Jaymie, everything is so beautiful. I bet you are thrilled. I can't wait to see everything finished and your things moved in.
I am sure you feel the same way.

Congrats & keep the updates coming.
Kimberly

Thank you Kimberly, I hope you guys are moving forward. I haven't seen any recent pictures lately and have been wondering how you are doing.

We have our fingers crossed that we will be in sometime next week. They are finishing the floors this week and then we should have a very short list of items remaining.

So beautiful! They slight green of the veining complements your cabinetry very well.

Everything looks gorgeous from the cabinets to soapstone to fireplace to the range. Congrats on beautiful choices. Bet you can't wait to take it for a test spin!

Absolutely beautiful! And that green tile looks awesome. Can't wait to see it all together.

Your soapstone looks beautiful! And I love your tile choice for the FP and backsplash. Im a big fan of green and it goes PERFECT with your cabinets and FP surround :) Is this a craftsman style home? Im sure you have already divulged this info somewhere around here, but can you tell me what type of cabinets you have? Brand & finish? Thanks!

Jaymie, I keep repeating-I DO so love your home and your choices-perfect and so liveable. High end and elegant, but family friendly and not over the top . Fabulous!
Pattie

Wowza!!! It's all beautiful!! I have GM Original as well. You are going to love it! It will stay dark a lonnnnng time. I have been using a combo mineral oil/beeswax on it. It is not as oily and I find it helps the stone stay dark longer. I got it off EBAY from a woman in Michigan. I linked her EBAY page below. Contact her if you are interested. Looking forward to seeing more of your kitchen and home! (That fireplace is stunning!!!)

Here is a link that might be useful: EBAY seller- Beeswax/mineral oil

laxsupermom, I wasn't looking for a soapstone with green veining, but now that I have it, it is one of my favorite things. I can't wait to see it with the backsplash tile because I think they will compliment each other.

twogirlsbigtrouble, It is a craftsman style home. The green backsplash/fireplace tile surround was one of my first "must haves" and shaped all the decisions in the rest of the room. I love that old handpainted green color and spent a LONG time looking for the right tile. The cabinets are custom. They were made by an Amish family are are quartersawn white oak with Miniwax Red Oak stain and finish.

Pattie, Thank you so much. I really appreciate the kind words. I think it will be a very comfortable home for our family and can't wait to, after so many years of planning, to finally live there. We are definitely not the biggest house on our block, but we tried to pay lots of attention to the details and make a older style, timeless space.

mary_in_nc, I'm so happy to hear you like you GM Original. I'm hopeful we will be very happy with the choice. There weren't a lot of options in our area, so I'm happy I like what was readily available. I actually JUST ordered the mineral oil/beeswax combo from that ebay seller last week. It arrived very quickly and I can't wait it give it a try. Thanks for the information. I'm glad it is working well for you.

jaymielo - Where do you live? We're living in Kidron, OH right now. We are also looking into an amish cabinet company, could be the same place or close by? I was going to do a dry stack stone with a simple old barn beam mantle for my FP, but now you are making me think otherwise :)

twogirlsbigtrouble, Here is a thread about our cabinets which might have some more information for you. The cabinet maker was in Ironton, WI (near the Dells). It was challenging since he obviously did not have a phone or email and we were quite a distance from him. In retrospect, I wouldn't do anything differently, because they are my favorite part of the house, but during the process... well, it was a challenge. I've sent some other people more information thru private email with his address and contact information. Please feel free to email me (my page has a link to email me) if you would like this!

Thanks for the link! One more question. How tall are your upper cabinets and how tall are your ceilings? Is there a reason you didnt take the uppers to the ceiling? Cost, style, etc? Im trying to decide if we "need" to do it or not.

twogirlsbigtrouble, It wasn't cost since I don't think our cabinet maker would have charged us any more. Our ceilings are 9' and all of the uppers are 36", which puts the top of the cabinets at 7'-6". I'm 5'-2" and honestly, I thought the upper space would be a waste. In retrospect, I might have thought to do a beautiful stacked glass fronted cabinet, but I never sketched it out, so I'm not sure if I would have liked that look or not. The only cabinet that is higher is in the secretary in the nook.

This cabinet is 6" higher, so It goes up to 8' (plus the 4" crown), so it is nearly to the ceiling. The other argument for me for not wanting it to go all the way to the ceiling is that I'm planning on tucking some low voltage transformers on top and lighting the inside of the glass fronted cabinets.

Beautiful soapstone (I'm still amazed at the transformations I see with the before/after oiling pics!) and beautiful cabs!!!

Oooooh! I was about to compliment the gorgeous soapstone, and then I saw the fireplace!!! I think that's the lovliest fireplace I've seen all year!!! Awesome decorative tiling. I could stare and stare...

:-)

francy

Holy cow! Your soapstone looks terrific. I esp. like it after the oiling. And the green tile is just heavenly. What an amazing color!

cat_mom Thank you. I'm always amazed at the pictures too and it was VERY satisfying to be able to finally oil it myself and see the transformation before my eyes.

bayareafrancy, Again, thank you. I was fairly nervous about the fireplace and had to fight just about everyone to convince them I did not want a direct vent. I did many, many virtual tile layouts. This was the simplest one, and I'm really happy with how it turned out and how the grout color compliments it. I was also nervous as they were putting it up about the big grout lines (I was expecting small grout lines), but, it is all good. I only hope the backsplash turns out as well, but I'll have to sweat that for a few more days.

simoneb, Thank you. I'm particularily smitted with the color of green also. It is actually a little metallic and I'm using a dark brown 1"x6" in the kitchen backsplash that almost looks coppery. Again, very nervous. I really want to like it!

Jaymie

Jaymie! How gorgeous, especially those dramatic veins in the island!

And your fireplace is wonderful. I love love love Craftsman/Arts & Crafts style. Our house was built in 1922, a colonial revivial that adapts to A&C very well, so that's what we're doing. Little by little.

How old is your house? Have you thought about going over to the Old House forum and sharing some of the details with the crowd over there?

Just lovely. The countertops, cabinets, trim, flooring and fireplace integrate so nicely. Wonderful Arts and Crafts colors. DW and I are big fans of historic homes--ours is a 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival--so we're pretty sure that your beautiful Craftsman is grateful for being remodeled and not remuddled!

vjrnts and yesdear, I have to say, I'm very flattered by your comments and I hope I haven't misrepresented myself. This is actually new construction. Our first (and last) new home. We have always lived in old houses and built this house after pouring through Bungalow and Craftsman era remodeling books. We didn't get it perfect. It is SO hard to convince modern subs to build the old fashioned way, but we were as true to the era as we could afford to be. As such, I doubt I would have anything from this house to contribute to the Old House forum, but I pour over it for ideas and inspiration. I absolutely adore older homes. They have so much character and I was very sad when we sold our last home. Anyway, I digress. Thank you for the kinds words and I'm tickled I "tricked" you, if only for a minute!

Wow, what a beautiful job you have done! Your choices are all wonderful, and I am in love with that gorgeous green tile. You must be thrilled with what you have achieved in your quest to be true to the style - it all works. Can't wait to see the finished product. Now I really can't wait to oil my own soapstone :-)

Eliz

Jay,
I have been watching your posts as I absolutely love the arts and crafts era - your project is gorgeous and I LOVE everything about it. The tile on the fireplace is TDF. We'd have done A&C in our house if we could have but it is too victorian era and would have seemed forced...

anyway, just wanted to appreciate your vision which I think is truly remarkable!!

mamadadapaige, Thank you. You guys sure know how to make a person feel good about their choices. Building or remodeling is so hard and (at least for me) there is a constant doubting of the decisions made. I so appreciate having been able to learn so much from all of you and share the project that has resulted. I would have been truly lost without GW. We would have built an entirely different house and been much the sadder for it. Thanks to all the GW contributers!

Jaymie, As much as I love all your cabinetry, I have to say that my absolute favorite piece is the nook secretary. That piece and the fireplace are definitely major highlights

Thank you Pattie, I'm hoping it is as functional as I tried to make it when designing. It turned out a little different than I intended, but I can't wait to "load it up" and see how it works at keeping us organized (because a piece of furniture alone can do that, right?). ;-) Jaymie

Wow, just WOW

I don't often gush on someone's kitchen projects, because honestly there are usually a lot of deisgn elements i really dislike.

your cabinets are simply stunning, the soapstone looks just like mine (mariana reserve) and those green tiles?!?!!?

may I ask where you got them and for how much???????????

your materials choices are pretty much exactly what I would do in my dream kitchen!
(my DIY is nice, but it's an under 15k project)

staticfritz Thank you so much. The tiles were actually very reasonable. Probably one of the reasons it took me so long to settle on a tile is I'm a very frugal person. I finally found an artist (via the internet) to make the tiles for me. I was able to specify all the tile sizes (we are using a mix of 2"x4", 3"x6", 1"x6", 3"x3" and 6"x6"), the glaze color and I actually made a line drawing for the art tile on the fireplace. The artist was very nice to work with, sent me lots of samples and was very patient as I worked through the design. Her website is linked below. I bought field tile from her for $12 er sq ft, but I believe it may have gone up to $15 per sq ft since then. Still a bargain, I believe, for hand painted tiles.

Here is a link that might be useful: Artistic Abode

thank you for the link!!!

can I ask what color you used for the fireplace?
are you going to use similar tiles for backsplash?

I want green in my kitchen (currently the wall got that duty) as I have yet to decide on a backsplash!

(it's soapstone under there)
{{!gwi}}

staticfritz, That is a very pretty color of green on your walls, and I love your faucet.

The green color in the tile is glaze MJD200 (such a fancy name!) The backsplash tile will match, except it will be primarily 3"x6" subways, will have a brown pencil liner and some 3"x3" coordinating art tile scattered in. Here is a pic I shot right after I got the tile, with and without the flash.

It looks much better on the fireplace, but it should give you an idea of the different tiles I purchased.

hot diggity, thanks!

Welcome to the club! Your soapstone is beautiful! I have GM Original, too. One year, 7 mos. and still loving it! : )

Your fireplace is gorgeous, too. Love the color and the art tile!

angelcub, Ever so happy to be part of the club and always infinitely happy to hear from satisfied GM Original owners! I was "visiting" the house today and had a hard time leaving. Can't wait to wake up to the kitchen everyday instead of just dreaming about it! ;-)