Counter Tops

Counter tops got installed today onsite. It was quite fascinating to see them do that as well as spend the morning at the house while workers scurried around installing various items. The counter tops are still coated with soapstone dust so one I clean and oil them, they'll darker significantly.

The marble will be installed next week since it can't be cut onsite.

Kitchen Sketch

Here is an updated kitchen sketch. These aren't the finishes that have been chosen, but the layout will be the same. Some highlights include 4 big drawers for pot/pans/mixing bowls, double trash pull out, small appliance storage in the island and a hood. I'm so excited for a hood. No more waking up the next morning and smelling last nights dinner. Gross!

The island will seat four people and the stools will probably be a similar style to what's included in the sketch. I hope they're comfortable because it could be a couple years until we can get a dining room table.

I did lose the battle on the color of the kitchen cabinets. They will be cherry wood with a dark stain. Counters will be soapstone and carrara marble on the island, white subway tile for the backsplash and a herringbone pattern behind the cooktop .

I've noticed that in my extreme dislike for ornate details that I'm choosing modern finishes. I never thought my style was modern but I like clean, simple lines.

The kitchen faucet and dining chandelier are good examples.

New Direction

I love a white kitchen. I'm drawn to the photos I see online and the photos listed have been my inspiration kitchens. Kitchens where I've been pulling ideas from.

I really like these glass pendent lights in the first two photos. The second one is probably a little a big for the island, but I'm hoping to find something similar that will work.

BUT we're changing direction and going with a cherry kitchen with dark perimeter counters and the island will be either a butcher block, carrara marble or a light granite. Depends on what I find. The island will be 4'x4', the perfect size to find a remnant piece at a stone fabricator.

The kitchen will have lots of natural light with a big window over the sink and the french doors going out onto the deck, so I'm not worried about it being too dark. I do have a hard time visualizing how a cherry kitchen is going to look in our house, but when it's all done, the house is going to be completely different. No more orange like stain on the floors, trim and doors. The floors will have a more natural stain and the trim/doors will be a shade of white.

I don't think these inspiration kitchens do the true color of the wood justice.



We met with a custom cabinet designer to design the details for the kitchen. He has done a lot of projects with our architect and is actually less than cabinets from a kitchen showroom. This is actually one place where we've been successful in trimming down the budget.

I was really impressed that he included all of the features I was looking for w/o telling him. For example, he included a double trash pullout, big drawers for pots and pans and the cabinet above the fridge is flush.

GardenWeb

I came recently came across a great forum called GardenWeb. I'm so glad that I discovered this early in the process. The kitchen in the second to last photo has 2x6 tiles instead of the typical 3x6. I like the look.















This kitchen has "penny" tiles at the back splash. The thought on the forums is that it's going to be dated soon. A back splash is easier to change than say the cabinets.
















































This kitchen has 2x6 subway tiles instead of the typical 3x6. I like the look














I really like the orange pendants in this last photo. It's a great way to incorporate color without being committed to it. Also, there was a discussion on GardenWeb that answered my previous question about mixing and matching finishes. Yes, it can be done as long as the formality is the same. So I think I will go with brushed nickle for the kitchen faucet and hardware on the cabinets and ORB for the light fixtures. I could do ORB for the hardware too, I haven't decided.