What a welcome difference from before to after--in looks and I'm sure, in functionality! Enjoy your lovely new kitchen!

wow, what a transformation! thanks for sharing the before and after pics....the after looks amazing and functional :) your open shelving is beautiful!

wow !! I have to go out but wanted to say your redo looks simply wonderful. I love the colors and the open shelves...will look more later. c

SQ: The basic visual "facts" of your kitchen -- the flow of space, the finishes, the colors, the combination of glazed and unglazed cabinets and open shelves -- registered indelibly with me when you first posted your installed counters. I am delighted to find that they are just as lovely and subtle and distinctive as I recalled them.

Great, great, GREAT adaptation of space. It all works perfectly together.

Heartiest congratulations. hbk

Susie- It looks amazing! Just like your plan and so pretty :)

I love the two colors on the cabinetry and the way you picked up the green, in the powder room, which is adorable, by the way! The peninsula area worked out just like you said...perfect for parties and entertaining. I think one of my favorite details is the open shelves and your coffee station is a great idea.

It's such a warm and friendly kitchen, but still quite elegant and I'm guessing it fits you, perfectly!

Hi SusieQ -- looks great!
Thanks for sharing your pictures.
I hope you have put it to good use with family and friends.
Does the breakfast room function as you wished it to?
As a casual space for friends to gather over a glass of wine as you cook?
Looks perfect for that. Hope you are having lots of fun.

I'm back. I love the green...the pantry area...wish I had done that instead of what I did around /over my fridge. I may yet have it all closed in some day. I love your bar area !! Very nice. And again the open shelves...I have them and am very fond of the look. Oh and that sweet bathroom redo...very nice. So light and airy the whole reno. You did a great job. And I like the way you organized your show and tell...c

Thanks for your kind comments. I actually don't even have the words to tell you exactly how much the kitchen has exceeded my expectations. It truly is everything I wanted and more!

First of all, my dream of opening up the two very distinct rooms into one - I really did achieve it. Or at least I did as far as I'm concerned. If you are standing in the farthest coner of my "old" breakfast room (right by my bar) you are definitely still standing in the same room as the person standing at the sink. You can have a conversation. You are in the same room.

Second, the peninsula is just what I wanted. My family uses it constantly. Breakfast. A cup of coffee. A weekend lunch. Dinner. My daughter studies there sometimes. My husband and I sit and chat. I've had a little dinner party for 8 ladies and that's where we sat for our cocktail hour. I'm sitting at it typing this response right now while my dinner finishes cooking. And I love the way it looks. To me, it fits perfectly. To me, it looks like the room could have been designed this way as something newly built.

My bar area is a huge bonus for me. First of all, I just love the idea. I have 2 chairs there so you can actually sit there if you wanted. (No, there's not any overhang like on a real "bar," but it just works.) I love looking at it. It sort of speaks to me and says "let's entertain!"

As a matter of fact, I've offered up my house to host our work holiday party. Fifty for a buffet dinner. I can't wait. (No - I won't be doing the cooking, although I probably wouldn't mind. It will be catered.)

I'm still totally in love with my Blanco sink. It does make me happy every time I look at it...even with our troubled history (the infamous "crack" and replacement!) My husband loves that sink as well.

As a matter of fact, my husband loves everything about the kitchen. He loves to "brag" about how he didn't have to pay someone to design it. I did it all on my own. (Yup, I always fess up and give credit to my peeps here on GW!)

He loves the beadboard tile - although somewhere along the line that became something we found "together." Not how I remember it, but that's OK. Loves our wood floor. Loves the paint color. And the leathered granite. Loves the different type of cabinet hardware. The two colors for the cabinets. The quantity, placement and style of the pendants. All of the things I mentioned are things he wasn't always so sure I was going the right way with. Luckily, I guess he does trust my judgement. And I don't have to tell you how many of these ideas came straight from this forum.

So what do you think? Am I in love with my new kitchen, or what? I've said it countless times to people when they see it: I really don't think I'd change one thing as far as my choices.

SQ

love your retro-but-modern kitchen-- and am looking for counter stools like yours (white crossback.) are you happy with yours (need very sturdy) and, if so, where did you get them??
thanks, kawh

Your kitchen and powder room look great! It's the kind of space you just want to have a cup of coffee in. Very warm and cozy.

Congrats, SusieQ. What nice colors. I especially like that clean-up wall, with its closed and open storage. It must work wonderfully.

kawh - Those are from Ikea. A bargain at $59. And yes, very sturdy. I started with 4. Almost immediately I realized I wanted 2 more. Then just last week, I decided I wanted 2 more! When I had that little dinner for 8, I realized that I wanted 8 stools so that we can all sit around the peninsula. Six people were sitting and two were standing that night - I saw that there was plenty of room for the 2 final stools.

One thing I have to say though: I couldn't find the stools on the IKEA site before I went to get the last two. It appeared as if they no longer offered them. My husband and I just took a ride (we're very close) and they had 4 more there. I was very happy to pick-up my final 2. If you were interested in a wood tone (not white) they did have those still available on the site. FYI, they are called "Ingolf."

Thanks and good luck!!

That's a really beautiful kitchen! I love it all, but especially the bar/hutch and the island built into the wall like that. Great use of space. Congratulations on your wonderful new kitchen. :-)

Oh, how pretty! I would love to be a guest at one of your parties...seems like such a happy place to get together.

All of these great posts make me feel even happier about my new kitchen - if, in fact, that's even possible!

And nini804 - wow. Your post is really quite the compliment!!!!

SQ

Thanks for the update!

Count me in as one of your admirers of your kitchen and breakfast room remodel. I followed your progress from the beginning, as your journey began right around the time I discovered the Garden Web, and your introduction to the project you were undertaking, convinced me I could do this as well! By golly, you realized your vision, and met the challenges along the way with grace and courage. I'm proud of you! and we all know how beguiling we can be....to sway the vote, lets say to our perspective ;) BTW how do you like your GE Cafe range? Oh, and I love the coffee station! as one who frequents WaWa daily for a 24 oz, and spoken as a true HazelNUT!

Great kitchen...the bar might be my favorite thing. It looks like it belongs there and had always been there. Also really like the lights over your peninsula. Where did you get them?

Susie, what color is your island and beverage center? Gray? Nice Kitchen! Love the leathered granite counter tops.

Susie, I love the changes you made to your kitchen and I love the two types of hardware which I want to do to my kitchen. I love all the appliance upgrades, the style of your cabinets, your clock, how you opened up the room with all that light and room, and just the overall beautiful look. Thanks for sharing and I am glad your husband is so proud of you since you did design the kitchen yourself with ideas from all of us but it is still your design.

MileHighDiva - the cabinets are green - sage green. I love the color, as you can probably see since I brought it right into my powder room!!

Colorfast - the pendants (both small and the double) came from 2 different places, but the brand is "Maxim." The single came from Capital Lighting and the double came from Lighting Universe.

Pamike - I too am a flavored coffee "nut" (more of a pumpkin girl myself!!) I really do love the convenience of the whole coffee station set-up.

:-) SQ

Thank you so much for sharing your finished kitchen with us. It's absolutely gorgeous. For me, the layout is particularly inspirational, as I am considering doing something similar with my layout. I have a breakfast room that goes essentially unused that I think would greatly benefit from a similar peninsula setup. I'm very pleased to hear that the kitchen is working out perfectly for you and that the two rooms feel like a single room/space now with the changes. If possible, could you share the clearances on each side of the peninsula?

I'll echo what everyone else has said...what a wonderfully warm, beautiful kitchen with so much character! I'm also planning some open shelving and cabinets in two different colors, one a green! So it's great to see it done so well! Congratulations!

Oooh, I love your kitchen! It looks like a kitchen I would be happy to live in - I love your colours, they look beautiful together. How did you pick them out? I really love the sink wall - the lights, faucet, hardware - just perfect together, open shelves next to a window - love them too. Great job - enjoy!!

Hi Susie! Congrats on your finished kitchen, it is beautiful! Love the before/after, it's such a great contrast.

I did a search, but came up with nothing, do you mind sharing your cabinet colors and brand of paint? Your hardware is so nice as well, love the way you put the different colors, it's very well done!

I don't know how I missed this yesterday, but I amsoglad I saw it now. Gor-ge-ous! I love the new look and layout! It feels like home in the best possible sense. Of course, I have to admit I am a sucker for pretty open shelves like yours....

Hey, thank you! Maxim is now bookmarked in my kitchen folder and I will go through it. One of those final pieces for our kitchen. Had a backsplash quote come out today, we'll see how that goes.

I love questions that I can provide a quick answer to!!

Our paint color is Benjamin Moore - Pottery Barn, Coastal Sand.

The cabinets are from Conestoga - Chesapeake and Sage (both with a coffee glaze)

My hardware is all picked-up right out of the bins at Lowes

I just did some quick measurements - the seating area behind the peninsula is 29" (probably a little less than it should be, but it's worked out fine.) Usually my 2 kids are there (both skinny 20-somethings, but I've had fuller-figure pals in those seats and they've been quite comfortable.)

From the corner of the peninsula to kitchen wall is 42" - plenty of room.

For people who have trudged through ALL of my posts over the months, I'm sure they must realize how wonderful it feels to hear all of these nice things, especially about my layout!! I definitely struggled with that. I was so concerned that I wasn't going to be able get the 2 rooms to have that combined feel. I kept telling myself that I'd do the best I could, and that however it ended up was better than the way it was - just one small opening between working kitchen and breakfast room. Conversation between the two rooms was pretty much impossible.

It was suggested that putting the peninsula (or an island which I also toyed with) would look "odd" or forced. Like I wanted a peninsula and just stuck it in even though it didn't fit. I really was truly conflicted. In the end, I decided to go with my gut, trust my own feelings, and I have to say I couldn't be happier. (Of course it helped alot that my contractor and my cabinet guy both thought the layout was fine.)

pricklypearcactus - if you have some drawings/layouts, I'd definitely suggest posting them here. People will definitely have great ideas. There were plenty of kind souls who gave me great suggestions and ideas for my layout. Having the peninsula come off of the wall was directly from someone here (and I apologize that I don't remember from whom!)

I hope someone can make good use of my information...

SQ

I'm so glad it turned out as well as you hoped. What a warm and inviting space. Enjoy it!