Wow! Thanks for all the fabulous pictures so far. mommycooks, I'm so glad that you found the thread and could post. I'm liking that praline color a lot! alexamd, those cabinets are beautiful...and since my floors are oak too, you've got me thinking. What's that stain color? And those pendants are really amazing too. I just keep going back and forth on the white or stained. My kitchen doesn't get a lot of natural light and it's only 13x17'. I'm worried that it's too small to have the wood on wood look, but I want something that's warm and cozy. Do you think that in my small space that it's too much wood?

Hi All! Thanks for the great comments! Brooke - LOL! - Don't you just love it when they get that first burst of defiance? I think that makes you a SWMBO (She who must be obeyed)! Your boys are adorable! My son won't pose for anything lately without making a face -must be an 8 year old (I'm almost 9, Mom!)thing! Or, it's the fact that he is sick of remodeling :-)! And your puppy! One of my best friends named her son Genki - japanese for samurai warrior? I did order samples of a couple pulls, but not sure how they'll look. DH doesn't like cup pulls and not sure about cupboard latches either. Here's the link to the simple pulls I ordered - 2 diff. sizes in old silver finish: http://www.knobs4less.com/Liberty-Kitchen-Cabinet-Hardware/libp10210osc.html Truthfully, I'm not in love with them, but they don't have the drawbacks and foo-fooey details most others do. I also really like the imperfect quality of the finish, look aged. However, I think I'd like to have solid brass with some sort of nickel/silver finish - and, for the price, I'm thinking these are not brass. I did like the look of the marine ice box latch on the other thread.... hmmmm..... I think our problem is we think we can find something different if we keep looking. Truthfully, I found some very expensive ones I really liked, but we need so many, I can't justify the cost to myself. Same problem with lighting! I can't seem to find pendants I like! DH wants something simple. But I sure love your Dining chandelier! I think we just need to get out there and look more, there are certainly options. Problem is, we could go so many different directions. Oh, you will love this! My friend who is the fabricator, sent me an e-mail last week after the slabs arrived at their shop: "I'm going to steal your slabs from the shop and run away....... x K" - she loves the Calacatta too! cpang74 & rhome410 - Thanks - don't hold your breath on Monday, it might take me a few days to get the pics up! pbrisjar - Thanks to you too, I've often read your postings and followed your progress as well! Cute puppies there, for sure! Only 4 more days..... Thanks again all, you have been great support during this fun project!

I am guessing that having the lowers light is a function of wanting to disguise the undesired oak on the lowers, not that you desire the look of lighter lowers. If that's correct, recently someone posted about having gel-stained cabinets to disguise an unattractive grain. I've included one link below. There is a picture of the finished cabinets in an espresso color, and they look beautiful. If that appeals to you, you could then do your lighter cream and glaze for your new uppers. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: gel stain on oak thread

Thanks for the compliments! The red is by Behr and it's called Cinnamon Cherry. We probably went through about a dozen sample jars to find this color. It looks a little too cherry on the sample card, but, up, it's the perfect warm study red. Funny thing, we're now going through the whole process again in search of a red for the kitchen island....! Ugh....