Well done! congrats. it's such a wonderful transformation. The kitchen is ENORMOUS now! very pristine - love it!!

What a wonderful kitchen and living space. I love that you have
so much seating, it really turned out great, congratulations!
vic

Fabulous kitchen! I love how you incorporated so many shapes, textures and angles...it makes for a really pretty kitchen but also such an interesting and sophisticated one from a design standpoint...it's great to look at again and again!

GORGEOUS !!!

What a transformation, from a color deprived environment to a classy, spacious one. The new windows are a huge improvement over the old bay window. All the details tie together very nicely, and the kitchen fits so much better with the rest of the house!

Enjoy!

Holy Cow - that original kitchen was a stark, scary space!

But, the new space is so beautiful, warm and classic! I agree about the design "tension" it's perfect!

Awesome!

Thanks so much for the compliments. I know there is a lot going on in my kitchen (lots of materials with different colors/shades) so I figured it would be too much for most folks. The comment about it being 'pristine' kind of made me laugh. I do like things rather sparse & I am not one to accessorize.

Here are some answers to questions in totally random order. My house was built in 1936 & the kitchen & back room addition were done in the 1980s. My cabinets are by Brookhaven and I am thrilled with them. The door style is Edgemont recessed panel for the perimeter and Edgemont raised panel on the island. My builder pushed a custom cabinet guy whose quote was $10K higher than the Brookhaven, but I went with Brookhaven because I saw it installed & loved the quality. Also, my builder was able to do some built-ins for me in the backroom that matched the cabinets really well. The door style on the built-ins is called ogee-edged recessed panel. The builder also did a hidden door in my peninsula (that looks like beadboard wainscoting) that accesses the back of one of the kitchen cabinets for me to hide all my electronics in (computer, router, printer, etc). Here is a pic of the backroom built-ins even though it is totally un kitchen-related:

The backsplash is from Virginia Tile I didn't even look at it when I ordered the tile because it was brand new & Virginia Tile didn't have it in stock yet and I had taken so long picking out a perfect off-white subway tile that my husband rejected that I just didn't care anymore.

I had another hood picked out from a different manufacturer, but I couldnÂt get it delivered in time & ended up with a smaller CFM model from Vent-A-Hood that I am very happy with. I bought it from a local metro-Detroit store that also sells on the web (Witbeck Appliance). The model is PRH9-136SS (9" tall & 36" wide).

The angled step to the back room is there because there is a screened in porch attached to the backroom and we didnÂt want to mess with the door there. So in order to expand the kitchen but keep the access to the porch we did the angle. When we started building we found out the existing addition had issues & we had to tear the whole thing out (and the wall with the door to the porch), so we could have reworked the step, but we just left it pretty much as designed. Instead we changed the single door to a double door & made the backroom addition a few feet deeper!

So far the only thing I donÂt like about my new kitchen is the fridge & dishwasher, so I am thrilled overall with the new space.

redroze - are you still searching for stools? Sometimes I'll wait months (or longer) until the right piece strikes me, so keep looking if you haven't found them yet! My husband REALLY did not want those stools, but now he loves them.

Very,very nice!! Love everything that you did and especially that little baby on the counter. She must be looking for you to open that window for her!

Your title says "off white" kitchen so what color Brookhaven cabinets did you go with? The stool side of you peninsula is really lovely. Did your carpenter use anything from Brookhaven to make that wainscoting or is it something he did all on his own? If so, did he have any problems matching the paint?

One last question!! What is the size of the upper cabinet to the right of the oven and the upper glass cabinet across the room? Looks like you didn't have any problem with the shelfs lining up with the grill on the glass doors. Very nice!!

Thanks for your help. You have a beautiful kitchen!!

zoey - thanks! My Brookhaven cabinets are Eggshell on Maple for the perimeter & Cognac on Cherry for the island. My builder suggested color matching the wainscoting & window seat built-ins to the cabinets, but I found a paint color that was so close I didn't want to risk a bad color-matching...SW 6119 Antique White. The painters used a satin finish & sprayed it on so the texture & sheen matches the cabinets perfectly. Also, the carpenter didn't do anything special for the wainscoting. We just drew it all out on the wall & then he built it on site except for the doors which were made back at the shop.

Brookhaven upper cabinets are deeper than most I think. Including the doors, all the uppers are 14" deep. I read on here about shelves not lining up with mullions, so I was sure to figure out what I wanted before I ordered my cabinets (I think I even lost sleep over the decision). I could have had 3 movable shelves or 2 fixed shelves that lined up with the grills. I wanted the 3 for more space, but my hubby insisted on the fixed so that was that!

Thanks Anne! I saved a picture of your peninsula to my favorites so when my time comes I can show it to my carpenter.

I see your old kitchen was white white. What was your thought process on going the eggshell instead of the white. I know this must be a weird question, but I have always wanted a WHITE kitchen, but am liking the creamy white more and more. I just can't decide!

Also, would you tell me the width of those two cabinets I asked about? I can see where my question before was confusing. I have a space where I am deciding on two large doors or three smaller ones.

My Brookhaven KD refuses to put the drawer pulls in the middle of the drawer. He claims the middle isn't strong enought to support the pull. I want it as you have it. Did you hear anything about this or is this just my KD pushing his preference on me?

Thanks again.

zoey - I am so glad you asked about the drawer pulls because I just looked at mine & I think they may cause problems the way they are installed. I looked at the drawings my Brookhaven KD did & she had some drawer pulls in the middle & others along the top edge of the drawer. I think it's this way because some drawers are slabs (usually the top ones) so the box touches the entire drawer front so it doesn't matter where the pulls are located. The deeper or larger drawers have panels so the drawer front only touch the drawer box along the edges of the panel. By installing the pulls in the middle, my drawer front is being pulled in. Since I didn't use Brookhaven pulls, I had my carpenter install ones I bought & the question obviously didn't come up, but now I see it's an issue. One of my pantry doors is warped, so when it comes in my KD's carpenter will come to install it & I will have him look at how the pulls were installed. It certainly seems do-able to center all of them. It just seems like you need a spacer in there or something.

Here is the inside of a top drawer (with slab drawer front):

Here are a couple views of a bottom drawer (you can see where the handle is attached that the panel on the drawer front is pulled in - yikes):

My two glass front cabinets are 24" wide each. They are separate cabinets & I had to specify how they should open (left or right hinge). The upper cabinets next to the oven are 42" wide and were ordered as one unit.

For the cabinet color, I had to compromise with my husband. He absolutely did not want white since our last 2 kitchens were white formica (not by our choice). Since I wanted white, we compromised with an off-white (really I compromised since he was still protesting up until the kitchen was completed - now he loves them). I let him pick the island color since he put up such a fuss about the off-white (I wanted something more towards dark brown).

I would look at all the pics in your inspiration file and see if you are picking more whites or off-whites also. In my area, I am seeing folks move away from the off-whites, creams, etc. & more toward the white whites. Good luck & thanks for asking me that drawer pull question!

Thanks Anne, for taking the time to answer all my questions. You have been a big help and especially taking the pictures of the drawers. I'm with you on thinking that spacers will solve the problem.
Your Edgemont door style is the one I had choosen so it was nice to see my choice is going to be perfect. I just love your island and table. That was genius!!! Such a perfect use of that space.

zoey - I just spoke to my Brookhaven KD & she didn't have any issues with me putting the drawer pulls in the middle. I also just saw a pic of a beautiful white, white kitchen & was thinking it would have been nice to go really white...oh well, too late for me!

Thanks Anne for the update. Are you going to put spacers in or leave as is or even possibly back the screw out a little?

So easy to second guess on the color issue, but in my opinion you made an excellant choice!!! I was looking at your pics just this morning and.....wishing. I am going to wear them out!

I love your kitchen!! We were going to try to do a two-tier island/table, but our space wasn't quite big enough. I love how it looks and I'm sure you'll enjoy using it (off to check out your source for chairs!)

loving your island! I sent you an email from GW, but not sure if you will get it. So, would you mind sharing the dimensions of your island? We have an eat-in kitchen in our 140 yr old home. The kitchen is basically unfitted. All cupboards are freestanding. I have been playing with the idea of an island in the center to give me the counter/prep space I lack, but really don't want to give up the kitchen table. Your island just might be the solution if we have enough room.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Marylu

annekendo,
Your remodel is gorgeous. I am considering marble on a stained island and I was wondering now that you have had it for a month, how you like it? Could you share how you sealed it and what you used? Thanks - Linda

annekendo-
Sorry if the answer is already here someplace - I scrolled through but didn't see it...would you mind sharing where you got both the chairs and the stools? I like the low backs on the stools, and how it looks like the chair backs don't take up much walkway space.
I meet with a KD tomorrow and am proposing an island/table combo similar to yours....love it!

Ack! So sorry, never mind! I see the source for the chairs and stools right at the beginning!

what a nice job, congratulations and good luck! i love everything about it, but i'm a sucker for white cabs and beautiful marble!

Annekendo, yes we ended up getting the original brown leather and chrome stools that we loved and they look just perfect.

I can totally relate to you on the "pristine" comment, I also feel the need to have as few accessories as possible. I'm constantly adding a piece here and there, then editing because any type of visual clutter drives me bonkers. My mil said there wasn't enough stuff on the counters and that it looked like nobody lived at our home!! LOL But then DH said he went to her place a week later and she said that seeing our kitchen made her realize her kitchen was too cluttered, and that she was going to tuck some things away.

Annekendo, your kitchen is amazing!

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.

I love the look of the soapstone countertops and the marble island/table - how do you like the marble for daily use?

Also, would you mind telling me the dimensions of the table that you attached to the island? I'm trying to get a feel of how long it should be if there was a chair tucked in at the end.

Thanks so much!

mary_lu  we love our island / table combo. It is very tight because we didnÂt have a ton of room to work with, but I got the prep space I wanted & my hubby got his farmhouse table. Here are some of the specificsÂ

My island: 21" sink base, 21" cabinet, 13" deep bookcase & 1" decorative panel on the end for a total of 56" of cabinet base. The marble top is 58" w x 27.5" d.

My attached table is 56" long x 36" wide. We planned for the marble table top to be either 60" or 64" long (I canÂt remember now) but we shortened it once we taped it all out on the ground & decided we didnÂt want it sticking out too far into a major walkway. Those extra 4 or 8 inches would have made a big difference because the table is very tight since one side is up against the back of the island cabinets.

Here was my inspiration for the island/table combo (I just noticed my chairs are similar to these ones but I had my chairs before I ever saw this pic!):

riverhouse  I am not loving my marble at the moment but everyone else on the forum with honed marble seems to love theirs. I used an enhancing sealer on my marble counters & backsplash to bring out the color a little more. It is called 511 Seal & Enhance. I also followed up the initial 2 coats of sealer with another sealer called Â511 Porous Plus which is made by the same company & highly recommended. I donÂt know if I messed things up by using both products, but I see spots all over the island (none on the table). These are not stains, but either dull or shiny spots where the surface is not the same sheen. IÂll probably start a new thread next week asking for help with this problem if I havenÂt gotten it cleaned up by then.

americancollen  Hopefully, I answered a couple of your questions above. Your table would need to be much bigger than mine to fit a chair on the end. My table is very tight with just 4 chairs right now. I am ok with the size since we eat breakfast & lunch at the kitchen table & dinner (or brunch) in the dinning room. I would check out some dimensions online (maybe Pottery Barn?) and see if they show tables with a chair on the end. I like the marble but I already put a big ding around the prep sink when I dropped a heavy ceramic bowl & I am having problems with the sheen of the honed finish but so far no staining & it is nice to roll out dough, etc on it.

Thanks so much for replying with the details. I really appreciate it! Also love your inspiration picture, thanks for posting that too. Now I need to get my tape measure out! :-)

Love your kitchen! I have to decide between eggshell and white myself.

Im wondering how your marble backsplash is holding up. Are you having any issues with it like you are with the counter?

Also, can you tell me the size of the cabinets you have flanking your range hood?

Thank You!

Anne -- thank you for taking the time to answer my question about your marble. I am sure it will turn out alright. Your kitchen is wonderful.

I love the look of marble for my island, but not sure.

twogirlsbigtrouble - My backsplash is doing fine. I think what I am getting on my counters is called etching & since all the marble is honed I didn't think I would get etching. Maybe I got confused about the etching not showing as obviously on honed as it does on polished marble. I dropped a dollup of labne (a middle eastern cheese spread made from yogurt) on the marble today & wiped it up immediately & one of those dull circles appeared right where the spill had been. This will make me crazy. Sorry for the rant - to answer your other question, the cabinets on either side of the hood are each 18" wide. Also, I only put in a 36" wide hood for my 36" wide cooktop. I read that you should make the hood a little wider (maybe 2" on each side), but I am not a big cook (more of a baker), so I just kept them the same size. My entire cooktop wall is only 186" and I wanted room for the new windows instead of the vent hood.

Beautiful Kitchen!
I was wondering about the marble & how it's holding up. Such a porous stone, I'd be afraid of staining. Keep us informed on how it holds up.
I love it, though!

Here is a link that might be useful: granite countertops

Hi Anne:

Your kitchen is still one of my favorite inspiration kitchens! I'm about to commit to marble for my island --- wondered how you are making out with your honed carrera? I looked at some slabs yesterday - I forgot how COLD marble is :-) I just love it though.

americancolleen - I'm so glad you like my kitchen. I am still not loving the etching on the honed carrara but my husband insisted on the carrara & he is happy. He is the cook in the family & he really abuses it. Although he uses a cutting board, he will have sliced lemons, tomatoes, etc sitting on the counters after he has cut them, so I guess we are asking for etching. There are no stains, just the sheen differences which I haven't been able to fix. I do love my table/island combo though & if I had to do it again I would get the carrara because I can't think of another counter material that would work there.

If you love carrara you should go for it. I love the look & the feel, just not the dull spots all over the counter. Good Luck.

I LOVE seeing your kitchen again and since your here........You said the glass cabinets to the left of your sink are two 24 inch cabinets. What was the reason/benefit on ordering two cabinets instead of one 48 inch cabinet? Also, I can't tell from the photos if you have the end panels on your cabinets.

Thanks you for your help!!

Amazing !

Here is a link that might be useful: Buy Stones Onine

zoey_neohio - I didn't know I was ordering one cabinet vs two for any of the upper cabinets. I just knew the width & that they both had 2 doors & it wasn't until they arrived that I noticed they were different. I don't know that it matters much, I just wanted to point it out to you in case it does matter to you. Also, I only have end panels on the end of the peninsula & on one side of the island (the other side has a bookshelf). I would take more photos, but my memory stick is full at the moment. Let me know if you need to see more pics. I am trying to accessorize my counters a bit currently, so when I see those old photos they do seem rather stark. I am not going overboard since I hate clutter...just a fiestaware fruit bowl, a vase of tulips & my son's science experiment (bean plant). You'll be so happy when your kitchen is all done & you only have to worry about things like picking out a color for a fruit bowl!

"You'll be so happy when your kitchen is all done & you only have to worry about things like picking out a color for a fruit bowl!"

--- NO KIDDING! This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Life could be a lot worse though :-) I just wish I had the ability to make up my mind and stick to it and stop second guessing everything. Anyway, I thank you for being so good about giving your opinion on the marble. At least I know what to expect.

All I can say is thank God for the day I googled 'kitchen cabinet ideas' and came across this forum.

Your kitchen is wonderful - one of the four kitchens on garden web that I covet !

Your kitchen is incredible! I love the combo island/table. (Much nicer than your inspiration photo!).

I know you are not yet 100% finished but may I archive your kitchen in the Finished Kitchens Blog? We can always modify the text and/or photos later if you have changes.
If so then please submit the FKB Category Checklist so I can easily categorize your kitchen.

Thank you!!

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB Category Checklist

I am considering using Honed white Carrara marble for our island. Are you happy with yours? We are still unsure and nervous about going with it after being told by many fabricators not to use marble in the kitchen.

Wow. Don't know how I missed this kitchen when you first posted, but I did. All I can say at this point is ditto, ditto, ditto to all the thumbs up, 5 stars and woo hoos you've been getting! You have a very, very lovely kitchen which no doubt you're enjoying. Congratulations!

bkatz - I am still not loving my honed carrara but my husband likes it (he better since he insisted on that surface). The etching really bothers me. Everyone on this forum seems to love their own honed carrara, so you may not want to listen to me. I think it would hold up much better on the perimeter rather than on my very abused island where my husband does all the prep work & drips things like lemon juice, olive oil, tomato sauce & vinegar on a daily basis.

I just took a pic of the etching that I have on my honed carrara island. You can't see this when standing at the counter looking down, but you can see it when you stand back and the light reflects off the surface (which is pretty much the view from everywhere else in the kitchen)

I absolutely love your kitchen. The style and color of the cabinets are great. I am leaning towards Brookhaven. Could you let me know whether your cabinets are their frameless line or the regular face frame?

Thank you so much and your kitchen is truly an inspiration.

Tina

What a stunning transformation! I could hang out in that kitchen no problem. The counters and island are my favorites - soapstone and marble. The look is incredible. Like you I'm am bothered by etching and may only go with one piece on a perimeter. Are you getting any more used to it by now?

buffalotina - sorry for the late reply but I have been focused on my landscaping now that the addition is done. My cabinets are frameless & that is one of the reasons I chose them.

swickbb - Thanks...my kitchen seems so much warmer than the pics I posted now that I have accessorized a little. I still don't love my marble...but I found a company who did repair work on my new travertine floor & they suggested that they could re-hone the marble counters to make them a little less shiny so the etching doesn't show as much. I haven't done it yet because I still have other work to do on the house (like new built-ins & fireplace in the LR) before I start re-doing the new things. Plus they are getting so much abuse by my husband I am waiting to see if all the etching blends together into one big "patina" look

I LOVE your kitchen. I will be showing my hubby so see how awesome a white kitchen is!! I am new to garden web - and your kitchen is almost the same as the one I've been dreaming of!! I have been thinking the same style brookhaven cabinet as well as those funky crate n barel stools. Too fun. You did a great job!
Do the seamm or where the wood seperates ever bother you? Do you notice scuff marks on the bottom cabinets? How do you clean them? Brook haven supposed to have an excellent finish are you pleased? What color white - I just love it! I have been thinking Alpine? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

janicecarolyn - Thanks! My Brookhaven cabinets are Eggshell on Maple for the perimeter. It is a very close color match to SW '6119 Antique White' which is what we used to paint the custom-made built-ins near the kitchen. My husband didn't want a white kitchen, but he loves it now that it is done. I haven't had a problem with scuff marks or with any seams/separations in the wood. I just wipe the cabinets down with a damp sponge or paper towel now & then & they clean up fine. I am really happy with the quality of the finish & wouldn't hesitate to recommend Brookhaven. Good luck!

Your kitchen is just beautiful. I am trying to figure out a way to fit table-height dining into our kitchen remodel and this is a great idea. Would you mind sharing the dimensions of the room, wall to wall? I am having a hard time trying to figure out if it will all fit. Thanks!

belle_phoebe - my kitchen is about 15' 8" along the cooktop wall & 16' 8" along the fridge wall (wall to wall). It seems bigger because most of the walls are opened up but it is a pretty small space. Even though the architect had it all drawn out on paper, I did a real life mock up to help figure out if it would really work. I used tape to mark off where the cabinets & walls would be & where the island would be in a different room. Then I brought in 4 chairs & figured out how the space would work. We ended up needing a little more room which we borrowed from the adjacent addition. The space is tight, but we like it that way!

I'm madly in love with your flooring. Could you give me some more information on color, etc?

Gorgeous kitchen!

Thank you!

Beautiful kitchen! I feel a *pang* of jealousy since you are able to have two areas of seating, and I can't even squeeze one in mine! Love it, enjoy it, and share much food with family and friends.

natashak - My flooring in the kitchen & backroom is Castelinna Blend travertine & I love it. I think the 4-piece random pattern we used is similar (or the same) as a Versailles pattern. Sizes are 8x8 (10%), 8x16 (10%), 16x16 (38%) and 16x24 (42%). The tile company (Virginia Tile) gave me a sheet for the tile installer with the pattern for the layout. Just so you know - it is pretty pricey stuff but I think it is worth it. This floor cost about $4500 more than if we did an oak floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Tile

I love your kitchen! We are also going with the Brookhaven cabinets, except with the inset Lewisburg door in antique white. We are also planning on having a contrasting island and are having a hard time narrowing a stain color. The color that we really love in Wood Mode is in maple only, so I am wondering what kind of wood and color stain is your island. I know it is hard to tell sometime of the exact color from a picture, but we do like what you have. Thanks!