Your DH made those great cabinets!?!? He's very talented. The displays at the top are perfect. I think you should keep the green AND the cool pendant.

Crisp, unfussy, lovely kitchen. Congratulations!

I forgot to mention that the photograph behind the stove is of my grandfather's supermarket, taken in the 1940s. The store burned down in the 60's, and he lost everything because he had no insurance. My father was so impressed and pleased when we unveiled our surprise backsplash.

The photograph is back-printed on vinyl outdoor sign material. Dh bought a pre-made cheap frame, cut it down to the right size, and silicone-sealed the glass (which came from an old storm window of ours) to the frame. Total cost = $15 (we have a friend in the sign business who did the printing as a gift).

AND the displays was a fluke. When we broke into the soffit there to create the full-height cabs, there was plumbing there. Dh re-plumbed one of the pipes which allowed for a 6" deep cab at the top, rather than the 12" deep cab for the rest. We decided to use that space for display. I think that's our bling!

Congratulations on being done! It turned out beautifully and your husband did a terrific job. I love the way you incorporated the picture of your grandfather's supermarket! The glass doors in the upper cabinets and the ceiling really add a nice touch to a lovely kitchen.

Thanks, sundial. That reminds me of another problem that turned into a nice feature. After installing the display cabinets, all the linear lines revealed that our ceiling sloped up about 3/4-1" (not positive it was this big) into that rear right corner. Also, to install the venting for the MW, dh had to tear up the plaster ceiling. My idea was to do the beadboard to prevent all the plastering work that would be required for the patch and the releveling. Dh was able to use shims to eliminate the uneven ceiling. If we'd known at the time that we were going to do beadboard for the backsplash, we might have gone with tin instead. But all in all, I'm still happy with the decisions we made.

Talk about a kitchen with personality...wowzer!!! It looks like you were able to pack in a LOT of function with plenty of visual punch. LOVE IT!!

I just love your kitchen! It's beautiful and perfect. Your DH has great talent. Congratulations on a great job!

More rewards for your husband...truly a beautiful kitchen. I just love the picture of the store and the red pendant. Both add lots of personality and charm.

Laura, your kitchen is stunning, beautiful and functional. I love a tight galley kitchen, such a pleasure to work in one. This will be a gem in the small kitchen blog!

Can't believe there are small kitchens that drag on longer than my own! It must be a great feeling for your husband to have done all this gorgeous work himself.

Congratulations to both of you, for your work, your patience, and your survival!

Loverly! Thanks for sharing.

Is the beaboard a sheet product or individual boards? I LOVE it!

Catkin- We got the beadboard at Home Depot. It's roughly 7" wide, primed MDF, and about 8-10' length. For the ceiling, dh painted each plank individually before installation to prevent additional disruption to the kitchen. However, doing it this way ended up revealing the seams in the tongue and groove, so dh had to seal the seams with paintable silicone sealant and still needs to do some touch-up painting. For the backsplash, he cut and glued the pieces together, painted, then installed. The backsplash paint is SW Duration paint (it's the scrubbable stuff).

Laura - bravo to you and your husband on this perfect 10 of a kitchen. I love the repetition of the beadboard on the ceiling and the backsplash - a great example of a few bad circumstances leading to a good thing. The geometry of those ceiling lines running toward the lighted display spaces is just lovely. The room is understated and serene.
Now enjoy!

I love that tansy green. It works well with that white & the black counter. Lovely work. Congratulations!
-a

Your kitchen is a delight created by two very talented people. It looks so much larger with the light cabs and going to the ceiling, also love the nooks on top for the lovely accessories. Beautiful doesn't fully describe it.

Laura,

Your kitchen is marvelous. My wife and I were humming and hahing over whether to get honed AB countertops or go with a light grey stone or corian for our white cabinets, but your pictures sealed the deal for us!

The beadboard is also an idea that we liked. Our place was built 60 years ago and there isn't a straight wall in it. Where there any tricks that you and DH used to combat wobbly walls, or did the beadboard hide the issue? Also did you put it on all the countertop walls on just the one with the sink?

Thanks,

Clive and Kelly.

Thanks for the explanation--I'm late! Love it!