Great Room Continued- Kitchen

The Almost Done Pantry

We were going to do the pantry ourselves because the over-budget-ness (is that a word?) of this remodel is out of control.  However, we just don't have the time.  Gary is doing both of our closets, and we aren't even done with those.  So, I told our custom cabinet guy that I wanted the most simple and cheap pantry ever...which they begun installing today.

But apparently, simple and cheap is not in his vocabulary because this is what it looks like so far, and it's not even done!

That does not look simple and cheap to me...it looks awesome and fancy!  Notice the crown moulding in the second photo that matches the crown on our kitchen cabinets.  I mean, whaaaaat?!  The cabinet with drawers (which obviously doesn't have the drawer fronts yet) is going to have a carrera marble counter on it!

My only concern is that when we discussed the plan, I said I wanted the shelves to go all the way to the wall (so there would be shelves over the cabinet), which he didn't do.  He kept saying it would look ugly, and in his opinion it needs to be open, blah, blah.  I really just have to laugh because I do find it endearing that he takes such huge pride in his work and cares so much about aesthetics, even in a pantry. :)  I think I'm just going to put open shelving above to put my cookbooks on...maybe. 

Reaching the Finish Line

The house is nearly complete so we've started moving stuff in.  I got a lot of the kitchen moved in today.  Spices...

The backsplash, pot filler, stove and pot/pan drawers are finally in...

Maybe my favorite spot in the kitchen...the dedicated baking station/appliance garage (which isn't quite organized yet), which will house my mixer and food processor...

I'm so excited to have all my appliances plugged in and ready to go at a moment's notice yet not in sight!!!!  Especially my food processor, which I use quite a bit and hated always having to lug that heavy thing out of an upper or lower cabinet. 

The other appliance garage will be our "bar" where I'll put the blenders on the bottom, and all our alcohol and casual stemware on the top...

And I loaded up our plates, bowls, glasses and mugs in the two glass front cabinets (which don't have glass yet but supposedly will tomorrow!)...

The Vent of all Vents

Behind this beautiful range hood...

Is this super powerful hood insert with lights and 5 settings!

Ok not very exciting, but for some reason I love this hood liner- it's so pretty yet so functional!  I'm so excited to cook in my new kitchen. :)

Kitchen Progress

I'm not sure why the kitchen takes so many days to install, but nevertheless, it's getting done!  They installed the crown (which is different than the crown in the rest of the house, and I love it!)...

We finally have light!

And some of the appliances...

Stucco installation...

And photos of the shelf detail in the playroom (sorry for the repeated shelf detail shots- I'm obsessed with it!!!)...

Kitchen & Bathrooms

The kitchen is coming along...

The corbels for the peninsula are wrong so those have to be redone...which is kind of annoying because I showed them photos of what I wanted, then when we went to approve them at the shop, they were wrong so I again showed the photo of what I wanted, and they didn't change them!  And now it's a much bigger deal because that whole thing is all one piece (the thing the corbels are attached to) so it has to be redone.  The "miscommunications" (which really are just mistakes) are really irritating!!

After I took this photo, they installed some of the cabinet doors/ drawer faces...of course, I didn't like where they placed the hinges on the cabinets (long story) so I had them take the doors off and reinstall the hinges so the doors would be at the right height.  I know they think I'm so nitpicky, but I don't want to let little things go that will bug me forever!

The other possible issue is that because the kitchen is larger than I expected, the stove is quite far from the sink.  So now I think I do need a pot filler, which is also annoying because everything is drywalled so to install one, he needs to cut through the ceiling to run a water line and then cut through the drywall behind the stove (in the pantry), which obviously would have been much easier when everything was wide open.

They've placed the kids' bathroom cabinets- here is the linen closet, which I really really love...

 
And my exciting drywalled bedroom and bathroom...

Cabinetry

Our kitchen and kids' bathroom cabinetry is almost finished, and it is TO DIE FOR!  I could not be happier with how everything turned out.  Our cabinet guys is beyond amazing.  I am SO excited to move into this house!

Here is the stove cabinetry and hood (of course the uppers and hood will not be resting on the counters!)...

I think the hood is my favorite part- he got it exactly how I wanted it...

The oven/refrigerator wall (see my appliance garage- woot!!!!)...

The sink and peninsula section (and another appliance garage!)...

The hole is where my pull out trash cans will be.

And the kids bathroom cabinetry- the two tall ones will be side by side across from the vanity...

My high was burst when I went to check on our window/french door delivery- apparently I wasn't thorough enough and didn't catch that they ordered them with two many lights (the panes of glass), and I can't send them back because although they didn't specify to me, it was on the order form.  I think it will work out ok- they are just much more cottage looking than I was going for, but that is more Cape Cod style anyway.  We are definitely on a steep learning curve with this remodel.  It's REALLY hard to keep track of every last detail.

Finishes

I did a bit of damage at Restoration Hardware last night because I decided I will not compromise on the pendants I want for the peninsula so I got my forever all time favorite pendants...

I also bought the two sconces for the kids' bathroom, which I love...

I want to go back this weekend to buy our kitchen pulls and knobs (if I can figure out how many we need).  I know I want these knobs because I had them in my condo, and they are just so good looking on the cabinets...

What I can't decide on are the pulls.  Most of my kitchen inspiration photos have these (which are the ones I had in my condo)...

But I also love these...

I will probably go with the first option (which is what the salesperson at RH recommended for my style kitchen), but I just don't want to make the wrong decision!  For every little decision like this, I scour through my hundreds of inspiration photos because little elements seem to make or break a kitchen for me.  I'll see a kitchen with white shaker cabinets and marble counters, which is what I love, but I'll hate the look of the kitchen so I'm just trying to make sure that all my decisions are going to give me the look and feel that I will love!

Because trust me, Gary is not going to let me make any changes to this house for a loooooong time after all this!! ;)

Even-ing Out

The family room floor is finally even with the kitchen!

And the hallway and entryway are now smooth- we just need to even them up to the rest of the house (you can see the playroom slab is about 2" taller than the surrounding hallway), and we'll be ready to lay floors...at some point.

Other than that, not much going on except tons of behind the scenes stuff.  I am seriously overwhelmed with decisions.  I've probably spent 4 hours at Home Depot alone with the window/door guy deciding on our windows, french doors and interior doors (which we did finally purchase).

I just cannot believe the amount of decisions.  Doors, doorknobs, hinges, lighting, cabinet knobs/pulls, kitchen faucet, kitchen sink, bathroom 1, 2 and 3 sinks, faucets, toilets, tubs, tile, counters, toilet paper holders, towel bars (which are all different)...it is seriously endless.  And every decision takes HOURS of research to decide.

I'm trying to focus on the kitchen because I think they are starting that soon.  I have nothing chosen except white shaker cabinets (maybe?  I do keep going back to gray!) and carrera counters.  We are already SO over-budget (and we haven't even begun!) that I'm trying to cut back, but it's almost impossible!  I wanted to go with an acrylic sink, but *everyone* says that I must get cast iron?  WHY?!  The cast iron one I like is 4 times the price of the acrylic one that I like.

Here is the acrylic one...

And the cast iron...

I actually like the acrylic one better!  At least I know 100% that I want a single bowl, undermount, non-apron front sink.  I mean, that's a bunch of decisions right there, right?!

The next decision I can't seem to make is the kitchen faucet.  I think I want this type, but I can't decide on which one...

And finally, to pot-fill or not to pot-fill is the question.  I cannot decide if I want a pot filler!  I like the look of them, and probably 75% of the high-end kitchen pictures I save have pot fillers, but it is a lot of extra cost to buy the pot filler and have it installed (it means running water lines over there where there wouldn't be any otherwise).  I don't love them or hate them.  I like them.  I think it will be handy when I need it, but not used very often.  My sink is quite far from my stove (which is why I REALLY wanted an island with a prep sink, but let's not get into that disappointment again!).  Here is one that I like if I go that direction...

In good news, we signed the contract with our contractor today, and they start Monday!!!!!!!!!  They gave us a 10 week estimate, which to me sounds really fast considering we really are basically building a completely new house.  Let's hope they are right!