I think it looks really nice!!

Agree that the paint color is wrong. Go with a greige from the countertops. It should say "grey" and not yellow.

On switch plates, I prefer the SS one. You could buy wood ones and paint them to match the backsplash color. That would be cheap and easy.

Kitchen table - agree it should be round and table height (not high). Either glass or maybe a warm painted grey? Definitely not natural wood.

Décor - I'm a "simple is better" kind of person, and I think once you start using the kitchen, there will naturally be more stuff accumulating... especially on the countertops. I say leave the counters for now, definitely NOT anything above the sink window. I guess you could add something on the wall by the table, but I think it looks nice without. You could do a rug, but you don't need it.

On pendants, I'd do something more contemporary and interesting, but less sterile. Just looked at the first few hits on lampsplus, but what about any of these:

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/kichler-brinley-4-and-three-quarter-inch-wide-brushed-nickel-mini-pendant__6m201.html

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/possini-euro-encircled-crystal-6-inch-wide-halogen-mini-pendant__90454.html

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/cheer-single-globe-satin-nickel-mini-pendant__18445-84367.html

I like that third one especially. Thank you. As for the paint, I am afraid you are right. We were trying to pull up the creamy color in the granite because I really did not want a gray kitchen initially. When we chose the granite, we were going to go with the cream as the accent color but after we chose a gray sink, it kind of dictated the rest!

Mkuyekawa, my kitchen has been done for a year and yes, lots of stuff I would have done differently :) I just heard a line form a song that might help "life is a classroom".

I think your kitchen looks really good. I like the greige suggestion for the walls. I love your countertop! Regular height table for the kitchen. Do you want to bring in some color with the pendents? I like the pendents above but will they be hard to keep clean?

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/bleu-matrix-giclee-glow-mini-pendant-light__t6312-1n739.html

I think your kitchen looks great. Love the counter and your hardware is nice too.

What don't you like about your backsplash? Is it more blue or gray. I can't tell.

You could do something like this on your window - pick up the color in the backsplash.

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Feiss has a lot of great mini-pendants. I just did a search with "silver" as the material and here it is:

http://www.feiss.com/searchResults.htm?wasPosted=1&brandID=3&categoryGroupID=1&sortOption=2&categoryID=1&subCategoryID=1-5&finishGroupID=6

Regular kitchen table. Not sure about glass, though.

We got our barstools at JC Penney's (two sets actually, one for kitchen and one for basement bar) Who knew that Penney's had such a great selection:

http://www.jcpenney.com/for-the-home/furniture/bar-stools/cat.jump?id=cat100240134

Love your countertops!!! I like the style of the pendants, it's just seems as though the scale is wrong. Larger? Lower? Not sure.

The paint color is a warm color, but your countertops, backsplash and floor are cool colors. I think you could find a cream that is in the cool range that would work quite well.

I'm interested that you kept your soffits and choose dark wood cabinets. I like the countertop and backsplash very much, but think they would have gone better with white or light gray cabinets, and the soffits are a distraction.

I really agree with Jillius's point above re: holding your fingers up. And I will add that, not only is it easier to repaint than to retile, but I think it's a better update. When you block out the backsplash, your kitchen colors are exactly the same colors as the one in our old house - which was put in in 2001. I think that "cherry cab with yellow" look is very 15 years ago. But when you block out the ceiling color, the cabs and backsplash and countertop look very current and contemporary. I would much rather you pursue those colors.... You'll definitely be able to find a warm grey so you avoid the institutional grey look I suspect you're trying to avoid.

And same issue re datedness with the pendants. The pendants as is are okay, but a little bit dated and boring. I offered up some options above, which were literally just the first few things that jumped out on me from lampsplus so I'm not saying I love them. But they are more current, what with the exposed lightbulbs and more industrial look. And yes, others on here will jump in and say you shouldn't decorate to trends, and you should decorate how you want -- but you said you didn't love them. Plus, as we've all proven, you can put in some trendy ones now and replace them for $300 in 5 years when this trend is over!

I love your backsplash and countertops! Like everyone has said, it's the paint color, which is an easy fix. If you don't need privacy right now - leave the window alone for a bit. When it's time, I'd go with a roman shade. Look for an interesting fabric that catches your eye; I'd go for something with movement (not a geometric) because you've got lots of hard lines. Since I have so little counter space, I generally keep mine clear, usually a platter on a stand angled close to the backsplash. A large bowl of colorful fruit would be nice. Look for some more interesting pendants. Most important - re: art, rugs - take your time. Wait until you find something that really speaks to you. Oh - and I'd prefer a regular height table. Good luck - keep us posted.

The kitchen looks great, you must be excited to actually use it. I would change the two chairs for a bench type seat with padding, in the future. Great to have people enjoying you and your new kitchen sipping some vino...Great job....

Some very good suggestions, thank you all. I am definitely decorator challenged. (I teach math for a living and so many students are dismayed that they are not "good at math". I tell them we all have our strengths and weaknesses. They seem happy when I tell them that I am bad at this.) I am still having whiplash from how the kitchen changed from my original inspiration once this granite jumped out at us in the store and took over!

Lily Spider: I like that quote. Ours has been 30-60-90 as in it will bother you less in 30 days, even less and 60 and by 90 you'll hardly notice.

jpmom: I had not seen feiss. Many good ideas there!

Jillius- Your comments on blocking parts out with my fingers were very helpful.

Suzanne Brown- We actually raised the dropped ceiling so it is much better than before, but they couldn't reasonably remove the soffits because of the plumbing from the second floor. Stuck with those.

wacokid - The chairs are from our current dining room table. They are only there temporarily. And in the end, you are absolutely right. The whole point of this was to "have people enjoying you and your new kitchen sipping some vino.." And for that, it will be wonderful.

I just need to quit obsessing that my kitchen evolved into a gray kitchen and make peace with the gray. =)

Yes, "make piece with the gray". :-)

But, let me add that you will never ever not have a very warm and inviting kitchen with those gorgeous cherry cabs paired with that stunning granite. Those two elements together says nothing but warmth to me.

Yet what is great is that you can tie in some cooler color tones with the backsplash and paint due to the granite. I love when you can combine cool and warm colors together in a room. It is not easily done, but I think yours will be a perfect combo.

I agree to changing the wall paint which is reading more gold. However, you might try simply changing the light bulbs first. I had daylight bulbs and hated the weird blue cast they gave to my walls and cabinets. When I changed to a warm lightbulb, it all was fixed. You might try the opposite?

If changing light bulbs doesn't work, I'd look to paint the walls in the lightest beige color that is in the kitchen flooring, but that also works well with the granite.

No regrets! It is gorgeous!

Thank you rebunky. That means a lot to me. You have been a ton of help throughout.

Your cabinets, counter and yes the backsplash are all very good looking! You are right, the pendants are wrong -- don't have the right kind of presence, I think they need to be chunkier and, would you consider some color?

Greige will work on the walls, even a whiter white also actually; but again, I think introducing a modicum of color would be a good move. Currently I am loving grey-green-blue-ish tones but not clear if there is any of that in your counter. Both S-W and BM have some lovely warm greys/greiges that can read just a hint of green or blue; try to look at those, or consider a color in a roman shade.

There seems to be some pink in the flooring so that needs to be taken into account.

Regarding the lights.....I went to 5 different lighting stores. I picked up names of lighting designers that seemed to have styles I liked. Quoizel Lighting was my first choice since I have a hand blown glass chandelier that I didn't want to clash with. I went on line to http://www.lightingnewyork.com and looked at closeouts. I ended up with signed hand blown glass at a fabulous price. Extremely pleased. Bar stools picked out on line (very sharp and very inexpensive)and found in local furniture store (who matched price)...

My bar stools match your cabinets! Check out Winners Only, Inc. Ladder Back Barstool. I was surprised at the sturdy construction. I figured for the price I could replace them if I had to in a few years. But they are used constantly and holding up terrifically. Even a decorator that came to my home (regarding my living room) commented on them and asked where I got them.

Some of you have suggested bringing color in with pendants or decor. What color?

Could you do a pluM color on the walls? There's a lot of gray already.

Your granite is gorgeous & definitely the star in your kitchen. Your kitchen leans more modern than traditional. I'd make a subtle statement with your pendants & find something sleek & nontraditional. I looked in your Houzz IdeaBook for suggestions for countertop accessories & found some great pendants.

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For your countertops, find a couple of accessories that are visually interesting but also useful. I can see a Kitchenaid Mixer in that corner, a beautiful wood cutting board, a wood fruit bowl, clear glass canisters.

Clear glass canisters

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I recently finished redoing my kitchen. When we bought the house it was painted in antique white. I am a fan of bold color, in the style of the great Mexican Starchitects (Legorreta, Barragan etc.) however, when we sold our last house, we painted it plain ole white and I was amazed by how much it dressed up the house. So, when we moved into the new house, the first thing we did was, the opposite of the Stones, paint it white and sure enough that did the trick, for us at least. We used Benjamin Moore's Super White on the walls and Cotton Balls on the trim.

Another thing I've done is replace all of the recessed light trims with various glass and antiqued looking ones. Check Bellacor and Lighting New York for these. The brand we like is Minka Lavery. Evidently these probably didn't sell well, I don't know why, because they are pretty cheap. The glass ones can be had for under $10 and the various metal finishes for about $25 to $40.

These are the ones I used on my kitchen, to match the appliances:

http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/minka-lavery-2718-84-paradox-brushed-nickel-6-inch-recessed-trim-1600094.htm

These are the ones I used in some of the other rooms;

http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/minka-lavery-gt100-f-frosted-white-6-inch-decorative-glass-trim-521767.htm

The glass ones come in different colors but I would discourage you from using multiple colors in one room because then, in my opinion, it starts to look like a daycare. The glass trim does not look like much but when it's in it really looks amazing! The glass glows and those that have seen them always asked me where I got the second light. Best of luck, if any of this sounds interesting, let me know and I can post some actual pictures.