Wow! Can't decide if I like the before or the after. They both look great but they're so different. Definitely like the stove and sink better in the after.

I lean towards wood vs. painted/glazed and earthy tones so for me I like the backsplash, cabinets of the before kitchen. However, the after kitchen yells cool, classy.

Both are stunning. You have good taste and style.

Love the after!! Beautiful job :) I can see why folks wonder why you had to change it but I totally understand - I would have done the same thing :) Really really great!

Wow! What a difference! Your kitchen is gorgeous. It definitely is much lighter. I love the green on your walls, too.

That's a very lovely makeover, Natashak! As beautiful as your kitchen was before, it's even more so now. Now, you're bright, light and airy, with lots of space to move about --especially since you've jettisoned the island. Good move that. Love the red accents and the artwork. And the Wolf! Looking very stunning, indeed. Congratulations!

I think that your kitchen was very attractive before, but the layout wasn't great. Now you have a great floor plan and a beautiful kitchen, too.

Love it! It reminds me of mine, but I don't have that gorgeous Wolf range. I also love the red accents (which I also have). Enjoy!

I just love that new kitchen look, especially as I'm a white cabinet kind of gal, lol. As you have gotten inspiration from gw, maybe you won't mind a thought. How about a red (wolf knob color) valance? Maybe it won't go with the rest of your house, and maybe you just want it like it is, but I think it would be the final finishing touch. Great job!
Lisa

Dear Natashak, Your new kitchen is gorgeous. I love the colors and I'd like to leap right into the picture and starting cooking on your beautiful 48" Wolf. I love so many of the details, from the soapstone to the soffit with crown molding over the vent hood. It really makes a statement wall even more of a statement wall.

I'm curious how you are liking cooking without the island. I often feel that islands "get in the way" and am wondering if I should put one in my new kitchen (the one I hope to have some day) since my kitchen will be only 13.5 feet wide. Do you find you have enough room for cooking and baking prep without it?

Beautiful. Really love how you opened your space up by removing the island and going with a range. Painting the cabinets white and tiling with the antique white really brighten your kitchen up. Your soapstone is gorgeous and once Josh fixes your gash, you will love it!

Looks great. One of the best before and afters for painting cabinets instead of replacing.

Lovely! Mind telling me wall paint color -- I love it.

And I don't get the valance suggestion -- but then, I don't get valances on bare windows.

I love white kitchens so of course I have to say white
YOUR white is beautiful. How do you like your range?
I love the look of the hood range too. Every detail is
striking. I can see how you love the space more.
Good choice to loose the island and create a better
work environment.

Now what is that yummy color on the walls?
Restoration Hardware's silver sage???? Please tell me
as I am close to finding a perfect soft fern green like
what you have.

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous kitchen.
~boxerpups

I love the "after"! It looks twice the size of the "before". Also, I am not a fan of islands, I always think they are barriers in all but the hugest kitchens (just MHO, I know people love their islands!), so I really like your new layout.

The white cabinets are lovely. Were they custom, or what brand are they? Also, was the installation of the SS apron front sink difficult or easy? I have read on this forum of people having difficulty with installation of apron front sinks, but maybe that's just with fireclay.

Very beautiful changes. I am so glad you painted those pretty cabinets instead of tearing them out! And the whole space just seems more pulled together and serene.

I think the island question is a little different in Natashak's kitchen, because it had her cooktop, not additional counterspace. So it seems to me she didn't really lose any counterspace by getting rid of the island. But it did open up the kitchen and allow for a larger range. For kitchens with limited counters, it seems the barrier issues are trumped by the additional storage and utility that islands offer, IMHO.

Thanks SO much, everyone! I am really in love with my kitchen for the first time in 6 years. I made my kitchen custom without having to buy a new home.

I'll get back to you on the color of the green (I have the colors in the basement...)

I LOVE not having that island. The kitchen was simply too small for an island. It was obtrusive and clustered. I never used it to cook on, so I didn't lose any "prep" space. I felt that I couldn't move in the kitchen before. With two dogs and two kids, it was difficult for me to move when everyone came in to visit. And my loyal labs never leave my side, especially while I'm in the kitchen!

I found a great painter who saved me thousands on new cabinets. I love the job he did painting my cabinets. They are awesome. My original cabinets were cherry and they are made by Merrilat--the Classic style. My contractor made the soffit/hood cover. I wasn't thrilled with having to make the two glass cabinets shorter than the rest of the cabinets, but I think his idea turned out quite well. It was the only solution as I had to vent through the top of the corner cabinet and cabinet to the right of the stove.

I was so glad I was able to give away the cabinets they tore out to a family who purchased a foreclosure home that had no kitchen. I was able to sell the stove and cooktop to a lovely young couple who were renovating their kitchen and my granite slabs were all in one piece and will be reused in another home.

Thanks for the suggestion on the red valance. I'm SO not a curtain kind of girl, though. I'm working on a red rug in front of the sink.

Speaking of the sink, it was pretty easy for the contractor to install. It's not undermount; it's flush with the soapstone. I LOVE having one large sink. And I have quickly gotten used to not having a garbage disposal.

I couldn't have done it without such awe inspiring kitchens posted on here--especially some posted by boxerpups.

Now, let me go and get that paint color for those who asked.

Wow, this is beautiful. It's really amazing what paint could do, what a difference. You must love it! Great job.

Your makeover is so stunning that its swaying me from wood cabiets to white. Decisions, decisions!

Lovely! Your space looks so much larger!

Wow! I can't believe you used the existing cabinets to create your beautiful new white kitchen. Bravo!

May I have your permission to add your kitchen to the Finished Kitchens Blog? Adding your kitchen to the FKB makes it easy for members to find the details of your kitchen long after this post scrolls off the forum.

If you agree then please let me know.. either in this thread or send me an email (starpooh@gmail.com) . I would also appreciate it if you would, at some time in the future, submit the FKB Category Checklist.
Thank you!

~ boxerpups - it looks like RH SS to me, too!

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

Your kitchen is truly stunning! Congratulations!

Many of us love your wall color! The right shade of grey/green is a classic accompaniment for oiled soapstone-something to do with playing off the green undertone in the stone.

Think long and hard before you go to yellow walls! Sherwin Williams has a free online program that will let you take a picture of your room, and then 'virtually' pick one of their paints and change the wall color.

You could experiment with something like that before the painter comes back. If yellow makes you happy, go for it! If the improved function and the gorgeous appearance have already made you happy, one less contractor to have under foot!

I'm sorry it has taken so long to respond to this. I'd love to be included in the FKB.

Unfortunately I was unable to find the paint color on the walls. It was painted almost 6 years ago. The best I can do is give you the code on the paint can.

It's not RH SS. I have that in my bedroom and Silver Sage has more blue in it.

LOVE your kitchen!! It almost makes me want to switch from the cherry cabinets I'm having installed :) Let me know if you ever found that red rug for your kitchen as I'm having such a hard time finding one.. I have some red accents and most of the rugs I look at seen to be wool.. I'd be interested in what you finally decided on.