Charlikin--they're beautiful! So glad you stuck to your guns and got it all straightened out. congrats!

YEAH YEAH YEAH !! Ah Tracey that looks GAWJUS !! I am so happy for you . This is a wonderful start. I have fingers and toes XXXXXXXXXXXXX c

Very, very nice, Charlikin! Even with the major hiccup, this kitchen was so worth it. Love the stain color, cabinet style, hardware, moulding!

Yay!!! They look great, and those handles are terrific! Just interesting enough to add some pizzaz, without fading into the background, or, without detracting from your cabs. A perfect "marriage!"

Glad things were straightened out (see, sticking to your guns does get results--sometimes!). :-)

I think your pulls look great! Could you please post their size?

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Hey there, girlfriend. Those cabs look gorgeous!! I am so very happy for you that this all worked out! Here's to one big step forward for Tracey; 2 steps forward for persistent home kitchen renovators.:) Woo hoo!

Yay! Everything looks great! The handles are just the right size and style, the color is beautiful, it all fits together beautifully, and it looks like you've got a lot of function in that space!

This has been such a painful process, but it's really helped having everyone here pulling for me!

It's also really nice seeing it come together and coordinate the way I'd hoped. Every single choice was SO painstaking. It took months to choose the cabinets because I couldn't find a color of finish I liked. (Actually, I'd liked *this* color from the start, but for some reason I hadn't picked it because I thought I wanted lighter-colored cabinets!) Ditto for countertops. Just finally ordered my backsplash tile on Saturday. Sinks, faucets, appliances, light fixtures... such a tiny kitchen, and yet so many decisions!!!

Gail, the pulls are Top Knobs M1131. From end-to-end, they're about 5-1/2" long. They come in a smaller size that's probably 4 or 4-1/2". I liked the longer ones because they felt more contemporary, and because I don't like having my fingers cramped inside a smaller pull - these have tons of space! They also turned out to be a good size on the dishwasher panel. Someday I'll get used to how massive they look! (It's funny - I got so used to looking at the cabinets without handles - and then came these! And they're not exactly unobtrusive...)

Celeste, we're *both* going to have kitchens. Lots of kitchens. LOL!

Bluekit, I think I'm ending up with at least twice as much cabinet space as with my old kitchen. I'll have so much space to put things!!! My mom asked what I'm planning to put in the drawers - I have no idea!!!

Okay, just got the templating appt. It's next Tuesday. Then about two weeks (maybe less) for the countertop. Then we can finish the plumbing and electrical, and I can let my cats out of the bedroom where they've been confined for the past five weeks. Poor cabin-fever kitties!!!

They really look great, charlikin! You are close to the finish line now!

Yay! They look really nice, perfect for a Manhattan kitchen. The handles fit very well. What a pain that you had to go through all that unpleasantness. But I think you'll forget about that soon, especially now that you have your beautiful new kitchen!

Those are really cool handles -- great choice. There aren't many handles that I would consider in place of my beloved Hafele swoopy-things, but those are one of the few.

And I hadn't heard the original story but LOL at that carpenter with his cardboard bandaid -- yeah, great craftsmanship there...*very* glad that you got them worked out correctly.

Wow! I read your last thread with a pit in my stomach! I am a big fan of happy endings and I have fingers and toes crossed that you are headed in that direction. Your Manhattan kitchen looks wonderful so far!!

Looking great there.

You've also answered one of my decisions. We're getting all pulls for our cabs (Hubby just ordered them today YAY!) and I've been trying to decide how I want the pulls on the doors mounted. I like how yours look.

Looks great! Nice and sleek - very Manhattan!! :o)

Love your cabinets,\

And aren't you lucky to get the replacements so fast!

What are you planning for your countertops? Picked the BS already? Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't realize how long I've been wavering until I went to take samples (that I'd paid for) back to the tile place, and they refused to take them, cuz they no longer had them in stock! Receipt was from April- OMG- had no idea it had been that long!

Your cab color looks similar to what I'm imagining I'd like mine to be so needless to say.... I"m impressed with your result! Could you please share some details?

I"m sure you have in previous threads but I can't remember.

Your cabinets are just gorgeous! Soooo pretty! :)

Ha! I love all the Manhattan comments, but I do have to set the record straight. It *is* a NYC coop apartment, but the borough of NYC I live in is Queens, not Manhattan. :-)

I remember when I started this project, I kept saying I wanted to keep the scope (read: expense) of my kitchen in line with what would be appropriate for a middle-class neighborhood in Queens, not some high-end coop in Manhattan. OTOH, my tastes dictated that I wanted a stone countertop, tile floors and backsplash, SS appliances... (though originally I confess I was going to do white and keep my old refrigerator!)

By the time it's done, it will look beautiful for Queens, but still be low-end for Manhattan - the appliances are only Frigidaire and GE (not Profile), after all. But it'll be pretty and perfect for my needs. :-)

The cabinets, btw, are Kraftmaid Ginger Glaze Maple in a wide shaker style. The countertop will be quartz - Zodiaq Smokey Topaz - can't wait to see it with the cabinets! And I picked a very simple 3x6 brick porcelain tile backsplash. It's Touchstone Ivory - kind of similar in character to the Durango limestone I coveted, but I think it's a better color match for my countertop and cabinets, and will be easier to take care of. Someone just asked me in email about the floor tile - it's Cerdomus Zendo Brown, a color-body porcelain. I only wish I'd gotten the grout a little darker...

Unfortunately, I'm having to reschedule my templating appt because a meeting just cropped up at work for next Tuesday morning. I'm hoping maybe they can just make it in the afternoon, if not the next morning...

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Oh, Tracey, I just saw your pix - what a gorgeous kitchen! Worth all the angst of planning and choosing and...blah blah blah. It LOOKS very high end and you must be thrilled. Can't wait to see the counters and tile in. Hooray!

Congratulations it took a couple of bad turns there for a bit (just detours) but it is turning out great.

That looks GREAT! I know you were tearing your hair out at one point thinking about waiting for replacements, but one look at that shows you were right in demanding them. (And the time probably doesn't seem to be as long on this end as it did on the front end.)

I can't wait to see your kitchen in th FKB!

Charlikin, I love your Maple cabinets so much and they would be what I would want for my kitchen. I love the handles that too me look just perfect.

I really like the floor Cerdomus Zendo Brown tile and like that it is a color-body porcelain. I am doing my kitchen after my busy season ends. For now I am just doing my foyers and other floors. But your kitchen is giving me ideas since my kitchen is not big either since I live so close to NYC also so everything is smaller in size but cost more.

What color grout did you choose? I have chosen my foyer tiles that are being installed tomorrow. I chose the Akoya Bone that you posted in another thread that I fell in love with in person. But the Wayne Tile store did not have the Mushroom Grout I loved that I was going to use with the Rialto Beige tiles before I got fed up with the mismatched lots and returned everything. I wanted the TEC Cornsilk color that is close to the Latricrete Mushroom grout but the store salesguy told me it would dry lighter an be too yellow. I do not see yellow in the paint chip at home but due to the fluorescent lights in the store, it had a slight yellow cast. The store sales guy convinced me to go with the Antique White that looked like a greenish gray to me and he kept telling me it dries lighter and will match but I do not like gray grout.

You had said that you only wished you had gotten the grout a little darker... What color grout did you choose?

Since you fell in love with the Akoya Bone tile, what color grout do you feel will look best?

Again, I love your floors and kitchen cabinets so much and feel you are making very beautiful choices and are going to be so happy you pushed for quality work.

I had nothing but problems with my first installer of my tile not showing up 6 times! I am glad I hired someone new yesterday who picked me up today to get the tiles, grout and glue and is starting tomorrow. I am so happy but not sure about the grout color that will be done on Thursday since the damaged engineered wood floors are being removed tomorrow and cleaned up and then the tile is going to be glued down. My new installer feels he will finish on Thursday. Hence, if I want to change grout colors, I must do so tomorrow before the bag is opened up.

A happy ending. I like that. Beautiful kitchen.

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I saw one of your posts on another thread a few days ago and wondered how your kitchen is coming along . . . I'm so glad to see this! The cabinets look wonderful and I commend you for sticking to your guns and getting things done right.

I know what you mean about the handles . . . in my last kitchen I got used to them without handles while I dithered making a choice . . . and then everything looked huge and obtrusive. This time around I've ordered hardware and it's going on as the cabinets go in! I think when your eye gets used to your hardware, you'll love it. It looks great!

Can't wait to see your countertops and backsplash!

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The countertop guy is coming to re-template on Thursday. Usually it takes two weeks from templating to get the countertops - which falls right on New Years Day. :-) So I'm assuming my countertops won't go in till at least the first week of January.

Then FINALLY the rest of the work can proceed! Finish the electrical, lighting, sink & faucet, appliances, backsplash. By that time I should have chosen a paint color (!). I hope...

In the meantime, I finally bought a toaster oven and am happily living on grilled cheese sandwiches made in the corner of my living room. :-)

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Looks great, so glad this was all resolved for you. Hope the bathroom is turning out, too...

You are going to have a beautiful kitchen!! I love your cabinets!

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Update: Countertop templating took place yesterday. Theoretically, they only needed to template the side of the kitchen that was reinstalled - but it's been so long (two months!) that they lost the original template, so he redid the entire thing.

The unfortunate news is, of course, that we're into holiday season now. They're closed between Christmas & New Year's (and, as it turns out, so is my contractor), so I ain't gettin' no countertop till probably the second week of January...which means my kitchen ain't gonna be done for another MONTH.

By the time I get a kitchen again, I'll have forgotten what to do in it!!!

Not to mention, I've been keeping my kitties locked up in the bedroom so they don't get into all the unfinished electrical stuff (and jump onto countertops that aren't there). They're getting a little bit of cabin fever... have to figure out how to make the place safe for them so they can come out of the bedroom!

Yes, but you are inching closer and closer. . . step by step! Just imagine, there will come a time in your life when all this will be just a fuzzy memory. But for now, savor the thrill of the chase. LOL! And, by all means, my friend, have a great holiday season (including your close-quartered kitties), dreaming up all the mischief all of you will get into when the new kitchen is finally here!

Wow- what progress! so close you can taste the finish!!! Glad it is all working out so well for you. There are always going to be bumps and setbacks, but the good news is you got past them and you will soon be enjoying your lovely kitchen. Happy to see the updates.
sheila

Looking good! And you're way more elegant than many Manhattan kitchens I've seen.

charlikin... about the floor. What size grout lines did you use? I really like the colors in the tile. You said it's through body porcelain... is it also a rectified tile?

Charlikin, I also love your floors and kitchen cabinets. I can't wait to see a finished product.

I had to part ways with my first installer who ruined 2 boxes of my Akoya Bone Tiles and did such a poor job, that I took up all the tiles off of the floor and wasted 9 more hours interviewing installers.

My new installer started today and all the tiles are on the diagonal now in both foyer areas and tomorrow he is grouting. He is doing a wonderful job. I am using a 1/8th grout width.

I bought the SpectraLOCK Mushroom grout for him to use. I returned the Antique White TEX XT Grout and bought one more back of the Latex Thinset for him.

I love following your kitchen remodel and feel your kitchen is coming along so nicely despite all the stress.

Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement (and the positive spin)! Once the kitchen is done, you're all invited over for noodle kugel!

Remodelfla, the kitchen floor tile is through body but not rectified, and it uses 1/4" grout lines. I love the colors too. It was funny - I told the two saleswomen that I wanted a color-body porcelain in a warm medium brown with some pattern in it so it wouldn't show dirt. While one woman stood there explaining to me that I didn't really need it to be color-body, a regular porcelain would be strong enough, the other went off and came back with this perfect tile that was everything I had asked for. Me being me, I spent a long time in the store looking at everything else just to make sure there wasn't something I liked better, but she had nailed it first try. Compared to how difficult it was for me to choose bathroom tile (!!!), the kitchen floor tile was so easy it was a joke!

Hi Charlikin, I have been following your threads, but am not sure if I missed one that had pictures of your final bathroom. We are in the midst of a complete renovation and your too many tile choices was so much help. I looked at many of the tiles mentioned in there. Akoya bone is what I picked for the hall bath. And Crossville Palais for the master. What counters did you select for the kitchen? Anyway, I would love to see pictures of both your completed bath and kitchen and can't wait to post mine.

Was just thinking about you earlier--how eerie that your thread scrolled back up (probably around the time I was in my kitchen, wondering how things were going with yours!).

Hope all's well with you, kitchen, bath, and kitties (of course!)

Did you get the replacement cabinets? Sure would be nice to have that puzzle piece to make the picture complete! Hope the answer is yes.

"The cabinets, btw, are Kraftmaid Ginger Glaze Maple in a wide shaker style"

Your kitchen is fantastic & clearly by all the posts you have inspired many. I was hoping you would share the actual width of the cabinet stile ( I think that's the technical term for it) you ended up choosing as you describe it as wider.

Thanks so much! Again, fabulous kitchen!!!

Hey gang! Wow, I was so surprised to see this thread pop up again... I was planning on an update once some more work got done. Thanks for everyone's kind comments!

Avignon, the bathroom isn't finished yet as it's waiting for the kitchen to be finished as well. I will definitely post pictures once it's done. Right now I'm in paint chip hell - I think I've assembled nearly a full Benjamin Moore color deck from the individual cards! (Doesn't help that I'm picking colors for the bathroom, the kitchen, *and* the living room!)

You've made some nice tile choices! I really loved Akoya Bone - very realistic looking. I think Lynn chose that tile too. And the Crossville - ah... that stuff is gorgeous.

Speaking of kitchen countertops, mine is going to be Zodiaq Smokey Topaz - it's a brown quartz with flecks of white and almost a burgundy-brown. I've got pictures of it on this thread. Very gemstone-like - I love it and can't wait to see it installed - which is happening THURSDAY!!! :-)

And *then* the rest of my reno should get finished fairly quickly - electrical & lighting, sink & faucet, install the appliances, do the backsplash. And finally, paint (assuming I don't drown in paint chips).

Hi cat_mom! The kitties have cabin fever - I've had them locked in the bedroom for (OMG!) two months because I haven't felt it was safe in the rest of the apartment what with all the exposed electrical and all. They can't wait to come out and jump on their new countertops (whether or not I give them that stern NO!). (I feel SO GUILTY confining them for that long!!! I keep telling myself they're 10 years old and sleep all day anyway, but... sigh.)

Budgeteer, I did get the replacement cabinets! And they're UP!!! (See first message in thread. :-))

Hcfl, thank you for your comments! The stiles (vertical) and rails (horizontal) are 3" wide on the cabinet doors and large drawers. The small drawers (6" high) have 3" stiles and 2" rails so that there's room for the 2" recessed panel in the middle.

Hey Tracey!

Glad to see in the new year! Also glad to see that you really are coming into the home stretch! (I'm still convinced you're going to win this race of who-gets-to-the-finish-line first, though. LOL!)

One thought about the kitties -- you must let them out! Cap or tape up the exposed electrical; put cardboard over the missing countertops. Trust me -- as a cat owner myself-- it will tremendously improve their mental health (and yours) if you let them stretch out, even if only for a brief period. (But, of course, I know you know this already):)

Please post about the C-top install on Thursday. And good luck!

Charlikin! I was at Ben Moore yesterday and picked up they're three color wheels for 15/each. They refund you when you return them. I have my entire house to paint, and am using the gardenweb every second it seems, between the bathroom, kitchen, flooring forums. Everyone is so helpful. We have been living at my mother's house since August. We thought we would be completed by Christmas.... Reality is that we are still a few months away from completion. The drywall went in this week, and I guess things are starting to really happen now. I have a ton of decisions to make. Good Luck!

I'm amazed no one at Janovic offered to sell me the color wheels when they saw how many chips I was picking up!

Just taped all the living room contenders to the wall. Amazing how different the colors look by daylight vs. incandescent - have to identify something that looks good under both. A little tough since I'm also planning to get new carpeting and furniture, and I don't have those picked out yet (though I do have colors in mind). (Just doing my best to help prop up the economy...)

Avignon, isn't it crazy how many decisions there are to be made? It's absolutely maddening. I can't wait for it all to be DONE so I can spend a weekend just RELAXING!!!

Happy New Year, Celeste! I'm not at all convinced I'm going to beat you to the cook-off - heck, you have a stove in place and an installed backsplash!!! (OMG to both!!!) As for letting the kitties out - I've looked at how I could make all the wires and light switches and stuff sticking out of the walls safe for them, and I just couldn't figure it out. I don't even know how the electrician's going to shove all that stuff back into the wall! It's really a mess. But it won't be long now...(fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc.) And then we can all live happily ever after together. :-)