We had a slab leak in February. The entire downstairs had wood floors and water had been leaking into them for weeks/months? we don't know. But long enough that the walls and cabinets were wet as well. So they gutted and we got to work.
Our old kitchen was a dark place for me. We have north facing window and the light was always dim. We also had light wood cabinets and dark greenish black granite (Uba Tuba?) on the counters, island and backsplash!!!! ugh! what a light sucker that was!

I had always known that if we changed the kitchen it would be to white. I know people say timeless doesn't exist in kitchens... but every decade I can think of has had white as an option. So I never thought of this a trendy thing. -til i got here, lol.
Anyway, White cabs and grey counters were the only things I had in mind for sure. The rest fell into place the more I looked around and if you see a part of your kitchen in here... THANK YOU!!!! I stole SO many details from GWer's.

Details...
Apparently we have a small kitchen,lol... didn't think so til i got here either, it's 13'x12'

Counters.... Qortstone perimeters in Cemento
Island & Bar is Statuary Marble
Butcher Block on Island.... oiled Dark Walnut End-Grain 18"x38"
Cabinets .... shaker, inset, framed
Paint on Cabs ...BM Cloud White
Paint on Walls ... BM Smokey Taupe
Hardware is mostly RH & Rejuvenation for the Latches (way worth that investment!) All Polished Nickel
Island now measures 38"x 84"
walkways are 38" on sink side; 42" on oven side; and 36" on fridge side... all plenty wide, i was worried about pushing these measurements.
Bluestar RNB 36"
Proline 36" Hood
Sharp MW Drawer
Kenmore Elite French door Fridge
Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawer Washer
Sink.. Krauss 33" double Bowl Stainless
Main Faucet is Hansgrohe Pull Down PN

Befores...

and after...

Fridge wall, Appliance garage on right and coffee station on left

Island with BB and Rubbish/Recycling Bins/drawers - love these!

Bluestar tee hee

I'll post some more pics of fun details. Things i liked seeing from other's kitchens and ended up adding to mine.

At one point, I had chosen everything and had a huge set back of worry that the whole thing would be boring instead of calm and bright and peaceful. Thank you all for your encouragement and opinions on various choices and ideas. This is such great forum with wonderful people.
I love how my kitchen turned out!

xo

I'd love to see this kitchen every day and definitely would love to cook in it....

Who made your over-the-sink window?

It is beautiful and memorable, thanks for posting the final pictures.

That window casement is gorgeous and I love the dark walnut butcher block at the end of your lovely marble. I am glad you put so much thought into the window surround. It really sets your entire space off so well.

Bon Apetite!

Nice.

Nancy

I showed your before and after to my family and said "Can you beilieve you are looking at the same house?"

They are both beautiful kitchens but evoke such different feelings that I imagine two different houses when looking at each one.

Enjoy your new space. It is so elegant.

Very classy space--clearly it's a good thing and a happy ending.

I do love being in my new space. I only have a quick minute and can't post more pics til tomorrow AM.
The floors are engineered maple. I'll have to look up the exact brand but they are crazy soft. We have so many dents and scrapes just from the install. Kind of a bummer.
And the back splash is Heath Ceramics tile in Stone White. We used a variety of 2x6, 2x8 & 2x12.
I will answer specific questions tomow -sorry.
And will post pics of the bench & wet bar.

C

You're not using the yoga lady as a towel pig, are you?!

Becky

I have a question, do you like the pullouts where they are? Have you noticed any interference with the range? They look fabulous by the way. I am mulling this one over presently.

Becky - I just spewed Diet Coke. Too funny!!

Nellie

Well done!

~ MM

It is positively stunning! Congratulations and ENJOY!

Thanks and enjoy your beautiful kitchen.

Jodi-

May I ask where you got the wonderful "zen lady" sculpture near the sink? Love her!

So more deets..
Window seat!
The cabinet maker built everything you see that's made of wood. They installed for 3 weeks. I thought it was going to take a day or 2, ha. They had installed the window seat after only showing me a little sketch. It was very thin and even though it's 9 feet long, it only sat 1 person! so they built some sides on to it and now it seats 3 at the round table. (im married to the table) but it makes a nice reading space too.

Palimsest - the woodwork was done my the cabinet guys ...
woodworkingOC or WoodworkingLA...they do a lot of restaurants and wine storage/bars

Gardenamy - the Flooring is Garrison Deluxe
Maple Laguna (it's engineered and pre-finished)

califreckles - Thank you!
The base trim on the cabinet bottoms is great! I had read someone say... "where would you put your toes?" and i had to laugh because who the heck stand THAT close the counter?? No scuffs yet - but when they come,, i'll just add a coat a paint - Im DIY all the way.

aliris19 & trailrunner - thanks guys! The Bronze statue was an anniversary gift form my DH for our "Bronze" anniversary. He did good huh?? and no Becky, "gulp!" she's not a towel pig! :P

louisianapurchase - thank you! it's funny you mention "the grill above the fridge" it's my kitchen's dirty little secret!

All of the upper cabs (except for 3) are fake. I had 15" soffits there before and hated them like crazy. The only way i was going to get my lofty feel was that stacked cab look, so we just made faces for them all. The GC and cabinet guys really thought i was crazy when i said i wanted hinges and hardware on them.

here's a pic of the oven door open next to the island where the trash drawers are. It's only 42" but it's more than enough. The pot lids are between the 2 trash bins.

open pic - the hardware on here is where my DH thought i had lost it. 4 different kinds threw him off completely. But i wanted these (RH Grafton Pulls) to be opened with a pinky if need be and i wanted to hang kitchen towels on them as well. I think they work.

my baking station.. although not like most peoples, 'cause i have to move things to the island to work, but it's all in one place and i love it!

catsam- We have 2 small counter seams going back from the sink in the Cemento. They are invisible! amazing work!

sophie123 - I think i got the filter faucet on ebay it's a Kingston in Brushed Nickel
Here's the back splash - it's Heath Cermaics Tile

and lastly, i think... the clock! I got it at target years ago.

ok, off to make dinner! :D

Not too long ago I ran across what seems to be a very similar, if not the same, clock, and it *is* at Target...

Becky

Actually I just saw another just finished kitchen with a similarly smashing island. Lovely.

Thanks for saying about the air vent - it was one of those things where you just have to deal with it - and i pretty much worked. The cabinet guys thought of it, they are artists.

I've been going back and forth as to whether to change the countertop on my island or the finish, and recent unveilings like yours are swaying me to change out the counters. It's just such a great look - and very inspirational.

Your layout is similar to mine although my door to the dining roon is on your fridge wall and my sink wall is all window. I'll definitely be studying your layout for ideas. I predict many with soffits that cannot be removed will be copying your tall cabs to hide them.

Congrats and enjoy!

#2 - Am ordering the clock right after I finish this post. I've been looking for something just like it. THANKS!!

SQ

And here's a pic of the wetbar area.
We have never seriously used this area as a bar, more like spill over for all the extra stuff. Now we have our little drink fridge tucked in there. We had the "hole" made big enough to put in a nice wine fridge at some point. Im done spending for awhile though. :o)
now we have ALL of our glasses over here.. even the kids plastic cups and water bottles are in here. Hopefully they all get use to the idea of this.

hate how that light photographs so yellow
its fine IRL

I have been in my starter home for 24 years and am finally buying a "grownup house". Inspections were just finished and surprisingly uneventful but the whole process is literally making my head ache constantly.

I swear that as I scrolled down through the pictures of your kitchen, I felt the creases in my forehead relax and the furrows between my eyebrows parted for the first time in 2 weeks!

I love to look at all of the beautiful spaces on this site. I am blown away by the thought and careful deliberation that goes into the kitchens and bathrooms, especially.

But this kitchen reinforces one of the few things I have never dithered over: less can truly mean more.

Thanks for the headache relief and temporary botox!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite... get ready. Your floors! Yes, your floors.
Of course everything else is a perfect too. I love your
cabinetry, the lighting, the counters (never knew
concreto could be so pretty) the marble island,
the legs on the island, the soft painted walls.....
So many details but the dark stained floors have
me ga ga.

~boxer

Also, very interesting how you elected for 24" deep uppers on your fridge wall. You said that you don't work there but I was curious about the left side above your microwave- what do you store there, is it mostly a landing spot for microwave items?

thank you again for posting this inspirational kitchen! Your statuary marble is to die for.

Could you tell me if the paint on your cabinets is oil or latex? I want to do white painted cabinets as well, but have heard pros/cons for either choice.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful space!

Suzie

Scrappy... The ceilings are 9'. The soffits/most upper cabs were/are 15". The cabinets are 36" tall and are 18.5" from the counter.

The uppers around the fridge were a weird thing. The carpenter made them only 12" deep but pulled all the way forward. I freaked at how I lost all my counters space there and there was so much less storage overall. So they made new cabs, over the microwave they are 18" deep. This helps w some deeper storage. Over the microwave is our coffee station. All tea, coffee, espresso stuff is above & the maker is on the counter. I push it back when not in use.

On the other side it's the baking storage and 24" deep it's all the way deep but upright storage. There's a pic above. Worked out great for storage but the counter areas are a little bit like caves. ;0). Oops!

Suzie- I don't know if it's oil or not, they say it's laquere and it was stinky...?

I love so many things big, like the whole stunning island, and small, like the pulls/towel bars. I immediately thought towel bars also. The window seat turned out really great in the end.

Interesting that you don't use the toekick space for toes. I thought it did so I did an experiment last night making dinner. Yep, sometimes my toes go under. Too bad because your kitchen looks great sans toekick. I don't recall seeing one like that.

I remember your search for a different pantry door knob. It looks cool, but could you photograph that and source it please?

You will certainly be the inspiration for many kitchens in the future. Love it!

Oh, and do you miss the open shelves you considered?

I also really liked the longer pulls on your pullouts to double as towelholders...I'm remembering someone else here...lazydaisy? threedaisies? who did that and I thought that was such a brilliant idea. (Of course when it came time to order my own hardware I had forgotten about that and only ordered one longer pull-oh well!)

Congratulations on the fabulous final result of all your TKO'ness. Ya done good! :)

When I previewed this message I just noticed what's visible through my french doors: Our brand new, too big toilet!! Yup - for now it's sitting in my dining room, waiting to figure out how the plumber is going to return it. Sometimes my life is so much fun...

P.S. I love the kitty cat! How old? Looks like still a kitten or a small cat? Reminds me of my Mittens but a smaller version who I still miss.

We're getting the Sharp MW drawer, too. Do you love it?

And is that a pantry door? Is that a foot pull? Can I see, pretty please!?

So, i have some questions to catch up on.

boxerpups,yvette123 & hollie_z9 thank you! and Yesm Hollie - the bathroom is next on the list but maybe next year. I'll start actually researching that BEFORE it starts this time. lol.

THanks Breezy! I cant wait to see where you are in the process lately.
So i swiped KatieOB's toe kick (baseboard look) i love how it looks like grounded- part of the grand "zen" feel i was hoping for.
For my pantry door, i ended up using an 8" RH pull like the ones on the garbage cans. It's not totally the look i was craving there but i works. I will try tot get a pic of how it turned out.

And no, I don't think i miss the open shelving, I miss the $200 the carpenter changed me for changing my mind at the last minute! :D oh well.

SusieQusie60!!! You're target clock rocks!!! I love it in your kitchen!!! I really have a thing for clocks, the bigger the better. I'd have more but the family gets weird about them. anyway, the clock color is perfect with your cabinets!!! Love it!!!

thank you Lesyeuxbleu! Too sweet!!! I got the pendants at Rejuvenation.com. I like them. that was a hard one for me, i had so many perameters forcing my choices. I still worry a bit they are too big, sigh!

I am loving the bluestar! It's still a little intimidating and I need some new saut� pans that will tame the heat. The oven seems great. I can only compare it to what u had before (2 small wall ovens).
I don't know the pros n cons vs the wolf. I'm sure it'd be fab though.

Does the wolf stay cool?

Another poster asked if your paint was latex or oil. I would like to know also since the BM cloud white is a perfect white on your cabinets! I would like to know which of their paints you used to paint that white and what gloss level because I want to paint my cabinets.

brandysmom- for the soffits. They did jut put further than the uoeer cabs before but know g the soffits needed hiding, I had them make the upper cabs a little deeper. So all they did was take off the drywall and put up wooden fronts.

Hi lynn2006. I am not really sure if the paints oil or not. It smelled really bad so I think it was oil. If you've seen Katie OB's old kitchen, she used BM white dove which is really bright and SO similar to cloud white, but... Looked so creamy and beatiful almost a true cream. ( but ts completely not in certain lights) It really depends on the lighting. When the lights are on, my cabs look creamy yellow; morning sun is way different than PM sun. So getting a sample painted on a card and seeing in in your space is crucial.

Azlee6574-Thanx!! Can't wait to see yours!!! Similar layouts are so fun to see transformed!

Forgot! Izabelscott--the paint finish is semi-gloss.

For the trash doors/drawers. I think you could use any door set up. They are attached to the trash rev-a-shelf things inside. I will send you a pic!!!

It is now time to chose paint colors...
We have already purchased 10 samples and don't really like any of them. We are even contemplating White walls. We will have white cabinets and white trim and almost want white walls, but it is a bit to harsh. I really like your walls. Actually both the colors above and below the chair rail.

Do you happen to remember what colors those are?

Thank you so much.

Paint for Lesyeuxbleu~ Hi and thank you! The wall color is actually just 1 color.. BM Smokey Taupe. Even when i stand next to it, it looks as though it's painted two separate colors, but it's just the one.
I kinda think i could have gotten away with a color even closer to white. I love a good white on white. Check out Farrow and Balls whites, beautiful paired together. If you google F&B's paint and white kitchen & brooke giannetti, you will get a great blog from a local L.A. designer.
with a kitchen i have mused over and over. lots of great whites together that look so rich and not at all plain! gorgeous!

Are your cabinets locally made, or are they factory made? If Factory, what company? If local, what company?

Thanks!

Hope your close by -they are artists!!!

Thank you 34TMR!!! - I do LOVE the Marble. it's just the right amount of beautiful in what could easily be a bland space.
It has, of course, all ready got some etched spots... a few with each party.. but that's life and i don't let it bother me.

Question regarding your uppers. I'm considering stacked also. Your uppers are 15" stacked top, over what size?

My proposed stacked are 15" over 27". Would like to visually compare that to whatever yours are so I have an idea what they will look like. Thanks in advance!

I was wondering if your trim, (all of it!) Crown, base, etc., had a name? I don't have any trim in my house and can't wrap my head around the pieces at the store. I think yours is simple, clean and lovely.

TIA,
Christine

and Thanks again Lynn!!! You just tickle me!!!! hope everything is coming together for you!

xo

And thank you Blonelle! I also looked for a ceramic dark floor and the closest i could get was a black limestone. way too much $$$ and pretty hard to stand on - as i heard from many GWer's.
The wood is SO nice but is already so scratched from our crazy cats and dog - they chase. ;o)
I'd do it again in a heartbeat though. The dark floor is so grounding in a light kitchen.

It says you used BM Cloud White but in another post, you thought you used BM Simply White. I had planned on using the BM Cloud white since I LOVE your kitchen and loved how you covered the soffit.

I hope you like the crystal knobs - they really are so sweet!
we used the 1" knobs on the wine bar and the 1.25" in the kithcen. the tiny ones give a delicate look that i didnt think you'd noticed that much with just a .25" difference.

Celine

Are you in the Bay Area? I notice that Heath Ceramics is in Sausalito. I love the color of your backsplash, but might have to settle on a less expensive alternative.

<----Begin repeat---->
I konw I'm way after the fact, but I love before & after pics, too. :)

I was wondering if your trim, (all of it!) Crown, base, etc., had a name? I don't have any trim in my house and can't wrap my head around the pieces at the store. I think yours is simple, clean and lovely.

TIA,
Christine

Thank you again for your sweet words. None of the trim or crown have names that I'm aware of. I think I just choose the simplest thing at the store.

I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a nice one!
Celine

You mentioned the cabinet paint...can you please tell me were the cabs were painted elsewhere before install or painted in place? What type of wood are they? I'm in San Diego and there is no consensus on either. Actually white cabs aren't popular at all here and I WANT THEM this time for sure!

Is that a full depth fridge with deeper cabs around it?

Last but not least, how's that white holding up a year later?

Thanks.