Thank you all for your kind words!! After months and months of coveting everyone else's kitchens, we are happy to finally have something to share. Elle- the cabinets are hand painted, brushed on. It took a lot of tears and sandpaper to finally get the hang of it. Up close and in the right light, the brush marks are apparent but not overstated. I wish we could have sprayed it on..but considering most of these were built in my dining room... We truly didn't have a safe place to set up to spray them. Jejvtr- Hubby is a draftsman for a commercial shop these days. He spent quite a few years as a cabinetmaker, then several years drafting for high end residential. Marcolo - thank you! Its one of my favorite aspects of the cabinets. Sayde- we are over the moon about how it is all coming together. How are things progressing in your kitchen?? I wouldn't be surprised if you were close to finished by now :)

OMG I'm so excited you have no idea. We've been eating burgers, pizza, and chinese for 8 weeks. If I never see another grilled "anything" it will be too soon. We cooked tonight on the cooktop even without the hood in and used the oven. We went to the grocery and I only bought meals for this week that don't normally use a deep fryer or microwave or grill. I got ingredients for chicken n dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs, a really good potroast, and meatloaf with brown beans, collards with ham, and cornbread. lol It was soooo cool to be able to spread out and work. I am also going to make biscuits in the morning, and country ham and sausage gravy. And omelets maybe.. I dunno, depends on who I can wake up and entice to the table. I need to take a class in order to learn how to operate the appliances.

Thanks bmorepanic. Exactly right, there is a spectrum of styles that would work which creates too many options. In the end, it's hard not to let price be the deciding factor. Why pay $25+ a sq/ft if it's no more inspiring than $7 a sq/ft really? The issue of where to start and stop the tile is another thing we can't resolve, especially because of that angled corner. Oh well, any strong opinions are welcomed because we're about ready to toss up our arms in defeat.

Yes, all our recycling has to be clean, and because containers have a tendency to "nest" in the recycling bin, I need the stuff dry before I throw it in there, to avoid mold etc, as recycling is only picked up every two weeks. We recycle and compost more than we trash these days. Good, but requires more logistical organization than the old kitchen provided. I don't think you can underestimate the amount of yogurt three girls go through :-) beth09 I saw it at BB&B, but ended up buying it at Homesense for $30 CDN. It does pay to shop around - I got my kitchen sink half price on Amazon during a flash sale! sjhockeyfan - thanks for the tip - true we do use powdered detergent hmmm....