THINGS WE LOVE:
--Our cabinets were so reasonable and they work beautifully. We LOVE Precision Cabinets! Their install was immaculate and perfect. When we had a glitch with the warming drawer, they fixed it perfectly! While I couldn't afford every "bell & whistle" inside the cabinets, I love them.
--White Princess honed. It's gorgeous and I no longer have the OCD urge to constantly wipe my counters (our old granite was polished). I also love my backsplash done in the same material--I am attracted to visual simplicity so couldn't pick a tile :)
--Cheap dishwasher. Paid $500 and we love it.
--Deep cheap sinks. Our main Ebay sink is awesome($500)! Love the 10" big single bowl. The island sink was cheap too, and is the perfect size, $150.
--White everywhere and one big room. Not for everyone, but my DH and I love the big open light-filled room. Far cry from the dark rancher that it was. We tore down two walls and raised the ceiling.
--The soapstone buffet. It was a remnant piece and I love that it doesn't match the rest of the kitchen. Sets it apart and boy does the texture feel nice!
--The papertowel niche. Not important, but I like that the towels are off my counter and totally accessible.
--The two hidden cabinets in the island near the stools. All my Xmas dishes, Thanksgiving platters and everything fit in here!

THINGS WE WOULDN'T DO AGAIN:
--The Vent Hood: Modernaire was a NIGHTMARE to deal with here in the NorCal area. You have to go through a distributor who will upcharge you $2,000 to order a hood. Modernaire won't sell directly to anyone who is in the area of one of their distributors. The rep here was a complete idiot, ripped me off and in the end didn't deliver what I had ordered. I had to then hire someone else to fix the goofs. Not worth it!

--Order our range through AJ Madison. Total pain to get this stove delivered. The rest of our appliances came without a hitch but the delivery of the range was a disaster. They refused to deliver it until we had a concrete pathway, but our city had some issues with solid pathways and the runoff, etc. Had 4 delivery dates and they turned around each time and refused to bring it in the house. In the end I would have purchased this through our local store (there was no discount on this by buying on internet, unlike the other appliances).

THINGS WE STILL NEED TO DO:
--Help me pick kitchen table chairs! Those pictured are folding chairs for holidays. Our old ones were falling apart, so we ditched them in the move. What should I put there?
--Shades ordered and we are waiting for them to come and be hung.
--The stools (CB2 Vapor) are too tall and we need to have the legs cut down. They only come in 30" or 24" and one is too tall and the other is too short. Sigh.

THE DETAILS:
Cabinetry—Precision Cabinets, Brentwood, CA; painted in stock color which matches Simply White
Walls—BM Simply White
Kitchen Counters—White Princess granite, from DaVinci Marble & Stone in San Carlos, CA, with 2.25" mitred square edge
Buffet Counter—Brazilian Black soapstone from Texeira, SF, with no edge finish
Door and Drawer Pulls—Top Knobs, Square Pulls, Polished Chrome; ordered off the internet
Main Sink—Ebay purchase 36" SS Farmhouse w/apron front , single bowl, flushmount
Island Sink—Dawn 19X17 single bowl, undermount
Main Faucet—Blanco Meridien Semi-Professional in Brushed
Island Faucet—Santec Penza pull out in Brushed
Refrigerator—Electrolux WaveTouch; ordered off Homeeverything.com
Dishwasher—Whirlpool Gold Quiet Partner III; ordered from AJ Madison
Microwave Drawer—Sharp 24"; ordered from AJ Madison
Range—Viking Range w/6 burners and griddle; ordered from AJ Madison
Hood— Modernaire custom hood
Trash Compactor—GE Profile in SS; ordered from AJ Madison
Warming Drawer—Kitchenaid Architect Series II; ordered off Homeeverything.com; panel from cabinet co.
Backsplash—White Princess granite
Windows—Semco
Flooring-DuChateau pre-engineered floors in Lugano
Big Slider Door—Custom made 10’ bypass doors by McFarland Doors, w/custom screen
Island Pendants—Hudson Valley Pelham 13" ordered from Butler Lighting
Breakfast Table Pendant—Round 26" linen chandelier by Restoration Hardware
Buffet Sconces—Boston Library Sconces by CircaLighting.com

Before:

Family room:

After:

Here is another online sample of a large niche, except this is much deeper than what we are planning on doing.

So more deets..
Window seat!
The cabinet maker built everything you see that's made of wood. They installed for 3 weeks. I thought it was going to take a day or 2, ha. They had installed the window seat after only showing me a little sketch. It was very thin and even though it's 9 feet long, it only sat 1 person! so they built some sides on to it and now it seats 3 at the round table. (im married to the table) but it makes a nice reading space too.

Palimsest - the woodwork was done my the cabinet guys ...
woodworkingOC or WoodworkingLA...they do a lot of restaurants and wine storage/bars

Gardenamy - the Flooring is Garrison Deluxe
Maple Laguna (it's engineered and pre-finished)

califreckles - Thank you!
The base trim on the cabinet bottoms is great! I had read someone say... "where would you put your toes?" and i had to laugh because who the heck stand THAT close the counter?? No scuffs yet - but when they come,, i'll just add a coat a paint - Im DIY all the way.

aliris19 & trailrunner - thanks guys! The Bronze statue was an anniversary gift form my DH for our "Bronze" anniversary. He did good huh?? and no Becky, "gulp!" she's not a towel pig! :P

louisianapurchase - thank you! it's funny you mention "the grill above the fridge" it's my kitchen's dirty little secret!

All of the upper cabs (except for 3) are fake. I had 15" soffits there before and hated them like crazy. The only way i was going to get my lofty feel was that stacked cab look, so we just made faces for them all. The GC and cabinet guys really thought i was crazy when i said i wanted hinges and hardware on them.

here's a pic of the oven door open next to the island where the trash drawers are. It's only 42" but it's more than enough. The pot lids are between the 2 trash bins.

open pic - the hardware on here is where my DH thought i had lost it. 4 different kinds threw him off completely. But i wanted these (RH Grafton Pulls) to be opened with a pinky if need be and i wanted to hang kitchen towels on them as well. I think they work.

my baking station.. although not like most peoples, 'cause i have to move things to the island to work, but it's all in one place and i love it!

catsam- We have 2 small counter seams going back from the sink in the Cemento. They are invisible! amazing work!

sophie123 - I think i got the filter faucet on ebay it's a Kingston in Brushed Nickel
Here's the back splash - it's Heath Cermaics Tile

and lastly, i think... the clock! I got it at target years ago.

ok, off to make dinner! :D

--pip aka pipdog

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

And so you can see what I mean about lots of storage, here is a pic with the drawers open (that white thing in the middle drawer is a big bread machine):

The "Costco" snack drawer is one that is constantly accessed. We call it the "Costco drawer" because it generally has those huge Costco snack bags, popcorn, store bought cookies, and like items.

We are very happy with how our banquette bench turned out.