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home4all6

update: finally finished kitchen (white & soapstone)

home4all6
9 years ago

Well, this is a very delayed update, but once the kitchen was finished, we were up and running and I never found time to check back here! Then I was just directing a friend here today, telling here how helpful you all are, and I realized that I needed to check back in myself. Sorry!!
So here's a few photos of my very well-loved and well-used finished kitchen, in all of it's glory! Thanks to each and every one of you who gave me input along the way, especially in the YEARS of planning--I was a well-prepared renovator, and it really helped things to go smoothly!

Welcome to my new kitchen:

Here are some details, as I remember them :)
- Cabinets by DurasupremeCabinetry
- Counters soapstone and island is statuario marble, leathered finish
- Wolf 36" range with griddle, 36" Proline hood
- Refrigerator is standard GE profile, about 5 yrs old
- Kohler whitehaven farm sink, 36"
- Delta Trinsic faucets, clean-up and prep sink (smaller)
- Marvel beverage fridge
- Bosch dishwasher, 800 series, also about 5 years old
- Miele speed oven (it's my microwave, too)
- marble 2x4" subway tile backsplash
- walls in Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments
- Hickory Hardware cabinet hardware, altair
- Stools are from Grandin Road, very durable
- pendants were from Shades of Light, but I saw them at many online stores. They are one of my favorite things in the kitchen!!

I also want to comment on my soapstone. That was one of those things that I KNEW I wanted, and researched the heck out of, here on GW. I found an amazing store in the Chicago suburbs, and I have to put in a plug for them: Rocktops, Inc, in Crete, IL. They are extremely knowledgeable about soapstone and have all sorts of options and products to choose from. I also found my marble there, which I adore!! They did the soapstone in all of Rick Bayless's kitchens in Chicago, and even his own personal kitchen--isn't that fun??

Here are a few more photos, but feel free to see more in my album.





Thanks for all of the help here--this place is an amazing resource!!

Here is a link that might be useful: my finished kitchen album

Comments (36)

  • Lisa
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your counters are GOR-GEOUS!! Just love them. Also love your beverage center/bar, and barstools! Great job, enjoy!

  • ainelane
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a beautiful kitchen! I really love those pendants over the island! Very well done - it all looks fantastic.

  • Shelley Graham
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bee-yoo-tee-full!!! Thanks so much for sharing your details!

  • nhbaskets
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Absolutely beautiful! Love your pendants, backsplash, and counters. Love it all! Well done! Hope you're enjoying your beverage fridge. Cheers!

  • blfenton
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen is beautiful and obviously well enjoyed. Love the backsplash, it ties all the elements together.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Those pendants are just SO COOL! And isn't Quiet Moments one of the best colors ever? (I had a huge sample patch, it was a tough decision!)

  • lisa_a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love those pendants, too! Nice to see more of your kitchen after you posted a teaser photo on my thread about the Delta Trinsic faucet.

    You must be thrilled with your lovely kitchen!

  • laughablemoments
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It works, it works! : ) I remember you trying to get the plan hammered out a few years ago. What a thrill to open this up and see your beautiful new kitchen functioning so well for you and your family. I love how the spaces are all working together now. It turned out great. Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

  • amck2
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for taking time to post your reveal. Great job choosing elements that work so well together. Beautiful kitchen!

  • tinker1121
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for sharing! Just love checking in and seeing these posts. Really beautiful and especially like the pendants and the tile. I don't think you mentioned the type of tile for the backsplash. Again, so very well done and enjoy for a long time to come.

  • nmjen
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a beautiful kitchen! The countertops are gorgeous--love the soapstone! (And how great to have the Rick Bayless connection, too!) Congratulations!

  • mgmum
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gorgeous! Every bit of it.

  • bicyclegirl1
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm glad you came back to show us your beautiful kitchen! Love all of the storage you have. Thanks for sharing.

  • Mags438
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A beautiful kitchen. You must be thrilled to step in there every day!

  • eandhl
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You did a beautiful job,! Enjoy.

  • threegraces
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen, congrats!

  • RealHousewifeofNJ
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    BEAUTIFUL!!

  • home4all6
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you all for your kind words. I used to live on this board daily, but those days have passed. I am so thrilled with every aspect of my new kitchen. And it was a big project, long time in planning, lots of input from here. It involved moving an exterior door, the split level stairs in form the driveway that went both up and down (and were in the spot of our current fridge location.) And also the removal of a powder room (the corner of which was where that pillar is in the kitchen now.) And opening up the kitchen to the dining room, and making that our primary eating area now. I wanted to keep my light and backyard views from windows that were in the back of the house, and you all helped me figure out how to do that, too. My kitchen is no longer "awkward" as it once was, but makes perfect sense in our space.
    A couple more notes: the pantry to the right of my fridge was not originally in my plans, but we had to put some HVAC stuff in the wall behind it, so we made the pantries to flank the fridge, and the right one is only 18" deep. I am SO happy with that decision--that pantry is a workhorse and holds a TON!
    The lazy susan in the corner holds ALL of my baking staples, and my kitchen aid mixer is tucked into the counter level cabinet in the corner, so when I bake, everything is right where I need it.
    The row of 4 pantry doors on the far side of the kitchen is only 12" deep, but holds a ton. The right is kitchen/pantry stuff, and the left side is desk/office/art supplies, which is terrific to tuck away, but easy for my kids to reach.
    And the mini-fridge/bar area is tucked under our stairs, in a space that had been a coat closet. It required some careful figuring and tweaking, but I am thrilled with the way it turned out! It was inspired by another GWer's kitchen, but I forget the name...I will look it up!
    And the backdoor is our primary entrance now, so the 4 kids' backpacks, coats, boots, and all other gear comes in that door, but we put a mudroom in the basement at the bottom of those stairs, and they are using that for much of the "stuff." we just have a coat tree at the door for the jackets, and a bench for some shoes, but otherwise, it's all downstairs--which is awesome!!
    And we did do a separate master bathroom addition, as well, which was also a project, but so worth it!
    The only thing I have left to do the undercabinet lights. We are wired for them, just haven't figured out which ones to get yet.
    Thanks again for all of the kind words! This place is the BEST!!

    Here is a link that might be useful: One of my many posts in trying to fix my kitchen

  • Niki Friedman
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gorgeous!!!!!! So many things to love :)

  • romy718
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I looked at your pics a couple of days ago & needed to come back & comment. Everyone has already said it but your soapstone & ?marble are gorgeous. Love the pendants. Especially love reading your old posts & how you got to from there to here.

  • susanlynn2012
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with Romy718, that I love your soapstone and your marble counters so much! Which marble did you choose? I am just starting to learn about how many types of marble there are.

    I love the pendants so much! I love your backsplash! Please share the details. I love your cabinets and I love your appliances. I love the paint color! I also enjoyed reading your old posts.

  • home4all6
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, everyone! Planning a kitchen reno is a real labor of love, and I poured over these boards for years in my planning stages. And then when project time came, I didn't need much help--I was very prepared, which really paid off!

    I did do some posting, like the time I asked about my pendant choices--looking back at it now, I have to laugh, looking at my other options, because I just love the ones I chose; I can't imagine anything different!

    I think I answered most of the questions in my post, but if there's something I forgot, let me know. Our backsplash was the last decision I made, and it was an unbranded tile at a local store called Floor'n'Decor. Nothing fancy, very affordable, and I love it!

    My marble island top was from Rocktops, the place I found my soapstone. He deals mostly with soapstone, but had a small lot of marble, all the same variety. He called it "statuario" and said it's what he always installs. IT is very white, with beautiful gray veining. When I saw it, it was polished, but he gave it a beautiful finish, called "Leathered" and it's perfect for a kitchen island. IT has a slight sheen, and a very slight texture, but wipes clean so easily. It does have some etching, but the etching seems to disappear with use, almost as if it is getting polished out? I've not done anything special to it, in the year it has been installed, and it's still looking gorgeous! My soapstone has some slight scratching and marks of use, but it doesn't bother me.

    I've found that my perimeter counters get used primarily by ME, and I know how to use my soapstone. My island gets put through the wringer by my 4 kids, my husband, and everyone else who comes through our house. If it was soapstone, it would be so scratched up and dinged! But it's a real workhorse--PERFECT!!

    Here is a link that might be useful: my pendants post

  • susanlynn2012
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Home4All6, Thank you for all this information on your gorgeous kitchen and answering our questions.

  • Julie Drew
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen is absolutely stunning!

    How do you like your Miele speed oven?

  • home4all6
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, thedinos! I LOVE the Miele speed oven! It is a workhorse, and gets used daily. It really is speedy, I can roast veggies in less than 10 minutes! And it bakes well, too.
    We bought the basic model, with the knobs, and it's perfect. I truly haven't used every feature, but some of them confuse me a little? The combinations seems strange? But I've used the delayed start time to bake breakfast casseroles and dinners. Very nice!
    The only downside is that when baking with it, you can't microwave. So my son can't make himself a snack while dinner is cooking--which could be the end of the world for him! We run into this problem every once in a while, but we make it work.
    In my kitchen, I really wanted 2 ovens, because I bake and cook a lot. But I have no wall space for a double oven. So at first I was thinking a 48" gas range, with 2 ovens in it. But then I lost some counter space, and had to surround my fridge with pantries to hide some HVAC, so the 48" would have left me no prep space on that wall. So I began convincing my husband that instead of a drawer microwave, we needed a speed oven in our island, which would function as an oven and a micro. And we switched to a 36" gas range. And that is a large oven, which I use for batch baking, but my first choice for everyday baking, is my Miele.
    We saw the higher-end model at the store, but not the knob version, so we ordered it sight-unseen, but I am so happy with it! And I love it's location, right across from our fridge and down at that end of the island. And the drawer underneath stores the large metal grate, which you move in and out all the time, for baking, but not micro-ing.
    But this just reminded me that we had one issue with its installation. My cabinet guy ordered a cabinet for a microwave there ( we had semi-custom, except for the pantries flanking the fridge, which i custom designed to match the fridge.) anyway, the speed oven sits taller than a micro, so it was too tall. I didn't want to wait for a whole new custom cabinet, So my cabinet guy shipped in a 1/2 in board to go all the way around the island top, and the marble sits on that. So my island is 1/2 taller than normal. So watch out for that!
    I tried to take a photo of it, but lighting is bad. But in the front, you can just make out the 1/2 board running around the very top of the island, above the drawers, and see how the oven sits just slightly too high with out that board as a spacer. I was so happy they were able to figure out a speedy solution!

  • Julie Drew
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you so much for the detailed review! Your reasoning for getting the Miele is very similar to my own - I can't fit both a second oven and a microwave. I will also have a 36" range.

    Is your model one of the new ones (H6100BM?) Is it difficult to clean inside? That was one of the complaints I saw on GW about the older model and I'm not sure if it still applies.

  • Jeannine Fay
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow. Really pretty. The lights, the backsplash, the counters.....I love them all.

  • aokat15
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    home4all6 - I am so happy I checked in and saw your reveal!! Your space is amazing!! So beautiful and so perfect - you really did a such a great job and I remember how tough the planning was with trying to work with what you had but also get the space of your dreams - and it looks you did just that! I am so happy for you!!

  • westsider40
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful. So highly functional. You really did a big job with moving all that structural stuff. Kudos to you for figuring it out. That part is more difficult than picking out pretty finishes.

    I, too, love my undercounter fridge. It's away from the cooking prep area and keeps traffic out. Your k room is gorgeous and so easy to be in. Happy for you. Enjoy.

  • lazygirl78
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One more question, please! How do you like your griddle?

  • gabytx12
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love this kitchen! what color are your cabinets and island. Is it "true white" I am looking at doing a white kitchen and everytime I see one like yours I am like "YES!!!" But when I see the cabinets alone....I get freaked out...like it looks so "white" possibly it what you put around the cabinets that make it look so warm. Is the island color, black or a dark variation of brown. I am hoping to be at your point very soon...DONE!!! thanks for sharing!!

  • CEFreeman
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love how you managed to get your kitchen to be light and airy, while being cozy and warm. That's a talent!

    I am planning for soapstone and have been for almost a decade. I cannot wait until I can afford counter tops! :)

    It's great to hear you're enjoying your serene space!

  • home4all6
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, everyone! Let me try to respond to your questions and thoughts:
    @thedinos, my Miele is an H4044BM. It isn't hard to clean--the glass tray slides out easily and cleans nicely. BUT, the broiler heating element is hard to clean--it's been splattered with something, so when I use the broil, setting, I'm getting a smokey mess. I tried cleaning it, but didn't have much luck (I didn't try too hard!) and now I use my big oven to broil.

    @aek9y, I LOVE my griddle! I use it so often, I'm amazed! It's a workhorse!

    @gabytx12, my cabinets are not the whitest white they offered. But I'm pretty sure the color is called "white", haha! I know they said their colors match up with benjamin moore colors, but I don't recall anymore what that match up was? They did give me a touch-up kit. I'm very happy with the color--and the finish--I think it's perfect :) the island is a dark brown stain, not black, maybe espresso? and we originally had a nicer wood, but downgraded to the maple that our painted cabinets are, too...and I'm happy with it!

    I really love the contrast of my soapstone on white cabs and the marble on my dark cabinets. It makes me so happy! And I'm also so glad that I used 2 different counter surfaces. I use them differently--and my marble is so strong and sturdy, for all the use it gets! And I feel like my soapstone is just MINE--I'm the only one who works on it--like it's my little secret :) So great!!

    and thanks to everyone else--CEFreeman and aokat, great to hear from you again! I know you know my troubles to get to this point! It was a long process, but if not for that process, I never would have ended up with this kitchen! It just feels so right in my house and makes my house feel complete! I'm so happy!!

  • kats737
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you for sharing! I especially want to say thanks for sharing your soapstone supplier. I need some for my bathroom and the only one so far I found was hummingbird. Beautiful work but wanted a contrasting quote.

  • AnnaBchill
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As The Brit girls would say "Ab Fab"

    I love the whole coordinated look, yes the pendant lights, the soapstone, the stainless, the backsplash, the cabinets, the color combinations, all are awesome.

    thank you for listing out your suppliers and brand names, I love getting recommendations.

  • home4all6
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    @kats737, I looked ay hummingbird, too. they are much closer to me, and I loved his studio!! But, I just didn't love the looks of his soapstone that he's using right now.

    I highly recommend you head out to Crete and see what they have at Rocktops! They were great to work with and extremely knowledgable! They also have beautiful soapstone sinks and other kitchen products. It's a much farther drive, but well worth it! He also gave me the name of a recently completed kitchen in my neighborhood for me to check out! If you are in the western suburbs, I'd be happy to have you over to see mine!

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