It's quite nice but I think I would have painted the island white too.

Looks quite classy.

Pretty

Beautiful! It all came together very nicely. Good choices!

AllAmericanAmy: thank you for your kind words! Yes, the intent was to make the island look like furniture. We were originally thinking of having a built-in table, then changed it to a breakfast bar/large island. Yes, we were trying to match the floor color - glad to see someone picked up on that!

Finally: thanks for acknowledging my attempts to answer any possible question people may have by listing all the details. I figure appliances are a personal choice so that's why I didn't include that info (most people prefer stainless steel, but I wanted a "warmer feel" and not worry about fingerprints).

lol I'm in the minority with you... I like black appliances cuz I truly, truly HATE cleaning stainless. Many, many years ago I had an awesome, chef quality grade of stainless cookware. HATED HATED HATED IT. lol what an ugly mess it was (my fault, I'm sure. Don't get all riled up, peeps that luv their stainless cookware!). I worked for The Pampered Chef for 10 years and got a couple of sets of FREE non-stick cookware. Gave my stainless set to someone who's house burned and they had no insurance. lol She was blessed to get it --- almost as blessed as I was to get RID of it! hehehehhe and, yw! :)

I think there are too many un-unified materials and colors:
- white painted outer cabinets
- dark wood island cabinets
- black appliances
- black and tan granite counters
- tan travertine backsplash
- wood slat window shades
- blue walls


The granite window sill in the middle of the travertine backsplash looks particularly odd. Why not just paint the window sill white?

It's lovely.

I like but I would have put the island the same color of the cabinets

quercus2: Thanks for your input.

Actually, I looked at lots of photos with dark hardwood floors with white AND dark cabinets. The back splash has the same colors as the glazing on the cabinets as well as colors picked from the granite. The granite is cream/off white and has flecks of white (to match cabinets), dark (to match island) and caramel (to match the glazing of the white cabinets).

My family doesn't like stainless steel and think black is classic and goes with everything; hence, the black appliances.

I didn't want a solid, bright white kitchen. And regarding your question about the window sill - there was none. We have textured walls, with no sills, so painting it white wouldn't have looked nice, in my opinion. (Our windows are basically "boxes" in the wall.) My kitchen designer actually suggested the granite sill.

My main walls are Sherwin Williams Whole Wheat; my family room (which is open to the kitchen) has brown leather furniture, dark tables, and blue and brown throw pillows and accents. We were trying to tie everything together and not have everything be "matchy matchy" by having a totally white kitchen.

Everyone has their opinions. Maybe my photos are too dark to show how beautiful the granite and back splash are. We like it - that's all that matters, right?

I agree and right :)!

Yet again you impress me, Dawn. Your gracious response to a very vocal nay-sayer deserves kudos. For a minute I was doubting YOU Dawn, and my own approval of your space as well. I thought "oh no. A world renown designer has weighed in and tore the reno apart. I must need new glasses or something - what WAS I thinking?" That was my initial thought. Then, my SECOND thought was.... I should carefully study all of quercus2 incredible postings of their own exceptional design projects and learn from the Wise One -- but got confused. There were NONE that I can find when I click on their name. ROFL Must be a reason for that!

You are funny, AllAmericanAmy! I didn't go to the trouble to look for other design projects by Quercus2. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I do have to admit, I read that person's response and starting doubting myself because I chose everything - the kitchen designer only designed the layout and gave me an opinion of the windowsill (which I saw here on Houzz, as well). The kitchen designer suggested Ornamental Gold granite, but my husband and I weren't wild about any of the options. Giallo Ornamental comes in lots of different colors; when we saw this one, we both agreed that it tied everything together (the darks and lights). The designer also recommended leaving the wood blinds because they match the glazing of the white cabinetry, and she suggested leaving the blue walls.

Where I come from (GA) it is VERY common to have the two toned cabinetry. It's not common here in CO, so maybe the ones who say they would do the single color are from out west? I don't know. I just rationalized that I plan on retiring in this house and wanted to use a color scheme that not only was neutral, but was warm in feel. Our previous kitchen didn't have that feeling. My husband and daughter were the ones who talked me into keeping the blue walls - once I saw the cabinets in place, I thought, "Oh, no, you can't even see the blue!" It's grown on me and I'm glad I left it like that. Hey, I can always paint over it!

Were my feelings hurt, when I first read that person's response - yep - LOL! Then I realized that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and when it comes right down to it, my family and I love the kitchen! It has a warmer, cozier feel and people who have seen it in person, have said "wow." The installer was even a bit surprised when he saw the two different colored cabinets, but then said how it looked beautiful once it was all put together. Just goes to show that everyone's idea of beauty is different!

I think you and I have the same tastes! We definitely feel the same way about Stainless Steel - LOL!

I think your selections look very nice together. I think the island in white would be too much white and not very practical. I actually thought the granite windowsill was a great idea. The colors blend enough that it doesn't stand out, looks fine. There will always be people who have different opinions on style, it doesn't mean there is one right answer, thank goodness! Your kitchen looks wonderful...enjoy...no worries!

@AllAmericanAmy and @Dawn McCloskey and anyone else who is interested:

What is the purpose of the Before and After discussion board? Is it only a place to show off what you've done and get congratulations? Or is it also a venue for constructive criticism from which we can all learn as we proceed with our own projects?

I thought it was the latter.

I don't think my polite and I hope constructive single post explaining what I think is a problem with this design makes me a "very vocal naysayer."

I suggest that if your feelings would be hurt by a discussion related to the before and after photos of your project, then posting those photos to an open online design discussion board labeled "Advice - Before and After" is probably not the best option for you.

hullo quercus2 - First may I say, IMHO, you are wrong to call DAWN out on MY comments? You may recall that I was the one commenting on your comments - her response to you was quite positive, IMHO. She indicated to ME that her initial reaction to your comments were to have hurt feelings then QUICKLY came around. Which I congratulated her for!

I completely agree with you that the discussion boards are for discussions. You seem to have taken offense to MY particular part in the discussion. That strikes me as odd. Why would YOU post comments in a discussion board then take OFFENSE at those comments being commented on by someone else? lol Don't know if that sounds logical to you or not? :)

Anyway, my stating "very vocal naysayer" simply means you were very vocal - agreed? And that's ok. And absolutely nothing in your posting was positive - completely negative, which IMHO makes you at least SOUND like a naysayer. A post filled with all negativity certainly caught ME off-guard, and I simply responded accordingly. :) You may notice that other posters didn't agree entirely with Dawn's design choices and were vocal about their dissent. However, they balanced it beautifully with compliments too! :) Personally, I think THAT is the way to go - but completely agree with YOU that you are NOT required, at any time, in any way, to post anything positive if you don't feel it! :) I too have clicked on pictures posted by homeowner's where I thought OMG what on earth were THEY thinking?? Never felt the need to express that to them though, but to each their own. On a side note, when a PROFESSIONAL or PRO designer posts their own designs, I think they are more than fair game because they profess to be an expert. I think, IMHO, a homeowner could definitely be granted more grace as he/she decorated her own HOME according to her tastes and that of her family! But, what do I know?

Peace to you ...
Amy

PS: Hello Dawn! :)

Oh please. One little post with constructive criticism is "very vocal?" Really?

Again, I suggest that folks who can't take criticism or dissenting views stay away from posting their projects on an open discussion board called "Advice - Before & After."

If all you want is a big CONGRATS! and, as you put it, "beautiful compliments," then stick to Facebook or Instagram to post your pictures.

What I like about Houzz is that it's a place where one get real honest advice and constructive input about house design issues. Let's keep it that way.

I love it. And the granite on sill is great put some herbs on it no worry about water damage easy to clean as well.
Very well done!

I love that I see and learn things about design and construction that I might not otherwise. Knowledge is power which leads to confidence in our decisions.

Beautiful! I love the island--it looks very rich, and changing the orientation of it was brilliant!