WOW! You guys did a great job! I can't believe your DH did most of the work by himself! Fabulous transformation!

Oh, my word, what a dramatic change! When I saw your "before" pictures, I was thinking that they looked good, but once I saw your "afters"--wow, that is so much better! Kudoes for a job well done!

Wow, what a great transformation! And I'm amazed that it was mostly DIY. Love that bilevel island and the way the soapstone continues up as a backsplash.

Love love everything!!!

Beautiful! The cabinets and everything are so pretty. I love the 2 level island and the unique shape of it. Great job!

Thanks so much! We really love it, and I couldn't be more proud of my husband's work. The cabinets were trickier than he expected, but once he got going with the first couple, the others came easier.

Next up is our entertainment center (being built now) and we'll get speakers wired, etc. It never ends, does it?

I really really love your kitchen. The transformation is gorgeous. I also really like that you have a painted backsplash area. A friend of mine did that and it really appeals to me.

lovely functional kitchen. I wish our pantry was wide enough for the step ladder! Great use of space!

Va va va voom! It's just an amazing before & after & I bet you are just in heaven. I love all the pull outs.

What is the little flat pullout at the bottom here?

Very warm and inviting -- gorgeous! Your soapstone is beautiful.

Marti8a -- the step stool isn't on a pull-out at all! It's just the bottom of the cabinet. We really lucked out that it fit, especially since there's no where else to put it in the kitchen!

Hey, thanks for posting! All my colors will be very similar (yellow-ish walls, stain on cabs, black counters) even some red accents around the kitchen. Neat to see all those colors together!

Beautiful job!

Congratulations! Love your soapstone (go Bucks County) with the cherry, it's very striking especially on the two level island.

Looks fabulous! I love your colors and your soapstone. I think the bi-level counter works perfectly in your space. We are doing a complete remodel of first floor. My husband is doing most of the work himself also. Cabinets arrive Dec 2 and I have been insisting we hire the installation- just afraid since he's never done that before. Of course he says No problem, he can do it. Any suggestions? We live in Annapolis- let's just have your DH come over- he did a great job . LOL

What a great looking kitchen and space. I really like the curved toe-kick under the stove-top and then the way the rest of the island seems to float. Really neat looking. The wall hanging at the top of the stairs - what is it and where did you get it. I like the colours and textured look of it.

Best. Island. Ever. Love it --- two level and three sided, with the hood coming down from the ceiling -- what a show piece. Beautiful kitchen.

Hi julie...

It looks wonderful..how fortunate to have such a handy DH! I have Kraftmaid Cherry cabs and I agree with you. We had a great experience all around with Home Depot and the Kraftmaid line. The kitchen designer from HD worked with our GC and did a terrific job. I'm glad to hear that you are happy too!

KA:)

great job! I love the shape of the island. Great storage--appliance garage, pantry pullout. And, on a different topic--love the fireplace!

Love it, and I love your island, too! Looks like a terrific use of space, neat angles, and very functional!

Love the soapstone vein disappearing into the appliance garage!

What a lovely home you've created! The raised bar is perfect for creating some division between the kitchen and great room without making either room feel isolated from the other. I think that was very smart!

Wow -- you all are the best! thanks!
Joan2121: install of the cabinets was... interesting. My husband literally sat and stared at the cabinets for 2 days. He was paralyzed with not knowing where to start. But we took it cabinet by cabinet (or should I say he did). Lots of leveling and shims later, we had it done. We still need to do the light rail & crown. We thought seriously about having someone else install, but it was so ridiculously expensive. We just couldn't stomach paying that much $ out for something we knew he could do. Not sure he'd ever want to do it again though!

Byronroad: the art piece (the large one across from the stairs) is something my husband made! I call it a wood painting. He saw a piece similar to it at an uber-fancy hotel in Dubai when he was there on business. It's basically just wood triangles cut in different sizes and glued in a pattern. Very easy, a bit mind-numbing. But we love it! He'll be very happy that someone noticed it!

The fireplace is something we certainly couldn't have done if we hadn't saved so much $ on the overall project by DIY'ing it. We love it.

The fireplace & counters are the two things that were splurges, but that we love the most.

Thanks again.

Beautiful!
Similar colors to my kitchen and I would love to know what paint you used on the walls (I only have primer, unable to commit yet).
Thanks

What a beautiful transformation. It made your space so calming and open and airy. I love the soapstone with the color of your cabinets. Great job!

Wow, beautiful! I am seriously impressed this is a DIY job. Your husband is one talented man!

Julie....

Nice job! Kudos to your hubby. : )

A favor to ask...would you please post a pic of your main sink/faucet (shot from above) because I will be installing that same sink and would like to see where you thought your faucet placement was not optimal.

Thanks in advance.
Pepper

Are you sure your dh wasn't a pro in a previous life? It turned out fabulous.

You have had entirely too much fun and done a great job along the way. The kitchen really fits the decor of the rest of the rooms and is integrated nicely. Kudos. Hope it continues to be great fun to be there.

Stacys: the paint color we used was Sherwin Williams Blonde. Love it. We had a different gold in our house before, but this is a bit softer.

txpepper: I'm attaching 2 pictures of our sink (above view and regular). This is one area that I truly think Buck's messed up and we didn't catch it. If you look at the regular view photo, the faucet should be moved over to the right more -- more where the curve is. Oh well -- not a huge deal at all. And if this is the only "mistake," I'll take it!

Thanks for posting the photos-I love looking at everyone's transformation....great job. Love the appliance hideaway!

Yay pretty new wood kitchen!! Looks amazing! What a cool island, must be so much fun to cook there. Beautiful job :)

Shoot -- txpepper, sorry about the faucet photos! We deleted them from photobucket by accident last night. I'll re-upload them again this evening after work.

Gorgeous! Goes seamlessly fits with your house. Love that it is a beautiful wood kitchen. Soapstone looks amazing with it. Wood floors look great.

Your kitchen is a fabulous example of:

non-white
Barocca soapstone (some people have been asking about it on here recently)
wood floor coordinating with wood stained cabinets

So beautiful! Congrats!

Lovely. I think this kitchen flows so much better with the rest of the house. Your island and soapstone are standouts.

TXPepper -- the pictures of the faucet placement are live again -- you can see them above. Hope this helps! And thanks again, everyone, for your comments!

Julie,

Thanks for the pics. Looks like the facet could have moved over toward the large sink about 1/3 to a 1/2 inch.

But in the grand scheme of things, if this is the worst that happened with your kitchen, you are blessed.

Did you purchase the cutting board that fits? If yes, how does it fit the smaller sink? I was just thinking about how the board sits on top...if the sink needed a positive reveal so the board sits on the 'ledge' or if the board was cut in some other manner. I guess I need to call the store where I purchased the sink and ask.

Thanks again for the pics!!!

Pepper

You're right Pepper -- it's such a minor flaw. The faucet is sort of centered on the center of the sink (the divider) and it could be moved over some to the right. But seriously, no big deal at all. Worst case is I end up buying a new faucet eventually. But I love the faucet so I'm just altering slightly how I do some dishes. Gosh, considering all the many larger things that could have gone wrong, this is just a blip on my radar.

AND, I didn't know about the cutting board -- didn't have one listed when I purchased the sink ages ago. Off to search it out! I may end up buying it! Thanks.

I think the kitchen is just lovely to look at and has a great layout as well. I love an open plan and how yours integrates with the rest of the house.
Your husband should really score for Xmas this year, he's been very good ;)

What a beautiful kitchen remodel ~ I LOVE IT!!! Gorgeous cabs, gorgeous counters. Why can't all kitchens be so beautiful? :-)