kitchen: phase 3: the deets

So, we've picked out the materials, the bits and bobs that will make up the kitchen. Now we just have to wait and see if it all works together. (I sure hope so!)

CABINETS: Medallion seems to be a popular and well-liked brand, according to GardenWeb's online forum. The price was right for our budget so hooray! I love the look of rustic woods like alder but in the end, we chose cherry because of its durability.

Medallion Lancaster doors (drawers will be flat-front)

cherry wood in pecan stain vs. current oak cabinets

HARDWARE: Even though our appliances are stainless steel, I didn't feel that the cabinet hardware needed to match. I have an affection for oil-rubbed bronze hardware (it just dawned on me that most of our wood furniture shares this feature...) Enter Amerock handles and knobs - thrown in for free by the cabinetry company. Gotta love free stuff!

Amerock Revitalize handles

Amerock Allison Value knobs

COUNTERS: The most difficult decision! We at least knew we wanted granite from the start. After at least 3 trips to Arizona Tile's granite warehouse, 1 misguided trip to a fancy-hat granite warehouse geared towards the rich and famous, quibbles about safe choices (me) vs. interesting patterns (husband), we settled on some lovely Colonial Cream slabs. The first slab they pulled out for us had a giant brown vein right smack in the middle. I was scared that the vein would stick out too much, but luckily the next few slabs were easier to work with.

our very own slab #9 (didn't get photos of his pals 7 & 8)

vein of doom = didn't reserve this slab

BACKSPLASH: I've coveted white subway tile for quite a while now so of course we're making that happen! Bonue: Daltile Rittenhouse Square 3" x 6" subway tiles are cheap. Actual white tiles looked too stark, I thought, so I decided on the color almond. They're a bit more expensive than white (40 cents vs. 25 cents each) but that's still really cheap compared to most other tile options.

PLUMBING: Going with the reasonably priced Kohler Simplice model. I was swayed from my initial pick, Moen Annabelle, by the shiny "Consumer Digest Best Buy" sticker on the Kohler display in Lowe's. And you already know about my RO faucet indecision.

pretty pretty Moen faucet...

...but the reviews for Kohler were more favorable

LIGHTING: Right now, I do practically all my prep work on my small island, but if I had under-cabinet lighting, I'd utilize all that neglected counter space around the edge of the kitchen. I'm leaning towards the ubiquitous xenon puck lights, but the energy-efficient LED strips are tempting. If only they were dimmable! Still going to sleep on this one some more.


Now I'm off to figure out how to empty the kitchen without any moving boxes...