I was not a frequent poster, but I was a regular lurker and received a tremendous amount of help and inspiration from the folks on GW. ICFGreen, in particular, was a huge inspiration for me in the "style" department. Their kitchen reveal gave me the "a-ha" moment which turned my vision of light cabs/busy granite to dark cabs/simple white quartz. I never looked back and am SO HAPPY with how it all turned out.

Others on GW steered me toward lots of drawers and the Silgranit sinks (love!!) and gave me confidence to bargain shop for appliances. We paid well below MSRP for everything, with the exception of the beverage fridge. It took a lot of leg-work and breath holding (especially buying a rangetop off Ebay from a guy many states away�), but it all turned out great. I got my dream appliances � even the now discontinued open-burner Wolf rangetop � and after several months of use I can say that everything works!!

Here are the details:
Floors � Site finished white oak, random width planks; Bona Traffic finish in natural

Cabinets � local custom, poplar with espresso stain and crystal finish

Hardware � solid stainless steel bar pulls, Overstock.com

Countertops � Cambria Torquay, 3cm edge, profile Z

Fridge � 48" Liebherr biofresh - LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I would highly recommend this fridge.

Ovens, Rangetop � Wolf e-series ovens; 48" Wolf Rangetop from Ebay

Hood � 54" Vent-A-Hood with 900 CFM blower off Craigslist

heated make-up air unit in basement, don't remember much about details but it's there and seems to work :)

Beverage Fridge � Electrolux

Microwave Drawer � Dacor

Warming Drawer � Siemens

Dishwasher � Asko
Sinks � Blanco Silgranit in Truffle, main sink is Precis Super Single, prep sink is Precis Large

Faucets � Delta Trinsic

Backsplash tile � Solistone Mardi Gras in Metairie

Stools � Overstock.com

Paint � Sherwin Williams Gray Clouds

BEFORE:

we knocked out the fridge wall shown here. was load-bearing. they installed a steel beam in the ceiling so no support pole in the middle of my kitchen.

steel beam:

AFTER:

please excuse the mess and child locks..

my favorite part - floor to ceiling bookshelves...cabinet guy thought I was nuts, but I filled it :)

2nd favorite part (the Rangetop, not the "complimentary" cheeseboard/trivet from the nice folks at Cambria):

here's where we hid the microwave drawer (and a little dose of cute..):

Torquay close-up (and kitchen action shot, early stages of Lefse making):

beverage station - love roll-out for coffee/toaster:

better view of other side of island (taken much earlier):

thanks for looking!!

To
OMG! Wow! So modern and clean. And what a cutie your little one is, showing off her new kitchen.

I have run into people who don't know why I want bookshelves, or why I have so many books. I've determined they 1) don't read, or 2) don't know how to read. Certainly limited in imagination!

Just gorgeous. You must love it!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!

As for the dose of cute--precious! :)

And I might add my cutie is 1/4 Swede.

Enjoy your new kitchen!

We have tons of cookbooks too, but we keep them in another room. I'll bet if my husband sees your pictures he'll want to put in built-ins in our just-finished kitchen!!

I love your pulls. I briefly thought about getting that kind but realized it was probably too modern for the kitchen we were building. But I do love those.

Absolutely stunning kitchen!!!

I have the same countertop and my faucets are so similar I almost mistook yours for mine (brizo solna).

And I have a cutey that's probably about the same age as yours (mine's 16 months) :-)

How do you like the Elux beverage fridge? We have yet to buy one but it's on our short list.

Let's just say I was stuck staring the first photo of the new kitchen for awhile. And then I thought, "maybe there are more pictures"....oh and the other photos didn't disappoint either! Your kitchen is really great.

Your little one could not be any cuter.

Wishing you many years of enjoyment with the kitchen and the wee one.

I could eat that munchkin UP. Those little cheeks demand kisses!!

What is your backsplash!

@Quiltgirl - it's hard to get good pix close up of the countertops, but here's another one.

I know conventional wisdom on the boards say to see your Torquay slab in person. I don't necessarily agree. We went to the Cambria "mother ship" in northern Minnesota before ordering. We couldnt see the exact slabs we were getting. But They have "ideal" slabs of every Cambria style on site. They explained that all others are manufactured to fit that "ideal". (think dog shows...) its not exact, of course, but you get the idea. anyway - if you like it, you like it. You may not get the "exact" idea of every swirl you are getting, but the samples are quite accurate It definitely helped to see the full sized slab. I will say that Torquay could go gray or taupe, which ever way you are suited.

@enduring-so sweet! Our girl is half Norweigan/Swede. Good eye!

@Badgergal - I've always loved your taste. Modern soul mates :)

@Cottonpenny - we love the Elux fridge! It was reasonably priced and keeps beer, soda, white wine, etc. perfectly cold. Love the pull-out shelves.

Beautiful job.

Your baby is adorable.

That picture of your little cutie is beyond precious! She is just too cute for words! You can see the mischief in those eyes! lol I think she has big plans for that microwave drawer!

Cj

And the kitchen is nice, too. ;)

But really, what a fantabulous change. I had to keep going back and forth to try to see how it went from the old to dazzling! How I wish I'd thought to do a shelf like that at the end of my oven.
I love the clean lines and surfaces of the contemporary mixed with some design choices that still make it homey.

Enjoy!

Can I ask about the stools? I was looking on overstock for something similar. which ones are they? Are they comfortable and sturdy?

Can you tell me what size pulls you used on your cabinets? Trying to decide what to use - it looks like you may have used two different sizes, is that correct? (Looks like almost all are one size, but that you have a narrow drawer base over by the corner that might have needed smaller pulls.)

Would you know what hinges the cabinet maker used on your coffee/toaster ?pull-up? door?

I am doing a similar thing for my appliance garage and I am now looking for the hinges.

Did you have to move out during the finishing of the oak floor? How many coats did you do?

Our flooring was stained rift-sawn white oak (over radiant heating), then 2 coats of Bona so far. Our last coat (satin) will be right before we leave for Christmas. Phew: smelly!

Thank you for your help,
Amanda

Love your little one too, and her reflection in the microwave drawer is so cute. When she figures out how to microwave her own smores you could be in trouble.

Now you're making me wish I had the foresight to do the exact same thing. One can never have too many quality spots for books! :)

Congratulations - it is a spectacular remodel!

I have had a similar aha moment where I decided that I no longer want white cabinets.

I am very happy to see that you have stained poplar cabinets, as I was unsure what poplar would look like stained. I also want a slab cabinet with a dark stain, and the cabinet guy told me that poplar wouldn't take stain well. Are you happy with them?

Great job-it is just a stunning kitchen!

@ PPS7 -- the stools are from Overstock, they are Sunpan Churchill Adjustible in white, ~$200 each. they are so comfy! it was hard to find anything that was closed in the back (little kids), and big/strong enough to fit my 6'4" hubby. they are a little big for my taste, but really comfy and strong.

@ Andreak -- we used a combo of 7 inch and 10 inch pulls.

@ Huango -- our floor guy was able to do the finish in a day. he used a commercial coat of Bona for the top coat. it dried really fast and didnt' smell bad at all. we just had to keep the dog off it for about a week.

@ MG Dawg -- so sorry, but I can't remember the brand of the pendants. we got them on clearance at a local independent lighting store in MN. they weren't even in a box so I'm not sure if we ever knew the brand. they were only $30 a piece, so a huge bargain.

@ Drybean -- so interesting that you were told that about Poplar. we were told by our cabinet maker that Poplar takes a dark stain very well. we are very happy with it and saved so much $$ over our original plan of cherry. it is a soft wood, but we haven't had any issues re: damage yet. I would recommend it.

TIA

Congrats on a job beautifully well done!