We are absolutely loving our new kitchen. We had a bar-height counter with stools in our old kitchen, but we never ate there. We always ate in our dining room. Now we choose to eat in the kitchen whenever possible (and admire our results).

The sawdust and sweat and stress are becoming distant memories as we work in a space that is so much more functional for us.

We had painted white cabinets for over twenty years, so unlike many of you, with this redesign we opted for stained cabinets. We're big fans of arts and crafts style furniture and homes. Even though our home is a late 70's split level, we wanted to incorporate a slight arts and crafts feel into our space. We love the beauty of wood and natural surfaces.

Here is what we started with:

Here is how it looks now:

LOVE the Silgranit sink! Thanks GW. I think I first found GardenWeb when it kept showing up on my Google search results while I was looking for sink info. We were already part-way through our process at that point.

We bought a new range out of necessity before we decided that a new kitchen was a "go." We previously had a smooth-top electric range and liked it quite a bit. After reviewing other options including gas or induction, we ended up deciding to stick with the smoothtop. We like the Electolux a lot. We're obviously not afraid of electronics--no knobs to be found.

We used to have a microwave the size of a small house on the counter. I'm thrilled to have the microwave off of the counter.

My next project is to tear the blue carpet out of the dining room and continue the hardwood in there. I had originally hoped to match the existing hardwood and run it into the kitchen, but unanticipated complications caused us to change course mid-stream. The new kitchen flooring is comfortable to stand on and is a dream to clean, so I'm very happy with my choice.

Lighting under the sink:

The granite:

The hardware:

The details:

Cabinets: Custom Cherry, Candleglow Stain (Paradise Custom Kitchens) with Blum soft-close doors and soft-close drawers, glass inserts with prairie mullions
Hardware: Amerock Inspirations - Wrought Iron Dark
Extras: peka Magic Corner Pull-out, Spice Rack on back of upper cabinet door, Double Trash pull-out, utensil organizers
Granite: Delicatus Brown with 1/4” beveled edge
Backsplash: MSI Crema Marfil Tumbled Marble 3x6 with Bone grout
Flooring: Congoleum Duraceramic (Tobacco Clay) installed with (Pearl Gray?) grout
Sink: BlancoPrecis 1 & 3/4 Bowl Undermount in Anthracite with Blanco black strainer baskets
Faucet: Moen Medora Single Handle Pullout - Classic Stainless
Range: Electrolux Free-Standing Wave-Touch Electric Range
Chimney Style Hood: 30” Zephyr Anzio
Refrigerator: Samsung French Door RFG298AARS
Dishwasher: KitchenAid KUDS30IXSS
Microwave: GE Profile Spacemaker II PEM31 with trim kit
Under Cabinet Lighting: Dimmable LED strips with on/off wall switch and dimmer control mounted under cabinet-Custom designed by DH with supplies from US LED Supply
Under Sink Lighting - turns on automatically when the cabinet door is opened - custom designed with supplies from US LED Supply by DH
Pendant Lights: American Foursquare by Murray Feiss
Recessed Lights: Juno IC20 5” with wheat haze 216WHZ-WH

Thanks to everyone on GW for your ideas and support through the process.

Cj

The whole design is beautiful, and very classy. Great job!

And your kitty is soooo cute, too!

i really like your layout and that's the best use of a corner sink i've seen yet. the microwave area is so smart and looks great.

the details are so warm and your cabs are just beautiful. it's a great space. so glad you are enjoying it! :)

Becky

Senator, I love quarter-sawn oak. I look forward to seeing your finished kitchen. I considered QS oak for our cabinets, but didn't want to overdo the A&C style too much in our home, since it's not a period home. We do have a few pieces of QS oak furniture, and I absolutely love the grain in the wood. I'm sure you're kitchen will be a showstopper and I look forward to seeing it.

We weren't sure about the idea of a corner sink at first. We were careful to order a large enough cabinet to allow for placement of the sink as close to the front edge of the counter as possible. The larger cabinet cost us a few inches of storage on either side and created a larger triangular area behind the sink than we would have needed. We were concerned about the possibility of developing back strain from reaching too far into the sink. As it turned out, the corner sink is comfortable to work at, and the placement makes it much more of an interesting place to work, as well. The spot behind the sink is turning out to be a great place to slide the coffee maker when it's perking away and not need to worry about steam hitting the upper cabinets. I remember reading a thread about that issue recently.

Motherof3sons, here is the magic corner in several positions. I ended up storing some things that I don't frequently use in that space. Consequently, I haven't given it heavy usage yet, but it seems to operate very smoothly and is sturdy.

I can see why you and DH are eating at the kitchen bar now..

Your cabinets are really gorgeous as is the entire space..what a difference!

I hope you enjoy it for many meals..

KA:)

Keep enjoying your space and have fun tearing out that lovely blue carpet! ;)

Thanks!

Circuspeanut, I'm hoping that the under-sink lighting will help me to keep that area less cluttered and free from unexpected inhabitants. I decided to move most of the chemical products that used to live under the sink to a closet elsewhere.

As several of you have noticed, our cat enjoys sitting on the stools in the new kitchen as much as we do. I often have to ask her to move so that I can have a seat. Every time I take a picture she seems to show up in that same spot. Our dog has a new favorite spot to nap, too.

Jenhp, the width of the hutch with the microwave is 60". The two side wall cabinets are each 16" wide and the center cabinet is 28".