Right. I have the same thing, though not as pronounced as yours. Fortunately, our countertop does cover the place where a sill would normally be. This helps with the unified look. There's no step, like on yours.

However, a trim piece was required.

I'm not a pro, but I think in order to get the look of your inspiration (and mine) the windows have to be set the depth of the countertop lower. I don't know why this is not done. It's possible the installation guide doesn't allow it.

Our architect was pretty knowledgeable about these things, but he didn't account for this.

Note. The trim piece is the depth of the countertop. The casement crank would have then sat on the countertop, rather than "float." However, had the windows simply been lowered, the tops would not have been in line with the other windows on the back of the house.

Whether there is the wood there or a "back splash" is sort of irrelevant. The point is there's what looks like 3-4" between the counter top and the window frame when, from looking at your "inspiration" photo, it should be in the neighborhood of a half inch.

Just a thought. Are you tall? I was just at a rental house over the weekend apparently built as a rental - resort area, they own 5 homes, on a busy street....

But they did cabs 3 inches high. Something tall people do in custom homes. Typical labor for cab install around me would be $500. Now you have a top which adds complexity for sure but it is doable. You have to put dishwasher on a small platform. You could have someone meet you half way on the costs.

They simply set the sell height too high. They went "normal", not "inspiration pic" height. ;-)

Fixing it would be a LOT of work - but, you DID call it out during construction. I mean really, this was a tape measure fix!

So - you are entitled to have it fixed but do you really want to deal with them ripping out cabinets, drywall, windows, insulation, siding, trim, etc and then putting it all back?

I know it's disappointing, but your sink and window area looks lovely up close, it's just more noticeable the "miss" from further away.

I might try to find a matching tile to the trim color and put it in the drywall area.

jannicone - that's kind of how I've settled on it. The thought of the sheetrock possibly getting damaged including all that other stuff you mentioned, PLUS the guy who my builder has assigned to the task seems totally dumbfounded and not confident in his capability - it's become too scary to think about. This was a construction (tape measure like you said) problem that he brushed off and didnt fix at the time. He didn't want the windows to move down any because then they would not line up at the top with the rest of the house's windows. Convinced us that would look weird and his promises that that could be worked out once we got to the interior. Ugh I don't want to think about it much anymore. I don't want to seem ungrateful (which he has had the nerve to accuse me of) because this is

What did your construction drawings call for?

And do you have it in writing that you asked for it to look like your inspiration pic?

We're planning to have a granite window sill when we reno our kitchen. Could you do this and have your granite where a back splash would be?

Love your wide windows.

Your kitchen is beautiful. I love the windows. I understand being disappointed when the result doesn't match your vision, but I would leave it.

Looking at your photos, I am concerned about water damage. The faucet and sink are installed very close to the wall/window, and a lot of the water that gets in that area of the faucet is going to flow toward the wall/window and gather in that gap......I think your best option would be to tile and silicone that bit of drywall area in hopes to protect the trim and drywall from water. As it is right now, it won't take long to run into water issues. Every time someone turns the faucet off, your wet hands are going to drip at the handle and you are going to get water in that area. I would waterproof that gap between the countertop and window trim the best you can, and perhaps look into installing one of those touch free faucets to minimize water dripping around the faucet base. And if you have children, maybe get them into the habit of washing their hands at a different sink. ;-)

If the tops of the windows don't line up with the rest of the windows in the house, he should have ordered longer windows.

I understand the frustration - this probably should have been a VERY custom window size (that also might have looked weird from the outside, BTW) and he simply didn't do it. So - I tend to agree that it was important to line up the window headers for what it was going to look like from the outside.

I agree with waterproofing the area, and one comment I remember from the Kitchen forums with faucets like yours (and having lived with one - single lever) was to orient the level FORWARD instead of to the side. That way any drips fall into the sink as you turn the faucet on and off instead of the side / back. When I saw that, I was like "duh"... and it makes perfect sense with a single bowl. My current house has a granite divider so we'd still drip on the counter so I have not adjusted it - but in new house faucet(s) will align with center or sink bowl(s) - and you can be sure that I'll have the handles forward.

Hang in there - this too, shall pass.

Perhaps not everyones choice but we went the other way, raising kitchen windows and increasing backsplash height for a few reasons 1. To prevent water splashing on the window, with 27" deep counters it would be harder to reach across to clean the windows. 2. To help line windows up to external windows line and 3. To make top of windows reach bottom of second cabinet layer. Below is a rendering of the completed look.

I went back and forth with my architect over this very detail when designing our house. He wanted my kitchen window to sit flush with my countertop like your inspiration pic. I liked the look of that concept but when I started thinking about the practicality of it, I decided to raise my window up a bit (or actually shorten the window). Knowing how much water splashes behind my sink at my current house, I would be constantly wiping off water from my window sill. And water would likely be splashing on the window itself leaving me to constantly clean water drops or not clean it and stare at water drops all time (the more likely scenario!).

I wouldn't put a piece of wood under your window. I'd leave it so you have no trim or apron below the window. I'd use your backsplash tile to extend under the window and tie the two sides together. The tile backsplash will prevent water damage far better than sheetrock or wood.

Your kitchen looks lovely!

Here is one of my inspiration pics. You can see the window just ends at the sill. Nothing below it but tile.

Palmetto Bluff - Private Residence · More Info

Yes can you put a true window sill on with just tile below? That is what I'm planning on doing with my windows.

I will have a couple of windows at counter height. one in the pantry (no water source) and one in the laundry which I am already second guessing because the new washers are all using integrated pedestals and they def won't fit under the window, let alone the counter....

We'll see how it works out - I wanted the clear / unobstructed views without anything vertical - but - like I said - nothing near a water source. And it took all truly custom windows to get there, keeping the header height consistent.

I have planned for the same thing. I told my builder I wanted my windows to sit on the counter. We went over it several times. Your builder should have ordered taller windows to make up for the fact that they wouldn't line up on top. I had the sink base cabinet bumped out a few inches for greater distance between sink and window. My builder also removed the lower extension jamb (see pic). My counter will (hopefully) slide into the place where the jam was. We are still waiting on cabinet installation...keeping my fingers crossed it all fits together well. If it was me though (if I chose to not make him do it the way it should have been done), I would at the very least INSIST on some form of compensation. Especially because you mentioned it to him back when it was an easy fix. This one aspect of my kitchen was super, super important to me. I'm bit fanatical about my windows :)

Pretty view out your window BTW.

I am assuming your builder meant he would put a sill in with an apron underneath like in this picture...