Forgot to add, the back wall of the dining room is wallpapered, but I forgot who and what pattern. Dining room set is Saloom in cherry. Also the sofa's came in wrong after 18 weeks. They told us 10 weeks but it took 18 and now they're backordered on the leather. We had ordered the couches with welting and rolled arms. The store is letting us keep these sofas until the new ones come in and we are not responsible if there's any damage. I of course don't anticipate any damages.

If you'd like to see all my pictures including of my bathrooms, etc the link is below:

Here is a link that might be useful: More Photos

Wonderful! Gorgeous! Elegant! Warm and welcoming! A very nice change...But really, there are not words to describe the improvement. I love the doors down your hallway to the entrance, the backsplash, the coffee maker niche, and the beautiful cabinets.

Beautiful renovation! There are so many things to love about your new space, but I think the thing I love most is that gorgeous backsplash. What a stunner!

Oh it is just fabulous. The colors are fabulous and warm! What an amazing difference. Where did you get the stools?

Very nice cpartist! I really love your range backsplash and the cool faucet. Your whole house is pretty and I want and love all your interior doors.

Not only is your kitchen gorgeous but I also love the lines in your foyer and how the doors work with the opposite walls.

You feature behind the stove is beautiful has such organic movement to it. The glass cabs and the feature complement each other beautifully. The subways are understated but also lovely. I love JCs tiles and have to recheck to see if one of his colors can work for our kitchen (some slight decor changes since I last looked). He has the perfect balance of variation in color while not being jarring.

Your ceiling "feature" is also smashing. You really transformed your space. As much as I like black in general, that old kitchen was all wrong, while your new kitchen is just right! The warm wood tone has depth without being heavy. You really pulled it all together perfectly ;)

You have made a huge improvement, it really does look elegant. Very inviting and I am in love with your backsplash behind the stove. It's just the right touch!

Enjoy your new space.

Nancy

I love the warmth you have imparted to your renovation and it extends into your lovely bathroom as well. You have created a very welcoming happy space. It's a space that puts me at ease, which is a great thing!

The first word that popped into my mind when I saw your glimmering backsplash accent over the stove was waterfall. It's very beautiful and elegant.

Congratulations!

I have to admit sometimes I do not read and just look. So when I saw the 1st pic's thought that is an awful kitchen why would anyone want a kitchen like that.

Than I scrolled down and saw the new one and really felt silly ;-).

The new kithen is breath taking -- you did a wonderful job!

I really like the new one, but actually I am still fascinated by the old one.

I love that backsplash over the range. It looks like a waterfall, I cannot stop looking at it! Beautiful job!

From a dark cave to a warm, beautiful oasis--with a waterfall!! Beautiful! I love your coffee station and appliance garage, the tile and cabs are so warm, and the floor is gorgeous! What kind of hood is that? It's perfect with the BS!

It's wonderful and my thoughts were like that of adh673. Your backsplash behind the range reminds me of raindrops!

Miles Redd ultra chichi designer provocateur has a recently created kitchen in (one of his) houses or apartments that looks like the "before". I love the new one, but the old one (without that island or floor) has its place too:)

Wow. Thank you everyone. When I started this journey back at the end of May I had no idea what I'd wind up with. Thankfully I have had a mostly fantastic GC who had only top notch subs working for him.

Rhome, thank you I consider it a huge compliment coming from you. I always feel that your info and ideas are spot on.

Thank you laxsupermom, jterrilynn, ptyles, doonie, billandterry, adh673, Nancy, flwrs_n_co, remodelfla.

Ptyles, I got the stools at Dinettes Unlimited of Florida. They're made by Amisco and it's the Zoe style. Here's a link:
http://www.amisco.com/Produits.aspx?page=11&langue=en&id2=174&id3=497&rownum=97

Thank you Dianalo. All my other kitchens have been white kitchens, which I also love, but I decided this time that I wanted to really pull in my favorite influences which are Asian and the Arts and Crafts movement. I was worried that the backsplash would compete with my busy granite, but I think it works since it's only behind the cooktop. My GC was the one who had the idea of putting the cherry border around the ceiling opening and I then stressed over what color to paint it. Once my cabs started going in, I realized the same wood would be a great accent up there too.

flwrs_n_co, the hood is the electrolux. Here is the link to it:
http://www.electroluxappliances.com/kitchen-appliances/ventilation/rh30wc60gs

Here's a slightly closer view of the backsplash. I was able to find tiles with the golds, beiges, and lighter colors, but none with the dark small pieces. So I cut down the larger rectangles into small squares and redid the whole thing.

palimpsest, I looked online to find the kitchen you're referring to and could find nothing that looked like my old kitchen with the glossy black formica, dull gray granite and mirrors on the walls. Nor did his kitchen look closed in like mine was.

Miles Redd kitchen is a takeoff on the 30's with inset shaker doors, with bin pulls and those old fashioned "locks". I believe they are wood stained black. Plus he has his wood floors painted white to bring more light in. His is glamorous and trendy. My old kitchen just looked-very dated. He used his mirrors for the backsplash to open up the space even more . That is unlike my old kitchen where the backsplash was painted a gray and there was only one strip of mirror next to the fridge to bring some light into the room. Unless you consider a huge florescent ceiling fixture bringing light into the room. LOL.

Thank you for letting me know about his kitchen. It is beautiful. Just glad I don't have to clean it though!. It looks like a nightmare to keep clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miles Redd Kitchen

Lovely. I have so many of the same choices in cabs and colors . Soon I'll post pics. Just haven't figured out fabrics, furnishings, and accessories!

Oh, and let me know when you figure out what to put on that really cool counter that is not windex and rags :) i can't accesorize out of a box if my life depended on it.

Cheers! Lovely! Woohoo! Love it!

Oh I was so scared for you! I thought the before was your after! Lol.

LOVE what you have done. That tile behind the cooktop...it's like it's raining satin bamboo! Such a warm and inviting vibe you have going on. You've really lightened the space up and made it so much more homey.

Excellent choices. Enjoy your new home!

Absolutely stunning, love the tile behind the cooktop. What a transformation. You should be very proud.

>Oh I was so scared for you! I thought the before was your after! Lol.

So did I!

It's a really beautiful transformation. I love the backsplash tile especially.

Thank you marcydc. I'll be sure to post some updates once everything is completed. I think though that I'm planning on not having too much on the counters, but then again, I've said that in the past too. The dining room will take some time though. We have absolutely no artwork for the place, and the buffet I'm thinking I'll finally see sometime in March; if I'm lucky. LOL

LOL Sabjimata. Thank you. I'm looking forward to getting back to Florida to enjoy it this winter.
Thank you homechef and writersblock.

It's beautiful!!!! The whole reno is beautiful and quite timeless. I adore the craftsman details.The whole thing reminds me of a piece of amber with light coming through it. Warm and glowing.

Oh ssssssnap! You did a fantastic job! Beautiful!

Thank you mikomum. I love your description of my space. So lyrical.

Thank you red eared. I can't wait to get back there and start enjoying all the rooms.

the before was just scary LOL this is really lovely and the feature behind the range is just awesome. congratulations on such a beautiful and more functional space

Such an amazing transformation...really beautiful. Enjoy it!

Thank you igarvin. It was even scarier being in there. Once the place was down to studs and everything was out, it looked better. LOL.

Thank you Inersesian.

I really, really love your crackle tile! I looked at the grazia rixi crema, but it was too light. Maybe I have found what I'm looking for with the Irish Lace donegal....Would you be able to post a close-up? I have med cherry cabs, but my granite is darker--uba tuba. I was also wondering what color grout you used. I want to order a sample, but have not found any online sources. Did you order from a local vendor? Love your beautiful kitchen!

Hi Elle3. Let me try and help you as I'm long distance right now in NY and the apartment is in FL. Thank you btw. The Irish Lace Donegal color is just a hair lighter than BM-34 Wilmington Tan. It's a beautiful tannish color and the tile has some mottling with the edges slightly darker and the center slightly lighter. (Not as much as shows on the Jeffrey Court website.) It's subtle which is what I wanted. Some tiles have such a large swing in color, but this doesn't.

The Jeffrey Court tile also has two other colors we considered. One is called Cork and the other is called Tipperary. Both also would have worked. I'd get a sample of all three as the shading is close but slightly different. The Cork has a green cast to it and the Tipperary has more of a taupy beige cast to it. Any of the three would have worked beautifully with the cherry. What finally swayed me is that since my LR/DR/kitchen all open to one another, I wanted a warm tan color in the rest of the apartment. The Donegal was the warmest.

I think any of the three would work with the Uba Tuba. Definitely get a sample. Where are you located? I ordered mine locally in SW FL.

As for the grout color, I'll have to get back to you when I'm down there as I don't remember what brand or color. I return to FL on Xmas day and it will take me a couple of days to get settled with putting things away, buying what we still need (we started from scratch there as it's our snowbird place), setting up the computer, etc.

Thanks so much for your informative and detailed reply. It was very helpful! I found an online source to order samples, and I am going to take your advice. I pulled out my chip of wilmington tan to get an idea of the color. Looks great! I've been obsessed with crackle tile since I saw the rixi tiles here on garden web...I love how the grout color lightens up the area without too much contrast. Take your time--I've been searching for a backsplash for a long time :)

My goodness... opening up the wall between the kitchen and dining room made such a HUGE difference! It must be lovely to work in there now!

Congratulations on am ambitious and successful renovation!

Glad I could help Elle3. I'll be sure to ask about the grout color too. Thank you Staceyneil.