It is confusing to set up a new kitchen because of all the choices and all the different but equally beautiful outcomes. Take the time-it may be many months-to get a vision that feels right. Start by looking at lots of pictures of different kitchen-there's a bunch at houzz.com and http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/. Save the ones you both like and would coordinate with the rest of your house's style (modern, traditional, etc.) I wouldn't worry about coordinating with colors in the living room-at least not yet. Set those saved kitchen pics aside for a couple of weeks and look at them again. Don't be surprised if some of the pics no longer thrill you. Take a better look at the kitchens that made the cut. What do they have in common? Are they all bright and cheery? Or maybe dark and rich in deep tones? Do you find yourself drawn to the graining of wood or to the uniform surface of paint? Uniform counter surface or lots of movement? At this point, you'll probably have narrowed it to a handful of choices. Not too bad. So, layout is next. The room will dictate most of that. Your budget will also influence the layout-changing plumbing and electric locations cost more money. The folks here are very good at pinpointing pitfalls of designs and reworking them into something more functional. With layout completed, time to pick the cabinets and granite. I think most folks pick out the cabinet color first since it occupies the vertical surfaces and dominates the room. Then take a sample of the cabinet color with you to select the granite. Note: there will be stunning graintes that you just love but won't look great with your cabinet. Keep looking-you'll know it when you find "the stone". Do keep an open mind-don't shop with a list of names since they vary from yard to yard. Take pictures to help remember, but realize that colors may not photograph "true." A few caveats. Do determine a budget ahead of time and try to stick to it. It's real easy for a more modest remodel to snowball into a total gut job. Don't be persuaded into buying gadgets/appliances you don't need. Do consider the impact of your choices on resale value. Are you willing to decrease resale potential to go with unpopular choices (like black counters with black cabinets)? Even if you have no plans to sell, life throws curveballs. There have been many posts here of "forever" homes being sold within 5 yrs of remodeling. However, it is your kitchen; in the end, it's your preferences that count.

Hi Erika, First, I love your design ideas and layout. The mix of surfaces is great (definitely not too many) and very similar to what I'd like to do. I do think your sink should be centered under the window, especially if you are concerned about it now you will not be happy when it is installed. We obsessed about this in the design phase of our new kitchen so much that we added a third window to that wall to be able to center our clean-up sink under it. My layout is similar to your's with the long island, although my sink (centered under my 3 windows) would swap places with your range. I have a lowered baking center in the same place as your butcher block area. So instead of moving the placement of your large sink - For your prep sink, have you considered putting it at the other end of your island? It might be nice to have a sink down at that end of your kitchen, for entertaining, serving drinks. I think it would look great down near your hutch as kind of a "bar" sink. I don't see where your fridge is but it's always nice to have a sink close by. And a sink at that end would be great for use as a "prep" sink for washing veggies etc for that extra person (guest or not). That extra person would then not be bumping into anyone near the clean-up or cooking center. Your larger sink (I call mine the clean-up sink) seems close enough to your baking center (which I also have in the exact location) and easy enough to turn around to get that measuring cup of water you need for your recipe or to pop a batter bowl into the sink for washing. At least that is my thinking for what would work for me. And did you also say you have a chef's sink close to the range. Sounds like a lot of sinks in that end of the kitchen, it would be nice to put one at the other end. Just my thought anyway, you need to do what works for you and the way you cook, prep, and entertain. On the mix of surfaces - I loooove it. So many KD and "cabinet people" I talked to told me similar things like "it looks like you couldn't afford it all at once" etc. I told them the point is to make it look like I did not get this brand spanking new kitchen all at once. I want it to look like it has evolved over time. I know that doesn't work for everyone but you need to do what you want, not someone else. I am mixing cabinet colors (painted periphery cabinets, stained cherry island) and also mixing door styles as well. My take is if the island is different (i.e. stained cherry) it might have been from a different time period than my wall and base cabinets around the kitchen periphery. I have seen kitchens like these and they are truly beautiful and very period looking. Hope this is helpful to you. Everyone needs to do what works for them. I can't wait to see your finished photos.

That island already has very tight clearances, and if you try to cram seats in the space, you're going to end up with a traffic jam and some accidents. It already needs to be narrower, and then you want seating for 5? Gonna be tough to accomplish safely. There's only the single drawer stack to the right of the sink. That's not great for your storage needs. Drawers hold a lot more than do doors with shelves. To be able to put in a large pro style range, you will need to rework the entire stove run, base and uppers. The easiest thing would be to take the cabinets down entirely, as you'll need a larger vent that won't work with that size uppers. That vent will need to vent to the exterior. Which means going up through the roof or horizontally through a wall to the exterior. If you also want to add a wall oven, probably beside the fridge or at the end of the run on the fridge wall, then that entire run will need to be redone as well. There are several other issues that need remedy such as the shallow above the fridge cabinet. Potentially the soffit itself. You've already spent more in labor than the cabinets cost the builder. 2-3K in labor. The cabinets do not look to be worth paying labor to paint. It's certainly not a granite kitchen without new cabinets. Professionally painting would be around 3-4K for your layout and you're still left with builder's grade cabs with paint with all of their current storage issues and lack of quality. If you can DIY paint them as an interim solution for a couple of years until you do a full scale remodel that would be a different story. DIY labor is always worth doing if you don't kill yourself doing it. But the moment you start having to pay labor, that becomes the point that this kitchen isn't worth reworking cosmetically. It's time to address the bones. Take the 7K that it would cost you to do the cabinet alterations and paint and buy new cabinets after posting your layout here for suggestions for optimum efficiency. That means that your project won't be done before you move in, but it's better that it's delayed and done right than done in a rush with not so great results. Also, be very sure that you want to live with a dark floor if it's as dark as it sounds. Dark floors show every bit of dust and dirt and aren't the easiest thing to live with even if you don't have kids. Medium toned floors are more forgiving. But, if you LOVE that floor, and you're fully informed and willing to take on it's upkeep, then by all means go for it! Buy plenty of extra so that when you redo your kitchen, you have enough to work with an altered layout.

I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your DH. If I was doing a kitchen like yours, I would take a good look at this sink by American Standard. Country Kitchen Sink at Home Depot It's lovely. In fact, I'd love to stick it in my own kitchen now. : ) I would avoid a refurbed sink for concerns of the finish not holding up. I had what I'm assuming was a 50's era porcelain on metal sink (not refinished), and while it had a cute style and I loved the integrated drainboard, the finish was worn out in the bottom of the bowl. It almost always looked dirty since the shine was mostly gone and stuff seemed to seep into the finish. We put a few chips in it accidentally dropping things on it or bumping it with pots and pans, too. I too have heard of refinished tubs not holding up, and we use our sinks a lot harder than we use our tub.