That looks great!! All the colors look great together and created a airy vibe. Good for you for keeping the ceiling, it gives the space a bit of whimsy and looks so happy, how can someone look at that and not smile :0)

Beautiful! I especially love your blue island and backsplash. That’s a clever use of your microwave, and the pantry is fantastic.

Thank you, @rebunky, @mxk3 z5b_MI and @chicagoans! I'm really pleased on how the colors and textures came out.

And yes, I am very glad that the ceiling gets to truly shine now - it is a great source of smiles. We have consulted with the ceiling artist (one of my sisters), who is also in agreement with the color scheme :) She will be working on a couple of small repairs - filling in a couple of the holes where the pot rack used to be, and filling in one paint chip space in a corner (where some tape for one of the plastic walls was during construction) with an amendment - a small airplane, banking into the great beyond that is the family room :)

I was a bit nervous about a non-neutral color on cabinetry, but am really pleased with the island - changing it up to a stained texture was absolutely the right call for us, to keep things from becoming too stuffy-feeling. The one grumble point for me on it, is the seating.... our aisles are not standard width, and it works OK for us, we really use that island; but I was ready to part ways with the seating overhang. DH, however, was adamant about keeping it.... the house-peace-keeping compromise was to retain it, but cut back the overhang, which we did. Of course, now that it's in, and he's had a chance to sit and experience it, he's thinking that the maybe the seat in front of the pantry won't be used as much..... the thought bubble above my head reads: 'um, gee.... ya think?!?? ' sheesh....

And yes, I'm digging the pantry a great deal. I'm looking for a good source of marble to make a shelf, and place on the lowest shelf to finish off the aesthetics. It's a small job, but I'm sure I can find a fabricator somewhere with a remnant that's up for some easy money :)

Super!!! Enjoy those clouds overhead in a very sunny RESULT!!!

Thank you, Jan! I am looking forward to sitting down one weekend morning, cup of tea in hand, and watching the sun just light up the space.

Wow! Wonderful transformation! I love it all, but I think the pantry is my favorite.

Resource List below.

Cabinetry:

• Perimeter – Omega - Full Access (frameless) line, painted maple. Door style: Cayhill, color: Pearl
• Island – Shiloh – Eclipse line – stained – Door style: Windsor, Color: Hudson

Hardware:

All handles - Hickory Hardware, ‘Twist’ line, color: Elusive Golden Nickel - various sizes

Backsplash:

• Field tile: Glazzio – Crystile glass tile – color: Morning Mist, color C11 (note: I’ve seen this tile on a number of sites, and for some reason the color presention changes a lot depending on the site you’re on. Would always recommend you get a tile sample when choosing items, but especially so for this color. )
• Field tile Grout: Mapei - I can’t remember the line, but know that it was for unsanded grout – color: Armor

• Behind the hood – Glazzio – Crystile Wave glass tile -color: Bright White, C00-W
• Behind the hood grout: Mapei, again, can’t remember the line, but unsanded – color: Frost. (Note here: our original grout color choice for this tile was Moonbeam; but a miscommunication with the GC company resulted in the wrong grout color being applied. (longer story there) we decided to accept the Frost color that had been applied, but note that if you want to use this tile, there may be other grout colors that are a better match depending on the look you want to achieve.)

Countertop (perimeter and island):

• Quartz
• Manufacturer - Silestone
• Color: Pietra
• 3cm thickness
• Suede finish.

(to us, the colors looked richer with the Suede finish, keeps us from having too much shine next to the backsplash, and eliminates reflection of under cabinet lighting)

Under Cabinet lighting: Task lighting, Tandem LED products – dimmable and tunable (I think the range goes from 2700K to 5000K)

Vent hood: Zephyr, Venezia model. Installed with 8” round duct. One bend to get outside. MUA system also installed.

Sink: Kraus, Kore workstation 36” 16 Gauge Stainless Steel Single Bowl Farmhouse Kitchen sink, model # KWF210-36

Faucet: Moen, Arbor Spot Resist Stainless One-Handle High Arc Pulldown Kitchen Faucet, model 7594SRS

Island pendants – Bicycle Glass, 767 Glacial Single pendant light, color:Eco Clear

link to Bicycle glass website:

Pendant lighting track: Home Depot, WAC lighting components, ‘H’ configuration track

Dinette light:

Manufacturer: Crystorama – Style: Libby Langdon For Crystorama, Graham 6 Light Chandelier (part of the Graham Collection?) Color: Antique Silver

Sliding door window treatment: Levolor Perceptions Sheer Vertical Shades – color: Translucent Whisper

Flooring: Shaw Floors – Prodigy HDR Plus – color: Hygge.

Blue wall color: Benjamin Moore, Province Blue, 2135-40

It came out great and it's so refreshing to see something so original and fun! It makes me smile.

Ton of great storage. The white and bright blue make it feel so spacious. The ceiling is a nice departure from the norm.

I remember following your original post and I am so impressed with what you created! It is really lovely and functional. Love the colors and the clouds - very inspiring!

The transformation of your space is stunning. It looks beautiful. I think my favourite items are the counter, the elimination of the soffits and the elimination of the valance over the sliding glass doors. You really brought your space into an era of being timeless.

And it all enhances and plays so well with your sisters artistry on the ceiling.

Since you are an out of the box thinker, I suggest you install an LED channel along the ceiling to do some thin upward lighting to really highlight the sky during the day. You can use smart LED strips to adjust the color temperature to change throughout the day to match the light outside. I use this technique in my cove ceiling and a couple unseen lights in my bathrooms. It might look something like this. Kudos to the creativity!

Interesting thought on the perimeter ceiling lights - amazing to see what LED can do these days!

Sharing a Pantry update; and looking for input!

We finished putting up the pantry lights last night - don’t know if ’fridgeatize’ is a word, but i really like that we no longer have, literally, a black hole into which foodstuffs go, never to be seen again :)

The light sensor (upper right in the detail photo) is door-activated, versus motion-activated; that would’ve driven me nuts!

All components obtained on Amazon, save some spray paint for the light channels.

Looking for advice on whether it’s worth trying to source a piece of marble for the lower shelf. I’m not looking to use any appliances within the pantry, it’s purely for visual effect; but want to save myself from one of those ’just one more cute thing’ decisions that ends up being one thing too much.

Thoughts please! Marble shelf or no?

As I wrote earlier, your pantry is my favorite part of your kithen (though I love everything in your kitchen). I would not put a marble piece on a pantry shelf. Marble has two functions in the kitchen IMHO: (1) it adds a beauty that is unique to marble, and (2) provides a cool surface to roll out dough or other baking needs. Neither of those will happen inside the pantry. Not only will you not see it in the pantry, but it will have items placed on it on that shelf, so will be even more hidden. The marble will also be very heavy--plus whatever the weight of whatever you put on that shelf. I am sure your pantry shelves are designed for that weight, for over the next years, why add that additional wear?

If you want some marble in your kitchen, you could take a square or rectangle of marble and put in on one of your counters.

Looks fantastic! so fresh, lovely AND practical - enjoy!!

Thanks M Miller! I started to have some concerns about the utility once I got a quote yesterday, specifically on the weight component - I originally thought, ”well it’s not a full countertop, it can’t be that heavy…. and my thinking was then augmented by reality :)

This is unique and lovely. The ceiling is a nice whimsical touch, very glad you kept it. The amount of storage you have throughout was a very brilliant idea. I find that outlets on islands have been very helpful for people to have. This is a great remodel and you should be very proud.

Thanks May Construction! Yes, the ceiling seems to be both whimsical and unique; we really love it. This level of refresh was new to us, and I am proud of the results we were able to gain with the space and constraints we had to work with; I unofficially dubbed it the 'Our Little Kitchen' project :)

Beautiful transformation! All colors blends really well!

Very creative and unique!

The lighter cabinets look beautiful! Great job! Congratulations!

Thanks, Notting Hill Decorative Hardware! Yes, the lighter cabinets really make a difference - same physical space, but it seems much larger, and more upbeat.

That's one functional kitchen

Thank you, Easy Interior Design and Aardvark Architecture! Yes, the refresh did give us some additional functionality; it is interesting how small changes, and a bit of organization, can make a substantial impact. I'm finding that 'Prep Corner Central', curving from the sink around to the stovetop, is a much more active and efficient space now; got all of my most needed items for that space within arm's reach, and nice bright under cabinet lighting to work by.

The ceiling definitely takes center stage now, and I love the use of the blue on the island to balance it out. Your space is very cheerful now, and I'm sure it makes you smile every day!

Thank You McGuire + Co. Kitchen & Bath! Yes, smiles are standard on the menu now :) Looking forward to holiday meal prep for family and friends.

Easy Interior Design - I tried to send you a message regarding photo use for 3D rendering - I'm not certain if I sent it correctly. Please PM me for specifics regarding credit attribution.

Nice Job. I love white and blue. Would you be able to find paint-able outlet covers and paint them close to the color of the back splash? That would bring a more watery feel to the kbs..

Gorgeous! You have done what you set out to do - keep the ceiling mural, improve storage and ease of cooking and make it updated but not sterile. The white cabinets absolutely complement the ceiling, which was the most critical “must have”.

I hope you smile every morning when you rediscover you new kitchen. Bravo!

This before and after is incredible! It’s so lovely!

Thanks Jennifer, RedRyder and ffpalms!

Jennifer - I haven't looked for paintable outlet covers so far, but I'd guess they're out there somewhere, will have to keep my eyes open for some. Interesting that you mention a more watery feel to the backsplash; the original backsplash tile we wanted was the same manufacturer, color and dimension that you see here, but it had the wave texture like the tile behind the hood - would have made for some very cool moving water all around! Unfortunately, when it came time to order all of the materials, that blue wave was Sold Out - Everywhere..... don't know what happened, and we couldn't get any clarity on when it would be back in, so we opted to go with the straight version.

@RedRyder, It Does make me smile every morning! Right about now, I'll take all the smiles I can get, so it's awesome to have a ready source, if for nothing else than to still be amazed by the feel of the place, both overall and the little things we didn't have before, like soft-close hinge mechanisms, a Big 'Ol Sink, and tunable under cabinet lighting. And, Thank You for your help in providing advice on handle sizes a while back - your suggestion was spot on for the wider drawers (you advised that 8" would be OK vs trying to find 12"; we kept the 12s to the pantry cabinet only), they came out great!

And @ffpalms, Thank You for posting the composite before and after photos - I hadn't done that yet, and it is an eye-opener to see them together!

I remember you posting about that amazing ceiling awhile ago. What a great job! I love those pendants! And the step stool niche is genius, says the 4'11" lady who's always kicking her step stool out of the way.

Thanks Emily R! Yes, Bicycle Glass has some really neat lights - it's a focused set of lines, but I like the quality of the work, and that it's using recycled materials. I was really drawn to their blue glass at the outset, it is stunning!

Laughing here on the step stool reference: before we got this one, I wasn't kicking mine out of the way as much as endlessly searching the house trying to find out where the one I needed, was :)

Greetings all - back to finally add a photo of the new kitchen table and chairs. We chose a wood and color that can serve as a transition to the family room. The style isn't particularly unusual, but we ended up with a wood type that I wouldn't have thought to look for: Elm.

Sharing photos of the tabletop here, in case it sparks ideas for others - wouldn't go in every decor, but if you're interested in such things, this natural grain is wild and amazing!

When DH and I shop for furniture, we tend to gravitate towards different styles, and come to compromise at the end. This one made us both stop: "Ooh - what is that?" We figured we were on to something...