"Done".

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE:

ALMOST DONE:

First off, let me say, my ISO was set wrong, and that is why these photos are sub-par.  All I can say about that is: 1. I'm too lazy to retake them, and 2. I'm just glad this didn't happen whilst taking photos for someone else.

Secondly, I use the term 'done' loosely, only because there is a lot of knit-picky finish work to be done.  The hardware would all be installed, but the company we got our cabinets from needs to send us several new drawers due to differences in drawer height.  Those drawers are on their way this week, thankfully.  Also, we need to add the toe kick, fill nail holes, add trim pieces to the island, and seal the marble back splash one more time.

The stools came from Overstock.com, and I love, love, love them.  The kids think eating breakfast at the island is boss.  Oh, to be young again, and find such unencumbered pleasure from such a small thing. The warehouse pendants over the island are from Lowe's and they were something like $32 a piece.  I think they're really for garages and such, but who cares?

We also added a pantry, configured with cabinets which we placed right on top of the counters.  It has really been quite an asset to the kitchen.  With such an open floor plan, we don't really have a designated pantry.  There is a triple wide hall closet that I put back-up pantry staples in, but it's nice to not have to walk into the hall every time I want a bowl of cereal, which is about 35.9834 times a day.  I love carbs.  There, I said it.

Some open shelving was a must.  Since we ordered 'in-stock' cabinetry {which isn't really in-stock, by the way}, your custom choices are quite limited.  Which meant Jake had to get creative.  We purchased corbels through the cabinet company, but he had to make the shelves out of melamine shelving and trim that he picked  up from the hardware store.  Voila!  I love them!  He did a GREAT job!

We went with Silestone counter tops.  They are fantastic.  You don't need to seal them like granite, they don't stain, you can chop away on them, and set hot stuff on them.  They are great with littles in the house. I chose 'grey expo' because I thought it looked like poured concrete counters, which I love.  The industrial-esque faucet is from Lowe's.  It is the best, most practical faucet I've ever had or used.  It reminds me of the one we had in the pizzeria I worked at in high school. Fond, fond memories.

You need to think outside of the box sometimes.  Case in point, the over-the-sink light fixture.  It's really an outdoor fixture.  I've used these before in our old house, but I will always love them.  Bonus: they are less than $30 at Lowe's.  You really can't go wrong.  Simple bamboo shade is from Home Depot.  As you can see, I am not loyal to one home improvement store over the other.  Ha!

The marble subway tiles are from Home Depot.  In an ideal world, I would've gotten carrara marble counter tops.  However, they stain.  Enough said with four kids under the age of 10.  This was my way of incorporating the marble without it being on a used & abused surface in the kitchen.  All of our appliances are Kitchen Aid.  This go round we purchased a slide in range.  Holla for slide in ranges!  There are no gaps on the side for gross stuff to fall into.  No more cleaning the sides with a toothpick or fork.  Yipee!

As for the hardware, when it all goes up, it will look like this.  We went with black for contrast.  Classic knobs on the doors, and a more contemporary handle style pull on all of the drawers.  These are all from Lowe's.  Super cheap!  They also have brushed nickel if that's your preference.

It has been a labor of love to say the least.  With this project nearly finished, we can start hanging things on the walls!  You have no idea how happy that makes me.  No idea!  I still really want one of these to lean on one of the cafe shelves, a butcher block cutting board for the island, and a stainless shelf above the range, but, overall, I couldn't be happier.

If you have any other questions, let me know.  Email or comments, and I'll get back to you.  If I can get it together, I am going to do a budget breakdown.  Oh, the receipts.

I've never done this before, so, we'll give it a try.  I'm linking up...