Will you be renovating your kitchen also? You do not need a large budget to include new quality products during remodeling or updating your kitchen. Here at Whites Plumbing we offer a wide range of quality products at competitive prices and we also include free shipping across the United States. That is not all, here at Whites Plumbing we also have custom kitchen cabinet experts that can help you design the kitchen of your dreams which it seems may be something you would be interested in as well. So feel free to follow the link below to our kitchen selection and have a wonderful day. http://whitesplumbingsupplies.com/store/index.php/kitchen.html

For those of you complaining that a design professional wants to get paid for their work, I'd say they are providing a service to you that you can't do yourself, and they are entitled to be paid. What they get paid is obviously negotiated, but frankly, at minimum, a junior design professional should be paid $100 per hour for their work. Senior talent goes much much higher. It makes sense that the fee is credited if your designer is attached to selling a product. But if you don't buy their goods, they certainly should be compensated. Of course, never make the assumption when you go to the kitchen store that they are giving you the design services for nothing. Ask first before you start. No one gets hurt then.

Thanks, everyone, for all the feedback!! a2gemini, thanks for your encouragement! cal, yes, 13,000,000 decisions is about right.. aktillery, thank you! It's so much better than it was. I have agonized on light vs. dark and settled on basically light (i.e. not black or dark gray) in the smaller space. I think less pattern/consistent pattern is good too, in the smaller space. I like the 'zebra' sample and the two in the front on the second photo too. The 'zebra' ("Autumn Beige") would go darker and define the perimeter more. Cal, I don't have a particular resale plan, but I'm trying to plan smart for resale but do something I like in case I don't move. I'm not hearing a lot of enthusiasm for the current choice but I appreciate cal and may, your feedback with the practical in mind - i.e. it can work... but I don't hear that it's "very good". I agree it's a LOT of white cabinetry in a small space... and it's kind of a bright white.. I spent weeks (probably 2 months) with many hours a week, going to look at slabs (first, trying to orient myself to the world of granite). What I discovered is that small samples are really NO representation of an actual slab (except for perhaps some of the lower end styles that I didn't like/didn't work with my white). That said, I'm willing to look just a little more if this one isn't right. Here are the handles I want, btw (the simple style, in brushed nickel - 4") May, I see how the black would go well with the granite slab... but does that mean these handles don't? Here are some more close ups of the slab, at this point chosen ($250 penalty I think to let it go...): And, here are a couple from another, related slab, that is still available, but I had thought was not warm enough: i think if I had a slab like the second sample photo, left front corner, I would pick that... but there's no such slab - just a 3"x3" that looks like that. Know what I mean? I don't find a quartz I love either - but the Silestone Alpine White is the back sample on the second photo. Is that better than the slab I have currently? If I look once more this weekend - what should I look for? a slab like one of the two in the front on the second photo? (which I do like)... and if something like that doesn't exist (as it hasn't so far..) - that's why I picked the one I did... Thanks!!

It might be a good idea to find a picture or two in the finished kitchens blog that you really like. It is pretty simple to take an existing kitchen and "interpret" it. If you can post what you like and how ;uxe you want to go ($$) I am sure that you'll be able to accomplish everything with the help of the folks on here. Floor plans and the palette of the adjoining room(s) are also imporant. Because you are removing the wall, you are basically making the whole room a combined kitchen/living/entertaining area and it is not a good idea to try to treat them as separate spaces. In the second layout sketch - it looks like you have a cooktop aganst the back wall, however there is a range against the other wall. I think you could create some wonderful drama by moving the fridge over to where the range is in the second sketch. On the back wall - use a cooktop with one or two ovens underneath in mock-range configuration. Put great big pillars on either side of the area and spend half of your budget on the most beautiful mosaic backsplash you can find. Your elegance can come from the colouration. Use creams accented with darks and jewel tones to make impact in a gracious way.