I'm very sorry I did not answer the questions from the last few years... I've been out of reno mode for a while :) It's probably too late, but here are the replies: @walkin_yesindeed - the vanity finish has held up just fine. However, it's not the original paint. We sanded and re-painted with new Ben Moore bathroom paint. No issues with dampness (we do run the fan for every shower, though.) @kirkhall - I have NOT been happy with the touted un-stainable-ness of the epoxy grout on the floor. I mean, it's better than regular grout, but it didn't stay white no matter how much I cleaned it. It looks fine, since the tile is multi-toned, but it's definitely not still white. The shower grout, however, has held up extremely well. @SparklingWater - I don't recall the demo being terribly difficult, but that may be because I knew what to expect from other parts of the house. It was tile over a dense cement. @MrsD - I think the grout color is standard white. @MayaEoff - Our tub is the standard 30" size.

Well, what a nice surprise to run across this old post! I was just perusing GardenWeb and Houzz as we get revved up for another remodel, when a google search for “sapele kitchens” turned up this, my “almost-done” victory lap post. Please forgive me my moment of sentimentality, but reading through my post and the subsequent comments has me a bit verklempt; we are, as of this writing, only a few days away (probably) from committing to buy a new house, which means leaving this one, and our wonderful kitchen. Much has changed in the 5+ years since this post went up: The backsplash behind the range was installed; the rather wispy red Japanese maple that you can see in our backyard in a couple of the pics above is now pretty robust and magnificent; we had to say goodbye to our beloved boxer a few months back (our “first born”); we have a son, an amazing 16 month old,who has, of course, become the center of our universe; we are working on a sibling for him. With a growing family, and frequent visits from out of town grandparents, we are feeling a bit cramped in the home we thought we would be in long term. We found a new place in a lovely neighborhood, despite Seattle’s current crazy real estate market (after getting absurdly outbid on some places—like over asking by almost 25% of a big asking price in one case). It’s from 1907, was updated in the 70s and 80s, but needs a good overhaul. (I’ve tried to attach a couple of pics of the current kitchen but this interface limits comment size so much (~21k characters) that it seems that photos aren’t going to be an option. I’ll try to post some pics in comments to follow). It has served the current owners well over the last 45 years, but it is time for an update. It’s certainly a first world problem, but it makes me sad to leave our current kitchen after having put so much thought and energy into it, and after it turned out so beautifully. It has been such a joy to spend time in it. But the real reason I started writing this comment: I thought I would right two wrongs that I have just noted while reading through my original, ancient post: I never once acknowledged by name our architect, who played a primary role in bringing our current kitchen to fruition. His name is Andrew Borges, of Rohleder Borges Architecture (http://www.rb-a.net/), and he was fantastic to work with. So much so, that we are teaming up with him again for the next remodel. I never posted any photos of the backsplash behind the range, as I said (above) that I would do. I still really love the tile that we chose—an etched limestone (I think) with a repeating dahlia pattern. As I was looking at Andrew’s firm’s website just now, I realized that he has a pic of our kitchen with the backsplash in view so I have included that here too. Here is a link to the image, in case I can’t figure out how to post it here: http://www.rb-a.net/res-montkit1.html I suspect you’ll hear from me again soon, as I query the collective GW wisdom on this new project. And in 6 months or so, our current home (kitchen included) will likely be hitting the market, just in case any of you might be interested....

I have similar layout with a corner prep sink and I opted to put the faucet in the corner. I mostly always prep on the side opposite the stove (even salads) and that is because the aisle between the island and the refrigerator gets more traffic than the one by the cooktop. I agree to go through motions for both salad prep as well as cooked foods prep. The way I cook I find that I do some prep pivot to cooktop to add, then pivot back to prep next ingredient, etc. hence why opposite the cooktop works better for me. But if I've worked with any raw meat/eggs then I do switch to the other side and prep there so if you can fit it in the corner faucet it gives you that flexibility.

Thanks for the feedback. The landscaping happened three years ago, but I still love it (my wife has a more love/hate relationship with the garden). We've never spent as much time in the back as we would like, but I think that's going to change now that it's more integrated with the house. Certainly our almost three year old is now able to go out back on his own and we can keep an eye on him. I was preparing his lunch today and he asked to go out. When I called him in for lunch he had tomato all over his face from picking the cherry tomatoes off the vine (it's either that or the berries. and in another month the figs). It doesn't get much better than that. Here's the view out the open french doors this afternoon from the prep area. circuspeanut: Yeah, when we decided to switch the large pendant for a ceiling light I wanted to get a matching one from Cherry Tree Designs and was very bummed to find out they don't make them any more. I'm just glad we got our lights back in March rather than waiting until they were ready to be installed last month. We might get one now from Arroyo Craftsman, which has similar designs in metal. As far as the green trim, early on we though that having stained trim in the kitchen might compete with the cabinets, so decided for painted trim (the trim is fir and the cabinets cherry). When the breakfast room trim was finished it was so lovely I really regretted that choice, but the kitchen trim was already primed. My wife and I got many paint samples and considered many different directions for the kitchen trim before picking the color, but in the end we're very happy with it.