Sorry, I guess that is such a tease! Picture coming....as soon as I find the camera. It's MIA! I know it's here, just not sure which pile it's buried under.

Yay! I'm glad you like it! It's really beautiful... we have 2 rooms painted with Silver Fox and Abalone throughout the rest of the main floor! It's amazing how much the color can change depending on the time of day! Can't wait to see pics!

Yep, gotta see pics!! :) I know just what you mean about agonizing over paint! I finally found one also - I wonder if it's similar to the Silver Fox. It's called Passive by SW and I feel the same way about it - depends on the lighting as to exactly what color it looks like. I can't wait to see your photo to compare! Sounds as if yours may be slightly darker. The Passive looks primarily gray, but sometimes has hints of blue or violet - it looks very light in this photo because of all the sun shining in (and there's currently just one coat on).
{{!gwi}}

I love to hear good color tips! THanks for the post!

Some colors really do work so beautifully. Can't wait to see this one!

Well, these may not be the best of photos, taken at 6:00 pm, but it does give a hint of how it will come together with the floor (not grouted yet) & the closed door which is the existing doors & trim in the rest of the house and what will be almost identical stain on the kitchen cabinets.

One that catches the ceiling paint too.

West Wall

South Window Wall & West Wall corner. I had intended the rad to be painted out the wall colour, but I wasn't around when the painter started it and he painted it the trim colour. It was my fault as I didn't tell him ahead of time, and it had previously been painted to match the previous trim. I'm fine with it either way.

janie-k: Do you happen to have any photos posted of your Abalone. I'd love to see it. I was thinking of using it in the DR/LR (once I recover a bit from the kitchen reno.

Traci: for some reason your photo doesn't show up for me, can you try posting it again? It does feel good to finally find the right colour doesn't it? I know we had both been struggling with sample pots!

ebse: In the photos above,the Silver Fox appears quite gray, but when the sun hits it it is a beautiful silvery gray, and the corners are quite taupe,yet it also manages to pick up hint of purple in the veins of the Bianco Romano Granite. I'm also thrilled with how it enhances the gray in the walnut glazed white floor tiles. :)

katienic: Your paint color is gorgeous! I'm a big fan of grey and brown together, and I particularly like that shade of stain that you've chosen. How exciting to see things finally coming together!

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet...

Yeah katie! Yet another great design idea I'll have to bookmark! Thanks for posting this. I'm going to be looking for a grayish taupeish warm side of cool color paint that'll go with gray leather, creams, medium dark wood tones, a red birch wood. Ya' just may have saved me alot of heartache!

pattyk: Thanks. It did take an awful lot of testing pots (none which were really working) and in the end it was laxsupermom (THANK YOU!) who pointed me in the direction of Silver Fox.
The rich dark stain is the original doors & trim to the house built in 1949. Between the double french doors flanked by stained glass windows leading to the back patio, these wonderful double panel interior wood doors & the equally impressive 8" deep baseboards I fell in love with this little bungalow within 15 seconds of being inside. We've been living with the dated kitchen for almost 8 years and I can hardly wait to have my dream kitchen finished.

remodelfla: As mentioned above, we have laxsupermom to thank for this perfect combination.

Since my Bianco Romano granite has both cream & gray in it I give Silver Fox a resounding yes to fit your requirements. BTW, the wood does have a slight redish cast in certain lights.

Sorry Katie - I don't know what happened with the photo! It was showing up in the preview but then disappeared. Anyway, here it is again. You're right, the Silver Fox is gorgeous! I think it's a bit darker and possibly a bit more taupe, while mine seems to have more blue tones. It looks as if it's going to be great in your kitchen - I can't wait to see the finished product! Our house is also older (about 1939), but we don't have that beautiful stained woodwork unfortunately.

{{!gwi}}

Katie that color was worth the agony...it's perfect! Can't wait to see more pics of the completed project!

Traci, have they done your floors yet?

Kat :)

Kat - funny you asked, since I was just telling my husband that I just want to hurry up and get the floors done. Not just to finish the kitchen, but because I'm tired of dreading the process of packing up everything in the house and moving out for at least a week! I just know it's going to be such a pain, so now want to get it over with! But I am tired of looking at the floors as they are right now :)

Yay! The color looks great! It's funny that Silver Fox was THE ONE because we're not at the sample pot stage, yet, but I know I'll be coming home with at least a zillion and probably posting for color help here.

traci: My thoughts as soon as I saw your photo was that it gives such a wonderful sense of calm to your room. your SW Passive is aptly named. Beautiful choice! Your kitchen is going to be absolutely stunning. I envy you your ceiling & wonderful windows that let in so much light, and probably most of all I'm positively 'green' (in the most positive way!) over the amount of space you have.

Kat: I'm so looking forward to the completion, and I know I'm one of the lucky ones that will (knock on wood)have mine completed in 5 weeks from demo to working kitchen.

supermom: Thanks again for the tip toward the SF. It really is pretty. I 'predict' you will get it right on the first go round!

Oh, and just to give everyone a look-see of the difference between the Silver Fox and Revere Pewter which had been what I was planning to use (except once I put up the sample the greenish tinge was bugging me)here is a photo showing a spot where the baseboard will cover that I had previously tried it out. It works, but the SF works oh so much better!

Silver Fox on Top/Revere Pewter Below.

And I realized on my first post that I had repeated one of the photos instead of picking up on the west wall (sink window)

Traci29,

I love Passive by SW. Do you have a lot of lighting
in your kitchen?
Is that a good paint to work with? I have never used
SW. But I really like the look you have.

I also like Silver Fox but the Passive might be better in
my kitchen.

I am driving everyone insane because I am going to repaint
my kitchen after the reno is complete. Or just before
it is complete. I have a Ralph Lauren Camel Coat
color on the walls and new granite installed.
I am not liking the combination. It is okay but not
wow like the beautiful look you both have above.

Thanks for sharing you paint choices.
~boxerpups

"just not sure which pile it's buried under"

you were looking for your camera IN MY house? lol!

wow - that's incredibly beautiful for a 'grey'! I wouldn'ta thunk it! just the 'right' shade/hue etc sure makes the difference, doesn't it?

sigh... guess I should plan to be pickier than 'it's in the general area of the color'...lol! the few minutes I spent at the HD paint center almost did me in... and I've got 9 rooms to figure out (several may end up the same). lol! depends on how I survive cabinets, counter top, handles etc!

katienic,
Here is a picture of our living room painted with the Abalone. Sorry the picture isn't very good but it's a rainy day here and I didn't want to use the flash and mess up the color tones. The close-up is Abalone against the Ben Moore White Dove(on the mantle). I tried the silver fox in this room and decided we didn't have enough light to pull it off... but everything reads really dark in this house... I used the silver fox in the adjacent den and love it too!

Ignore the mantle decorations... we are still unpacking and I just keep throwing stuff up there if I have no place to put it :)

boxerpups: I was preparing myself to repaint even before the painter started to apply the SF. I was so afraid I had picked wrong & that it might be too dark. Thank goodness it turned out so very well.

desertsteph: It was a good job I had used the camera within the last few days or else it would have been even harder to locate. Previously I lived with the wrong colour on the walls for 4 years so this time I was extra paranoid over my pick.

Thanks janie-k: It is very pretty. My DR/LR doesn't get a lot of light but the Abalone may be light enough to work for me there.

Thanks, Katie! I think you made a great decision with the Silver Fox paint also - your kitchen is going to be gorgeous. I hope the Passive paint helps me feel relaxed -I need it - haha! I'm so ready to have this remodeling nightmare over after dealing with it for well over a year (counting working with the architect, getting approval from the historic commission, and going on 8 months of actual construction). I want my life back :) I am excited due to the fact that granite was just installed today, so here's another photo from a different angle! Ignore the mess - things are still all over the place and the cabinets still have a lot of work to be done on them. And it's funny that you can't really tell from the photo, but the silver pendant lights over the sink are wrapped in Saran wrap - I was irritated that my husband had the contractor install them already since they will get all dusty and dirty, so I wrapped them up! :)

Boxerpups - I love the SW Passive (after also debating forever about colors), but it probably depends on the other colors you have in the space. For example, it's considered a neutral color, but is a cool color with bluish undertones, while I think the Silver Fox is warmer. We do have a lot of lighting in the kitchen, both natural and from fixtures. There are 5 windows total on 3 sides of the kitchen, so the paint usually looks even lighter than it is - there is also just one coat right now, so it may look slightly different once the second is finally on - we're just waiting until the very end since I know it will be immediately ruined during the rest of the construction! Good luck with your choice!

{{!gwi}}

Sorry to hi-jack but Janie and Katie I think I may have to re-think my bedroom and go with Abalone or SF! I won't break that news to my husband for a few more days though!

Traci...create another post so we can properly rave about that granite girl!!! Congrats it looks wonderful and I know how excited you must be!

Kat :)

Kat - I'll post more photos of the granite in a new thread once I can take better ones :)

Katie - can't wait to see your cabinets in! You said that they will be dark, right? I love dark stained cabinets and almost went with that, but called the cabinet maker and changed to white paint right before he started staining them! Only because I'm also dying to have really dark floors, so was afraid it would just be too much. I compromised with the dark stained island :)

Traci: oh my...I promise not to whine over my 5 week renovation!

If I had white cabs I'd want to go with the cooler gray/blue also, and add the sparkle of the silver pendants.

I agree with Kat, Give on the details...What is your granite?

Katie - you're allowed to whine as much as you want because ANY remodeling is a pain to deal with, no matter how smoothly it goes :) And mine is slightly different in that it includes more than a kitchen, although we didn't expect it to still be in progress for quite so long! Should have been 5-6 months, but for various reasons is dragging and dragging! The worst part is that while you see the new kitchen, the old one still has to be demolished - yikes!!! Of course, that's good in that we haven't been totally without a kitchen for 8 months, but bad due to another mess coming soon along with floors stained. But anyway, enough about that - I could go on and on :)

The granite on the perimeter is Cambrian black antique finish and the island is Persian Pearl antique. I promise I'll post some better photos in another thread in a day or so - hopefully you'll be posting your cabinet photos at about the same time!

Hi Katie - was just thinking about you since you said your cabinets were going in today! Are they being installed right now??!! Can you tell how impatient I am? Haha!

Yes, we demand pics...tell those installers to move so you can take pics! LOL

Kat :)

Aw folks, thanks for thinking of me! :)
Yup! The guys have been working their little ol' hearts out since early this morning. The cabinet maker has done a beautiful job. I do wish he had added a spacer before the top trim to bring it up closer to the ceiling, but I had lots of time to discuss that option and didn't do it. I'm sure it is something that I'll only notice for a day or two.

I have been feeling positively sick to my stomach - in the nicest possible way - This has become the moment of truth! I've gone from basically white on white, little counter & few cabinets to very dark & tons of cabinetry plus sticking an island in between that breaks with the minimum aisles (only by an 1 1/4" on 2 sides)& it is going to be cozy but I have to say that so far I'm loving it.

The island isn't in place yet, but they have the 2 banks on the perimeter walls (galley) almost completed. My house is small & I'm used to close quarters so I really do believe the function will be great and I won't feel I'll be cursing the lack of walk-around room.

I'll get a couple of works-in-progress photos up a little later. For now, I'm dashing out of town to pick up the rest of the knobs & see what I can find for the down lights in the glass cabinet & flanking cubbies.

Talk soon.
kn

Looking good!

Now I'm getting antsy to have DH finish off the Bathroom, so I can start picking paint. Have added Silver Fox and Abalone to the list of chips to look at. Unfortunately, hot tub has needed repair, and the last month of weekends has been spent on that- can't believe we'd originally been thinking maybe Christmas... OMG I did it again- didn't specify which year!

Can hardly wait to see it all come together!

Thanks kat & traci for encouraging me to take photos. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get photos that will do it justice though as my kitchen is relatively small & it is hard to get a good angle to take the photos. I've been away from the forum since yesterday & will have to try to catch up on the posts tomorrow.
I am sooooo tired! This place has been a whirlwind of activity since yesterday. Was it just yesterday that the installation started? They got an amazing amount of work done.

Here is a beginning photo as the 1st piece was brought in.

the the opposite side: pantry wall by end of the day.

Today the electrician was in and hung the pendant over the island, installed the Xenon undercounter lights on the sink wall & the Xenon accent lights in the cubbies & glass front on the pantry wall.

The Cabinet maker will be back tomorrow and will finish up the drawer fronts & other stuff.

The appliances arrived and I love my Jenn-Air Floating Black Glass FD CD fridge. My Kitchen Aid oven/micro combo is hooked up and my DH reheated his coffee in it - We finally have an oven & what did we do for tonight's dinner but hit Tim Hortons for take-out Chili. It was too much effort to read the manual tonight! The DW is sitting in the middle of the floor and will likely stay there till the plumber comes after the 25th when the granite will be installed.

Tomorrow is another day closer to being able to put stuff away!

Katie - it's beautiful!!! Those cabinets are what I would have had if I hadn't changed my mind and talked myself into the white instead (because I just HAD to have dark hardwood floors). I love the way they look with your paint also! And that Black fridge is to die for!

They worked very quickly - our cabinet maker was here for almost an entire week, all day every day, and it's still nowhere near finished! There are still a lot of drawer fronts missing, as well as a ton of little adjustments to be made to everything. Not to mention toekicks and the aluminum cabinets that aren't in yet! He won't completely finish things up though until after the floors are stained and who knows when that will be. I'm trying to be patient, but it's wearing thin now! :)

Anyway, things are looking sooooo good! I can't wait to see the granite! I forget - have you already picked your backsplash?

Ok, I keep getting my Katie's confused...too many Katies including in real life...my niece is a Katie, my son's gf is a Katie...ok enough about my dementia! Your kitchen is SO pretty!!!

You must be so excited!!! Those cabinets are rich, rich, rich and all the lighting is just going to add to the elegance of the whole space! You are going to love those glass fronted cabinets, they will be like the crowning jewel once you have them all filled with your special items!

You must be in Canada if you ate at Tim Hortons! My husband is half Canuck, his dad is from Ontario!

Congrats again on your beautiful new cabinets and keep those pictures coming! Traci and I are addicted to GW so we need people to keep feeding our addiction! ;-)

Kat :)

Kat, I for one am going to break my addiction once my kitchen is finished - haha! But that could be another several years at the pace things are moving :) I may need a 12-step program at that point! "Hi, my name is Traci and I'm a kitchenaholic."

Thanks traci, tonight we have just the Xenon undercounter lights on the low setting & the 3 Xenon recessed in the pantry side cabs and it is so Zen-like; even with plywood standing in place of the granite and the floor not grouted (& DW sitting in the middle of the floor). Even my husband has commented on how peaceful it is.

It's gratifying to see it all come together and fulfill the vision. How I wish I could get back far enough to get proper photos.

Our cabinet maker has been amazing. Even the other tradesmen have been impressed with what he did for us.

From the look of your photos you probably have twice the amount of cabinets to what I have, so I'm not surprised that there is so much more to do. I should add that he did have a helper with him, and they seemed to have the process down to a fine art. While one was installing the hardware, the other was adding the top crowns.

Oh, and I love the look so much just as it is that I don't think I'm going to add a backsplash at all. The cooktop will be in the island & most of my prep will be on the island. There is only a few inches between the sink & window of painted wall and some day I'd like to replace the window there with one that will come down to counter level so I do think I can easily get away without one.

Yup Kat, Ontario here too. In my small town we knew we had "arrived" when we finally had our own Timmies.

Thanks for the kind words on the cabinets; they are truly a rich chocolate, and I love them!

Katienic, we need updated photos! You know I'm considering the dark wood and the black appliances like you, and I need to see more shots of your gorgeous kitchen!

What southernsticker said! ;)

Kat :)

Hey there southernstitcher & lesmis:
I was going to wait till after the granite, window coverings & remaining fixtures were in, but what the hey, I've got most things put away now, so here are some progress photos, complete with my DH getting caught in the reflection eating his lunch. LOL.

southernstitcher: You can see what I mean by the black appliances working with the dark cabs to create a unified look. I couldn't be happier with my decision to go this direction!

I wish I could get a full shot of the room but there is hardly room to swing a cat (not that I'd ever do that to my little fur-ball!)

The pantry wall.

Dishwasher & Oven combo on appliance wall.

Fridge at other end of appliance wall.

A couple of mid section shots showing the 1 glass cabinets flanked by 2 sets of cubbies. I pust only some glass items in the top to reflect the down-lights. The rest are all pieces I use on a regular basis rather than decorative.

And here is a photo of the thoughtful thank-you for your business gift given to us by the cabinet maker. Edible cookie Bouquet.

When the granite is in (25th) I'll try standing on a chair in the doorway to see if I can pull some better shots to include the island.

Thanks for sharing in my kitchen journey.
kn

Wow Katie it's looking great! It's such a great feeling to be able to put something IN your cabinets isn't it?! I can't wait to see your granite and all the lighting when it's done. That black fridge looks amazing and really does blend with the cabinetry. It's all so rich and elegant!

Thanks for the new pics...keep us updated as you keep progressing.

Kat :)

I see exactly what you're saying now. It really looks great. I will be looking for updates!

Kat, the fridge is the CD Floating Black Glass by Jenn-Air. I ordered it sight-unseen as no appliance store I could find within 100 miles had one in their showroom. It has definitely lived up to my expectations based on the catalog & on-line viewing I saw. It is beautiful and oh so easy to keep looking pristine!

The dishwasher & ovens are not the floating glass however they all do work well together.

Southernstitcher: I'll post again after the 25th. I can hardly wait for the granite to get here. Oh, and I have to ask...what kind of stitching do you do?

Katie - everything is looking soooooo great!! I love the cabinet color and the black fridge. I would love to have a white one like that but I don't believe they make them in the size we need. We're planning on keeping our old for a while anyway, so maybe they'll be available once we need another :) Can't wait to see your granite!

Katienic, how did I miss this post? Your cabinets are beautiful! I can't wait to see the kitchen with the Bianco Romano granite installed :)

Katienic, WOW, your kitchen is gorgeous!

Katienc, your kitchen is indeed gorgeous. I can't wait to see my dark brown cabinets when they get installed. I hope they look half as good as yours. I have a question for you concerning the lighting in the glass cabinets. I have to tell my KD whether I want the lighting with glass shelving so that the entire cabinet gets lit or do as you did, top shelf lit only with the remaining shelves in wood. What made you go that way as opposed to glass shelving?

Katienic - your kitchen is absolutely breathtaking! I love every bit of it!

Oh, I was so surprised to see this post back on page 1.
Thank you all so much for your so kind comments. I do so love my dark cabinets & black appliances. :)

If my kitchen can contribute anything to this amazing forum I would have to say for people to not be afraid to go black with the dark wood!

traci, I know they do make the white (someone on the appliance forum had bought that one in regular depth I think). My CD FD is kind of skimpy on size, though for just the 2 of us now at home it has plenty of room. Are you any closer to finding your backsplash?

ni, I'm in countdown now...granite arrives in less than a week! I am so excited for that to happen. Your kitchen with your BR has been an inspiration to me. How is your backsplash quest going?

Thanks pluckymama!

lilyfreak, I debated about putting in glass shelves, but ultimately I decided I wanted it to be more utilitarian rather than overly decorative, and I didn't want it to look like a china cabinet, but rather a pantry wall with just a bit of glitz, which is why I also only put glass doors on the centre set & had the cubbies on the sides. For me it is a good balance of that glitz, yet still keep it a little less formal. I bought the Xenon 3 light set from Home Depot. The series plugs in to a wall outlet at the top of the cabs is turned on/off from a switch on the wall. I'm really happy with it. Hope this helps.

Hi Katie - I don't think I'm any closer to picking a backsplash, although am at the point of just giving up and NOT picking, so that will settle it :) I like several of the tile samples I've gotten, but can't quite imagine them in the kitchen - does that make sense?? For example, I haven't found one that I immediately think "this is it!!!" I did find a place that has calacatta marble tiles for just over $7/sq ft, so I am very tempted to just order a ton of them and hope that I can get enough with some color rather than all white! For that price I could order more than double and it would still be cheaper than any other place! I'm going to wait until someone else posts about their sample though (they are getting a sample of carrara from the same place) to see what they say about how it looks.

Anyway, we need a 48" fridge, so are a bit limited. That's only because we have an old SubZero (really old!) right now and are planning on using it in the new kitchen until it conks out :) Hopefully that won't happen as soon as we get it in there! It was in the house when we bought it, which is ridiculous because it's mammoth and takes up almost an entire wall in the teeny-tiny kitchen! So...I didn't see any that wide in white like your black one - darn! I shouldn't even be looking because I'll jinx our old one - we're planning on just slapping new stainless steel panels on it to match the other appliances so I hope it works out OK.

I'll be eagerly awaiting your photos of the granite next week! Your kitchen is just amazing looking so far!

lyno, sorry I missed your message. It must have come in while I was typing my last reply. Thank you so much! Going from what I had to start with this kitchen does take my breath away!

I woke up last night at 2:00 am and just felt compelled to go out and check that the kitchen was real! My DH just shakes his head now as he often comes through and finds me just standing there feasting my eyes! Only those on this forum I expect can truly understand and I'm sure I'm not alone in this behaviour. LOL.

Countdown: 5 days till granite!