That looks great! I think the new footprint will be infinitely more workable than what you had, with the hurdle in the middle of the room. The stairwell running through the pantry cracks me up -- you definitely need to obscure the glass on the French doors lest you have an unintended conversation piece!

Can't wait to see the finished project.

Wow! That room looks sooooo much bigger without that island. And yes, I heart that wallpaper in your old kitchen. Your GC moves fast! Were your cabs on-hand before demo?

Looking forward to the big reveal upon completion.

Breezygirl -- We signed the contract on a Thursday. The following Monday, they ordered the cabinets (I'd already put in 2-3 weeks of planning the design with the KD.) Two days later (Wednesday), they were tearing things up and putting in new wiring. On Saturday, we stopped by the cabinet showroom, and our cabinets had arrived. Whew!

At first, I was thinking I'd be in my new kitchen by Christmas. Now it's looking like it'll happen well before Thanksgiving! Woo hoo! (I dare not hope for Halloween...)

What an amazing turnaround time on those cabs. What brand are they? I don't think I remember the last time I heard about a reno moving so much faster than scheduled. I'm already planning that the three-month time frame our GC gave us for the almost whole house reno will take four. That takes us past Valentine's Day. Thanksgiving dinner will surely taste better cooked in your new kitchen!

I was surprised by the turnaround time, too. My GC quoted a time frame of 4-6 weeks, which I think is fairly standard for a project of this scope.

The brand is J&K Cabinetry. They don't have all the choices that are available with the big box stores, but they don't have the big price tag, either. Quality is equivalent, tho, and my installer is doing a fantastic job with customizing those details that need it.

A whole house reno! Now that's a big project! Wow! You will, of course, post pics!

Here is a link that might be useful: J&K Cabinetry

Less than 3 weeks into my kitchen reno, and the granite is already in! And after seeing some of the snafus here on GW, I was concerned about the seam we would have between the peninsula and the sink run. My worries were for nothing, though -- the fabricators did an outstanding job!

{{!gwi}}

Closer view of the movement in the Kashmir Gold:

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Under the microwave cabinet:

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And a closer view:

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The range backsplash:

{{!gwi}}

Flooring installation begins on Tuesday!

I love your new kitchen layout, and your new cabs look great with your granite! If we decide to keep our basic U layout (not knock out wall between kitchen & dining room), I'm taking out our island (smaller than yours but a huge traffic obstacle) and adding a peninsula. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished kitchen (by Halloween?)!

I'm so jealous your kitchen reno is going so fast. (no not really. Happy for youl)

Breezygirl, our contractor quoted us 3 months for a full condo redo. We were supposed to be in by Sept. HAHAHAHA! Most likely we'll be in by in by mid Nov if lucky. If I were you, I'd double the time given, not just add a month. If you only add a month, then you'll be stressed and unhappy. If you double it and the GC gets finished in less time, you'll be happy.

When we started DH believed the GC. I knew better and tried to explain to him that 3 months actually means 6. I'm not stressed, he is and I'm usually the one who gets stressed. I expect things to go wrong, things to be late, etc.

@ flwrs_n_co: Thanks! So I'm not alone in my island hate! LOL. I guess they work for some people, but we just hated ours. We are, however, shopping around for a stand-alone butcher block that will sort of be like an island, only it'll be portable and have lots more character than the old island had. We're really loving the new design.

And cute witch!

what an improvement!!!! :) can't wait for final pics and your thoughts