It looks great. Your window will be fabulous!

Beautiful...I saw that wine bottle !! Seems we can't get through kitchen remodels w/o it !! LOL. Your space is really beautiful. Please show the whole thing. Can hardly wait. c

What a transformation! Nice work.

I agree, the people at Crown Point are the BEST. Working with them almost makes all the destruction of a kitchen remodel seem pleasant.

I can't wait to see the 'afters' with the counters and all the details.

Connie

Wow, that is amazing progress for one month!! It is gorgeous, and those windows! I love that your posting before your finished, it will help someone else that's in the planning stages. I always thought I'd wait, but I had questions and needed opinions.

Keep the photos coming!

OH! I am so glad you posted these... it is coming along so well and it is so fun to see it in progress. keep em coming.

It's looking awesome! What are those black counters? Did you go with soapstone? Can't wait to see the rest.

I really like the arrangement of your pulls on the drawers. Looks neat & symmetrical. When my time comes, I'll need your help with what size on what drawer, how many etc.

PS-Love the dog. He looks completely unimpressed with the whole thing.

Congratulations on the great progress so far Erika. It looks great. I also love the dog ! Can you tell me about your floors? Are they red oak and what stain did you use? They are very pretty.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Still a long, long way to go, but we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

katie, I think you mean on top of my hutch? The photo is dark ... it's a maple top, stained the same color as the island.

victoriajane, the floors are white oak stained with Minwax English Chestnut.

E

Thanks for posting- I have been keeping an eye out for your kitchen. If I recall you are doing stainless steel as well as marble countertops? What is your backsplash going to be? Where are you doing the marble? Can you tell me the dimensions of your overall kitchen as well as your island? Sorry for all of the questions, but your kitchen is inspiring!

OMG! That's awesome! Those are the most gorgeous cabinets, and the windows! Thanks for sharing the progress.

I am absolutely in awe and nearly speechless. The cabinets are so beautiful and the hutches are perfect.

erikah, your space is looking great! Those windows amke such a dramatic difference!

BTW, we have some things in common: I believe we have the same FP FD CD fridge and I have 2 German Shepherds. :) How are your floors with your dog?

Sandy

Thanks again everyone for your incredibly kind comments.

chaimama: I'm happy to answer your questions ... I've been helped so much by people on this forum! I can only hope to give back a small portion to other people starting out. Yes, stainless steel countertop on the cooktop wall and marble on the island and perimeter. I'm totally undecided about the backsplash. I'm thinking either 2cm marble slab on the whole cooktop wall up to the level of the vent hood; or, I might put the slab only behind the cooktop and then some kind of tile on each side. The only other space I have for backsplash is behind the hutch, and I'm also unsure what I'll do there ... maybe beadboard. Love to hear your suggestions if you have any!

The kitchen is about 27 feet long and 13 feet wide ... long and skinny! Consequently the island is long and skinny too -- 12 feet long and 42 inches deep, including a 15 inch overhang for seating. My old kitchen didn't get enough natural light, so one of the first things I decided I had to have was a huge window looking back into the our woods. We also took down the wall between the kitchen and our previously rarely used dining room, enlarged the dining area, and added an arch. The kitchen now benefits from the great sunlight coming in through the dining area window and French doors.

rhome, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that when I read your comments, tears came to my eyes. I'm not sure if you realize how much you've helped me along the way, especially in the beginning when I was trying to sort out my layout. Your suggestions and those of rmkitchen, lascatx, mahlgold, remodelfla, mamadadapaige, paulines and others helped me avoid so many mistakes. I really owe you all a deep debt of gratitude.

Sandy, yup, same fridge! Are you liking yours so far? I had heard something worrisome about Consumer Reports reporting uneven temperatures, but I really couldn't find another fridge I liked as well.

I think the floors have held up pretty well with our dog over the last 7 years. I know there were plenty of scratches, but they weren't noticeable, maybe because of the light color? Now that we've stained them darker, I've already decided to become much more vigilant about keeping her nails trimmed short.

E

Everything looks wonderful! The CP cabinets look so very nice and well crafted.

I'm glad things are going smoothly overall as well w/no real problems! You should be in your new kitchen in no time!

So, where is your dog's bed going to be? :-)

Your kitchen is going to be awesome and I'm glad you decided to go ahead and post some in progress photos! I love to see the kitchens in their various stages.

And by the way - I think your decision on keeping the wood height on your hutch will look fine. I saw the photo that Morton posted from AD magazine and it looks like the wood countertop SHOULD be higher! It'll be fine!

What an exciting transformation! It looks like you took down the wall between the kitchen and another room to the right of the sink, where the refrigerator is now. But I don't visualize where the area with the fireplace was before. Was that part of the old kitchen? Can't wait to see more pictures!

Erika,
Great pics and fast progress in one month! Your cabs look fantastic. It is going to be awesome when it's done and another amazing transformation story. I'm so glad you decided to share your progress pics. I'm still waiting on pendant lights and backsplash and haven't shared any pics since my countertops went in. Sounds like you've decided to go with marble on the island and perimeter instead of adding some soapstone. I think you will love it as it follows your original dream for your kitchen. And that pic from AD shows your wood countertop height will look fine, like you planned it that way.

Have you picked your pendant lights and backsplash yet? Will you be painting the walls as well? I'm so excited for you!!

The kitchen looks fantastic already and I am so happy to see another satisfied CP customer! We put down a deposit with them for white cabinets also, and I can't wait to see the final product.

I was wondering whether you took measurements for the cabinets before or after demo? Seems like it must have been before, if your cabinets are up a month after demo. Due to a variety of factors, it looks like we have to measure before demo...I'd love some reassurance that CP will handle this smoothly! (Everything had been great with them so far.)

I'm so glad you posted this.. and your CP cabinets are just beautiful. Did your GC have any comments about installing them? Any problems?

Can't wait to see your final product, but it is already an amazing transformation.

Thank you for including your German Shepherd in the pictures! I was so fascinated by your gorgeous kitchen I almost missed her (which says a lot about your cabinets since I usually zero right in on GS's)! Our GS took the remodel in stride except I think she was a little piqued that the view from her livingroom bed was inhibited by the kitchen cabinets we stored there for 5 months. She took her duties seriously and usually positioned herself so that she could keep tabs on as much as possible. We lost her 1 1/2 years ago when she was almost 12. I miss her lots so your pictures put a big smile on my face. I'm looking forward to your next installments.

egg, the kitchen is part of a great room that includes the kitchen and family room. My kitchen cabinetry continues into the family room area with shelving on one side of the fireplace for barware and on the other side for audio/visual components and books. We're putting a tv above the fireplace.

Mary, can you believe I still haven't chosen lighting for my island?? I have low ceilings which makes it tough to find suitable lighting that won't obstruct the view out our windows or hang in DH's face. I found a semi-flush fixture that I liked but the manufacturer won't have them in stock for months! I'm just not finding anything that I love and makes me say, "That's it!"

{{gwi:1640544}}

As far as the backsplash, I'm thinking either 2cm marble slab on the whole cooktop wall up to the level of the vent hood; or, I might put the slab only behind the cooktop and then some kind of tile on each side. The only other space I have for backsplash is behind the hutch, and I'm also unsure what I'll do there ... maybe beadboard.

fivealive, which white did you choose? I thought all the whites were so pretty, but I finally chose Paper White. We had the measurements done before demo. My Crown Point KD even brought one of those laser level thingies that projects a level line around the room. All the cabinets arrived correctly sized and fit beautifully. I can't say enough about how great my KD and everyone else with whom I've come into contact at Crown Point has been.

danielle, the only problem my carpenter had with the installation is that he's used to installing non-custom cabinetry. He was surprised that my cabinet order included zero fillers; instead, some of the pieces -- like the ones going into corners or against a wall -- had scribes built into them. It made him very nervous having to cut pieces off my cabinets. He was also baffled by the sizes: 29 7/8, 13 9/16, etc. He was used to sizes like 12, 24, 30. Oh, and he and his helpers kept talking about how heavyyyyy they were to lift!

Nevertheless, he commented over and over at their superior quality and how much easier they were to install than the frameless cabinets he's used to. Odd as it may sound, one of the features that I've enjoyed the most so far is the dust covers on the base cabinets which have enabled me to put almost everything away already and use my kitchen even though I don't have countertops yet.

zelmar, our puppy (going on 8, but still thinks she's a pup), has had somewhat of a tough time during the remodel. We've had to keep her crated most of the days when the workers have been here, because she was constantly underfoot, bringing them her ball and just wanting to lick them and get pats. Also, the door that used to lead onto a deck and the backyard disappeared to be replaced by windows that she's too short to see out. She can't use the new door because the deck hasn't been built yet. That's really thrown her off. Plus her bed was removed from its spot near the fireplace to be replaced by cabinetry. She's normally not allowed upstairs in the bedrooms, but we've been bringing her up with us at night to try and give her some extra comfort. Sorry to hear about the loss of your GS, I'm sure you miss her very much.

Erika

Oh man Erika that is an awesome light. Honestly I'd be tempted to have the electrician put in the boxes and just wait for them to come back in stock.

I'm so glad to hear that measuring before demo was fine for you. I know they prefer to do it after demo, but that timing just doesn't work out for us. I also chose Paper White! I love how it looks in your kitchen! It seemed slightly warmer than the other whites (without going too far towards cream/yellow).

fivealive, my Crown Point KD told me that she measures and places cabinet orders before demo in 90% of her jobs.