Beautiful job.

Everything is stunning.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Spectacular! It really is perfection!

Yowza!!!

Where did you get the comfort mat that sits in front of the sink? Do you like it?

Really outstanding kitchen!!!!!

Shady,

As I said near the top, the island was designed for work and non-seated entertaining.

We are empty nesters, so the vast majority of the year it is just the two of us. The corner bistro table and hidden TV is perfect for the morning coffee and news/weather, and the informal dinner for two.

For the cocktail parties and work receptions, people usually float around and seating on the island would block any food or drink placed there. Last weekend, we hosted a reception with 50 people and at one time we had 35 people in the kitchen and butler’s pantry. Comfy seating is in the DR, LR, Library, and sunroom which are all adjacent to the kitchen. Of course, the only challenge is to move people out of the kitchen and into the other spaces!!

During warm weather, the patio is well used and will flow right into kitchen.

So, to your point, it wasn’t an after thought. It was a conscious decision in the design to NOT have chairs or stools along the 13-ft dimension of the island. Two on the end, plus the bistro table was our goal from the beginning.

Oh la la!!! C'est jolie!

Love it

Incredible! I love all the details and everything comes together so well. I love the coffered ceiling (I'm doing one also)! That range...wowzers!

Luckyblueeye,

While we have only lived with the CornuFe range for a short while, I really like it.

Since there are very few in our area and the number of online reviews are limited, it was the biggest risk in our design especially since it has a width of 110cm (43.3 inches) vs the more standard 36 or 48 inches of US ranges.

The gas burners work well, are sufficiently powerful, and an AllClad griddle sits perfectly on the left two burners. We plan to get the La Cornue French plaque accessory ($$) at some point in the future.

The smaller double ovens fit our cooking style, and I like the multifunction settings of the left oven (right is convection only). Sizing our range oven for a 20+ pound turkey didn’t make sense for us, especially since for the past decade I’ve cooked the Thanksgiving turkey on the big green egg. One thing that required some change was sheet pans. In the smaller ovens, we use half sheet pans. The W-S Goldtouch non-stick pans work great, and we can easily have 6 pans going at once (3 in each oven).

I do have to say that La Cornue customer service has been outstanding, too. The towel bar on the range arrived scratched and they sent a replacement the next day.

Enjoy, it's fantastic! I also cook my turkey in a smoker, frees up the range nicely...and makes a pretty amazing bird :)

Everything's been said that I would have said. Congrats. I'm impressed with the spice drawer, too. Very convenient next to the stove.

ljptwt7, we hope to stay in the house for a long time and have the health of the previous owners. They were in their late 80s when we bought it from them (on a handshake without a realtor). The husband flew a WWII Warbird (P-51 mustang) for his 90th birthday, and the last I heard they had celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary and he had bought a new set of golf clubs, which is amazing for someone in their mid 90s...

Absolutely gorgeous. I love that the island is a working island, and it also would function so well to have people mulling around during a party. The navy cabinets are beautiful, the ceiling is beautiful, the windows are beautiful. I love it!

Beautiful!

What an impressive outcome! I think your palette is lovely, and thank you for sharing the daytime photos...at last ;-)

To me, the no-seating island is extremely elegant for that space, and I must say I noticed (and loved) the inclusion of the bistro table as soon as I saw it. The orangerie inspiration is unusual, and well-executed here. I've seen examples where it's done too literally, and it just isn't practical. I'm kind of amazed you got this much done in 13 months. Kudos to you, your architect, and the builders. Hope to see the rest of the project soon. Enjoy it!!

p.s. Just a guess: the wall cabinets are Chelsea Grey and the island/drink cabinets Hale Navy? Excellent color choices, whatever they are!

Scottie_mom,

Yeah, our architect steered us away from a full-blown orangerie due to problems with thermal control during both summer and winter. When the outside details are wrapped up, I'll post a few photos later this spring. By the way, the Elmwood cabinet color names were Polo Blue and Stonedust.

Ah. Lucky you--and smart to accept the advice. Your photos point to another issue: at night, glass is black! I think some thoughtful landscape lighting will make your new kitchen feel really connected to the outdoors at night, and you'll have the best of all worlds.

Thanks for the color names. I'm not familiar with those cabinets, but they look fantastic!

wow! it is so elegant and beautiful! I love the orangerie concept! are you going to grow a few potted citrus plants too?

Scottie_mom, outside lighting and landscaping are coming! Just need to get some nice weather for the GC to get the crew back working on the project.

Elmwood cabinets are manufactured in Canada and are part of the Cabico family of cabinets https://cabico.com/en/

Yes, I am in Virginia too, and the weather has been terrible for any kind of construction--for about 13 months now. That's why I'm so impressed with your progress! In fact, I've got a kitchen project awaiting a 110cm La Cornue right now. The inside things are easier to complete than the outside lately, but the rain has slowed a lot of people down.

Thanks for the cabinet links!

michoumonster, we're on the same wavelength about potted citrus. We seriously were looking at lemon trees, but they seem to need south facing windows and 8+ hours of direct sunlight. Our windows face W-NW, and the afternoon sunlight is screened by some 80-year-old boxwoods which offer privacy to the patio and the kitchen, and shade to the patio during the hot afternoons of summer, which means that we probably don't have the right environment for citrus.

Nice to hear you're being thoughtful about the landscaping and exterior lighting to bring a bit of the view of the exterior inside at night. We jumped ahead of our ongoing remodel and started the exterior landscaping, including subtle lighting. It really does bring the outside inside : )

Congratulations on a job exceptionally well done. Cheers to many years of enjoying the beautiful environment you've created!

Very beautiful - I spotted and loved your wall of windows even in the nighttime pics. The daytime ones are glorious! You must be thrilled with your new space. Congratulations!

what are the MM of the quartz you used? I am trying to do a think quartz like this. But they are telling me I need plywood support no matter what

Eric, maybe try some dwarf varieties? I profess that I am no gardener, but I do have some kumquats and dwarf meyer lemons that are under the shade of a giant oak and they still bear fruit. Hope you will enjoy many years in your spectacular kitchen at any rate!

HU-5,

The thickness of the quartz countertop is a standard 3cm or 30mm. There is no plywood support underneath, but we also have no unsupported overhangs for seating. The small peninsula at the end of the island is supported by legs, and a frame which connects them to the cabinets.

Ibkeyes,

We have a Technivorm Moccamaster coffee maker and with water temperature of 200F at the discharge head it doesn’t make steam. If using the electric teakettle, which boils the water, I would pull that out of the cabinet.

Therefore, I haven’t noticed a moisture problem yet. Matter of fact I’ve felt the underside of the shelf above after brewing a pot and it is dry. Also, I am hopeful that if there is a small amount of moisture that the factory painted surfaces of the cabinetry would better resist it than a wood surface.

However, we did talk to the trim carpenter and cabinet installer about possibly putting a pull-out shelf for the coffee maker to sit on, which would allow easier filling of water and steam escape, but for now, we have decided against that idea for aesthetics and because it isn’t needed.

Wow! This is beautiful! Congratulations on this project - so glad we could be a part of it!

A few BEFORE photos to show the exterior and the small original kitchen. Pretty amazing how far it has come.

And a few of the orangeries that inspired our project. Will post some outside photos when we are closer to being done.

Simply gorgeous!

Do you happen to remember what color grout you used with the Artigiano tile? I’m considering it, and think I’d prefer a grayish grout over white. I know the way the time is made, the grout lines will be bigger. Any suggestions, and how do you like it?