Ok - here are all the details...
Cabinets - custom builder. Shaker style. Full overlay. Painted cabinets - Colored Lacquer used is same color as SW Impressive Ivory.
Wood cabinets - natural cherry.
Hardware - Amerock Highland Ridge in Dark Oil Rubbed Bronze. 128mm and a few 3" pulls on small drawers.
Countertops - Anasazi Soapstone from The Stone Studio in Batesville, IN
Backsplash Tile - Debris Tile from Fireclay Tile. 2x6 subways in Kelp Green with swirl accents.
Fireplace Tile - Modern Mythology Phoenix Mixed Stone Mosaic
Paint - Walls are SW Krypton. Trim is SW Impressive Ivory at 50% intensity
Floor - Historic Blend Hickory floor from Tennessee Wood Flooring with hand distressing and square nail holes. 3, 4 & 5" planks, mixed.
Range - Bertazzoni Dual Fuel 48" range in black
Hood - Vent a Hood
Dishwasher - Bosch 800 Plus
Microwave - Sharp 24" Drawer
Sink - Blanco Silgranit Super single in Anthracite
Faucet - Grohe Concetto in Chrome
Soap Dispenser - Elkay Deluxe in Chrome
UCL - Neutral White LED strips from Environmental Lights
Pendants - Kichler Sayre 12" in ORB
Chandelier - Murry Feiss Sullivan Collection in ORB

The old kitchen was not in a terrible state, it was just not functional for us. The double ovens wouldn't close and we'd been reduced to duct taping them closed. The cooktop didn't cook anything evenly and the tile was coming up. There was also a ton of wasted space, which just irritated me when I couldn't find a place to store anything.

I knew I wanted a traditional range because I have short arms and always worried about burning myself when getting things out of the wall ovens, so I knew that a layout change was in order. We also had a very dark space with almost no natural light. We opened up the room to the dining room and put in light colored cabinets with lots of great lighting. The room definitely doesn't feel dark anymore. YAY!

Here's what we were working with before:

And here's what we have now...

Love the dog food storage. It makes feeding time a whole lot easier.

And my spice/knife drawer - thanks to Breezy for the idea!

It seems like just about every decision in our space has been touched in some way by you guys. Thanks for helping us create our dream kitchen!

Cheers!

Your kitchen is a great example of both form AND function; e.g. your dog food drawer, the range uppers that open away from the hood for easy access from the rangetop, the spice and knife drawer, etc.

Great job!!

How do you like your microwave drawer?

Also what are the dimensions of the island? It's huge - I love it!! Are you enjoying the length or do you find it a barrier to getting around? We have a 12 ft island planned so I'd be interested in hearing your experiences.

Congrats again!

Congratulations on finishing!

hobokenkitchen - my island is 11'9" x 3'. I had originally planned it to be 11' and was worried it would be too big. A slight miscommunication with the cabinet maker made it longer and I still think it works great.

For me, I made that side of my kitchen a galley and the other side is just storage and organizational space. It works perfect for me and doesn't make the island feel like it's in the way since it really feels like an extra 'wall' in the kitchen. Does that make sense?

taggie - it's funny that you mentioned the fact that the upper doors open away from the hood. I didn't specifically ask for that and when they were installed I thought it was a mistake! HA! I LOVE that our awesome cabinet guy did that though. That was excellent thinking!

I forgot to add a pic of our window seat - just finished today.

And a sample of our view - which is the reason I loved moving the seating to that window (and which was the inspiration for the beautiful green tile.)

I scored a refurbished one off of ebay and it works just great!

wow......

And the deer, what an amazing view.

Enjoy!

Congrats!

The tile is an outstanding choice. Simple, but bold, too. I think it may be my new favorite. At least it's one of them.

Love the major hood, love the big Berta, love the countertops, the cabinets, and the lighting! Floor, too. GREAT job.

Also pleased that you like your microwave drawer - ours is a floor model. Hopefully we will be as happy with it as you are with yours. : )

Again, very nice job - I love your backsplash too, and the window seat is gorgeous!

I cannot even believe that is the same space! Even though I thought your "before" kitchen was really nice, this one is just fantastic!

Congratulations on such a wonderful transformation!

fouramblues - I know - I really loved that other tile too! It's funny how one element completely changes the whole feel of the room. I think this tile gives everything such a casual feel. I guess, in the end, that cozy feeling is what I was really after.

I'm going to send this to my Granite Grannies, who let me pay on account towards my stone. I really want to see this!

Thanks,
Christine

BTW, you finished before I did!!! Glad you are already enjoying full swing!

We are still in the middle of painting...kitchen, breakfast room, family room, dining room, foyer and stairwell upto the second floor hall... the kitchen is 95% functional, as we are still waiting for the gas company to connect the meter and for a new downdraft to be delivered. We are sooo close but not done enough to share yet...hopefully in the next couple of weeks...and hope everyone will like it!

I was wondering how you've been getting along. Glad you got that downdraft replaced. I figured it delayed you a little.

You're in the home stretch! Can't wait to see pictures!

I'm curious about bringing the kitchen into the dining area. Did you do away with a formal dining room?

We are buying a house with a similar layout as your old kitchen. The only way to enlarge would be to go into the dining room.

Thanks and congratulations!
Jane

(The last family used that space for an oversized couch and TV. It was just weird! :)

Honestly, we almost never used our dining room for eating. We do use it for board games and puzzles, but not much for eating. Now that the kitchen has direct access, we might use it more, but probably only for holidays and gatherings.

Here's an angle that might help...

You can see the dining room table peeking out on the right hand side, hopefully. (with a board game sitting on it, of course. HA!) And all that wonderful natural light too - YAY!

Do you think you could live without a formal space? We aren't a formal family, so I don't think it would bother me one bit.

HTH!! Good luck!

It works great in this instance, though, because I was always getting onto my son for never closing up the dog food. Now he doesn't have a choice unless he just leaves the entire cabinet open. (I'm waiting for that to happen actually!)

My cabinet builder told me that Blum is coming out with voice activated cabinets soon! Maybe they'll have something cool for you!

I even find it stays much tidier because I love my sink and faucet because they make washing up easier.

It just occurred to me that I never included a picture of the other wall of cabinets. The cabinets on the right side had to be 12" deep to make room for the new doorway we added to the dining room.

It's a great path to keep non-cooks out of the kitchen and we store all the things we don't need on a daily basis over there. Works great for us.

Do you mind sharing the width of the galley aisle?

emmachas - the aisle width on both sides is 42" before countertops.

Is the Anasazi soapstone black when oiled or does it also show some green markings?

Hope that helps!

GREAT job - it feels like someone poured their heart and soul into this design!

terri0826 - The dog food is in the Single Bottom Mount Rev-A-Motion Wood Waste Container. It works amazingly well. There's even a little area behind the container to put dog treats. It's been such a handy thing to have!

JBGB - I love, love, LOVE my island!!! Cooking at Christmas time was such a treat this year. We had visitors and there was actually a moment when I looked up and realized that 4 different people were working on 4 different things all at the same time and nobody was tripping over anyone else. Having all that counter space is my single favorite thing about the kitchen. (2nd being the tile - it makes me smile everyday! :)

The only issue we have is that things can get tight at the end by the fridge, sink, micro when we are getting dinner ready - the plates and silverware are in drawers on that end of the island and the kids are walking into that area to get drinks, etc... It's not a huge deal, and is only really a problem because of a miscommunication with the builder - it was supposed to be 9" shorter. But, all in all, it makes cooking a lot more enjoyable for me.

I am happy that the island is narrow too. We can stand on the back and use the faucet if needed. That's been a surprise convenience that I really appreciate.

Hope that answers your question!