Your kitchen looks great. I love your island countertop!! Everything looks bright and cheery which I love.
I'm doing a white kitchen in about 6 months, so I will be at the tail end of the trend.. that means you are safe ;)
Looking forward to seeing your next pictures. (oh, be sure to mention your post has pics in the title so everyone knows to come look and lust after your great remodel)

Your kitchen is lovely and nicely pulled together. That Quatzite is stunning!

Thanks so much for sharing not just the details but the good and bad. This is so helpful (especially the tip about fridge next to DW).

I'm in love with your quartzite! Beautiful simple lines to your cabinets... elegant and casual all at once. Love how you mixed the wood tones in with your white. Just beautiful... enjoy it!

Hi somanychoices,

Your kitchen looks great which is very reassuring. The cabinets we've ordered are very similar to yours. Plus I'm also doing white subway tiles for a backspash. And this week we're going to Chicago to pick our jet mist granite slabs.

I love your kitchen. You've made me feel happier about my choices.

Absolutely beautiful!

somanychoices -- how beautiful -- and yes, I am planning on stained birch and soapstone -- but plan on the same frig, faucet, and pulls -- I was afraid that the pulls would look toooo -- well, 1950s. I like them, but didn't know if they'd go with the door style (same as yours). Your kitchen looks sooo classy and smooth, I have no doubts now! Oh, and I'm planning on the same arched toekick molding as well. This is sooooo beautiful. Just like other posters, you make me feel so much more comfortable about my choices.

Excellent job! enjoy. And the candy jars made me laugh. My dad handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. It was his pleasure to send kids home with a chocolate stained face . . . .

Your kitchen is beautiful---and your coat/shoe area is *exactly* what we're going for! What are its width and depth dimensions? (DH and I are debating how wide to make that area in our plan, and just wondered how it compares!)

Your kitchen is beautiful and your choices timeless. I actually am finishing up my creamy kitchen also and believe it or not, we did a color match to the Wellborn Divinity. I like the color in the mid day light...it plays off my grey toned walls nicely. I also love your quartzite island. It's a very unique choice on this forum and look forward to your comments on how it compares in the upkeep dept with your granite. It's just really classic looking. Other q's: who did your slip covers? I have 2 toddlers and wonder if we should do the same? Are they machine washable?
Any hints on things you would put in the laundry area? We are getting ready to configure cabinets and will probably match the kitchen cabs.
Finally, I wanted to ask you why you went with that particular color and brand of subway - was it color, quality, etc? I've never seen that sister brand of sonoma but have certainly looked at enough sonoma tiles. I was probably going to pull the trigger on the Rixi Crema, but would like to hear your experiences. Thanks for sharing.

Really, really, really nice job. Love the mix of cabs and counters. The white fantasy is beautiful. The Hunter Douglas woven wood blinds look great. But I LOVE the fabric you picked for the parsons chairs. It's the perfect amount of pattern. Congratulations on a job well done!!

Beautiful...! I loved seeing the blue you put on your walls. We jut bought a home with a kitchen with almost exactly the same color scheme as yours, and I am dying to paint it blue! I was thinking a bit darker than the one you chose, but yours looks absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!

Beautiful job! I know you must be enjoying it immensely.

I didn't see the Lutron switch plates in any pictures; don't need to see them up close, but would love to see one or two shots in context if you have a chance.

Is the DR painted with Smoke also? It's reading very blue, but I know how monitor color goes. I'll have to look at my paint chip of Smoke (if I can find it) to see if it looks that blue. Either way, it looks great with those wonderful chairs!

I agree with lisa_a, it is so helpful to hear what you might have done differently. Thank you for sharing with us!

Love, Love, Love it! This is one of those kitchens that answers so many of the questions that I've been having - how would that look? It is beautiful.

Really though it just isn't right sending the neighborhood kids home sugared up!

One of those island countertops I would be tempted to lay on if it were mine... It's GORGEOUS. Really nice kitchen that will stand the test of time, so don't worry! Also love the laundry, locker area, and the new fireplace wall. Wonderful.

Beautiful kitchen. I love your quartzite, pendants, fabric on the dining room chairs. A real inspiration, well done, enjoy!

yes...i can stand it! very gorgeous.

can you tell me what height your ceilings are at? thanks and enjoy!

Absolutely beautiful!!!

Yes, I can too!

Love your kitchen, just beautiful. I hope white kitchens never go out of style. I just love them. Enjoy!!

somanychoices, it all looks beautiful! You must be so relieved to be at the end of the road (spoken from a fellow 12+ month renovator).

Congratulations!

Sandy

All of your rooms are beautiful and I LOVE your pendant lights! Enjoy your lovely kitchen :)

So pretty! I'm sure you will enjoy it immensely!

Beautifully done!

I think it's beautiful! I love white kitchens and I don't care if it's a recent fad or not, I have always wanted one. You did a great job with so many of the details: the pendants, the fabric on the chairs, the family room fireplace! All gorgeous.

I wish I could see a closer pic of the quartzite. I have six slabs sitting with my fabricator right now (the granite yard I bought from calls it "White Princess") and I would love to see it a bit more clearly.

Also, your pulls--they look great but would love a detail of those if you get the chance! Hooray for your finished kitchen!

Of course I can stand one more even a 1000 more creamy
white kitchens.
And yours is wonderful. I love every detail and I can
see you must be excited to enjoy it. The dark island,
the stools, the backsplash, wow the floors are perfect
and of course your window treatments. Excellent.

~boxerpups

Beautiful! You made wonderful choices in material and design. Would you consider posting a larger close-up shot of the quartzite on the island? It looks really beautiful and I would love to see a close-up. Thanks very much for sharing!

Truly gorgeous! Who ever gets tired of seeing a beautiful kitchen, no matter what the color?!

Kat :)

It's just lovely - I never tire of creamy white kitchens. They're classic and timeless!

Hi, Everyone -

Wow, you are all so sweet (no surprise) that I want to cry. (Cue the Hallmark commercial music...). I was greatly inspired by many kitchens on this website, so I'm glad if my thoughts/pics help anyone.

OK, on to the questions/comments:
I will try to get a close-up of the quartzite and granite. I am a terrible photographer - except for two perfect photos of my kids that I will treasure forever: - and the light coming from the overheads and pendants and the windows kept showing up as a glare. But I will try again - my kids can probably do a lot better, LOL.
Along the same vein, I'll try to get close-ups of the Lutron dimmers and the pendants and the door knobs. (By the way, I just had a thought that, in case my pics don't turn out well, you can probably find product photos online at Lutron, Hudson Valley Lighting and Hickory Hardware.)

The Dining Room is painted Smoke, like the kitchen. It's the kind of color that looks very blue sometimes, and more grey-blue at other times, depending on the lighting. Sometimes I think it's too blue, but overall, I like it - it feels happy.

As for the mud room (and boy is it muddy now with all the snow we've been getting...), the room is approx. 8 1/2' x 6 1/2'feet. The bench is around 4 feet wide and 20 inches deep. The two tall cabinets (which are actually two upper cabinets over two tall lower cabinets) are 2' wide. The ceilings throughout my house are supposedly 8 feet, but there are some dips, so we avoid inviting tall people over:)

I chose the backsplash tile because I saw something similar in someone's gorgeous kitchen on Gardenweb (I can't remember the person's name, but I think the tiles were Sonoma Krazy Krackle. I originally chose a similar tile by another manufacturer, but I had problems getting in touch with the sales rep at the tile store, so I ended up going elsewhere, well into the project, and this was the closest match I could find. I have never heard of California Tile either, but I just found the tile box downstairs and it's marked Sonoma Tile. So, I guess it's really just Sonoma Tile. Anyway, although it cost more than the original tile (of course), the tiles are beautiful and thick, so it all ended fine - phew!

As for sugaring up the kids, they do play a lot of it off here, I can assure you (which is why my kids play mostly in the basement, flinging couch cushions around and bopping each other with nerf blasters, etc.:) But maybe I should have them do a few laps around the block before pick-up time...

The chairs are from Ballard Designs and the fabric is made from Sunbrella indoor/outdoor fabric (it's called Arden Black). That means it's pretty indestructible - but I have to admit, I haven't really tested it as we mostly eat in the kitchen. Still, I have two boys, ages 12 and 8, and they have sat and eaten on the chairs, and the chairs still look brand new. They can't be machine washed, but liquids bead up and roll off for the most part, and I've used a sponge to wipe them off.

More later!

i think it's wonderful - not even seeing your old one! you have tons of counter space and cabinet space - yeah!

will check back for other pics posted. i was wondering about the switch plates also... and how do you like your KA dw?

btw - those mag kitchens aren't perfect by any means - lol! I don't think real people use most of those magazine kitchens!

My favorite part is the desk area framed by the cabinets! I think that is lovely, and now may have to add that to my own list....

Great job. Love the family room makeover too!

Amy

Hi, Again -

First, I do like my KitchenAid dishwasher - especially the cool blue lights. It works well, even though I'm afraid to put in truly dirty dishes! I can't recall which model it is, but I can look it up if you want the info.

Second, Etc. - Here are the photos I promised:
More photos of White Fantasy Quartzite than you probably wanted (Is it wrong to be obsessed with this countertop?):

Photos of Lutron Switchplates and Dimmers (I forget the color, but the line is Diva and Maestro - and I got samples and placed them against my backsplash to see if they matched. They did, perfectly - yay!) OK, I also included more photos of candy, because I'm also obsessed with that. Note that the kids are not allowed to touch the apothecary jars, but the penny candy jars are all theirs. Yes, I do laugh at myself:: I think the photo with the apothecary jars shows a good sample of the jet mist granite, too:

Here are photos of the pendant lights and the Hickory Hardware American Diner pulls, knobs and cup pulls. They aren't great pics, unfortunately. The thing that ties the cabinet hardware, pendant lights and kitchen faucet/hot&cold water dispenser together are that they are all satin nickel and they all have "beading" - a row or two rows of banding - at the edges. I hope you can see that in the pics. I do occasionally catch my sweaters on the knobs and pulls, but as I haven't ruined anything yet, I don't mind:

I just realized you can click on the photos to go to my album, where you can see larger version of them, which may be helpful for details.

A few additional thoughts. I debated putting in the outlets on the horizontal, so they would blend in with the subway tile backsplash. Of course, as soon as I made up my mind, I went to tell my contractor, who was in the kitchen, installing the outlets upright. Oh, well. I can definitely live with it (although I had to work very hard to convince him to install the Lutron outlets/switchplates -he thought white was just fine. Silly man!)

Also, although I thought I had thought everything through, using the great advice from everyone here, I'm not happy with my silverware drawers. There aren't enough - really because they are very shallow. I think I should have figured out how to put in at least one or two deeper drawers so I could have put in two layers of silverware, knives, etc.

Also, I thought I was going to have three drawers underneath my cooktop, with the top drawer to be used for untensils. It turned out that I can't use the top drawer at all because of the depth of the cooktop. I'm not sure what I would have done differently, but I wish I could use that drawer!

Anyway, I think that's it for now, until I show you the "before" and the bathroom. Thanks again!

Wonderful kitchen. I love the window seat!

I forgot to answer a few questions.
The White Fantasy Quartzite is holding up well, and I was worried at first. There are a few "etchings" or "scratches" (I thinkf from sliding plates across the island instead of picking them up to pass them), but I think it's like marble in that sense - you don't see it unless you're really looking for it. I'm very pleased with it so far.
As for the laundry room, I'm a bit embarassed to say that I have next to nothing in the cabinets above the washer and dryer! That will probably change, but for now, there's just detergent and dryer sheets... In the tall cabinets, I have dog stuff - food, treats, leashes, a towel for muddy paws - on one side, and I have mops, brooms, dustpans, swiffers, etc. on the other side (where there is an outlet). I think I really could have done one big tall closet, b/c I need more space for the cleaning equipment, but I think I can reconfigure the space so it works out. I also have extra cleaning supplies above that cabinet, and below the sink. More than enough room for everything.

somanychoices - did you / do you treat your quartzite with anything to protect it? If so, what do you use? How often?

Thanks!

Thank you very much for posting more detailed pictures of your White Fantasy quartzite. It is stunning!

I also am curious if you sealed your quartzite. And sounds like scratching/etching may be an issue, but how is it with stains?

My pleasure. The quartzite was sealed, but I don't know what the installer used - nothing unique. My contractor recommended that I re-seal it in about three years. I don't have any staining - although I do wipe things up pretty quickly. I think I overstated the etching/scratching - it's really minor, and I may be the only one who sees it, and I have to really look from a certain angle. I was very concerned about etching/staining, but my I haven't had any problems so far. I still love it.

I keep thinking about having a small prep sink near my cooktop. My kitchen designer talked me out of it, and of course, my kitchen is finished, but I wonder if it's possible to retro-fit a prep sink into a granite counter with cabinets below (I'm thinking to the far left of the cooktop). It's probably an insane fantasy, but I can't stop thinking about it.
Do you think this is possible without completely destroying everything?

Beautiful kitchen!! I am very interested in your family room redo. We have a full wall of brick that we would like to cover along with a fireplace we would like to redo. The window seat - was that covered in brick and then recovered in sheet rock or is that brand new?

That's exactly what we had - a full wall of brick with a brick "bench" that ran the length of that wall, and no windows. So, most of the wall was covered with sheet rock, we had windows put in, the brick "bench" was covered with sheetrock and wood to make a "window seat" and we used stacked slate to create the fireplace surround. I'll try to post before photos this week. Good luck!

I was just happily revisiting this kitchen. Great choices...love the brushed aluminum chairs. Bump bump bump ;)