Beautiful kitchen!! I am just starting or should I say 6 months in the designing phase of a remodel. I have changed my mind so many times & very in decisive. I was sure I would go with a contemporary walnut slab cabinet. Changed my mind to white cabinets with the Calcutta marble with a wood island. It is really funny that I ran across your kitchen cause it has the x glass cabinets that I just decided on a few days ago and wood floors. I am meeting with the cabinet maker in a few days to go over the changes. After seeing your kitchen I am now sure I am making the right selections. I just voted for your kitchen, of course, it is the most stunning kitchen!!! Good luck!

Hola everyone - I've been somewhat detached from the forum for awhile but have stopped in recently and was very kindly asked by malhgold to give my two cents on her AWESOME layout. First, let me say that malhgold's patience and persistence to get this right are such wonderful benefits to so many who visit this forum - the moral of the story being, do it right or don't do it at all. Also, rhome and lascatx sharing their insights and suggestions have time and time again demonstrated why this forum is so special and invaluable. You guys are the reason I keep checking in even though my kitchen's been done for 8 months!! :-) Okay, getting on to the kitchen layout and materials (and I know I'll be echoing the thoughts/posts of so many here): - malhgold, you've done an excellent job creating "stations" as we've discussed in the past. Clean up, prep, cooking, eating, storage, self-service for the kids, etc. Kudos to you! - Symmetry is huge for me and for that reason I would not move the stove at all, even if it frees up a little more space for the big sink. - For the black counters, I can only comment on what I have experienced which is honed absolute black (they had just been put in a home that we rented and nearly bought) - I hated them as they showed every little thing and I could never get them clean looking. If the textured black granites don't do that, then great! Otherwise, I'd be inclined to look for a black soapstone and would have no concerns that it would be inconsistent with the modern feel you're going for. - As for the cabinet door styles and finishes, your ID is TOTALLY WRONG and I agree w/ lascatx and rhome. Keep it the way you have it and don't think twice again - what you have planned is what is going to make this "malhgold's" kitchen, a reflection of YOU and your family - not a reflection of a formulaic style or some magazine spread - and it's going to be beautiful to boot :-) - I love the last rendering w/ the open shelves - I think it gives you some neat opportunities there for display and seasonal changes. One thing I would consider is taking them up to the ceiling as high as possible but keeping a frame around them like you show. I don't know if that is a supporting beam there but if not, I'd use the space - it would really heighten the ceiling in the room, give creat visual interest from the dining area and might possibly add one more stack of cabinets over the Advantium. - I also like the idea of a big honkin' butcher block piece for the left of the range to use when you need it and stash it away when you don't. There are some great options in different species out there and you can have one made so that it has a lip over the edge of your counter to make it look built-in. - I know it's probably the software but the tile lines on the range wall are something that need a little more development. However, choosing your backsplash is something to focus on once you get everything else ordered - you may end up w/ a unique tile pattern that will naturally dress that area and create its own flow or you could do a solid slab back there which you could have cut w/ some funky lines from the hood to the windows - nothing to hold you up right now. - For the toaster oven and coffee maker, I really like the idea of having some sort of pocket/recessed door at the little cupboard by the sink. Something with a small roll-out on which both appliances could sit so that they are used right there but never sit on the counter. An ALTERNATIVE would be to do something like is shown at your post at 14:17 on Sunday the 27th where you have one less stool at the main island (I don't think you need to change the counter material here though) - here I would put in more functional cupboard space on one of the island ends (I can't tell from the layout which end would be better but you might have to flip the refrig drawers from the west to the east to make it work) - you could then have a lift or similar in the cabinet under that counter which would hold those appliances for use and storing when you're done. - One last thing I would consider adding is runnels for a natural drainboard on one side of the main clean-up sink (probably the righthand or east side of that sink). All in all, you've done a great job and I love that you found a way to blend that back wall plumbing bumpout with the architectural partial walls between the dining area and the kitchen. I still love the brick wall :-) - one question, are you keeping the FP over there or closing it up?

You got it! Functional runnels, are usually pitched toward the sink, and we like to make them wide enough for you to put your finger in. We think this makes it easier to clean and the pitch speaks for itself. They should not be rough or square, as that would be hard to clean. One more thing to note is that many people use them more on a daily for rinsing fruit or vegetables off. Set the colander right over the runnels and the water stays contained within the runnels. I always say most people buy them for the look (at least I think that way), but they are super functional for a busy life.

I'm feeling pretty good right now as we are just finishing up the minor upgrades of a kitchen we did 20 years ago. Our house is an urban, 1916, primarily prairie style in an upscale neighborhood. My goal all along has been "timeless", and I think I have achieved it. Twenty years ago we put an addition off the back of our then-small kitchen, and we added a first floor powder room. Despite the fact that we (now) have a lovely vintage home, when we moved in our kitchen had dropped acoustic ceiling with brown grids, one major appliance in each of the "Current" colors--bronze, avocado and gold, cabinets that were so cheap the shelves sagged when used, one cabinet that wasn't even attached to the wall, and cheap vinyl flooring. When we put the addition on 20 years ago, we could afford the work to have the addition added, but we couldn't afford to have a contractor do the inside. So, we hired floorers to install thin board maple floors (as are found in many houses in our area), a plumber to do some of the major work, and a cabinet maker to make some replica cabinets for us and to hang the cabinetry. Everything else we did ourselves. We started out doing all of the demo before the addition was put on. The kitchen was sooooo awful that I really enjoyed using that sledge hammer. The change in layout also entailed moving the stairs to the basement, so to cook we spent three months literally swinging down between the rafters to access the fridge and old stove that we'd moved to the basement to be used as a kitchen along with the laundry tub. Because of layout and lot constraints, we ended up with a long and narrow--10' by 30'--kitchen with an eating area at the end furthest from the dining room. I found a kitchen full of 1920s cabinets with the inset drawers and original glass knobs and exterior ball top hinges that were being ripped out from a very large old home whose kitchen was being modernized. $500 for the entire kitchen full of birch cabinets, and there were a lot of cabinets. I designed the kitchen around the various pieces of cabinetry and hired a cabinetmaker to make some additional pieces. I stripped all of the original cabinets of their light gold glaze painted finish and stained both them and the new matching ones a honey color meant to mimic the color those old varnished cabinets so often take on. I also found vintage lights to hang over my sink and down the middle of the room. As a concession to need, we installed a lighted ceiling fan over the kitchen table. Counters were do-it-yourself tiled. 4" squares with contrasting full bullnose edging. Backsplash was white subway which, believe it or not, was not easy to find 20 years ago. I think we got it right because, several years after the kitchen was completed, an out-of-town guest who owned a similar vintage house came in and told me she so regretted doing her kitchen in the all white look that shouted 1980s, whereas mine just felt as though ti belonged. Now fast forward 20 years. Some things about the kitchen are looking a bit tired and need a refresh, but the basics are still very good. I wanted new counters because they'd chipped in places. The old Jenn-air downdraft (top of the line and the latest thing when we did the kitchen) was old and tired. We just finished our minor upgrades (other than still waiting to get the floors refinished), and in my eye the kitchen still fits in perfectly with our old house. We have no island and never did. The workhorse counters are unoiled, matte, charcoal soapstone. The opposite wall, which is more a buffet-type serving or pastry area, is Carrera counters. I found a replacement for the white, cast iron drop in sink with a drainboard that we'd originally installed and had cabinetry built for. So, we put that in despite the fact that everyone uses undermount sinks today. We replaced the old Jenn-air downdraft with a classic open burner SS Wolf we found on closeout as a new model was coming in. It has a 10" riser on the back which tends to mimic those old ranges with high backs. We did need to install a hood for ventilation (and modern codes) and went with a very flattened chimney style Zephyr so as to minimize the visual effect. Even though we hadn't planned to, we needed to replace all of our backsplash. For this I put in a creamy, crazed subway tile with grout that matches. Now our only thought is what to do with some of the appliances that we will slowly replace. When we did the addition remodel we'd gone with white because that color was appropriate to the era of our kitchen, and stainless wasn't yet a thing. As appliances needed replacing, we stuck with white because I hate (or thought I did) stainless. But, something funny has happened now that we have the new stainless range and the new countertops. Our old white appliances now visually seem to be out of place. Perhaps it is because we no longer have the tile countertops edged in white. Despite the fact that I thought I really didn't like stainless, I am now considering putting in stainless as we need to replace other appliances. Or, perhaps keeping a white fridge, getting a dishwasher whose front I could panel and putting in a replacement wall oven/ micro combo in stainless. After having been though this, and having lived with my kitchen for 20 years, my advice to owners of older houses is to shy away from the latest trendy kitchen. Instead install something that is not a true period replica but something that includes modern features and is period appropriate to the era of your house. You'll be able to happily live with it for as long as you live in the house (we've been here 30 years and have no current intentions of moving) and to just do some minor upgrades as necessary without having to face the expense and mess of a major remodel every time the trends change.