Even before fully taking in your beautiful updates, I sighed a breath of relief that you left the beautiful oak island! I feel painting it would disconnect your icebox designed fridge. I love the sconces and cherry counters! Beautiful kitchen!

Just noticed your sconces are plug in may I ask how you turn them on? is the source on the plug or the base? I want to try out sconces before paying the electrician to make mess and junction boxes for hardwire and mist plug in have on buttons on their base to high to reach in the spot I plan to put them.

Love it all.

Lovely! The sconces are perfect.

Oh my goodness, everything looks so wonderful! Love all of your choices. My dream kitchen.

You know how activists will sit in a tree they don’t want cut down? I’m going to do that with your island so you can’t paint it. I’ll camp out on it however long it takes. 😎

The sconces are perfect.

(now I may try to find the earlier thread and see what I thought when you were asking).

This is beautiful. Just beautiful!

Some how it escaped me that there were going to be 4 sconces. Love the repetition! Everything looks great, but you better put a saucer under that olive tree before it damages the counter. 😉 😂

I'm not sure I've seen more than a pic or two of your kitchen as it was. IMHO, it's the sign of a well done space to be able to do a few little touches to refresh. The whole thing is lovely and timeless - such good bones.

It all look so nice and the sconces are just right.

Looks awesome, the sconces are totally working and lovely! A blue island would not work I don't think. I Like the oak. If I painted anything it might be the worktable black.

I was not in on the original dithering but have to say everything looks 'of a piece' and part of a long term relationship. Beautiful and inviting.

Beautiful - absolutely love the sconces! And I agree that the island is lovely left natural wood and the black clock is a winner.

Beautiful! It really came together nicely. I was lukewarm on the sconces but I love them seeing them in your space... and I really like the new faucet as well.

The sconces are perfect as are the counter tops and faucet. Such a beautiful and timeless kitchen. It looks like a dream to work in. Very well done! I will tie myself to Jinx on the oak island to stop workmen from painting it. Please don’t do that 😊

Perfect!!!!!

Hi all,

I'm very happy with the refresh. It's funny but I usually find it frustrating when a poster asks about "x" and gets suggestions about y or z. But in this case adding the sconces, for example, was really important. I think it balances the room and is also trendy (in a good way). It also makes the counters prettier, casting a golden glow. My whole family is kind of mourning the deep rich color of our old counters, but I think this was for the best. Also shows less crumbs!

I'm livid that my ~$3000 Herbeau faucet failed, developing an invisible pin prick leak in the metal (my plumber tells me that's due to the quality/thickness of the nickel ...can you hear my head exploding where you are?). That caused the countertop damage, explaining why the runnels in the integrated wooden drainboard had no discoloration from sitting water but the area around the faucets was ruined. There had been a constant tiny nearly invisible drip. I certainly was not going to buy Herbeau again, so i had to replace all three items on the sink (original cost totalling $5500, not that this is stuck in my craw).

I figured if I have to change I may as well make a big change, and to my delight found Kingston-Brass--Gourmetier-Heritage-Pull-Down-Bridge-Faucet for $325!! (Wayfair) I wanted a the high arc sprayer look, but also wanted a bridge and this was the only one I found. I'm flabbergasted at the value. In a perfect world i'd choose a living finish but, hey. I got the second faucet (my sink has always had 2 faucets) for about the same amount and I replaced the Herbeau sprayer with a KB soap dispenser (never had one before).

Marti - My backsplash is the backside of my family room fireplace. I did wonder initially if it would discolor, but it hasn't at all. A lot of people say they don't fry much, but we really don't fry much. I'm still a little surprised that we have no discoloration, maybe it's due to the stainless steel integrated lip.

The sconces really do act like the perfect pieces of jewelry to an already-scrumptious kitchen. I'm sure I can safely speak for us all when I say -- MAJOR KITCHEN ENVY going on!

@mtnrdredux_gw wanted to add after reading the Times article about Nancy Meyers I can honestly say your kitchen fits perfectly within that genre.

Roarah,

My electrician gave me a few choices, and I ended up choosing exposed cloth covered wire (matches existing pendants in K and breakfast room) and a pushbutton on the base of the sconce. We didn't have an easy way to do them all on one wall switch. One option he also gave me that might work for you is a pull chain? Given the vintage of your home I think that'd be nice?

Jinx, too funny! DH is right there with you, as is my paint guy. My DD's are split.

Trail, what a generous compliment, thank you.

Quick warning about pull chains. First a brief not about DH. He’s a wonderful guy and I am the messier one in that family.

That being said, DH has broken every single pull chain light in the house from the two original ones in the closets to brand new ceiling fans. I have no idea how he’s accomplished that, but thought I’d give you a warning.

Your refresh looks wonderful. Sconces are a highlight for me. Good call on the island for now, I'm still thinking black. The room exudes character, warmth and charm. Just lovely.

I just love your counters!!!

Everything looks beautiful - so warm and inviting. I wasn't sure about the sconces but they are wonderful.

Everything looks great! Love the sconces!

I love everything about your kitchen. I forget what the counter looked like before.

The sconces look great as do the counters!

Bunny, here is a before:

Oh goodness, I had forgotten they were darker, Mtn. The new finish is so much better. Lighter and brighter. You must be thrilled with the new look. I am in the ‘save the island camp’.

Wonderful!!! Isn't it amazing what a few little changes and one large change can do. Your kitchen was beautiful before and now it is even more beautiful, warm and homey.

Love the lighter stain on the counters - it allows the beautiful grain of the wood to show, especially with the light from the sconces. Beautifully done.

Love it. All of it.

The new faucet is gorgeous, but I need to ask, please: weren’t you a little hesitant about the price ?Judging by the Herbeau, maybe price doesn’t always equal quality. but because it’s brass, I;d wonder about how well the Finish will wear. Love brass and must replace my oil rubbed bronze, so would love to hear your reasons for choosing it. BTW, the “ living “ finish I expected to wear beautifully like antiques I love ...? Well, not so much, actually; now It just look ugly. But, it’s been about 10 Years.

Well, Marti, I am kind of impatient and this was the only one I could find. I wanted to keep a 8" spread bridge faucet because I was using the same holes. (actually not but that's another story) And I wanted brass and a high arc faucet with a sprayer. I could be wrong, but I think this is the only one? I really like the look. It got good ratings. And I'd hate to be wasteful, but I could replace it nearly ten times for the price of Herbeau.

By the way, most Herbeau finishes have no warranty at all, on several they only guarantee the finishes for 2 years,with a few for 5 years.

@martinca_gw sunset zone 24 For your raw brass fixtures, you can purchased Simichrome polish

...and then use Renaissance to protect. I purchased both based on Waterworks recommendations. I've used the Simichrome once, but not since. It worked beautifully in taking the bathroom faucets back to the original shiny brass (which I don't want, just did for DH so he could see that it works).

Thanks, Allison, wish I’d known of that before my brass frit handle got so worn... it needs to be refinished. Will definitely Make a note on that. MTN, the faucet looks great and will last beyond your selling, I’m sure. As others have said, you had me at those floors!

Now wait, you have new counters so you weren't using the same holes. 'Fess up, you just like the bridge faucet! It does look perfect, of course.

Bpath, the counters are not new. I was totally unwilling to ditch 1.5" solid cherry! They are refinished. That was why I needed another 8" on center bridge faucet, to use the same holes.

However, when my guy sanded them down, there was still discoloration around where the faucets attach to the counter (did I mention the pinhole leak where the nickel bridge failed? did I mention it was a $3000 Herbeau faucet that just wore through? Oh, I see, I've only mentioned that twice? : )

What to do?

My carpenter created a little wooden platform to sit on top of the counter, and the new faucets are installed on top of that. You can see it if you look at the sink photo, inserted again below. Interesting no one mentioned it. I think it is fine since we have a country casual home. We did discuss other choices, eg my DH wanted a white marble platform there instead of the wood. That might look nice, but it will also draw attention to it. Good thing is, we can change that out easily if it gets ruined or we change our mind.

PS A little shout out to my D/W tablet holder, shown left. I had had a plastic jar on my counter and even my DS expressed surprise that I would "display" D/W tablets. Got this on Etsy and it sparks joy!

Mtn, I have to give Mr Jinx credit ... I was showing him your updates last night and he noticed it first thing. I didn’t before! I would make the worst police witness in the history of the world.

Love the tablet holder, I’ve been looking for something decorative like that to keep the pods in. Now I’m inspired. :)

LOL, IIRC your DH is an electrician? Did he notice my funky exposed wiring? My guy tells me it will hang straight eventually (it is shipped as a coil). But I feel vindicated about the exposed wire. I saw it in a UK decor show last night (love love this room BTW), and in a lamp DD got from Ikea.

Lamp w exposed cord:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ranarp-floor-reading-lamp-with-led-bulb-off-white-20419657/

I didn’t want to say anything, but yes, he noticed. Mtn, this man critiques electrical work everywhere we go! Sitting in a restaurant, I see him looking up, looking around ... oh, boy. Here we go. And I get a long story on everything he doesn’t approve of. 😂

I‘ll show him your article. We like to debate design vs his wiring obsession.

He loves your house, he’ll get over the cords. 😁

Mtn....Just took some time to study your photos....your kitchen is SO warm & inviting! Your floors, stove, scones, new faucet, counters...all just perfect! It looks so functional too! I love how you fixed your sink problem with that wood piece, too! I would come cook with you any day!!

So pretty.

I think the lighter countertop stain achieves the lightened-up look you were going for in the refresh. I like everything, and knowing the backstory I am glad you decided not to paint the island. Bummer about your faucet but I like the way the new one ties in with your sconces. Great job!

Love everything you’ve done! Your kitchen has such character & your new changes look like they’ve always been there. A testament to timeless design-that you can make a few tweaks to improve on an already fabulous kitchen.

Bummer abt the faucet, but the new one looks great & of good quality!

Wow...what a lovely kitchen. It was beautiful before, and now it is beautiful and refreshed. Pat yourself on the back!

The sconces are everything, they bring the eye up to balance. You have a good eye for everything you've added. Remarkable job.

Exactly, Yaya. I don't know why it took me 10 years to see that imbalance.