In regards to sinks, I originally went with stainless 3 yrs ago, and have since upgraded to a Silgranit in black. Best thing I could have done! Love it!

In regards to faucets, we insalled a Price Pfitzer at the same time as the stainless sink. They offer great designs but functionally, IMHO they're JUNK! We went with a Moen pull down faucet and it's wonderful!

Refrig, I have a side by side, but when we get a new one, it will be a French door. I've read many positive posts regarding them and can't wait for my side by side to die!

That's my two cents, and if you do a search for each of the items you listed, you'll find all kinds of feedback! Good luck!

Well, your choices in sink and refrigerator will be narrowed down depending on what size cabinets they're going in. Also your budget.

Pendant light choices will depend upon the style of your kitchen, your ceiling height, where they are being installed. Over an island? What size island?

Faucet and cabinet hardware will depend upon what type of finish you prefer and again, budget. Also, do you want a pull-down or out faucet or a separate sprayer?

Really concider the look you are going for. In fact you should let us know color of cabinets. Erikanh has some great points to concider. When we first ripped out cabinets I was dead set on quartz countertops and mosaic glass backsplash and am now looking at soapstone and subway tile. Talk about completely different. At first I wanted more contemporary and now I wan't more traditional. It took 4 weeks of running aroung and gathering samples and I am sure glad I started early or I would have chosen one of my first choices. Good luck

I am exactly in the same place almost with decisions (but my cabinets arrive in a week). Hardware, sink, and lights.

Can I hijack a bit here and ask lukkriirish about the Silgranit sink. Do you have other stainless appliances and how does it look altogether?

Thanks!

I am doing an off-white shaker style cabinet (KM Huntington in Bisque) with soapstone countertops (not sure yet, but probably Julia). I should have been more clear with my request - I should have said *mechanical* considerations. I'm pretty set with my choices for style, going for that sort-of farmhouse feel - ORB finish on cab hardware, faucet, accessories - probably on the lighting too. I'm going to have a black counter depth french door refrigerator (probably the GE Profile, but haven't ordered that yet).

So, one of my questions, for example, is the faucet - some are 1 hole, 3 hole, etc. What is that about and should I care? With the sink - I think I am going with an acrylic undermount, but I could go overmount - I've read some of the threads, and I guess it's just a matter of preference and that undermount is the style right now. If I did go overmount, what about the holes? Does the number have to match my faucet?

The pendant lights are going over a peninsula - 3 way angle, so not linear, but I'd say it's about 5'? I'll have a pendant over each section, I have standard 7.5' ceilings - do I need to consider anything special about how they will hang? What about bulbs? Do they usually need special bulbs, or will any regular icandescent or flourescent do as long as they are in the correct wattage.

I just don't want to order all this stuff and then have GC say that there is some problem or issue with it that now I have to scramble to get something new that will work in order to get the job done, IYKWIM.

Fridge:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&productId=100665704&navFlow=3&keyword=pfcf1nfybb&langId=-1&searchRedirect=pfcf1nfybb&storeId=10051&endecaDataBean=com.homedepot.sa.el.wc.catalog.beans.EndecaDataBean%4036d82bc5&ddkey=Search

Sink (maybe):
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=193388-73020-32092&lpage=none

Faucet (maybe):
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=80530-330-5314TMY&detail=cr&lpage=none
Interestingly, it's the Price Pfitzer, but only because it's the only one the features that I like. I also like this one:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=274207-72981-P99596-OB&lpage=none

Hardware (probably - waiting for a sample):
http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1278090&navCount=1

Pendants, the most expensive one:
http://www.lightinguniverse.com/products/view.aspx?sku=1565969
I also saw something a lot like it at Lowes today for $19 - I cannot find it on-line, but it was in the store.

Sorry for all the links in here.

Hi Lynne,

I think we are on about the same time frame :-). My cabinets are arriving in mid-June, so I have just gone through figuring out the sink, faucet, water filtration system, etc. The faucet choices are truly overwhelming and I fretted over making that decision!

I am going for a similar look with my kitchen and I chose a farmhouse stainless steel sink (under $600 from overstock.com), a Kohler Vinnata pull-down faucet, a Kohler soap dispenser, and the Kohler Wellspring faucet. From what I've gathered here on the forum, the pull-down seems to be popular because it only requires one hole to be drilled in the counter top as opposed to three holes for a traditional faucet. Because I wanted a soap dispenser and a water filtration faucet, I didn't want to drill another two holes for the faucet.

In my research, the Price Pfister faucet has a great price point, but I wasn't impressed by its quality in person. One can really get crazy with faucets and there are some beautiful ones in the market, i.e., the Perrin & Rowe faucets. So, the first decision to make on the faucet is as follows:

* one hole, two holes, or three holes
* pull-down or side spray
* finish: stainless, brushed nickel, ORB, etc.

sink decision:

* one or two bowls
* material: stainless, copper, silagranite, fireclay, etc.

I don't anything about the link you linked to above at Lowes.

I decided to match the faucet with the sink finish, more or less (I chose BN to go with the SS farm house sink).

There are a million decisions, huh? Good luck!

Karen

Hey, thanks Karen - it will be great to check in with you to compare progress!

I was looking at the price-pfister was because it has two handles, which I want because that's what we have now, and I'm actually trying to minimize change where I can. Does it mean more holes if you want two handles? I am ok if I don't get a pull down spray, I found this one at AJ Madison: http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/42816RB.html
but it's not a brand with which I am familiar - Gerber. According to websites, they usually distribute direct to plumbers. Also, this one says 4 holes! I don't know if SS fabrication will start charging me for extra holes??

I only have room for a single bowl sink (27" base), which is what we have now, so I'm ok with that - the new sink will be a good inch deeper than current sink. Our current sink was like a $40 stainless from HD, and it's really been fine. I remember the HD guy telling us that there was no difference between the $29 (that's as low as they went) and the $150. I'm sure if you are really into sinks, you could tell, but we don't know the difference.

I hope I don't screw it up too badly!

I just went through this whole fiasco, here's what I learned:

1. Sink - if you're going overmount, yes, you need to match the number of holes your faucet has to the number of holes your sink has (if they're pre-drilled.) So make a choice about one or the other first, then buy the other one to fit. If you're going undermount, you can choose whatever faucet you want with as many holes as you want, since they'll be drilled into your counter top.

2. Faucets - with the above consideration in mind, get whatever you like. Some people like pull outs, some pull downs, some neither. Do whatever you want.

3. Pendant lights - most lighting requires the same standard installation bracket or whatever the electricians call it. If you know where you want them placed, just tell them where to run the electrical for however many pendant lights (you need to at least know that) and you can decide later what you want. At least around here anyways, it's probably the same for you. Lighting manufacturers have the standard mounting bracket they fit into. The age of your house might change this however, but if you're running all the electrical new, it should be fine. Just ask your contractor, they should know if you need to worry.

4. Fridges - the biggest thing I can think of is water. If you need water run for your fridge you better know that before the plumber shows up. Other than that, they need an electrical outlet and you're good to go.

5. Hardware - get what you like. They drill holes in the cabinets to fit.

I'm no expert, but that's what I've learned so far.

Oh, and don't overlook the electrical switches and plugs. I didn't specify placement when my contractor started and had to get him to modify a couple things (placing an outlet in my pantry, for instance.) It's good to have those details thought out beforehand.

If you don't specify, they'll just do whatever they do 'standard' so if you have something in mind, make sure they know. They're not psychic...I have pow-wows with him every morning before I leave for work to make sure things are going the way I want. We talk over every minor detail of that day's work, and it's been invaluable.

Also, don't be scared to call and ask. The lighting thing was confusing for me too as I didn't know if there were any special considerations I'd need to make. One 3 minute phone call to my contractor put me at ease.

Good luck on your reno!

Hi Lynne,

My sink doesn't have pre-drilled holes, so I will need to have the granite fabricator drill holes in the granite for the regular faucet, water filtration faucet, and the soap dispenser. Some of the more traditional faucets have two handles so that would require two more holes, which I didn't want, so I went with the Vinnata, which requires only one hole.

I had to decide whether I liked the traditional looking faucet, which I consider to be the 2-handle faucet or go with a more modern all in one rendition: one handle and pullout in a single spout.

Since you seem to like the two handle operation, you might want to look at the Moen Vestige. I found it to be good looking and I almost bought it. It comes in several finishes.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Moen Vestige

Your sink is any style you like.

If you go with stainless than it really should be 18gage min. or better yet 16gage. The smaller the number the better the grade of SS. Mine was a double bowl,9" deep, 16gage, brushed finish with sound proofing. I ordered it, I think the web site was Mysinksandfaucets.com.

My faucet is a pull out, no soap dispencer, basic stuff.

We are remodeling as well, and I chose the "Kohler Executive Chef". It's double sided, undermount...absolutely perfect with the granite. It's very large.

I personally don't like stainless steel for sinks because they always show spots and I just don't like the coldness of the look; so we are going with a "bisque" color ceramic(a creamy white) to match our cabinetry.

After much research on refrigerators, we decided on a 36" Miele bottom freezer. It's personal taste, and of course...if you have the budget, get what you like! All of our other appliances are Viking, except we went with the new Miele washer/dryer. Can't wait for all!

As far as the faucets...we're leaning toward the KWC pull down, but am still looking. Once again...you have to get out there and see what you like, do a little research as to pros and cons...but everyone is different with their needs.

With regard to cabinet hardware...we fell in love with some dark knobs and handles at Restoration hardware. Have been looking around, and all are in the same range $8.00-10.00 a piece, so there are no quality bargains out there. My feeling is that when you're going to live with these items for maybe 10-20 years, you may as well go for the best, if you can! If you settle just to save $5,000...over time..you will have wished you didn't. good luck and happy remodeling.