arapaho, here are a few pictures of the moulding which also was purchased from Norcraft. As you can see, the sides of the cabinets are not finished. Once we were able to move back into the kitchen--two years ago!--our DIY project slowed to just picking away at it. Just last weekend my husband did the apron trim under the windows. I certainly wanted to be able to post our kitchen but wanted to wait until it was just a little more done. I'll give it an objective eye this weekend and see if I can force myself to commit it to the internet:) We mistakenly placed the cabinets too high, forgetting we had the trim. Not only did DH have to rip the trim down he had to do it at an angle to account for this very crooked house and the very crooked ceiling. It looks fine but I was sooooo mad at me for the placement. I just knew it seemed too high, but at least it's not claustrophobic at my counter area! You can see the difference when you look at the two ends. There was a LOT that got ripped off. The appliances are all GE, purchased from a local store in their scratch and dent room because that's what the budget allowed.

I have viewed that blog before - can't remember where I linked to it from. Maybe Nesting Place. I LOVE the color of her cabinets, but that is just too much *stuff* on the countertops (and elsewhere in the room). IMO. Clutter. One thing she does and I have one too - but forgot to mention - is a lamp. I love a lamp somewhere on the kitchen counters. Oakley - re: utensils in drawers - I have different drawer organizers and dividers. It works GREAT. The knife block thingy (piece of wood with grooves for knives) is another great item. It lays in the drawer. I have a big crock with utensils on one counter, but most are antique pieces that I've collected and not so many pieces I actually use. The items are easy to get to, but they also get dusty. tina

I agree with Ranton, assuming I understand that you've already decided on the cabinet choice? If you have and you've got the style and stain/paint picked out, I'd do the counters 2nd. I'd do the floors 3rd. Flooring, unless "it's in your face" attention grabbing, tends to just be the anchor and gets relegated to almost being overlooked. If you only want the blaring floor to take center stage,(that's your main objective) then highlight that and let everything else just be a supporting role for the floor. That being said, if you have a lot of movement in the graining of the wood (cabinet), you don't want to fight "movement with movement". So let's say you have a really intense movement in the wood grain that will show through the stain, I'd quiet it down on the granite and/or pick a quartz that is quieter to the degree that the cabinets are already "speaking". ** One thing, are you looking for a certain look or style? Can you tell us that if you know? The reason I ask is that depending on what look you want to achieve be it for example, sleek/modern/minimalist, Tuscan/Mediterranean, French country, Craftsman/earthy colors etc., you get the idea. So write down some basic words that you think of when people say (your) XYZ style. From that, when you are looking at each material or pattern, what is the first word that comes to mind when you see that pattern/color/style in the granite yard or flooring? If what comes to mind belongs to another style/look, you may be about to combine things that don't belong in the same "box". Something to think about...... Oh, definitely choose the granite then choose the backsplash color/pattern/material after that. Regarding flooring, ask your DH the one thing that he wants to first be noticed in your kitchen. I.E. if someone where to come for a visit after it's completed and says they love XYZ about it. What element would be choose as the strongest thing that stands out when you walk into your kitchen? I know on some of these design shows when it comes to pattern be it fabric, upholstery, wallpaper, whatever, they suggest that the "scale" of each element not be the same. Like if you had a large print on a fabric in whatever color you'd want to choose a smaller scale on the other elements in the room so they don't compete. If you've got several large (busy) 'in your face' patterns in the room, they compete with each other. The result is that the eye bounces around constantly from large pattern (i.e. movement) to the next large/busy/heavy movement pattern. What happens is a feeling of vibration and competition between all the elements that is not restful to the eye or mind. I know I'm jumping around here. All these things are coming to mind that might help you so I'm just throwing it out there before I think of something else. Question: Are your and DH's style the same or different? If they are different, there was an HGTV show that integrated the two (sorry, can't think of it or the host's name) but there were some good points in how the host did it. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I don't know if I've helped here or not, but hopefully it will spark some thought processes that might help you.

Every choice has pluses and minuses, in the end you have to choose which plus and which minus matters the most to you and/or which have an easy fix (like using a cutting board under the crockpot; at work we have an extra piece under the big coffeemaker). budget mattered a lot to me (and I hated formica) so, I ended up with a lesser expensive granite and am very happy, no sealing or extra work for the stone I chose. I had formica previously which looked like h#*! from the day I moved in and didn't get better (except that I could use bleach to remove stains) so those of you whose formica looks like new after 30 years must be taking appropriate care -- using cutting boards (mine had little cuts all over) and so forth -- where my previous owners did not. But, I read that formica now is much better quality than what was installed 30 or 40 years ago. I looked at Burled Beach and liked it. It looked a warm sand-ish color on my samples in my house, but I saw a demo kitchen of it at a big box store and it was a warm greenish tone (I still liked it) under their fluorescent lights. You always have to ability to STOP and make changes unless the cabinets are all already made. If he is just now starting it might not be too late -- call him now! PS do you have an IKEA near to you? Most counter materials are less expensive there.