House is a cozy colonial situated in central NY built in the 1980s that came with a magnificent piece of property. The inside, however, needed (and still needs) much update. We ripped out all the (irregular) flooring on the first floor and had them replaced. Structural changes took place in the mudroom/garage-entry area as well as the wall between kitchen and dining room (widened).

Prior to renovations, I had ZERO experience with reno of any sort, let alone in design. I stumbled upon GW and my world changed! You have all been fantastic and an invaluable source of information and support. I direct all my renovating friends here now! Your finished kitchens have all been sources of inspiration for me and I have most definitely borrowed some of your ideas (built-in paper towel holder, motion detector light switch in pantry, stone window sill...).

Lastly, this is my dream kitchen in the home we hope to raise our family in. White kitchens are fairly uncommon around these parts and so far, that is one main feature people are taken by when they first walk into our kitchen. I hope you all enjoy the photos!

Details
Cabinets: Custom-made by Concepts in Wood (Syracuse, NY), Shaker-style doors, painted BM Chantilly Lace
Counters: Super white quartzite and titanium soapstone
Main Sink: Shaws Original Sink by Rohl - 30"
Main Faucet: Single Side Lever Country Kitchen Faucet with extended spout and sidespray by Rohl
Bar sink: inexpensive stainless sink from Ebay
Bar Faucet: EcoPure filter faucet (runs water from an RO system)
Range: 36" Bluestar with griddle
Hood: Vent-a-hood
Dishwasher: Kitchenaid
Refrigerator: old Kitchenaid that came with house (plan to replace in a year or 2)
Island pendants: Restored vintage hologen industrial pendants with original Heisey glass
Hardware: Highland Ridge by Amerock in 4" and 6"
Backsplash: Bellevue 3x6 ceramic tiles in Glacier by Best Tile

Before:

Before (view into dining room):

Before (view into garage entry):

Before (pantry with crazy-deep shelving):

Before (view into family room):

After:

Coffee/Wine bar:

Titanium Soapstone:

View from Mudroom:

Pantry:

Microwave will sit on counter atop drawers:

Mudroom (closet on opposite wall):

I have to include this photo of our backsplash in the midst of being grouted, taken while my GC was at lunch. Amazing what a difference grout makes!

Lastly, a fun shot of my girls having fun with bubble wrap and packing paper one evening when I was trying to move all my junk back in:

Your girls are adorable!

Can you tell me about the DR fixture? And what's the kitchen wall color?

As lovely as your kitchen is, the most outstanding part is your little girls. They are adorable! You were wise to redo the kitchen now so that it will be easier and more pleasant to serve your family. Wish I'd done my kitchen years ago when my boys were small.

Job well done!

It's like getting to see my future! Now I'm even more excited about getting this kitchen of mine moving.

How big is your island? It is so lovely.

The babies are so cute too.

congrats

bee

Your kitchen is gorgeous! What is the wall color? I'm considering a more golden tan than you have but after seeing how wonderful your kitchen looks, I'm feeling as if I might just be able to pull it off. Thank you, thank you!

Enjoy your new kitchen! I hope you make many happy memories cooking in it with your adorable girls.

Lovely girls!

Breezy... I had a completely different color in mind originally, green. Then, I changed my mind to blue. Had a bunch of samples I loved. But once my countertops were installed and I mocked some up, NONE of them worked! The lady at the tile store threw in these tiles "just so you have something else to compare them to" and they turned out to be perfect. Funny how these things work out. Also, the DR fixture was purchased off overstock.com. The original fixture I fell in love with was much taller and showcased in a high-ceiling DR, but also over $1K! I figured these would work ok with my low, 8' tall ceilings. Kitchen wall color is BM Revere Pewter, rest of the house (including family room and DR) is BM Shaker Beige.

I hope your family fully enjoys this home and working together in this kitchen for many, many years to come. For now, probably, just keep the bubble wrap coming. ;-)

lisa_a... I had wanted to post a photo for you when you first asked, but I was in the midst of housewarming frenzy and never got around to it! Was hoping that you'd see this post and find something you were looking for. My kitchen wall color is BM Revere Pewter and DR/FR is BM Shaker Beige. When the colors all came together, the grayness of the Revere Pewter changed to a more tan shade!

Chesters_house... we went with Vallars (Syracuse, NY). I had to do quite a bit of legwork myself to find the stone/slabs I desired, but once I decided, they were excellent. I'll link the post where I showed the installation process.

After that, the Super White was given that name for a reason ;) I absolutely love your bs tiles as well and I love how you went all the way up with them.

One thing I don't understand is how you got through the reno and still have some Grand Marnier left in the pantry....

Love your lights. Can you tell us a little more?

Your babies are precious.

Congratulations.

Dianalo... good eye! That bottle was stashed away in one of my baking bins during reno... otherwise, yeah, it probably wouldn't be sitting there in my pantry right now!

I will answer more questions later tonight. Dinner calls... it's also my baby's 1st birthday today!

The kitchen is so wonderful! I love the backsplash and countertops...and everything else, too. Just when I was having second thoughts about white kitchen cabinets...your kitchen reminds me how lovely they can be!

Thank you for sharing your beautiful kitchen...you did a truly amazing renovation. Hope you don't mind that I'm saving some of these pictures, in my file! :)

I have pantry envy!! What a wonderful space!

Could you tell me about your counter stools? Where are they from and how tall are they? Thanks and many happy years in your fabulous kitchen!!!

Sheeesh. I sound like Steve Martin in "the Jerk". LOL.

I must confess that your baby girls are my most favorite of all! They are completely and utterly ADORABLE and PRECIOUS!

michoumonster... I purchased my mudroom light from Schoolhouse Electric. I fell in love with this shade the moment I saw it; easiest "design" decision for me! Here's another photo I just took... had to darken the room so you could see the stripes:

I ended up ordering from them a 2nd time to get something similar for my front entryway. Their prices are reasonable and pieces are high quality.

joanie... my renovation-buddy! Thank you for your words! Yes, the paper-towel cubby idea was one of the first things I came across on this forum. My inspiration was firsthouse_mp's kitchen. I've provided the link below. For someone who has always dreamed of having clutter-free countertops, this was a must-borrow-idea! Only regret? My 1yo is going thru her unroll-paper-goods stage and we are constantly hiding the roll deep inside the cubby out of her reach! Here's an angled pic of it:

redlover... the bar sink was just something cheap I got off ebay (I think I paid <$35). Since we were only using it for filtered water, felt like something we could easily compromise. We have a reverse osmosis water filtration system set up underneath sink along with a holding tank. Faucet was a simple (~$50) filter faucet purchased at Lowes. Works very well for us. We are big coffee people and roast our own beans... so, easy access to filtered water was a no-brainer.

My lights... I do love vintage and restored things. The look I wanted has become rather trendy these days with many companies offering holophane reproductions. Came across this in a local antique light shop (run by white-haired men wearing rubber aprons, nonetheless)... Cost just about the same as ones from RH and the like. They are 1930s, originally hung in a local supermarket... with original Heisey prism-cut glass. These lights were made back when American-made glass were highly sought after and no longer in production.

deb52899... I think my pantry is wonderful, too! My GC actually built it himself. After having those crazy-deep shelves in the old pantry (and no walk-in pantry in my last 2 kitchens), I wanted simple shelves that would hold on more than 2-3 cans deep on top and deep shelves below for bulk or large items. Thanks to GW, I have installed a motion-sensor light and plan on "hiding" my microwave and toaster oven inside. There is a pocket door which remains open most of the time. Some more pics right after they were completed:

emy315... the stools are actually from overstock.com. We didn't want to spend a fortune on them and almost went faux leather because of the price point until I found these. Happy with the quality and look... super easy to wipe down with the kids and comfy to boot! You can get the dimensions from the link below. I wanted something with a low back that didn't obstruct the view too much. These were perfect.

Nice job!! Enjoy for many years to come!

I now love your lights very much more! Cool find!

And... now I have an idea that I might have been able to combine my bfast center and pantry, and opened it toward the kitchen... Hmmm.... --My ever-patient dh (also my carpenter/cabinet-maker/dream-builder) is going to outlaw my looking at house and kitchen pics on the internet... I keep finding things I might want to change! ;-)

The photos of your girls playing with the bubble wrap is a classic.

Enjoy your new kitchen!

michoumonster... If you have any questions, I'd contact Schoolhouse Electric and just ask. I think they would look great in a bath!

jmcgowan... Hungry Caterpillar is on regular rotation here during reading time, too! Yes, I LOVE my bluestar! After using it for 3 weeks, I appreciate the high BTUs, the wonderful simmer burner, the self-reignite feature and the oven... the spaciousness, the awesome rollout tray and how quickly and evenly it bakes! The best part... it cleans up EASY! With my last stove (a black/SS GE), it took so much elbow grease to remove anything baked on and the streaking drove me nuts! Right now, I'm perfecting Mickey Mouse pancakes over the weekend on the griddle...

camphappy... we love our floors. DH and I have always tended towards darker floors. These are red oak that were Dark Walnut-stained (I believe 3 coats). Our last house had gorgeous but glossy dark hardwood and the glossiness drove us crazier than the dirt showing against the dark. We went with matte finish this time. For me, having 2 little ones means I'm vacuuming at least once day. And, honestly, I only mop once a week, aside from spot cleaning spills/messes. My floors look fine (and for what it's worth, I didn't vacuum or mop prior to taking pics!).

Just thought I'd add a few more photos, mostly on the organizational side, in case anyone is interested. Little features that I'm coming to appreciate.

My spice cabinet, located on top to left of the range. I had only specified "spice cabinet" in my designs and had no idea what was going to be made or installed. I believe they are Rev-a-shelf. I had never seen this before and I'm growing to like it more and more. It swings out and stays "closed" with magnet. Lower shelves are good for frequently used spices while I plan on keeping less-frequently used ones up higher (and they get high!). *NOTE: I've obviously NOT organized my spices yet; in fact, I have a huge bag of my spices still stored somewhere...*

On the bottom to the left of the range, my only roll-out. I opted for a ROS over a drawer to keep my condiments and oils because I prefer to see most of the bottles and access them from the sides if needed. And I kinda did the reverse and arranged for taller bottle on top since the vast majority of my bottles turn out to be tall. I LOVE having them all easily accessible with minimal bending and crawling!

Here is a better shot of my built-in paper towel rack. It presides over the tray cabinet. Cabinet is quite deep so I am actually able to store extra rolls behind.

Upper corner cabinet. While initially not thrilled about the bifold corner door, I LOVE having 100% easy access to the corner shelves! We had an angled upper corner cab in our last house... and, well, I'm sure this isn't new to most of you, but we love it.

We included a small 15"Wx12"D pantry and broom closet to the side of the refrigerator. Still sitting unorganized (except for our cereal boxes which I'm 200% sure will sit here) but will serve to hold frequently used pantry items. I'm considering configuring broom closet to a messaging center... but still haven't decided how. Any ideas?

RO system setup under bar sink with holding tank.

Our Amerock pulls:

A closeup of our restored vintage holophane industrial pendant.

Evening shot. We have LED bulbs in the pendants, 6" LED recessed cans (from Home Depot) for ceiling, and LED strips for under cabinet lighting (from Elemental LED) which we leave on almost all day long.

Last, another daytime shot of the schoolhouse light in the mudroom.

Love the super white counters with that backsplash. Love the faucets and the pendants. Love the cabinets and the appliances. I just love it all.

Great job!

Your kitchen is lovely and serene. The BS tiles really complement the beautiful SW counters nicely.

I'd love to know your contractor info if you are indeed near the Syracuse area (noticed that your cabinets at least are from there). If you don't want to post it, an email would be great.

Again, just a stunning job. I almost can't believe it is the same house!

kaysd... my girls are 1 and almost 3. They keep me busy for sure. The oldest is already enjoying cooking and baking with me!

Sourire... yes, I'm right outside of Syracuse. I will email you the info.

My kitchen is at the bottom of this post.

peonybush... we stained our floors (unfinished red oak) with 3 coats Dark Walnut. And thank you, the backsplash unexpectedly turned out wonderfully for us... amazing how a little color can make such an impact!

michelle16... because of the way the front apron farmer's sink sits forward on the counter, and because of how the faucet base would sit a few inches behind the sink, I was afraid that the standard 9" spout reach would be a tad short for me. In this case, the 11" allows water to fall directly into center of drain, which is perfect because otherwise, I'd have a heck of a time trying to clean my sink. I may be wrong, but in my research, I had a hard time finding affordable faucets that came with an 11" extended spout. Rohl, though on the higher price range, offers one of the more inexpensive extended spouts. I believe they have an extended 11" option for most of their faucets and the price may be slightly higher than the standard size. I ended up purchasing my faucet from www.qualitybath.com online because they had the lowest price for my Rohl. Hope this helps!

equest... I have no idea why I though we purchased it from Elemental Lighting, though DH was in charge of it so I stayed pretty out of the loop on it. Turns out he ordered it from ENVIRONMENTAL Lighting! Specifically, we have the "LED High Brightness Dimmable Undercabinet Light 12" Soft White". We also purchased some cord connectors as well as a tranformer. I LOVE my undercab lights and so happy with the quality of what we have.

It seems that Crate&Barrel still carries the buffet/hutch. I'll include the link below.

Beautiful kitchen--glad I caught it.

PS I remember your kitchen, too slush, also lovely!

I love the paper towel roll in the lower cabinet and think I just might have to borrow that idea!

I would like to add an amendment to my tile details. In the way back of my mind, I kept thinking that I had purchased Jeffrey Court tiles, but couldn't find my invoice from Best Tile to prove it. Finally came across my box of leftover tiles in the garage and sure enough, they ARE Jeffrey Court tiles. I'm not sure if Best Tile has exclusive rights to carrying this particular tile/line, but since so many of you have asked about my backsplash, perhaps this bit of info may help. Specifically, the tile is Jeffrey Court 3x6 field tiles, part # 519505 in Glacier. I'm thinking that if a store carries Jeffrey Court, they may be able to order this piece.