Whole kitchen pic

Countertop

This post was edited by maggie530 on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 7:39

Maggie I just love what you've done so far.
I am not so patiently waiting for my simply white shaker kitchen cabs and soapstone counters. My floor is gray slate tile.
I am looking at unlacquered brass for the cabinet hardware.
We used antique doors with the original hardware for the pantry doors and fell in live with the egg knobs. So now just finding what I can afford is my issue.
I'm so old and have had just about all different metal choices in my decorating career, it just seems the oldest looks best this time around.
I might do polished nickel in your kitchen since you have SS and chrome faucets.
I love your soapstone. Which is it and where did you get it?

You can do anything for the backsplash. Marble, or a mult toned mini subway, gray tile?

Thank you for your suggestions! Your kitchen sounds like it will be beautiful. I look forward to seeing it :)

My soapstone is from Creative Soapstone, known on Gardenweb as "Florida Josh." I don't remember the name of it, but it's the most common kind. I love it.

Thanks Ellen, I was hoping that there would be some more specific recommendations. If I can figure out how to post pictures from other websites here, I'll post some of the ones we're considering.

There is a multicolor (but gray) subway tile I've seen somewhere that I like, but didn't know if it would work going around the stainless steel backsplash because it's too close to the same color. Can't decide if I should try to match the stainless or contrast with it. But if I do a white tile there's no contrast with the cabinets.

OK specific. Here's what I had in mind. Google Walker Zanger Mizu Pebb ceramic tiles. They are a light gray with a color variation.

Oh wow, that is gorgeous! Seems to be discontinued, but still a lot of other gorgeous tile on their website. Thank you.

I recently saw the Walker Zanger crackle tiles. They are really pretty. The ones I saw the crackle in it was darker and stood out. You might look at their subway tiles.

How about an arabesque similar to bee's. or you could go to the wild side and do something like Badgergal's but maybe more subtle colors.
Looks stunning so far!

I have nothing to offer advice wise, just wanted to compliment your kitchen! Looks great!!

I love what you have so far, and look forward to more pictures! How large is your island, and what size are your pendants? Are you happy with your aisle ways between fridge, range, and island (how many inches)? I am (still) looking for reassurances on mine.....

Oh, wait, sorry - you were looking for help, not offering it ;)
Ok, do you have other colors nearby that you want to tie in to your kitchen? Your porch ceiling and bedroom walls look gorgeous, a watery blue-gray I think? Something like that could be brought into your b/s. Do you love textures and wish to consider a rough and tumbled marble or silver tavertine, or perhaps a sleek and modern glass? Do you want to add energy and movement to the room with a busier b/s pattern, or keep things serene and neutral?

Do you want double pulls, single pulls, or knobs on your long drawers? I don't think you can go wrong with cabinet hardware from where you are - does glass/crystal do anything for you? I'd go touch and see in a showroom for inspiration.

How about something like Status Ceramics field tiles in Tranquille?

Or marina?
{{!gwi}}
And this is pretty:

Here is a link that might be useful: Status Ceramics

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 9:30

I think bringing a subtle blue into the BS would be lovely. The kitchen is wonderful.

Everything is looking beautiful thus far.

To embed photos from your photobucket, just go to the gear icon on each photo and click Share, then Link, then HTML. Copy and paste that code into your post.

Were you looking to introduce color or did you want to stick to grey or white? Shape and texture is another way to add visual interest. The Arabesque shape or any number of shapes could also work. Or, a small pattern could also work. There are lovely examples on this site or from Artistic Tile.

I have dark grey counters (not soapstone), white beaded inset cabinets and chose a Carrara backsplash and polished nickel HW.

With a relatively large proportion of stainless (the other appliances as well?), I might be inclined to stick with chrome or a lighter polished nickel.

This post was edited by gooster on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 13:21

This is a fun one from Artistic Tile in the Sinuous line:

(Oops, showed up on preview then went away.)
It comes in Ming green, Thassos, and Calacatta colorways. I'd like to see it with an odd tile replaced with a colored glass one, depending upon what colors you use in nearby rooms. It looks like you do not have a huge expanse of backsplash, so you could get away with patterns that might overwhelm in larger areas.

Here, I hope, is a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinuous installation

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 16:24

Thank you to Ellendi and others who suggested a watery blue. I found a local Walker Zanger showroom nearby and was able to take some samples to put next to my soapstone. They have a Loire color in their Tuileries line that I think will be perfect.

For those who asked about dimensions. I believe that my back wall is 13 feet and my island is about 7 feet close to square. I consider the corner between the sink and the refrigerator to be my prep area. The entry next to the fridge is my pantry. I am breaking a rule with space between the fridge and island, but to the left of the pantry there is a beverage refrigerator so there won't be anyone walking to the fridge while I'm there. The space between the sink and range is very wide. I'll get the exact dimensions for both for you.

My pendant lights are gigantic. I think they are 16 or 18 inches wide. I hated them when they went in and now I think they are in perfect proportion.

To a2gemini - I think an arabesque is how we are leaning. Walker Zanger has a gorgeous one in their Tuileries line. The color is called Loire I think.

To those looking at the other photobucket pictures, that's not my house. They were earlier inspiration pics. I do have a wraparound porch that you can see from the kitchen and the ceiling is painted BM Bali, so a blue/green tile would certainly tie the spaces together. I will try to post that picture also.

Oh man, now I love Status Ceramics too! Kitchendetective, I'm going to have to stop by that showroom also.

Oh man, now I love Status Ceramics too! Kitchendetective, I'm going to have to stop by that showroom also.

I am LOVING your kitchen-I think your countertops and cabs are neutral enough to incorporate a glass subway in a light color(pale green or blue)... I think a marble would look good too as would a neutral white ceramic in subway or beveled subway or a fun shape(like bees!).

I can go either way on the hardware issue! I think you should get samples of both and hold them up to see which looks better as I am totally divided on that issue for your kitchen and mine, lol!

Thank you Heidia! I owe it all to Gardenweb. I've been copying other kitchens every step of the way.

To kksmama - my clearances are 39 inches from fridge to island and 51 inches from range to sink. And the pendants are 16 inches across the bottom.

Super helpful, Maggie530, thank you! Looking forward to seeing more pictures as you complete that gorgeous space! Could you share source/brand of pendants? Is the glass frosted, seeded, or ribbed?

It's the Hudson Valley Haverhill pendant in Old Bronze.

Since we are building an entire house, a LOT of my lighting choices were on the less expensive side. I originally had different pendants - I don't remember which brand. But when they came in and we saw the finish, we realized we couldn't skimp on these lights. They are too close to eye level and too close to really nice finishes elsewhere. So we ended up spending more on the pendants.

Really nice! I've shopped light fixtures to the ends of the internet, I don't think this lovely a size and look can really be had for less. Unfortunately.

Here are the two Walker Zanger samples I was able to pick up. I wish that the camera did a better job of capturing the color because they are really pretty with the soapstone.

Very pretty color. To me, the one on the left is more feminine than other elements in your space, which is fine but I think you'd then want to consider graceful pulls, also. The one on the right reads more "classic" to me. Both read more formal/elegant than chunky/industrial. Did you see soibean's lovely kitchen? She struck the right balance of elegant, yet comfortable, that I hope to achieve.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soibean's reveal

You are on the right track. I like the arabesque tiles. On my monitor the color is very light, so that is why you are really the final say in what goes in your kitchen.

kksmama, I agree. While I love both of the tiles, I think both might be too much for my kitchen. The tile store didn't have samples of the other ones that I'm interested in though. In the Tuileries line, there are some square tiles that they pair with a chair rail and then matching subway on top. That's what we're leaning toward at the moment. Thoughts?

I'll try to link you to it. I like Vendome. http://www.walkerzanger.com/collections/products.php?view=mat&mat=Ceramic and Terracotta&coll=Tuileries

Thank you Ellendi. I really appreciate you steering me to Walker Zanger. The color is too light on my monitor too but has much more depth in person.

Here is a link that might be useful: Walker Zanger tile

I figured out how to get a few more pictures into photobucket that have my actual back porch, not my inspiration photo. Again, the color is not really captured with my camera phone. The ceiling is painted BM Bali, which has a lot more green in it than this shows.

And here is the view of the porch from the kitchen. You can see the ceiling color through the transom windows.

And here is the kitchen with some more appliances:

Oh, your kitchen is even nicer framed by the cased opening! And those floors...well, I have to say I've never had a wandering eye since choosing my own floors - until now.
I hope I didn't discourage your b/s choices, I'm in no way qualified, talented, or experienced in such matters. If you find something you love, I'm sure it can work with the elements you've already placed and the few remaining decisions. Maybe consider doing a mission statement for your b/s (and/or pulls) as the end of the Sweeby test suggests?

Here is a link that might be useful: sweeby test

I love the Tuileries line in both the Rivoli and Vendome patterns. I considered both for my kitchen. The Loire has a beautiful depth to it, and it should pair very well with your soapstone. I also like the arabesque, which definitely has less pattern to it, if you are concerned with that.