More pictures

Here is how the kitchen used to look like before.

Wow, what a delight! The transformation from before to now is fantastic. I love all the detail you included about the materials you chose. Your Fireclay tile is lovely. I really like how well the colors match between the two styles.

Question about the large prep sink; you sacrificed a lot of counter space, are you happy with that decision? Does the flow work well for you? Does the cutting board fit across the entire width of the sink? I'd love to see a picture of it in place. :)

What a wonderful improvement.

I've bookmarked this for an example of a wonderful wood cabinet kitchen:)

Love the walnut! What a positive change...congrats.

Amazing transformation! I love it.

Did you say what the fridge is, and I missed it?

I replaced my kitchen's window - which is wide like yours - with a Marvin Ultimate casement like yours. What a difference from the previous horrid Pella! My kitchen is eat-in, with the table at the window, so it was important not to have ice dams and freezing drafts at the window while we were eating which were happening with the Pella. The Marvin Ultimates are great even tho the cost was so high. My window trim is painted white. The person who did your window's trim staining did a fantastic job!

Did you make the window opening larger for the new window? It looks like it. Was that difficult?

Amazing transformation! It's so sleek with wonderful touches like your cabinets and the fireclay tiles. I too would love to hear about your experiences with your prep sinks once you've "broken them in". Congrats!

Thanks for the kind words.

The prep sink works very well. This was something that I really really wanted, and I am so glad that I went with it. With the cutting board, it makes for a great prep surface. Here are some pictures to show how I use it almost daily. I cut my veggies on the cutting board and can directly slide them into the prep bowls. Any waste directly goes into another bowl which then I transfer into the compost container. The bank of drawers on the right holds all my prep tools.

I have a cooking zone and a baking zone in my kitchen. The baking zone is between the refrigerator and the cleanup sink, and I use the prep sink for my daily cooking. If there is interest I can show more details of the workflow and storage in the two zones.

@friedajune: The refrigerator is a Miele KF1903SF. As for the window, we had to reframe the opening. We used to have two windows and I eventually decided to go with one big one. It was a tough decision since this was a somewhat expensive option, but I am glad that we bit the bullet. It is nice to have a window that lets in lots of light. As for the staining, yes the painter did a fantastic job.

vishketan, thanks for posting pictures of how you use the prep sink. I really like the looks of it both aesthetically and functionally. I predict that people will refer to this reveal for some time to come, because you have done something we don't often see. I'm also glad you explained your zones. It makes it easy to picture how the kitchen functions now. Nice faucets, btw. That cutting board is enviable!

Very nice! I love the wood finish, and the big window is great!

@Cheryl Hewitt: Thanks for your kind words. We spent over a year just thinking about the layout and how it would function. It was very frustrating to talk to kitchen designers who were all focused on the looks. Asking questions in this forum was a refreshing change. Everybody talked about function and efficiency. I learned a lot. You can see so many GW touches in my kitchen :)

@Cheryl Hewitt: Fireclay custom hand paints every single tile. So you can get them to mix and match any color of your choice. That is why the colors of the backsplash tiles match.

@2ManyDiversions: Thanks for the kind words. I am only giving back a tiny bit to the community that gave me so much time, knowledge, and wisdom.

The pan drawer is 24.75" wide, 34" high, and 29" deep. Deep cabinets were an idea I learned about here. I also learned about measuring your pots and pans to make sure that they fit. We literally measured the height of every pot and pan in our kitchen and which area of the kitchen we wanted them to go. As a consequence there is very little "dead space" in our kitchen so far.

Thank you for the dimensions!

We literally measured the height of every pot and pan in our kitchen and which area of the kitchen we wanted them to go. Yep - same here or attempting to (struggling with other storage currently), I'm still working on my Organization Map (buehl's excellent post, everyone should do this!) - I keep changing it, and have told the cabinet maker I cannot tell him how many drawer stacks I need until I have the interior dimensions (he's doing something a bit different, so it's taking him a extra time)! I'm not surprised you've done this, your kitchen is incredibly well-thought out.

I am only giving back a tiny bit to the community that gave me so much time, knowledge, and wisdom. I wish I'd joined GW months before I did - we planned our kitchen over several months (badly) only to take as long re-doing it and thinking things through after the wonderful advice I've gotten here... loving GW'ers!

Wow. What a beautiful space! It's obvious your careful planning paid off to the nth degree! I hope you enjoy your amazing kitchen for a very long time!

@CEFreeman: Thanks for your kind words.

I love your kitchen!

Beautiful job. And so nice to see a warm kitchen that is not all white. I especially love that backsplash.

How was your experience with the Barker Cabinets. We are considering the cherry ones for our kitchen as well. Did you put them together or have a contractor do it. What were some of your reasons for choosing Barker over other brands?

Gorgeous woods! Sapele is my favorite. Fabulous job.

@rhay: My one line summary of my experience with Barker Cabinets is that it depends. In terms of product quality they are very very good. There are some challenges and pitfalls that you need to be aware of if you are going the RTA route (much of it is not specific to Barker). See here for my in-depth and long review

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4848864/in-depth-review-of-my-experience-with-barker-cabinets

I hope that it helps. This time I enlisted my contractor to put together the cabinets, but during my previous project I did it myself. Assembly is not very challenging.

@cpartist: I wanted a wood rich kitchen :) But I did sneak in some elements of white via the backsplash and the countertops. The backsplash took a while to get right, but we love it!

The walnut is beautiful and you have been very helpful in explaining your thought processes and documenting your issues and successes along the way. So many of us only do a major remodel like this once or twice in life and it's helpful to hear of other people's experiences. Thank you! The transformation is amazing and I can tell that you will enjoy cooking in that kitchen for many years to come!

@Laura: Thanks for your kind words. My hope is that some people who are considering a remodel can benefit a tiny bit from my experience. I have learned a lot from here :)

@vishketan: I am currently considering to go with Barker cabinets for my upcoming kitchen remodel and have a few questions regarding your list of parts used. You said the hardware is from Holdahl Company but don't the Barker cabinets come with all the hardware needed, like runners hinges etc? Same goes for the trash pullout, why did you decide to get it from Amazon when Barker cabinets offers those and then how did you match the doors to the other Barker cabinets, just order an additional door and mount it to the Amazon trash pull out somehow? Also, did you use cabinet vision to plan all the Barker cabinets? It looks like it is the only tool that they have 3D models of all their cabinets for.

@first name: Barker cabinets come with the hardware for the cabinets such as hinges etc. I am talking about things like lazy Susan hardware or the oil pullout hardware. You can also buy from Barker but they only offer rev-a-shelf and I wanted Kessebohmer (IMHO they are better quality).

As for Trash pullout, Barker did not offer an option for having them installed under the sink like I wanted. I have a small kitchen and wanted to efficiently use my space. A trash pullout would have used up valuable cabinet space. I did not install the hinges on the door which is attached to the trash pullout. Instead the door is attached directly to the trash pullout.

I did not use cabinet vision since they don't have a mac version available. I used Sketchup and got some generic templates from the Sketchup community library.

Gorgeous. and thank you for pictures of the tapmaster and such detailed information. This post is a true asset to the community, and such a great example of what you can do in a remodel.

VERY WELL DONE - you must be thrilled!

What a beautiful space, and what well-thought-out choices you’ve made. Enjoy your new kitchen in the best of health.

I do love Fireclay Tile and you’ve used it beautifully. I don’t know what it is about their handpainted line, but three rounds of mistakes seems to be the norm with those tiles, even when the design is fairly simple.

@jannicone and eam44: Thanks for your kind words.

Fireclay tiles are beautiful indeed, and it is painful to get them to make the tiles you want. But, at least, they are very courteous and helpful throughout the whole process. Also, the final product is worth the pain :)

lovely -- so warm and inviting. Those handpainted fireclay tile are stunning! Sorry to hear it took three tries, but glad to know the company made it right. Enjoy your new space!

@pipdog: Thanks

vishketan, can you elaborate more on the trash cabinet that open when you tap slightly with your foot, please? The only thing I have found is the type that uses a servo drive motor to open the cabinet. Is that what you have? Thanks!

Wow, what a well thought out remodel. LOVE your sinks! May I ask what size they are? We are getting a ledge sink from creategoodsinks as well for our new home and I'm on the fence between the 50" and the 56". Curious how you like the sizes of yours and if you would've gone bigger if you had the space (ours will be going into a 13' island).

@kawerkamp: My ledge sink is 50". I did not have a ton of space but I fell in love with the concept of a ledge sink with a movable cutting board. It is indeed very useful and makes prepping a breeze. I also had very good experience with Dan Sullivan. Send him an email or call him, and he will respond to you within hours, even during weekends!

@R S: I went through many iterations of the design including a couple which involved making the kitchen open. But it just did not flow with the rest of the house. Also it did not suit our style of cooking. I am not against open kitchens, it just has to work for you!

Thank you, vishketan--glad you are loving your ledge sink--I have fantasies about how my prep flow will improve when I get mine! I see you did 2 faucets--do you think you could get by with one or are two pretty essential just for the sake of reach (we are doing a pull-down faucet)? For the most part, we are a one-cook household (me), with kids fetching drinks/washing hands, but I will ask them to do that at our second sink, so I don't know whether two faucets are really needed for us.

Two facuets are definitely a luxury. I think I could have gotten away with 1 Kohler Karbon if I wanted to, but some far corners of the ledge might be a stretch to reach.

vishketan Do you use the sink next to the fridge or stove the most? I want move counter space so one would suffice. I too am designing a galley kitchen.

We use both, but the one next to the stove gets used a lot more since it is the main prep sync. The one next to the fridge is the main cleanup sink.