First, a big, huge, giant THANK YOU to all GWers. I’ve learned so much here and can only hope that my experience helps others. Overall, I’m very pleased with my kitchen. Most of the time, I LOVE it. That said, not all is perfect. So I’ve created 6 categories: What I Feel I Need to Justify to Those Who Know (you guys); What Had To Be That I’ve Grown to Love; What I LOVE; What I Waver On Daily; and Miscellaneous Thoughts. So, for those who are interested, here goes…(otherwise, skip to the list and pix-no offense taken!!)

What I Feel I Need to Justify:
1. My big, huge, barrier island. I posted a layout months ago and rhome410 and buehl both pointed out that my island would be a barrier between the range and the refrigerator. Thanks to rhome, I slid the fridge from the right end of that wall to the left which makes the trip from oven to fridge shorter. Thank you, rhome! My island still would be considered a barrier island, but the fact is that it really works for my space and my family.
2. Outlets vs plugmolds: I was torn here. For me it was outlets vs. hanging cords. I think most people who use plugmolds probably don’t keep the appliances plugged in, and as much as I’d like to say we unplug the toaster and coffee maker, we don’t. So, I just decided—it’s a kitchen, it has outlets. Let it be.
3. Giving up a separate, formal dining room—DH couldn’t care less, he was really the one pushing to lose the wall between the original kitchen and dining room. He doesn’t see the need for a formal dining room for us—we rarely have formal dinner parties. My "vision" was to make the dining area a little more formal. Not sure I pulled it off. Either way, this layout really works for us and we’re hoping to be in this house for a long time.
4. Airswitch—yes, I know the current finish is glaringly silver in a sea of brown! I ordered a special Mocha Bronze finish for the button. Still haven’t gotten the button. It’s on backorder and I was told that they now don’t have any idea when it will be available!! Ugh.
5. Molding oddities—because of the slight drop in the ceiling in the "alcove," the crown molding is at different heights—you can tell when looking at the upper cabinet to the right of the stove. Couldn’t be helped.

What Had To Be That I’ve Grown to Love:
1. Originally, the entirety of the wall between the original kitchen and dining room was supposed to come out; same with that shallow wall next to the doors leading to my backyard. One couldn’t be completely removed because of a major pipe. and the other couldn’t come out because it’s a structural support. That pipe is also the reason for the protrusion from that wall to the ceiling. Though disappointed about this at first, I now love how the cabinets and counter wrap around that wall; and with that on one end and the other wall on the other, a somewhat cozy alcove is created for that space. I think of these things now as architectural details.
2. Island countertop—my original vision was a beautiful, rich wenge edge grain countertop. Got a sample, LOVED it. Literally fondled it for an evening. My GC and DH were vehemently against wood for the island. Despite my assurances of super-durable, water-resistant finishes and the fact that I would welcome some dents and scratches as patina, they wouldn’t budge. I could’ve forged ahead without their approval, but decided to see if I could first find something that would be a happy compromise. I did—a granite called Cabernet. It reads a pretty flat chocolate brown with faint black movement. It gives the same general look as the wood, though the wood would’ve provided such a wonderful warmth that only wood can give. That said, I’m really happy with the granite.
3. The stools—this is very, very minor. Ideally, I would have chosen a dark brown woven stool, probably backless—similar to those seagrass Pottery Barn stools. However, cost, durability, and comfort had to come into play. With little kids, I just couldn’t see having backless stools and I with as much use as they’re getting, I worried about crumbs and such. So, these will do for now.

What I LOVE:
1. The sink—copper sink, 14 gauge, Dark Smoke finish from Copper Sinks Online. Love it. Everyone who sees it loves it.
2. Faucet—Whitehaus New Vision Curved Handle. Retails for over $700, got it for under $300 because it’s been discontinued. I worked directly with someone at Whitehaus via email and he was wonderful…found the matching soap dispenser at a lower price for me, too.
3. Cabinet hardware—ordered from Rejuvenation. Looks ORB, but is burnished brass.
4. Paint color—I just really like the way it works with the browns, greys, and white in the kitchen. It’s Benjamin Moore Nantucket Grey. Reads mossy grey/green.
5. The tumbled marble mosaic. This was a last minute decision when my GC said that taking the carrara slab all the way up to the ceiling (around the hood) was a bad idea. Turns out I LOVE the way the mosaic looks around the hood and I love how the band around the rest of the perimeter turned out.
6. The Fratelli—we’re not gourmets, but I prefer the look of the pro-style ranges. The Fratelli was a great option for us, not a bank-breaker, but great visual appeal and great function (as far as I can tell!). I really love the look of it, the "dainty" knobs especially.

What I Waver On Daily:
1. Pendant lights over island—LOVED these when they were up without anything else in the space and most of the time I still love them, but there are moments when I wonder if they’re all wrong!
2. Carrara marble—while I do love it, sometimes I worry that it’s a tad too grey for the white cabinets; I also think I would’ve been happy with the mosaic between the range and the hood versus the slab, but the slab will be easier to keep clean. I do like the slab under the Advantium—where it’s very nook-like.
3. Using different hardware on the cabinets in the dining space. I fell in love with the idea of a pendant pull, but didn’t want them everywhere. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I think I should’ve just kept everything the same.
4. Pantry Pullouts—when I first loaded these I thought they were a pain—too rigid storage-wise and I wished I had just done tall cabinets with pullout shelves. Now, though, I can see their value and I can reach the top on tippy-toes (I’m 5’6"). Could still go either way on this. Don’t love the hardware placement on them, but that really goes under a new category—Don’t Love It, But Can Live With It.
5. Position of cabinets between kitchen and dining—they’re not centered on that short wall, but mimic the cabinets across from them, by the dining window. I let my GC win this one and I sometimes wish I had pushed for them to be center on that wall.
6. Don’t really waver on this—I wish I had done all drawers on the window side perimeter. I just don’t think I gave it enough thought. Oh well.

Misc. Thoughts:
1. Why the gold/brown finishes vs. silver/chrome? While I love the silver/chrome finishes with the white cabinets, I gravitate toward browns and reds and yellows. These are the hues in our family room that’s open to the kitchen. That’s why I thought burnished or antiqued brass tones would work better for us.
2. I’m still trying to warm up the space. I know I could’ve gone with rich wood cabinets, but that part of the house is so dark—despite all the windows and doors, it gets only filtered natural light. Plus, I was always drawn to the white kitchens in all the magazines. I just felt it was the right way to go for this space.
3. Have contemplated putting corbels under the glass uppers…thoughts anyone?
4. Big blank wall between fridge and opening to mudroom—was originally going to put a black bench there. Now I’m thinking of putting two rows of white magnetic strips there for children’s artwork, holiday cards, reminders, etc.
5. Used magnetic paint on the shallow wall near the doors leading to the backyard (and on one wall in our mudroom). Not very strong, though, so I need to work on getting stronger magnets. Those plastic magnetic photo pockets (if anyone knows what I’m talking about) stick pretty good.
6. Will likely incorporate some window treatments at some point. Can’t decide if I should try to find a fabric that would work for roman shades or do a dark brown woven shade.
7. Though it’s counter depth, the fridge sticks out more than I expected.

The List:
Cabinets—Kountry Kraft Alpine White
Fratelli Onofri 36" Evolution—single oven
Kitchenaid 72" French Door Refrigerator
Advantium
Zephyr hood
Carrara marble, honed, on perimeters
Cabernet granite on island
Hardware—Rejuvenation Arched Mission Pull in Burnished Antique

Before:

During:

After:

I almost went with Nantucket Grey....now I wish I had. The pendants are fabulous!

Congrats!

You had an amazing vision, janefan.

I love it!!!

I find the space very warm with your hardwood floors, granite and the Nantucket grey. Such a nice combination of different colors and textures that you will enjoy for many years. Please post more pics when you get a chance and thanks for sharing all the details.

RM is right -- your kitchen is warm looking. And RM is also wrong -- hers is not cold! :D

Wonderful :) You must be in kitchen heaven :)

I totally understand the "justify" part...being on this forum you learn so much and feel you have to justify for going in a different direction. I think the
common lesson here is that you make it work for YOU and you did a wonderful job of that, congrats!
vic

Thank you for the details. It really helps to have a glimps at your thoughts as you live with your decisions.

Enjoy!

Sandy

I agree it looks very warm while elegant!

I think part of the reason is your smart choice of the paint! Choosing a vivid while subtle color adds so much life and warmth!

Tanya

RE: outlets vs. plugmold-- I just went through this with my hubby, since he is our electrician. In the end, we rationalized the way you did. We leave things plugged in, and the cords would look awful. As much as I think "House Beautiful", that is just not real world with two boys, and one that thinks he's still a boy. ;^)

I feel so much better knowing I am not alone!

rmkitchen--Just wanted to thank you and let you know that you and your kitchen were very inspiring and helpful to me!

pluckymama--I'll try to post a close up of the granite tonight.

jeannie kitchen--The paint is Benjamin Moore Nantucket Grey.

kateskouros, positano and jennabanenna--I ordered the pendants from bellacor.com. This was my third or fourth purchase from them--all problem-free.

mustbnuts--I will try to post a picture of the sink and dark granite tonight.

bestyears--The rug is from Ballard Designs; it's indoor/outdoor (the space where I have it is a direct path from our back door to the garage--heavy traffic!). There were several from Ballard that I wavered between. I would say that it's definitely more of a dark brown vs. taupe--not sure how that color is reading on your monitor. I'll try to post a link below.

lynn2006--The floors were put in to go with existing hardwood already in the house...they're pre-finished oak (??) in gunsmoke. Don't have much detail here...just told my GC to match it all! I'll try to look through some paperwork tonight for more details.

cosmo nj--The stools are from JC Penney! I ordered them online--sight unseen. Had to assemble them myself, but it was easy and they were so reasonably priced, I couldn't resist.

stiles--Believe it or not, after worrying so much about the length of the island, I can't remember exactly how long it is! I think it's just over 11 feet. And you nailed it with the clean-up comment--so easy! Another thing that makes it work is that I can reach the sink from the other side of the island really easily. Plus our aisles are pretty wide and both ends of the island are open, so I think that helps a lot.

minette99--Thank you! Here are the shots of the two sets of uppers I'm thinking of adding the corbels to:

Not sure if a corbel would look odd butted up against the wall on this one:

mustbnuts--here are two closer shots of the sink, but it looks terrible! The dark spots in the photos are not that dark in person. And I don't know what those white splotches are--again, I don't see them in person. I will say, though, that the finish does change. It's actually shinier, new "coppery" in spots where I guess the applied "patina" has worn away. I haven't tried re-waxing it yet, due to laziness and the fact that I'm fine with it changing--kind of cool to see how different elements impact it.

We've been using it for a few months now and it's been great. The burners are totally efficient, it's easy to clean, the oven functions perfectly as far as I can tell (not a gourmet, though). It's also pretty roomy capacity-wise, but I may be biased since I was coming from a horrible, horrible, small wall oven. And I continue to love how it looks (now I'm really going to get flamed by the function over form folks!). Anyway, here are the pictures:

I love your pendant lights, I think they're just perfect and wouldn't change a thing about them.

Corbels below the glass uppers? Yes please. Simple corbels though, nothing too ornate.

The red fabric on the chair just speaks to me. Perhaps you could incorporate them into the kitchen to warm up the space, as roman blinds or chair cushions for your bar stools?

I don't understand how counterdepth fridges can stick out (although it doesn't look terrible, but i see what you mean). Were your cabinets in that area more shallow than normal?

I LOVE your kitchen - especially the grey paint colour, your hardware which is fabulously mismatched, and the legs on your island. Very, very nice.

And FWIW...I found that I deliberated over Plugmold after I found it on here (and thought it was the best thing I had heard of since sliced bread or toekick drawers!). I actually did half of my kitchen with it...and the area with the coffee pot and mixer without. So as long as you think about YOUR usage of the kitchen, lifestyle, age, etc....and not what everyone else thinks...most of the decisions come out right in the end.

:)
Sarah from Albany, NY