Mhaber... It seems to me that finely designed kitchens are made to be tweaked to fit the owner more closely than the cliched 'rules' that are in abundance from all corners of the design world.

I thoroughly enjoy how the black of the island pulls out the small touches of black in the rest of the area. I also think the tad higher top to be very helpful in performing more tedious tasks that would wreak havoc upon one's back at the more normal counter height.

Perfect choice in my eyes since the very introduction of its photos when you first saw/acquired it.

ps: it is not too big; it doesn't look too tight; it is gorgeous; price was killer; you love it; your dog loves it; SCORE!!!

GlassieLadie, well said. The only "rules" are bldg. codes (some of which shouldn't even exist) & those written by the one writing the checks to pay for it. Re the island spacing, the "rule" is 36" minimum, 42" preferred, but that "rule" is for a permanently installed island. I like the suggestion by an earlier contributor for lockable casters. Re higher counters, I'm 6'3", & I've often wished for them, but then they wouldn't work for my wife of avg. height.

If you leave the island black, hardware has to be ORB

Just curious, CassidyZ, but why does it have to be ORB?

Donna Rotola, tres bien! I love look of tumbled stone.

CassidyZ- i am curious to know why you said that as well :)

kekulibay- the herringbone will work fine. Now I just have to muster up the courage to do it (it's a higher level of difficulty).

kimberlyflorer- I will eventually get more lighting over the island. What color glaze would you do? Thanks for your insights!

soosun2- what are you looking for a picture of? The tile samples? They are scattered all over the post. Sorry :( The island clearance on the 3 sides is as follows: 30" at the sink side, 30" at the oven side, 36" at the refrigerator side. I know it's not ideal, but it doesn't "feel" that tight to me and I can open all major appliances.

Donna Rotola- I love it! I absolutely love the subtle variation of the color. I actually looked for that tile after seeing this post ([https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-wyckoff-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~9045270[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-wyckoff-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~9045270)), but could not find it anywhere. WHERE did you get that? Job well done! QUESTION#2: What is your floor material?

Thanks, your kitchen is cool. Literally and I love it, If I were doing as island i might be tempted to have it all open for a lighter look as your aisles are not huge. But you have an idea I amsure that is all your own and that is as it should be!

Mhaber. I think you should do the brushed nickel hardware. In looking at the photo you posted LONG ago of the sink front with your faucet, the brushed nickel goes much better with your faucet. IMO.

morning all! How're you doing Mhaber? Been a while since I checked the thread - curious to know what stage you are at now? Off topic but while on Houzz I saw a great idea for lack of counter space - did any of you see the idea to expand your counter space by removing a bank of drawers from under the counter (say big pot drawers), put that section on wheels, put a counter top on it, then it slides right back in under the existing counter. Nothing changes, you don't lose your drawers your counter looks the same ,but whenever you need an "island" or more counter, you just slide it out! I will try and find the pic - I'm so going to do it!

Have been following this thread for a long time. Would love to see what you have done

I'm embarrassed to say that it's still a work in progress. I started a new, more demanding job as well as several other house projects (oops) so have not had much time to work on it. We encountered an issue with the granite install that has yet to be resolved, but the installer is coming out next week. Also ordered my tile and FOUR times it came in the wrong tile or broken. I'm actually going to pick up the final (hopefully intact) order tonight, so STAND BY! :)

Ah, mhaber, no embarrassment necessary. We have some projects here that have been ongoing for more than a decade. Life, other projects, stalls on current projects, and much more come between us and finishing many of our projects. Totally looking forward to the time when you will happily be able to show us your final photos. When that comes...who cares as long as you are pleased with the result. : )

Thanks for the kind words glassieladie. Great news: Tile came in unscathed, the entire order was comped AND they gave me an extra box so I have plenty of room for cutting errors! The bad news is that now I"m reconsidering doing herringbone again ;) I guess I have time to ponder that between now and when the granite issue gets fixed.....

BTW, regarding ongoing projects, I started researching our K reno summer of '13, 1st met w/ CKBD Oct. '13, placed order for Ph I pantry cabs Jan. 3, '14, waiting for install of last cabs, Ph V hutch, & re-flooring LR, entry, K & DR w/ tile starts Friday. Then we order new windows for K & LR. We may be done by Christmas.

Just checking in! What's going on?

did we move to another thread again and I missed it?

kekulibay- We are all still here. I just turned off my notifications and haven't made an kitchen progress, so nothing to report. We are getting a new oven black friday (hopefully). Fingers crossed that it actually fits and we won't have to make any alterations to the granite. After that I can start tiling! Look for progress soon :) Hope you are well!

I went through your both threads with a hope that i would get to the end result. I absolutely love your granite :)

Cant wait to see how everything looks now

Was Kitchen ever completed?

I'm wondering too

yes. :) Just never posted pictures. will one day soon!

Your floor and counter are different tones, I know you said not to say anything but there you go, didn't read the other replies.

Would you mind sharing pictures of your completed kitchen? I just got my granite installed and it looks just like yours, I hate it.

I thought I had just somehow missed the reveal! Looking forward to seeing it melh22

Hey everyone. Sorry, it's been over a year since this was finished!!! I've been working more hours, enjoying time with my family and then also started a few other projects since, so things have kept me busy. Here is the final product, which I am VERY happy with all things considered (still not a fan of the floor tile, lol). I did all the labor and actually ended up getting the backsplash tile and all the hardware for free. After buying and upselling 3 different craigslist islands, I ended up making money off this project if you exclude the price of my "hated" granite...which I ended up liking after all once everything came together. Yay for happy endings!!!! The process was not fun, but I learned A LOT from this project and I'm glad I did it.

Enjoy the pics.... (PS- IMO- they look better if you click on the image and enlarge)

Dang, girl! What an awesome job! I don't think I had ever seen the before pics. I know you have to be over the moon at the transformation. It was definitely worth all the angst you went through. Beautiful!

F-a-n-n-n-t-a-a-a-s-t-i-c!!!!

It looks great! Love the twist with subway tile. You tied the dark floor and dark flecks in the granite in beautifully with your grout, island and hardware. Really fantastic job.

BAZINGA! When can you come and do my place?! LOVE every bit of it - the little things (owls etc!!) and the big things....even your tile floor is gorgeous. You did yourself proud!

Fantastic!!!! Just gorgeous. Everything looks great together. Thank you for updating us! You had a lot of fans out there....

The best thing I read is that you are happy with it, that's the most important thing! Great job, glad your hard work turned out so well... enjoy! :)

Now that was worth waiting for!!! What a professional-looking result you have, from the cabinets to the paint choices to the flooring [even if it's not your fave - it works]. Love the island you ended up with. The kitchen and surrounding areas are just a pleasure to look at. Congratulations melh22!! : )

Beautiful!

Hi!! ABSOLUTLEY BEAUTIFUL!!! I was wondering which subway tile you decided on..brand & color name?? Also, the grout color and manufacturer? I am in the very same boat you were in and our granite looks exactly the same!! I have been trying to get the right subway tile color and I can not find it...they are all too pink, yellow or too bright white. Thanks so much for your help and congrats again on the gorgeous kitchen!

Hello janelle85- So sorry you are going through the same thing. I know it can be agonizing. I will say, once it all comes together, it makes a big difference. Nothing ever looks good half unfinished. The tile I ended up using was just Daltile Rittenhouse Biscuit (in Matte because I'm just not a huge fan of glossy tile). It was a pretty good match for my cabinets, but you may not find it works for yours. It looked great with my granite too. I originally objected because white just seemed boring to me, but now I realize it really was the best choice. As for the grout, I ended up mixing my own color because I did not really like the choices out there. It's a mix of CBP Antique White and Linen (although I can't for the life of me tell you the ratio I used. I do know it was more antique white than it was Linen). I hope this helps. If you still can't make a decision, you might want to hire someone. Something I will DEFINITELY do if I ever go through the process again. Best wishes.

Thanks everyone for the kind words and the support. So sorry it took me so long to actually post pictures!!!!!