Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

How long have you had it, PP? What’s the maintenance like?

Anonymous wrote:SO happy with my quartz countertop. (Corian Quartz) Things just wipe right up with a damp sponge.

Fully custom cabinets built by a cabinetmaker ended up being remarkably affordable, compared to what friends say they've spent. I'm glad I did that to get every inch well used in limited space.

Love love love having drawers deep enough to store pots and pans in, plus one for storing lids and cutting boards upright (on edge) so they're easy to grab. Measure your pans and anything else you want to store before committing to drawer depths and other cabinet dimensions! I also got a couple of drawers deep enough to hold those large Oxo containers in for things like flour.

I would NOT do plug mold (electrical receptacles in a strip) up under the upper cabinets. My architect thought that would keep the plugs discreetly out of the way. I said fine. But I never thought about how that would mean there would be all these cords dangling from up there to countertop appliances. And many appliances like coffeemakers and kettles have cords too short to run down from above and then across to keep the item within easy reach on the counter. It's my only design regret.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

How long have you had it, PP? What’s the maintenance like?

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love our cabinet that holds sheet pans, cutting boards, serving trays upright with wooden dividers in between.

Love the stainless steel backsplash by the stove, which meant we could have nicer marble backsplash Elsewhere with less fear of damage.

Love under cabinet lighting

What is the rest of your backsplash and how high is it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!

I’d love to know what you did do! I started out wanting wood but can’t really find a wood I like that works with our floors and I just can’t bear to refinish the whole main level flooring.

PP. Someone posted a link from this website before, it’s pretty useful.

I chose satin nickel faucets and hardware, a grey/white quartzite with some movement, placed a regular microwave in a column of cabinets in a butler’s pantry, chose wide shallow drawers on either side of the range for utensils and stored oils in an upper cabinet (not as hot as a pullout), chose a fluted tile as a backsplash, went with polished countertop vs leathered/honed. I got what I liked and tried not to be swayed by what everyone else was getting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!

I’d love to know what you did do! I started out wanting wood but can’t really find a wood I like that works with our floors and I just can’t bear to refinish the whole main level flooring.

Anonymous wrote:One thing I wish I had done was really think about how long I thought we would stay in the house. It was not our forever house, I knew that, but I did a forever kitchen.

We got to enjoy the renovated kitchen for 3 years before we sold. When we sold I found myself regretting having done the $$$ faucet, the $$$ rejuvenation hardware, and sub zero fridge when lesser expensive items would have been just fine. If you do go all out--swap out the pricier fixtures before you list.

LOVE: all lower cabinet drawers.

I'd also be careful with the backsplash tile--we did a crackle finish and grease from the downdraft left a permanent stain.

Anonymous wrote:Any walking space/ distance between island and main counter regrets? We have a small kitchen and I'm wondering if we should make the island bigger and sacrifice a few inches of walking space, like make it 40 inches instead of 42.

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!