Beautiful job! How do you like your microwave drawer in the island? I'm putting one in, and it's one of the things I keep wondering if I will really like.

I absolutely love it alaskangirl... I love being able to close it with a sassy tap of my hip! ;) I thought it would be hard to get used to and was one of my worries in planning but it is so much better than having it above the range which is what I had before. I should probably post before pics! Theser were 9 year old builder grade cabinets that were yellowing with age.. I shudder looking at these! Here ya go...

Your kitchen is beautiful! and so comfortable! I love your cabinets and how you used each space. ENJOY!

really beautiful. I love the book storage next to the cooktop and the backsplash focal point behind the cooktop. Is that flip down storage above the computer?

Question for you - did you use all 5 ovens for your party?

A very nice improvement! I love the closed toekick on the oven wall and the open in the work areas. The whole room is gorgeous, but I think your island is really, really amazing.

It's lovely...very warm and homey. I can almost smell a roast cooking in that oven. I also really love that island pendant - a little quirky and really, really cool looking.

I love the warm color of the cabinetry. And I like how the AGA color and style fits in. I'm thinking about cup pulls, too, for a period look. Do you like using yours? Curious about the flip down drawer front on the desk. Is where the computer lives?

What a truly wonderful kitchen. Makes you just want to dive in cook up a hearty meal.... What is your wall color?

Beautiful....simply beautiful.

Gorgeous and so inviting. A very comfortable looking space, and I love the richness of the island. Thanks for sharing!

gorgeous!

Love the kitchen
the hood is beautiful and Nigel is very handsome
have fun!

Much as I like my own, I sigh a bit seeing kitchens that show me what I might do with more... :) It's just lovely, Ndvweb. GOOD job! Happy cooking 2009!

Very nice! I am going to send the link to my friend who will eventually be doing a cream or white kitchen (as I do with many of the cream/white kitchens I've seen here!).

My favorite colour combination and you have done a beautiful job of designing and building it. It's a very inviting space !

Wow! Lovely. I really like your b/s above the range. Of course, your AGA is the jewel of your kitchen! What are the paint colors? They are so rich and perfectly complement all the other materials in the room.

It looks great, thanks for sharing!! I love the historic feel that your kitchen has from the cabinets to the beautiful range to the pulley pendant lights. I've never seen a kitchen that I liked with golden hardwood floors but I really like yours! Perhaps the stain has a traditional character which compliments everything else in the kitchen. May I ask the colour of the stain and what type of hardwood it is? Also, what does "krazy krackle" mean - is it more crackle-y than standard crackle tile?

I love your kitchen--it looks great! The details are beautiful! If you don't mind, where did you get your light over your island?

The pendant light is from Architects and Heroes - I actually purchased it this summer from a store in Cape May NJ called 'Across the Way'.
http://www.madamesport.com/ATW/index.html

My floors were 'rescreened' but that was it. Those are original to the house so I don't know much about them as I'm not the first owner. Most likely pine.

Krazy Krackle is just the name from Sonoma Tile.

Paint colors are from Finnaren & Haley Paint
13 Independence Hall Quill and the trim (not pictured) is Galahad white.

The flip down over the computer is actually 4 'mailbox' compartments to hold bills, to do items, coupons, etc.

I used 4 of the five ovens for the party. Did not have use for the broiler that day. :) Was great having everything ready all at once. Today I have a New Year's lentil stew simmering using the Christmas ham bone!

It's gorgeous, ndvweb. Two questions: what is the paint color of the walls? (I've pretty much decided on gray, but yours looks really nice.) And what is the width of your open base cookbook shelves? I have room for one bank of open base cabs but they can only be 12" w and I was wondering if that would be wide enough. Thanks!

Very, very nice. Love the cabinets and the AGA. How are the ovens heated on this style AGA?

Also, how do you like the books being in the base cabinet? This is something I'm considering.

Well, I know you already know how I feel about your kitchen. Having previously seen only a glimpse of it, I was certain I would love it! Now, seeing the whole shebang, I'm convinced that our design tastes are joined at the hip. As such, I'm thinking it's SIMPLY MAHVELOUS, my dear! BTW, I'm totally loving the whole cooking center. Beyond Nigel (who's looking phenomenal, of course), that hood, backsplash and cookbook set-up is seriously working! The island, with its contrasting dark wood base and marble countertop, is also fabulous. And where did you get those chairs? They look great. Bottom line, Ndvweb, this kitchen is a winner all the way. Congratulations and Happy New Year!

Love the Aga. Wish they made that one in electric - better yet, induction!

I'm happy to hear that you are leaving your soapstone unoiled...if you get a chance, could you post closeups of your minas?

Beautiful, just beautiful. Love the cabs, soapstone, pendants, AGA and the shaker bar stools. You must be overjoyed every time you walk into your kit.

I love your kitchen! I love the creamy color of the cabinets, the neutral wall color with some contrast, the island being a darker color, the stainless steel gorgeous oven, the range, the picture on the shelf, the floors, and the overall feeling I get from looking at your beautiful kitchen. I also love the unique herringbone creamy backspash.

Everything works so nicely together. Very nice kitchen, enjoy it.

Oh my, that is super pretty. Well done, love the cabinets, covet the Aga.

I think the tile backsplash rocks!

Really classy! What a great job.....

Thank you everyone... as promised here's the unoiled soapstone pics and a better pic of hearth with all hardware.

this is my minas unoiled

here it is wet... not oiled

I have never seen hood brackets with built-in shelves like yours. Where did you get the idea for those? They are wonderful and one-of-a-kind (but hopefully not for long; imitators could do worse!)

Thank you for the close ups of your minas...unoiled! Love, love, love it! Congratulations! As the months pass, It would be great to get updates on the state of your unoiled minas...

slateberry - I actually found a similar hood in a british kitchen magazine, with much shorter squatter hood shelves and my designer and I redrew it with taller open spaces. The cabinet company made it to our specs.

amela - the unoiled minas is handling well - if it gets dark spots on it from oils I just take a sponge with Dawn dish detergent and wipe it back to original blue.

What a great way to ring in the new year! Just love the island pendant! Gorgeous, gorgeous kitchen!

That island pendant is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Awesome kitchen!

Wow I missed this on New Years...what a great way
to start the new year, its beautiful! Congrats!
vic

There was recently a very controversial post regarding kitchens that we didn't like. In response I had posted a comment that there though I'm not a all-white kitchen person, I've seen several that I adored. Case in point, your kitchen has everything I'd never choose--and it's absolutely stunning. The details are so well-designed. It is a brand-new kitchen, but you've succeeded in giving it the old-world look as if it's been there for a few generations. I love it, kudos to you.

Thx debsan! You know I would never choose for myself a high gloss modern kitchen but I totally appreciate one that is well done. I'm not sure who's it was on here but that wooden mod one with the cherry tree branch in the backsplash tile is stunning.

My realtor actually said that to me.. it doesn't matter what style you do with your reno - as long as it's done well.

Your kitchen is phenomenal. I would like to know two things.

1. How high are your ceilings? I am in an old house and my husband says our ceilings are too low for pendant lights in kitchen.

2. My perimeter cabs are cream but the island is walnut. My original idea was to use marble on the island either cream or white, but have been nervous about keeping it looking nice. This is a vacation home that gets a lot of action. What has been your experience with the marble so far? How are you caring for it?

Thanks

Hi Riverhouse - Thanks so much.

My ceilings are 9 feet, and the pendant lights are adjustable if that helps.

I have a marble story for you :) - first of all we love it. Nothing fully replicates the look of marble. All they synthetics looked gray and murky to us. That said we have had etching. You're not gonna get away with not getting that. It's that weird white marks you get from water - you can only see them in certain light. They do not bother me at all, my husband however was a different story.

Now that being said after Christmas holiday (we had 3 big parties here at our house) we did have etching from the cutting of the Christmas ham. (long story) This was no ordinary etching - it was a big one. My husband actually got it completely out using steel wool VERY carefully and lightly. Since then we've bought a special compound from M3. We haven't yet had the need to use it but my husband did some research and felt it would be good to have in our arsenal for the next Christmas ham incident. stonecarecentral.com

That's been our marble history so far. I have to say I'm not letting the 6 year old eat tomatoes up there or anything like that!

Wow, that's fab -- super dreamy!

Is it possible for you to take a picture of that gorgeous little shelf back behind the upper cabinet with cups on it (I think). I love that and I wouldn't mind seeing if I can copy it for one cabinet I have here. Is it tile behind or wood? (I'm guessing wood...but since I've already tiled, I would be going with a tile back LOL). I just adore it!

hi igloochic - here ya go -it's part of the cabinet... a drop down for my mugs. The back is wood. Excuse my missing mugs - it's been a two coffee kind of day.

Mug shelf--awesome!

The rest of it is of course very nice and entirely desirable, but THIS I can copy!

I hope you all enjoy your kitchen as much as I will when I move into your basement! :)

Fori if you're paying rent you can have it!!!! :) We need to pay off the kitchen!

May I archive your kitchen in the Finished Kitchens Blog?
If so please submit the FKB Category Checklist so I can easily categorize your kitchen.
Thanks!!

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB Category Checklist

I missed this kitchen first time around. It is so lovely!

Thanks for giving permission to archive your kitchen in the FKB! I added your kitchen today and found that the link you provided to your photos is password protected. http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f294/nicoleva/

Can you please remove the password protection so we can see your photos?

btw.... I tried to send you an email about this but the email address in your FKB Checklist doesn't work.:-( If you wish you can email me directly to discuss: starpooh@gmail.com. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: ndvweb's Kitchen in the FKB