romeisburning - wow, I haven't checked in on my kitchen post in a few years and all of a sudden, a flurry of activity! I am still in love with my kitchen after 4 years (wow, time flies), and I wish you the best! I too had to hunt down my Rosemary as I chose it only to have it discontinued. Your story is much more epic than mine but I think the Rosemary is amazing - my husband rolls his eyes as to this day, I still tell him how much I love it - and I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do (and if Caesarstone is monitoring, they should consider bringing this product back). As for the chopping on the stone, I am not sure as I have wood chopping boards but GO FOR IT - what a great idea for the extra stone. And the color on my walls is Benjamin Moore Citronee - I have it all over my home and love the creamy color. I see I missed some other posts over time - thank you all for the comments - and a2gemini for the "Happy Anniversary" - I remember following your inspiring kitchen. Going on year 4, I have not upgraded anything in my kitchen only added to it some plants by the window and lots of art created by my daughter. The pictures above make me laugh as the kitchen has so much more personality these days. I will post some updated pictures when I can find the time to get some good ones! Enjoy your kitchens!

Thanks again for all your insights. We discussed the design for a while last night and came up with some decisions (which of course can change). Thought it would be helpful to explain the reasons, as well. Fridge location - we don't really want to get a counter-depth fridge, so we are left with two choices. Location where it is currently (at end of kitchen in picture - next to chimney) or where it is in the plan. In the current location it ends up being a problem when you get two people in that part of the "U"--so we don't really want to keep it there. We'll put that across from where the exterior door currently is, as in the plan I posted. Seating - embracing the galley and putting the seating at the end is not really what we want, and would leave us short of overhead cabinets (given that we want mostly windows along the exterior wall). Using the one corner near the chimney sounds great, but I don't think will work in practice. That area is only 23 X 40 inches. So, we think that we would like to put the seating along the windows at the counter. Sink - along exterior wall, close to where it is presently. Oven - we could put the oven on the wall next to the fridge, or under the counter next to the chimney. Given that there will be seating across from the wall next to the fridge, we are leaning toward putting it under the counter next to the chimney. Cooktop - we have two choices. Next to chimney or next to fridge. We still have lots of questions on this, and would appreciate feedback on the plusses and minuses of each location. See original post. I recently read another post which gave me some concerns about the cabinet mounted wall oven making it hot to cook at the cooktop, but don't want to get too into that here. The other post vetted the issue well. But, if the cooktop was next to the fridge, we would not have that concern as we would still have the wall oven under the counter next to the chimney. So, as I said, an thoughts on the cooktop location, and dealing with the chimney on that wall (e.g., moving the wall out or maybe deeper counters) would be appreciated. Then we'll just have to decide on whether to move the door, what type of countertop...........

gooster - we thought the exact same thing! Yesterday we went out and got another white cab with open shelving and light wood top for the end of that wall - it was almost too big for the space but we managed to wedge it in there. It looks pretty close in appearance to the other two, enough that it looks fairly integrated. It looks good and will be used for the induction burner that heats the tea kettle! scrappy25 - we gave the IKEA measurements to Cabinet Authority. Unlike Semi-handmade and Scherr's, they don't keep them on file. I got the exact measurements of the fronts from IKEAfans.com. The paint is a factory finish with a very low sheen. I had an option of three whites by Sherwin Williams: Crystal White, Frosty White, and Designer White. I listed them in order by the strength of their yellow undertone, from strong to nonexistent. I went with Designer White because I wanted that stark white look. If you happen to live in NYC, I can just give you the sample color blocks since I don't need them anymore. We had to do the drilling for the fronts ourselves, except for the two doors below the sink - those got standard boring holes for the clip-on hinges. IKEAfans has the template for where the drill holes should go on the drawer fronts. It wasn't hard to do at all. Just remember to measure twice and drill once! We made one mistake and have to live with a little unevenness on a drawer front. I'm not sure what you mean by a box versus door breakdown. Do you mean drawers versus doors? We went with all drawers on one side of the galley (12 total on that side). The other side, where the sink is, got two doors under the sink and two drawers for the trash pullout (the bottom part of that cab looks like a tall door but is actually a pull out drawer). Drawer fronts are pricier to make than doors for some reason.

What a gorgeous house! Congrats. I love a white and wood kitchen. I think it's a timeless look and I wouldn't change the colour scheme at all. Live with it for a bit to see how well everything works for you. Taking one's time is a good idea. As Hillside House mentioned, kitchen cabinetry has changed a bit in the last few years....You might want more drawers or more functional storage for your kitchen cabinets. I love slab doors and think they look sleeker without hardware. You've a tight budget so prioritize function over form. New appliances? (Btw, I don't understand how appliances don't seem to follow the homeowner in the States. I'm in Montreal and rarely see homes for sale that include the appliances. But I digress.) New lighting? Also love the idea of a fun backsplash (after removing the few inches on the wall.) Good luck with everything and please keep us posted with any updates. :)