Not everything is put away yet, I still need those decorative touches, the banquette cushions are out being re-worked (they were too high), etc., but I love, love, love cooking in this kitchen! And I cook all the time - almost every lunch and supper and occasionally breakfast.

We bought our house new in 1981. In 1989 I closed in the deck to create a room for me. The kitchen window over the sink that looked out onto the deck became a leaded glass window looking into my room. At that time I had the upper cabinet doors removed and those cabinets painted and I changed the wallpaper and the vinyl floor as the old floor had not held up well. Nothing has been done to the kitchen since then except for the occasional new appliance as an old one died.

None of this was DIY - neither of us has any talent in that direction.

Since I built in the banquette, I was able to move the peninsula out by about a foot which allowed me to make the island a little longer. Originally the peninsula had what I assume was meant to be a breakfast bar, but it was much too narrow to be used. I had that cut down to make one large area and the overhang now extends out a bit more.

The only extra space I was able to add to the kitchen is at the coffee bar. The space for the frig already extended into the utility room and the space that had the oven and the pantry extended into the garage. I extended the rest of that wall into the garage by the same amount, roughly 6.5 ft x 2.5 ft. That gave me room for a slightly large pantry and for the coffee bar.

Here are the specifics -

Counters and sink - Iguazu soapstone from Dorado Soapstone of Austin, TX.
Cabinets - locally made, beaded inset doors
Floor and backsplash - Daltile Canaletto Rosso with Dakota Mahogany inserts.
Faucet and soap dispensers - Allora by Delta
Hardware - Atlas Homewares Scroll in black, some the right scroll, most are the left scroll
Dishwasher - Whirlpool that I got a year ago to replace my worn out one. It’s quiet, works great, and I saw no need to change it.
Refrigerator - Samsung 26 Cu Ft.
Vent - ModernAire
Range - Electrolux 30 inch slide-in electric with two ovens (Getting gas to our house would have been prohibitively expensive.)
Lazy Susan - Hafele LeMans Champagne blind corner pullout
Mixer Stand - Rev-a-Shelf
Trash Pullout - Hafele
Lighting: Recessed - Cree LR6 LED’s. Over the sink - The Piedmont in antique black from Schoolhouse Electric. Over the table - Hinkley Juliette 3 Light Mini Chandelier in Olde Black. Undercounter lights - Xenon, I don’t know what brand
Paint - All Behr colors. Some of them we did tweak a bit.
Green cabinets - We started with Mint Fizz, but there was not enough contrast, so we darkened it.
Cream cabinets, banquette, and all baseboards, trim, doors - China Cup.
Sink end of the room - Coronado Dunes
Banquette end of the room - Peach Bud
Ceiling - Muffin Mix.

The ceramic tile always looks a bit orange in the pictures when it is actually a terracotta color.

Below is a link to these and more pictures if anyone is interested.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gutdoctor/sets/72157623107621940/

Before

After

Microwave, Pantry, Coffee Bar

Banquette

For any potential soapstoners - since the sink doesn't get any treatments and has water and soap in it frequently, it does "gray," which I don't mind at all for the sink.

And just in case someone wants to see this island again, although I do have other areas of counter that are just as beautiful, I couldn't resist showing it again -

Thanks for putting up with all these pictures!

The Mint Fizz (green) is on the island, the range hood, and the upper cabinets in the coffee bar.

Thanks for your kind words!

Questions:
- Is there a functional advantage to beaded inset, or is it aesthetic preference?
- What are the dimensions of your MW?
- What are the interior and exterior dimensions of your MW cabinet?
- Is the hood 30" or 36"?
- What is the width of the trash/recycle pullout?

Happy New Year!

jsweenc - The beaded inset cabinets are aesthetics only. You can have an inset door with an exterior hinge I think, but I don't think you can't have a beaded inset with exterior hinges. Here's a pic of my pantry doors open and you can see that's all they open. Plus the hinge inside takes up a lot of room. My builder had used these just once before and didn't think about the drawers inside doors being a problem and they had to be redone. 2x4's were put up on each side of the cabinet on the inside and the drawer glides were attached to these, causing me to lose 6 to 7 inches of drawer width. Someone on this site said she thought the European hinges for inset doors that would get rid of some of these problems were now available in the US.

The range hood is 36".

I'll have to get back to you in a few days on the other questions. We're at the ranch for the weekend. A Rev-a-shelf double can trash pullout had been ordered and with the inset door, it was about 1/4 inch too long. It was easy to find a single can pullout that would fit, but since I had devoted so much space to this, I hated to do that. We kept looking and finally found this Hafele. It was more expensive, but the builder said it seemed to be much better made, (it pulls itself closed very well after being given a push, and it seems to keep odors in - I cut up a lot of onions) even though Rev-a-shelf is usually very good.

Sorry to ask so many questions. Obviously, I'm considering some of the same design features that you have incorporated! : )

Anyhow, your kitchen is gorgeous! Enjoy!

Did you post pictures of your kitchen? I'm bad about remembering names and could have seen them, but I can't find them today and would love to see your soapstone!

Lynn

Oh, and by the way, your kitchen is fabulous--love the soapstone and leaded glass! It's absolutely charming.

The microwave is a panasonic and is a large one - 23 1/2" wide by 13 7/8" tall.
The opening to the cabinet is 27 1/4 X 14 1/2
The interior dimensions of the cabinet are 30 1/2 x 16 1/4.
The exterior cabinet is 32" wide.

I've linked to the trash pullout below. It's the second one down, Cargo 21. Click on it and you get all the measurements in a pdf file. It does have a "top" that you don't really see that "seals" the tops of the trashcans when closed. I think it is short enough that you could put a drawer above it if you want, but I wanted it high to make it easy to sweep peelings, etc., straight into the can.

I hope this helps and Good Luck with your decisions!

Lynn

I just realized I didn't answer one of your questions about the microwave. My counters are 37 1/2" above the floor. The microwave shelf is 55 3/4 above the floor, which is 18 1/2" above the counter. I wouldn't have minded it being lower, but the lower it is, the less usable is the space underneath.

Thanks for answering my questions! Enjoy your beautiful new kitchen.

Susan

Enjoy your new space!

All I can say is "WOW!!!!" Way Cool kitchen - totally AWESOME!!!!!

Great Job!!

kevin

atct87 - the hardware is 16" wide, although the door is wider - 18". I'm thinking you aren't going to find one 24" wide unless it is a multi one for recycling. Not that you have to use it that way if your city doesn't recycle. The link below gives widths - just scroll down the page. They get wider and wider, but I don't see any Hafele systems on this page. Some sites make you really search to find the measurements you need.

Don't want this thread to scroll off before your kitchen is archived in the FKB. :-)