,000 BTU burners.
16 colors and finishes available www.lacancheusa.com
Bosch Dishwasher
Kitchenaid refrigerator drawers
Range vent-a-hood: Rangecraft
Ice maker - Marvel Industries
Compactor - Kitchenaid
Shaws Original Fireclay Apron Front Farm Sink by Rohl
Blanco stainless steel bar sink
Perrin and Rowe nickel plated sink faucets and sprayers Stainless Steel Countertops and range shelf by Bray Sheet
Antique fixtures bought on ebay, polished and wired by local craftman

Here is a link that might be useful: Prettykitty's Kitchen and House photos

We are almost done. Just a kitchen table, island stools, desk area chair and accessories to go. Our project started in June and was substantially complete a few days before Christmas.

Unfortunately, I don't have before photos handy and used my iphone to snap these shots. Sorry for the quality. Our old kitchen was L shaped as well, a galley style with eating area. We had white 80's cabinets (solid door) with soffits. Counters were white square tile. Our worst feature was the powder room in the kitchen space and window that faced into our neighbors house (current range wall.) We expanded our kitchen by pushing out the range wall. Other than that we had to work within the space. Our main goals were moving the powder room out of the kitchen, storage, fitting in an island and eating area and respecting the age of our home (1906).

I am happy to share any details if anyone is interested.

Thanks again to all esp. those who helped me through a mini-marble crisis.

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Cabinets: Plain & Fancy, Dove White, Shaker inset doors, slab drawers
Pulls: ORB from Home Expo
Countertop: Honed Absolute Black granite
Island top: Maple butcher block from Grothouse Lumber, 52"x96" with oiled finish
Ovens: Kitchenaid Architect II Series 30" double wall oven
Cooktop: Kitchenaid 36" Architect II
Dishwasher: Kitchenaid Architect II
Refrigerator: Kitchenaid Architect II
Vent Hood: GE Profile
Main Sink: Elkay 30" undermount
Prep Sink in island: Elkay
Main Faucet: Kohler Fairfax
Prep Faucet: Kohler Fairfax
Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Moonshadow

Here's a slide-show of my old ratty kitchen that I HATED...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v228/Cindyu/Kitchen/Old%20Kitchen/?albumview=slideshow

And here are some pics of the new kitchen. I love it. There are still a couple of finishing touches to be completed, but I'm getting there.

View from the Den entry

Ladylux Plus Faucet doubles as a prep faucet and pot filler with the 360 degree swivel, but its too close to the sink edge. So we're replacing this faucet with the Ladylux 3 prep faucet.

View toward the den. Am loving the double ovens from KA with Steam Assist.

I am loving all of the drawer storage. Also, what looks like 2 doors on the island to the right of the cooktop is actually a double trash pullout. No more doggies surfing for snacks.

Love the drawers under the cooktop, and enjoying cooking with propane on the new Miele cooktop. Now I need some decent knives.

Everyone wondered what a "mockett" was..

I worried about switching to a single bowl instead of doubles, but this is a great change for us.

The Miele coffee-maker is one of my favorite things now. We got a floor display model pretty cheap. Also the 2nd drawer down is bread storage.

Over the oven dividers are great..

Loving the pull-out corner unit.

This was our huge find - the GE Monogram fridge at the Sears outlet for less than half price. The microwave came from Amazon Warehouse.

The pantry idea was the best idea we had. We got a ton of space back by going between the wall studs. The unit only eats up 3 inches of floor space, but is 7 inches deep when open.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v228/Cindyu/Kitchen/Old%20Kitchen/?albumview=slideshow

MONDAY: Big Meal
Includes a large cut of meat that will also serve as leftovers, possibly sandwich meat, base for stir fry; and served with all the "normal" side dishes that go along with that type of meat. Usually there is enough leftover to freeze a portion to use later. Baked chicken or roast beef also get used to make soup. Occasionally when I don't have time to make the whole meal from scratch I'll use whatever has been waiting the freezer (leftover roast turkey or beef, etc.)

TUESDAY: Leftovers
It may take on a completely different look than what was served on Monday - your choice. If you don't like leftovers the next day, use them on Wednesday instead.

WEDNESDAY: Stir-fry
If you prepared vegetables on Monday or Tuesday that can be prepared in advance to include in this meal you'll save time by chopping enough on the previous days. Use a combination of fresh and frozen veggies. Almost any kind of meat can be used for stir-fry - both raw or pre-cooked. Serve with a side of rice and fresh fruit for dessert. I might take a large amount of meat (chicken or steak for instance) and cook it and portion it for the freezer and used later for more stir-fry meals, or used as the meat topping on a dinner salad, or used in a wrap on sandwich day.

THURSDAY: International
Usually something Italian or Mexican using spaghetti sauce and some kind of pasta or taco meat (which are already portioned in the freezer). Both meat bases can be used in a plethora of things.

FRIDAY: Vegetarian
A great way to save on our most expensive food item - meat. If you don't have time for a traditional breakfast, it could be a good time for pancakes or crepes. Something egg, cheese or bean based.

SATURDAY: Soup and/or Sandwich
We're always busy on Saturday, so instead of eating out, having the freezer stocked with homemade soup and fixings for sandwiches on hand (as well as wraps and other sandwich-type things) saves time and money.

SUNDAY: Homemade Pizza or a Dinner Salad
Homemade pizza is a good way to use up small amounts of leftover meat and clean the vegetable bin. When the weather is too hot for baking pizza, or the garden is in full swing, those same meat and vegetable ingredients make a great dinner salad.

All meals include nature's "FAST FOOD" which are fresh vegetables of some kind and fresh or canned fruit for dessert. The freezer is stocked with homemade tortillas, homemade burger and hot dog buns, homemade dinner rolls, cornbread (all wrapped in foil in servings for one or two) ready to reheat.
------------------------------------------------------

Here's another eating plan I jotted down from a book I read years ago:

-Meat on Sunday and Wednesday
-Casseroles/Leftovers Monday and Thursday
-Pasta - Tuesday
-Fish, eggs, cheese - Friday
-Soup and or Sandwich - Saturday
--------------------------------------------

This one I read on-line:

Monday - Pasta
Tuesday - Soup, salad, and/or sandwiches
Wednesday - Stir-fry
Thursday - Crock-pot
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Something new
Sunday - Something easy

-Grainlady

What's in my kitchen thanks to GW advice!
Never empty soap dispenser
Franke orca sink: Love the removable grid
Air switch
Lee Valley drawer dividers
Cabinets are Kraftmaid Garrison in Canvas: Love all pull outs, Blum motion, and drawers!
KA Dishwasher
KA CD refrigerator
GE Monogram range, hood and 240V Advantium
Granite is Giallo Ornamental
Paint color: BM Bennington Gray (looks green by the windows, it's more light the other side)

Here are a few before pics:

Here’s what the kitchen looks like now:

We tried to be true to the period of the house (1925 craftsman bungalow) without being rigid about it. In our effort to make the kitchen somewhat authentic, we kept the original floors, light shades, and built-in ironing board. We also chose inset cabinets and polished nickel hardware. No one would mistake it for the original kitchen, but it does feel like it belongs. We couldn’t have done it without help from countless posters on this forum. Thanks for all the help.

Here are the details on the new kitchen:

Floors – refinished original fir
Cabinets – Brookhaven Louisburg
Cabinet latches – Crown Hardware (polished nickel)
Countertops – Soapstone
Backsplash – Subway Ceramics
Faucet – Cifial Highlands Wall-Mount (polished nickel)
Sink – Rohl Fireclay single bowl
Light fixtures – Original shades in new fixtures from Rejuvenation
Undercabinet lighting – Pegasus xenon pucks
Paint – Benjamin Moore Weston Flax

Appliances:

Dishwasher - Bosch Integrated 4 cycle SHV46-C13UC
Range - Bosch Integra Pro Electric Range HEI7282
Range Hood - Zephyr Hurricane
Refrigerator - Fisher & Paykel E522B

I'm 6' tall, and sick of the "most of my body is freezing out of the water" experience offered by standard tubs. But my floorspace isn't very flexible. Maybe I'm looking for something that doesn't exist? If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

Judy

Apartment Therapy had a post in which they mention Rollhaus as one of the less expensive stores at which to buy French bistro chairs (new ones, not antique). Their showroom is on Grand St. in Soho, NYC.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rollhaus bistro chairs

There were many frantic/crazy postings on my end, and everyone's feedback helped so much. Shanghaimom in particular helped me so much and was so patient, and also boxerpups, kateskurous, rhome410, dianalo, aokat15, and many many others patiently offered sage advice and insight. If I never acknowledged this in the threads, please know that you kept me sane and I so appreciated it. There are some details to be finished (I plan to trim in the fridge a bit tighter on top) but for the most part, we're done.

So here is the old kitchen:

And now the new:

The details:
We have a 1926 stucco house in Minneapolis, and really wanted to honor the time period and details and have it be congruent with the rest of the house. I call this my "new old kitchen." So, we went for a cottage feel with some industrial, contemporary finishes. I devoured details in peoples posts when I was planning, so I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Counters: Reclaimed elm from an 1860s Wisconsin barn, finished with Waterlox. From Minomin Resawn Timbers in Hugo, MN. These guys are awesome, and the counters are breathtaking.

Appliances: LG counterdepth French Door fridge (love it), gas range, and steam dishwasher, with Faber hood in Diamante

Lights: Barn Light Electric radial flute pendant in galvanized above the penninsula; Sinclair white enamel pendant above sink. I love these!

Cabinets: Custom, painted in "Mourning Dove," a Martha Stewart color mixed in Sherwin Williams oil laquer

Floor: Marmoleum Click in Walnut and Silver Birch

Sink/faucet: Kohler "Cursive" undermount farmhouse sink in Earthen White, Vinnata faucet in Vibrant Stainless

Pulls and Knobs: Restoration Hardware 1.25" Aubrey Knobs, and 6" Ephram pulls in ORB

Stainless Wine Glass Rack and Spice Shelves from Pottery Barn online.

Wall Color: BM Monterey White in eggshell

Beadboard walls and ceiling, shelves, and crown: BM Simply White in Semigloss

Curtains: Ogee Ikat in Clay/Oregano from West Elm

Stools: Overstock 24" Tabouret Metal stools

Here are some snapshots of my almost finished kitchen. Apologies for the snapshot quality of the photos - I'm hoping to do a better photo shoot once the final items are complete. All that remains is final sanding / poly of floors, finishing backsplash install, touchup painting and some cabinet fixes (e.g. glass shelves in the glass front cab so that light fills the entire cabient.)

View from end of island looking towards range / sink:

View from end of island looking towards mudroom / pantry:
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx215/Dbox_mm95/Kitchen%20Reno/BG3.jpg

View from sink looking towards family room:

View from mudroom looking towards back porch:

View from pantry looking towards sink:

Pantry detail shots:

Sink detail shot:

Rangetop / sink window detail shot:

Please feel free to add your own pictures.

Finished the "D's" -- I will add more if there is any interest in this thread.

The cost savings have been great (Maybe a total of $7-9 for everything) and I'm going 3 months using the same batch I made of 1+1+1 bar soap. I anticipate getting almost 1 year out of my $7-9 investment.

My mom adds natural lavendar oil to her mix and my sister adds something else.

I still use Shout on stains like before.

Great advice Vivian (and what a cutie!). I wonder what the chances are of the next cat that 'homes' us being white are?

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, go to a millworks type store, buy paint grade, sand well, prime well, resand, and two coats of paint. I have replaced miles of baseboard and trim in my house that way. My woodwork is all poplar, much cheaper than the stuff at Lowes and Home Depot. Best bang for my bucks I have ever done - but of course, I was replacing old wimpy, orangy, ranch style trim, some of it almost 40 years old.

Tuesday

On to the pictures.

So far the kitchen is working out really well for us. Other than not loving the performance of my wall oven, I am happy with how it all turned out.

The details:

Perimeter cabinets: Decora (Chantille finish on maple)
Island cabinets: Sorrento (Hermosa finish on alder)
Backsplash: Walker Zanger Gramercy Park (Heirloom White and Pipe Smoke)
Granite on perimeter: Antiqued Nordic Black (love this!)
Granite on Island: Alaskan White
Pendant lights: Schoolhouse Electric
Knobs & pulls: Amerock Highland Ridge
Barstools: Restoration Hardware (bought during Friends & Family sale--20% off--yay!)
Wall color: BM Revere Pewter
Flooring: walnut w/ Waterlox finish
Sink: Shaw's farmhouse sink
Sink faucet/soap dispenser: Danze Opulence
Range: NXR
Wall oven: Kitchenaid
Fridge: Bosch
Dishwasher: paneled Bosch
Micro: cheapo GE

Thanks again!

I've never owned a Wolf.

I've bought a vintage Chambers for my new kitchen, which I am currently restoring. They can also be bought fully restored, prices typically range from $2000 to $4000 depending on how much work/replacement was needed. No electronics, but it was the residential Viking/Wolf of it's time. It has 3 regular burners, one deep well (Thermowell) that can be used with special pots for soups, stews, veggies, or with a special baking insert can bake items such as rolls or pies (8"). There's a griddle that is also a broiler on the cooktop, and an oven so well insulated you can cook with the gas off on residual heat. The oven size is small compared to today's models, but the separate Thermowell and broiler give it great flexibility. I've opted to have an electric convection wall oven to handle overflow (big holiday cooking). I was on the fence about whether I'd even need it, but a great price I couldn't pass it up. The Chambers measures ~37.5", built prior to size standardization I guess, so it can be tricky to fit. The oven bottom, burner grates and drip pans can all be refinished with new porcelain. My range is roughly 50 years old and I had this done. The pieces came out looking brand new. It's truly built to last, and likely the last range I'll ever need. I'm SOOO taking this with me if we ever move.

Good luck in your search!

K

We are finally finished with our kitchen remodel of our 1889 home. I have been a daily (truthfully, sometimes HOURLY) lurker and sporadic poster for almost two years. There is NO WAY I could have planned this remodel without the help of GW--We were living in China for over 5 years and I had to do all of my planning from there. This meant NO MAGAZINES, nor could I visit showrooms and see anything in person. Every time I had a question, I seemed to be able to find a thread about it. Not to mention all of the inspirational photos!!! I was so afraid of missing an important tidbit! (We were 13 hours ahead there, so I could easily miss a thread as it fell off onto pages two, three, four...)

Anyway, many thanks to all of the great TKO people who contribute to this forum.

Photos first! Details at the end. (o:

pass-thru detail

cabinetry--local custom painted in BM Bone White oil-based enamel
walls-- BM Ballet White
counters--Zodiaq quartz Mystic Black (kind of a charcoal color)
pulls--Amerock Revitalize in Burnished Bronze
sink--Ticor zero-radius SS508
faucet--Kohler Vinnata in Vibrant Polished Nickel
range-36" Bertazzoni Heritage Series in Anthracite
hood- Vent-A-Hood NPH9-136
backsplash- 3" hexagonal Calcatta marble
pendants--Hinckley Knickerbocker (these are on clearance all over for a song right now...)
windows--Marvin double-hung cottage style

Product details...
* Cabinets - Inset painted maple (Oxford Cabinet Shop)
* Backslash - 1"x2" quartzite (Walker Zanger)
* Counters - PA Green soapstone
* Floor - 12"x24" porcelain (Mediterranean Tile & Marble)
* Appliances - Bluestar 48" range, KitchenAid 36" refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, Prestige 48" 1200 CFM hood insert (Reno's)
* Faucets - Rohl Country (Grande Central)

A huge thanks to everyone on the forum who spent the time to look at my ideas, provide great feedback, and calm me down when I thought the project would never end up right.

More Pictures

Here are pics and the details:

Perimeter Counters: Calcatta Gold
Island top: Black Walnut with vintage walnut stain
Cabinets: Custom
Paint on cabinets/trim: BM Swiss Coffee (color tweaked by paint store)
Wall color: Pratt and Lambert Pearl
Wolf 48" Range with double griddle (love this!)
SubZero s/s 48" Fridge with icemaker
Sharp microwave drawer
Bosch D/W (we have 2 and it was a great decision if considering this)
GE Monogram hood blower
GE wine cooler
Perrin and Rowe Faucet - PN
Shaw Farm Sink 30 x 18
Pantry: custom built
Paint on Pantry: Farrow and Ball Pigeon
Hardware on Pantry: Restoration Hardware Felicity in Antique brass
Kitchen Hardware: Restoration Hardware Aubrey Knobs - PN
Restoration Hardware Bistro Pulls - PN
Rejuvenation small latch - PN
Backsplash: Arctic white Daltile with platinum grout
Bell Jars - JV Imports - 11"D with bronze finish
Bar Stools: Crate and Barrel Pullman Leather Counter Stools

I will get pics up of laundry and bathrooms soon too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hickory shaker old fashioned kitchen

Here is another walk-in pantry thread with helpful shelf spacing guidelines/recommendations:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0518351723171.html

There is also a previous thread with photos of closet style pantries, which I'm still trying to track down. Of course, photos of pantry cabs will be helpful to people, too.

Anyway, here's hoping people will start showing off their pantries here, so we form a pantry album for others to consult.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread as .pdf: Anyone Willing to Share the Inside of their Pantry?

Before:

After...

Here is the original floor plan:

And the new floor plan:

(nb. The caption that reads "air gap" should read "vac pan"!)

Here’s what we did:
• Knock it down and build it out. Our house is almost 100 years old and as such, the original kitchen was quite small – about 9x10. We have an unusually shaped lot, and the shape allowed for us to be able to knock down an exterior wall and build out.

• Make it look unique and up to date but fitting with the rest of the house. The objective was to make the kitchen look like it was always there, with more up to date appliances. To achieve that, we had the cabinets hand-painted and distressed and chose heritage colours. We used reclaimed oak planks for the island countertop; the hardware is a combination of hand-forged cast iron from England and finds from architectural salvage. Countertops and the main sink are soapstone.

• Find room for the "library"! An imperative was to find a home for my 300+ (and counting) cookbook collection. We achieved that through clever cabinetry and the acquisition of a beautiful old hutch.

Here are the details:

• Cabinets custom made by Melo Woodworking, a local Toronto company (no web site!). Maple wood stained, painted, distressed and glazed by Homestead House. Colours used were Tapestry for the perimeter cabs and Cartier for the island. They did an amazing and painstaking job.

• Soapstone counters and apron front farmhouse soapstone sink by N+G Soapstone.

• Appliances:
Liebherr RBI 1400 24" all-fridge with Biofresh
TurboChef double ovens, with custom RAL 3011 red oven door
BlueStar 36" cooktop with centre grill
Custom Modern-Aire hood, 1000 cfms
Miele Excella full dishwasher
Fisher Paykel single Dishwasher Drawer

• Walker-Zanger Antequera Random Mini Brick backsplash

• Kohler faucets
Wall-Mount potfiller K-7322
Main sink faucet K-8761
Prep sink Vinnata K-691

• Hardware on the perimeter cabinets: Whitechapel Hardware, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

• Hardware on the island and fridge: architectural salvage from Olde Good Things in NYC

• Bar stools from America Retold. Last place I saw them was at organize.com

• Floors are radiamt heated limestone from Marble Trend; it’s Jasman.

• Wall colour in kitchen is Plaster by Homestead House; stairwell to basement and up to second floor is Benjamin Moore Buckhorn

• Art: We have some great pieces, including my beautiful roosters from local contemporary folk artist Pey Lu, and a couple of pieces from my best friend and amateur artist, Vera.

• Timing: We started the project in May 08 and it was "completed" in December (read: we kicked the GC out!!). Along with the kitchen, we rewired the house, excavated down to a new laundry room, added storage, repainted everything, redid the bathroom in the basement etc etc... It was a house reno disguised as a kitchen addition.

• How it came together: We didn't work with a designer - the ideas were ours, brought to life by our GC - and primarily me spending *hours* on Gardenweb. A huge THANK YOU for all of the generosity, advice, wisdom and passion for all things TKO from the great GW community!

Here’s the link to my blog, which includes a full slideshow of the before and after. Enjoy!

Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: Eliz's Blog

I've been perusing the kitchen forum for months now getting ideas together for our new build this Spring. I really want vertical storage for cookie sheets, pans, etc.

Here are some samples I've culled from you all:

Don't know whose this is but I really love this one:

One from Buehl which is great...love the short horizontal shelf underneath:

This is from sabjimata - I really like the drawer idea, too:

I initially planned to have this storage above my fridge. I'm tall so there is no problem. But, I will also have lots of drawers. One advantage I see with the drawers is you can store multiples items in the same space whereas the up-high I couldn't do that. But, the area above the fridge is a great use of space & I can always store the small items elsewhere. Hmmm, maybe I can do a mix of both?

If you have examples of yours - I'd sure like to see...thanks! :)

Reading this forum proved to be enormously helpful, as I was overwhelmed by having to make decisions!

Since the DH was job hunting during the whole reno, I ended doing almost everything in this kitchen myself with the help of two of my friends (also ladies who had never done any kind of construction) so it was a huge learning experience from start to finish!

The first three pics are before and the rest are afters :) Originally it was a dining room attached to a galley kitchen which we expanded into a larger eat-in kitchen and moved the dining room to our sunroom.

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

From house

It's not much to show off, but it's what we had to work with. And it's pretty much done. We have some finishing touches, light molding, under cab lights, etc.

I tried to do a very subtle two tone color scheme with the cabinets. Looked good on all the sample boards I painted, and held up. But, in the end the lower cabs just aren't dark enough. And don't provide the contrast I'd hoped for. But, it's no biggie. It's 150 times better then the oak, so for now..I'm good. We'll repaint them soon enough. It didn't take much for us to do the boxes (we painted them ourselves) and my painter was pretty inexpensive (had the doors and drawers sprayed)

I'd love to replace the floor and appliances. But, it's not in the budget. (well, we are getting a new dishwasher, just not SS) And this is also a house I'd hoped to have been out of by this year. The market isn't in our favor :) So, I've been trying to make our cookie cutter kitchen more tolerable. I'm happy enough with it. If nothing else, burned out. Just to be rid of the oak cabs makes thrills me.

Thanks for everyone who advised me over the last couple years. I sooo appreciate it!

small breakdown

Counter top-belle noche, wilsonart high def ($800)

backsplash-cheapo subway tile from Lowes (200)

cabinets-$100 in paint, and $200 for painter dude to spray doors and drawers. uppers BM white dove. lowers BM baby fawn.
$30 for cabinet maker guy to cut out the middle of four doors, and $50 for glass company to add glass

knobs-$50 Lowes
drawer pulls $20 ordered on line

beadboard, molding, other building materials $100

before

now
favorite thing is how dh beefed up the moulding. so we no longer have that huge space above for dust collectors :)

after subway tile and counters

dh put beadboard along the back of the bar, and end of cabs

Here is the kitchen in all it's new glory...

Details:
Cabinets: Mid Continent painted white perimeter, maple with choc glaze island
Counters: Honed Cararra marble/perimeter, honed absolute black granite/island
flooring: ceramic tile in various sizes
sink: ticor aporn front and ticor double sink on island
faucets: both danze
wall color: BM Revere pewter
ceiling color: high gloss Ralph Lauren Cowgirl blue
pendants over island: from salvage shop and rewired!
pendants over farm table: CB2/Victory pendants
lights in pantry and laundry room: Barn Electric warehouse lighting
range: GE Cafe
fridge: GE profile
hardware on coffee bar: RH Dakota pulls, glass knobs from Lowes
hardware on other: Amerock KANE weathered nickel
backsplash behind range: subway tile: LOWES
backsplash at coffee bar: standing pebble tile/Design-4-less
bar stools: Ballard Designs

I wish i could embed the photos into this post. But the best I can seem to do is put them on Flickr...

Hope you enjoy - lord knows Garden Web was my FIRST go-to for advice and ideas. Thank you to all!

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished kitchen!

Details
Cabinets - custom. Painted using Cabinet Coat colored in White Dove by BM
Floors - red oak stained medium brown
Countertops - Absolute black granite on the perimeter, Monte Bello granite on the island
Backsplash - Walker Zanger Newport Seaweed subway
Door hardware - ORB cup pulls on the drawers, and ORB egg shaped knobs on the doors
Faucet - Kohler Vinnata...the smaller one (I can't remember the dimensions, but I believe its about 2" shorter than the large one)
Lighting - the 2 lights over the island are mini-chandeliers I got from Lighting Universe online
Fridge - Jenn Air counter depth
Range - 6 burner Viking
Oven - 30" GE Profile
Microwave - LG
Dishwasher - Asko

Thanks to everyone who shared their information. Overall, we are very pleased with it. There are a few things I'd do differently but they are pretty minor. If it wasn't for this site, I'm not sure it would have turned out as nice as it did.

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.)

Ho-De had two types....blue and a sort of ecru color.
I picked the ecru.

And I didn't make slipcovers......window panels.

Yes, I washed them first and used lots of Downy Liquid Softener during the rinse cycle.

Those panels, when a breeze is coming through the screen...they move beautifully, just like an expensive fabric would. Not too light, not too heavy. Perfect.

I've also used the Rit Dye on dropcloth fabric.
Two boxes of Rit per large dropcloth.
Again, washed first, then put into the washer just as they came out after final rinse.....damp. I had the dye already mixed in the washing machine. Set the fabric in gently making sure all fabric was under water.

Toward the end of the wash cycle, I stopped the machine and allowed the fabric to soak in the dye for about an hour. Started the machine back up and let it just run through the rest of the cycle.
Beautiful, soft-flowing-in-a-breeze, pink window panels for my sister's all-things-breast-cancer room.

(After dying anything in your washing machine, run a full load, hot water, with a cup of straight bleach. I've never had a problem with anything washed after dying)

Now I'm working on my formal living room that we use as the kid's playroom but still want to look like a living room. It is separated from the dining room by the white wood archway you can see in the flying bird picture. I'm thinking of painting a big tree silhouette in there. You really got me going on this! Thanks for posting that site, just loved their stuff and it really gave me some fun ideas! And mine were FREEEEE!!!

Robin

Here is a link that might be useful: Ferm Living