So, anyway, here is the Finished Kitchen Part I with Part II pending in a few months if you aren't all sick of my kitchen already :) Part II will also feature interior shots of the drawers, as there's fun stuff inside all of them and I don't have pictures of that yet :)

So, without further ado...

Don't mind the odd silver thing on the drainboard- that's just the plug to the sink, it won't live there forever.

And, just for fun since so many people in the kitchen forum helped me to design these cabinets, this is the finished gathering/keeping room area off the kitchen. Note- the really ugly cabinet knobs are not staying. I wanted white marble and these were the only ones I found but they are not attractive:

Details:
Cabinets: Dutch Wood Kitchens
Granite/marble: Statuario marble for the perimeter cabinets and marble sink. Fabricated by IMG Marble and Granite. Blue bahia for the island, fabricated by Sinai/Big Brothers Marble and Granite who did a perfect seam
Island sink Concrete, fabricated by Paco Originals
Knobs/pulls Custom-made glass, created by Designer Glass Mosaics to match the granite.
Appliances Miele 42" cooktop, some kind of Jenn-Air oven, Sharp microwave drawer, integrated Bosch refrigerator (behind the mirror), integrated Fisher & Pickel dishdrawers (one next to each sink); integrated Bosch dishwasher
Pantry door Custom design, Sans Soucie Art Glass
Mural Stone impressions (custom design, they sent us the graphics and we created it ourselves
Chandeliers James R. Moder Crystal
Faucets & potfiller Whitehaus.

I think that's all- let me know if I forgot anything :)

Anyway, a BIG thank you to everyone on GW who gave encouragement, advice, and information about things that I never even knew existed etc. etc.

I am still piecing my more than humble kitchen together. Would you mind, if you have time, posting some pics of your cabinet feet and how they feed into the cabinetry and counter top above?

Wow.
Those glamorous chandeliers are such jewelry in your kitchen! And they reflect so softly off your SS.

Those knobs you don't like? I'm not so certain they're not a very nice contrast. They're definitely not as ornate as the detail, but they're nice in the photos!

Your beautiful kitchen will be such a joy.
Makes me kinda wistful.
Enjoy.
You've really worked for this!
Christine

Its also nice to see somebody do something besides inset cabinets. I've seen so many nice sets of white inset cabinets recently I was beginning to wonder if my plan for frameless was going to look funny to me once it was done.

Congratulations, it really looks beautiful!! I especially love the bahia and the blue pantry door. :)

~ MM

Congratulations on a job well done.

Congratulations! You did an awesome job, everything looks perfect together.

All I can say is wow! I can't wait to see more pics.

I want to see MORE!

P.S. I want to see the glass pulls

Can't wait to see more because I know it will all be gorgeous. Congrats!

icannotwait, the island is 13 ft. long. There is a seam in the granite, actually right behind the sink, even w/ the faucet. They did an excellent job and the seam is almost impossible to see. You can sort of see it in this close-up:

CEFreeman I will see if I can get someone to take pictures of the feet. Otherwise, when I go home at the end of Feb I will take some for you then if it isn't too late.

bodhi we considered inset but I didn't like it as much w/ this door style and look as full overlay. I think both can be beautiful depending on the kitchen :)

scrappy25 no, the cabinets aren't frameless. Just regular full overlay.

Shareher the color is sherwin williams tinsmith. We used that color through most of our house. More pictures of it can be found at the blog showing the whole house- we used it in the gathering room, kitchen, great room and master bath.

Dolode and dilly_ny I will get better pictures of my cabinet pulls, but here's some we took when they were first put on:

Your fireplace wall turned out so nicely. It all came together so nicely. Can't wait for more pics of the rest of the house.

All the finishes are lovely and I think the blue shade is perfect with the Bahia. The fridge/freezer look like more windows, with the glass. What a spectacular kitchen!

ok, that stone is sick :)

It's not the most practical kitchen,imo, but I think you knew this all along. I think the fireplace elevation and all the versions that went through was worth it too. It also looks even better than the schematics.

I am glad to see it all coming together from your vision so well. :)

Also Pal, I don't know if you noticed (or remembered) but I went w/ one flute as you suggested on the side stiles for the bookcases :) Thanks so much for your help w/ that and everything else throughout the process!

Yay !!!!! It looks magnificent! Congratulations!

Enjoy !

Katie

Congrats on the gorgeousness, and the BLUE. The island is just spectacular.

My 8-year-old son said "I wish I could live there!".

Poor Jason.....now he has to deal with me and my 1000 variations!!!

bee

Cj

Congrats on your lovely kitchen, Beagles!

Just gorgeous, girl.
You've done a fantastic job.

Is this the kitchen of which you've dreamed?

Christine

What color off-white was used on the cabinets?

allison0704 I got the full-height backsplash idea from GW and I'm so glad that I found it and did it!

lolonwood the blue is a custom color. We actually took a very small piece of blue bahia granite tile to sherwin williams and we had them do their color-matching on the color and this was the blue that came up. We love the color so much we painted our bedroom that color and we painted the great room area in our vacation home that color as well.

rosie you absolutely can do it. Just don't be afraid to incorporate the color(s) you love :)

CEFreeman it is absolutely the kitchen I dreamed of, except even better! Every detail came out just the way I imagined a kitchen should be in my head :)

lynn2006 the white on the cabinets is a copy of BM glacier white. (And, BTW, the floors are natural American cherry)

All of the superlatives have been said. It's impressive how well it reflects the renderings. It is the gorgeousness you planned and beyond.

But...are you sure you don't want to learn how to cook??

Oh my. Jason and I are going to have quite a lonnnnng meeting on Monday!

Thanks for all those ideas. I'm stealing every single one of them!!!

When can we come see it?

BTW your island is longer than my kitchen, but I don't think it's as wide :)

beekeeperswife I actually ordered the foot pedals myself from hafele (sp?) and then Jason modified them to work since they are supposed to be for frameless cabinets. Oh, and poor Jason, having to deal w/ all us TKO people. He takes it in such stride. He is so great, I wish we could give GW Cabinet Maker of the Year Awards, LOL!

Oh, and I know you all are cooks, so anyone who brings a really good meal can come and see the kitchen. If you want to touch the island, you'll need to bring desert too ;)

Thanks enduring. And LOL!

One more pic, just for fun: real/photoshop. I think I came pretty darn close!

I find that incredible.

A woman with a vision!

You should really do something with those two pics, have them printed and framed next to each other.

The blue in the kitchen is the same as the blue used to paint the sunroom and the same as on the bookcases in the gathering room (the one w/ the marble fireplace)

Thanks!

I agree real life is even prettier than your plans! It goes without saying the blue granite is spectacular. My other love is the mirrored fridge and freezer. I remember that post, and all the practical people trying to dissuade you. It is so lovely.

Wishing you many lovely meals and memories in your new kitchen.

PS I had a petite chandelier in my old kitchen. Cleaning was not much more than any other chand.

Thanks mtnrdredux. The mirrored doors are one of the things I love best too :) And good to hear that your chandie wasn't a major cleaning challenge!

NATEBEAR, I hope they were good expletives, LOL

and thanks michoumonster.

Got a few more pics- inside of the cabinets this time. Although these will be more fun in a few months when there is actually stuff in all the inserts :)

Fridge/freezer drawers on end of island:

Little utensil drawer above fridge/freezer drawers. Dutchwood raised by whole island by a few inches to accommodate so I could have my ice cream scoop and silverware above my ice-cream freezer :)

Pull-out recycling. There's a foot pedal for this cabinet:

Another little utensil drawer:

Dishdrawer next to island sink:

Dish drawer next to marble sink. Also, paper towel and dish towel niche close up:

Full dishwasher next to marble sink:

Bread drawer and pantry storage boxes. These lift out so you can take the stored food/items with you:

Pull-out next to cooktop:

Bottom drawer below cooktop to file pans:

Top drawer below cooktop for pots:

Cookie sheet drawer:

In drawer-knife block. Below it is my utensil tray w/ routed-out spaces for utensils like can opener, grater, spatula, etc. Everything in it's place :) It fits OXO utensils so they should also be able to be replaced in the same size should one ever become lost or broken:

Pull-out trash w/ cutting board above it. The trash can has a foot pedal. It is also possible to open the cabinet door on the side of the island to access trash so that it can be accessed from both front and side. The same is true for the recycling can:

Bosch fridge/freezer:

Filing drawer for Pyrex:

This is truly a magical place.
I feel as though your kitchen is Garden Web's kitchen.
Watching this journey unfold into the most maginificent space.
The ideas, the drawings, the visuals, the granite search,
the thoughts you had, the colors... but especially your
love for blue and of course beagles. You stuck to what
you love and it has turned out like your plans!

Congratulations and thank you for letting us peek into
Part 1.
Looking forward to Part 2.
~boxer

The glass cabinets on the one wall... are they clear glass, or dark? They don't look clear. Maybe you've answered this, I didn't read the whole thread.

You have thought of everything regarding your storage needs. I am impressed with the job Dutch Wood did... fantastic!

mercymygft, the china cabinets have clear glass but the backs of them are painted blue. It makes them look dark, but we did put LED lights in those cabinets so once the dishes are in and the lights turned on, it should look very different.

dianalo I've seen a lot of blues lately too, it seems to be a big color right now (which I'm not happy about, I don't want my blue to become "so 2012," LOL!) You know I love all blues so I think you should definitely incorporate a deep blue in your house!

michelle16, bosch doesn't make the single door built in anymore, though they do still have a french door model. We got an absolute steal on this fridge since it was a discontinued floor model. I think we paid less than $4000 if I remember correctly! We don't have it plugged in yet so I don't know how it works, but I'm very happy with how it looks.

This just totally takes my breath away. Wow, where do I start? That granite! That mural! That range hood! Those chandeliers (i want to touch them and not let go)! The corbels, the glass (wow), the appliques, the drawer details, the feet (cool!) ... oh who am I kidding, I love every single thing about it. You must be over the moon thrilled.

And is that a TV in the corner over the door? How clever!!

Okay, now where is the rest of your home, especially the gorgeous yellow stained bookcases that first showed me the possibilities of yellow stain and which were my inspiration for my cabs. Of all your gorgeous finishings I think I love those the most (okay, maybe after the fireplace and chandeliers and granite and ...). So where are they? We want to see!

taggie I just looked at your kitchen and it is gorgeous! I am so glad you started on the path to yellow stain!!!

We aren't moved into the house yet so I haven't posted "finished" pictures of anything really because we don't have any stuff in anything. I'm going to be putting dishes in the china cabinet this weekend, but we're not going to be officially moving in probably until some time in April because I'm spending the winter in Florida. Even when we move in, we probably won't have a fully furnished house for forever because I take FOREVER to find furniture and want primarily antiques or custom stuff, so it's going to be a long process, LOL

Anyway, long story short- here's a picture of the bookshelf but it is still not finished b/c there's no books!

Beagles - I know it's all been said above, but I just have to throw myself superfluously on the (beagle-)pile: it's beautiful. It's more beautiful than the renderings, even. The blue is not overpowering (as several of us feared). It is wonderful.

Honestly, someone as obsessed with detail and beauty as you, must have a hand at learning to cook. You would love it. You have the perfect milieu for it of course. And it would feed so many desires to see things link up and fit in. I say, make it be your designing-desert present to yourself. You've fashioned the most gorgeous kitchen west of Marie Antoinette's, now outfit it with food to match.

How did the dog washing station come out?

I have tried to cook before and it didn't go well. I get really bored and I just wander away and leave the oven on or the pan on and burn things. It's just not in me I am afraid. My mom was a wonderful cook too, I guess I did not get that gene.

The dog washing station came out awesome. I'm going to a post a separate thread w/ pictures of the whole house but here's a few:

Beagles, I bet you've got a second career right there in that nook. I bet there are more of you out there needing/wanting that space for their pets.

Hmmmm about the cooking thing. You have such deep, concentrated interest in the details of what you choose to do, I'm still thinking you should start again with a boiled egg just for the completeness of it all. It's just aesthetically, um, incomplete to see you design such a beautiful paean to cooking and then just drop it at the last second. I want to see you come to triumph *in* the thing which you've designed so exquisitely ... course that's just me reflecting my own compulsion for completion, I know.

Still ... that was then. When this is all over and no one's looking -- give it a whirl? Please? Either that or hang out a shingle as a pet-lover's designer!

Ok. The cooking thing. Here's what I will do. I love crepes and there's only one crepe place where we live and it is open odd hours. So, I bought a crepe maker and when I move into the house, I will prepare crepes in the kitchen. Doesn't that seem a fitting thing to prepare? And not too many ingredients so I hope I won't mess it up! (How's that, does that work)?

Well done.

Pet designer ... no idea how that's done but I think you've got some good inspiration pics for your clients to get started!

BTW, I think crepes is as challenging to make as anything. Which is to say not so much, yet tricky ... if you can do that (and absolutely you can) surely you can do anything! Kinda sorta...

But most fun is reading how you - and everyone else who post their finished pictures - just exudes such pride and joy over their finished creations...brings out that kid in all of us.

Once again, I learn something too, whether it is practical questions to ask or material to use. Your finished project inspires me to go with a vision - whatever it is.

AND - it looks like a very practical kitchen ready for an army of cooks to make sweet memories!

Thanks for sharing.

The mineral that colors the Bahia blue granite is sodalite, and sodalite blue has always been my favorite color. So I was pleased to see that sodalite blue is one of the chosen Pantone colors this year! Hopefully that means seeing more of it around!

And, on another note, call me "out of it" but I am in love with your closet, and I have tried for the life of me to figure out what the tower of lazy suzans will used for and I just can't hold back any longer! What are they going to house??? Handbags?

And, one more question, if you don't mind, where did you get your bread drawer inserts, and do you know the dimensions of the drawer?

Thanks so much, and CONGRATULATIONS!!

susied3 here is an early version of the floor plan. This does not have the upstairs laundry room, the master laundry closet, or the dog room on it. the kitchen/gathering room and master bath area are also different as well, but this gives a basic idea of where all the rooms go:

The one lazy susan in my closet will hold shoes, and the other purses.

And the bread inserts were made by Dutch Wood (the little boxes on the side of the bread drawer lift out) and the drawer is 36 x 25.

Hope that helps :)

I came here thinking I honestly had missed your reveal. Imagine my surprise to encounter a whole exchange here about your house. I still love the shade of blue; it's very elegant. Almost PA dutch-shade, but a little duskier.