Wow, what an undertaking. You needed guts and vision to take on this baby!

I think it will be gorgeous. Of course that soffit stuff had to go. You are letting that house breathe, finally! The same color floor/cabs doesn't bother me at all. Some houses need it.

A tiny thought: are you going to address the traditional-looking ceiling fan in the great room when you're done with the magnum opus in the kitchen? It stands out like a traditional thumb...Do you need a fan there? If so, a more modern one is in order, with all that soaring height and through-composition.

WOW! You two did great job! I like how the cabs and floor are similar in color. It adds to the sleek, seamless feel of the kitchen and greatroom. Having counters that match the color tones of the fireplace will give you a nice look.

I love the modern feel with all the natural materials and soaring ceilings.

That looks like it was a monsterous amount of work!

Those soffits are quite possibly the worst I've ever seen! LOL I can see why they had to go before you lived in that space. I love your dark cabinets! They look very similar to ours (also nearly done). Can you share the info on them? I tend to lean towards darks myself, so your floor/cab combo looks great to me! You have done an amazing job with your space. Congrats!

I like when floors and cabinets blend together. That's what we did. What a great transformation of space! We took out as many walls as technically possible without having to tear up the entire roof system and add support beams. I'm loving this demo of yours... can't wait to see more pics.

ladoladi,

I like it. I like dark finishes and it doesn't bother me at all to have the floors and cabinets the same sort of color. Hopefully you pick something awesome for a countertop and it can really shine.

We call our cat "Pooper" so your pet station nickname made me laugh.

I love that you tore out the soffits. Looks messy and fun. Made for a nicer space. They had all thay height and they just had it hovering up there and it made the previous kitchen look REALLY short and stubby. Now it's much better!

Keep posting. Can't wait to see the all the way finished product.

Ne

whoa...those soffits...and you bought the house??? Those should be in some kind of soffit record book. I'd have run in the other direction.

Always in awe of people with such vision they take on these mega projects.

Kitchen looks great so far.

(still snickering at the "poopises")

I love the story. Just a "page-scroller", Thank you! My breath is baited awaiting the next installment (equally picture-ful, please!).

I'd have run from those soffits too! ugh - what a project!

it's looking good tho. you'll know you have a problem with the floor / cab color when someone tries to continue walking... up the cabinets! lol!

look forward to seeing it completed.

Those soaring ceilings are so worth major demolition work to uncover. Let's hear it for youth and ambition. Were you able to resist an attempt to beam someone up Star Trek style, before you began dismantling?

Also, re: "I know GW poopoos matching cabinet and floor stain":
THERE IS NO UNDIFFERENTIATED JUDGMENTAL GW. There is a corporate GW, but it neither congratulates nor sneers. Then there is this anarchic community of people with strong or weak but inevitably mismatching opinions. What we have in common is that we are all pretty avid. And most of us are suckers for quixotic kitchen-related adventures.

So please keep us apprised of your progress.

Down with orthodoxy, and cheers.

Love the look!! So clean and modern. Floor/cab color looks rich I like it.
GW poopoo's everything.

Rolling eyes-I'm even feeling bad about my "white kitchen" -that I thought I came up with lol!

Flyleft: The fan's days are numbered! Actually, all the fans in the house have to go. They squeak unbearably. We spent a whole afternoon trying to fix the one in the master bedroom to no avail. I LIKE the idea of not having a fan in the great room, but unfortunately, in North-Central Florida they can really come in handy. So, I may just have to replace it with something more modern looking. Priorities first, though. I NEED a sink in the kitchen. Oh yeah, and not having to streak across the house from the only working shower to our closet would be nice too.

KayceeFL: The cabinets are Thomasville's Eden in Maple with a Chocolate finish.

We bought them at HD because they had this "buy more, save more" special going on (to meet a sales quota for end of year), and the price was just too good to pass up. We were able to get a lot of things for "free": hardware (not that many choices, but we found something acceptable), soft close doors, drawer glides, 5 roll out shelves (which I actually like although I know some GWers do not).

I even passed up 4 glass doors that would've been completely free, but like I said, we both suffer from a little bit of OCD, and if things were on "display" I would constantly feel the need to have everything placed perfectly. I didn't want the glass doors to become a burden.

Also, because of the special we were essentially able to get our master bath cabinets for free... although that was a mess! Beware: Thomasville's River Rock finish looks grey in the store, but reads completely taupe in our bathroom. It was a last minute decision, and we paid for it by having to scrap our original bathroom plan and working everything--tile, wall color, fixtures--around a color we didn't expect.

The Thomasville cabinet construction is good, I would say. Better than the stuff that was in the kitchen before and just about in any other kitchen I've ever had, but that's all I have to compare it to. Most of the cabinets on display at stores are so beat up it's hard to make a judgment on them.

We made a lot of mistakes along the way.

For instance, all except 1 of the cabinets for the perimeter that were supposed to have furniture ends came without furniture ends. We told the KD to add the furniture ends, but she apparently didn't add them to the order and because the "order" is just a bunch of HD and Thomasville code, we had no idea until the cabinets were already installed (by the person who we stopped midway). So, HD sent us the furniture panels for free. However, we had to cut them to size (they were not exact) and had to buy a table saw (so we didn't pay for the F-sides, but we got a saw out of it, which means he can build the shelves for the pantry). My SO had never used a table saw, so this was an ordeal, but now he's an expert. Then, we had to figure out how to stick the F-sides on. The KD told us Liquid Nails. Boy, was that the wrong advice! Liquid Nails is too thick, and so the panels bulged out. We had to pull them off and try again with Contact Cement, which worked like a charm. You can't even tell the cabinets didn't come with furniture sides from Thomasville.

Another beginner's mistake: I love to cook and I make big elaborate meals even when it's just the two of us, so I REALLY wanted a 36" stove, but because of the whole HOUSE remodel, a Wolf or a Viking or any of the big fancy stoves many GWers have was out of our budget. We looked on ebay and craigslist for the longest time, but no luck. Someone--I can't quite remember who--mentioned to us that you could find commercial 36" ranges on ebay for a lot less. So, we looked... and found one! We ordered our cabinets for the 36" range and had about 5 days left on the auction. After placing the cabinet order, I was reading up on the 36" commercial range and I found out that not only is the warranty void if used in a residential installation, but that you also risk being denied by your homeowner's insurance in the case of a fire! So, there I was with no range and my cabinets already ordered and set for a 36" stove. We found the Kenmore Elite 36", which bumps out and has the top part that sticks up (not sure what that's called) instead of the nice flat ones that everyone has... but well, maybe in 10 years I can convince SO that we can afford that Viking.

Anyways, I like to ramble, but I promise to post more pics (with less rambling) once we go look at some countertops.

I love the matching floor and cabinets. Such a pretty rich color. I can't believe how many soffits you had. You did a great job and I can't wait to see more pictures!

celineike - I agree - I feel like I have to defend my "white kitchen" every time I post.

I am not a huge detractor of soffits, but those aren't soffits, they're a space ship. It looks so much better with them gone, its really coming along.

I have ceiling-height and fireplace envy. Can't wait for more pics. When is the next installment?

That view through to your fireplace gives a hint of how gorgeous your space is going to be. Wow. What an incredible amount of work and vision and planning have gone into this house -- and what a terrific result you will have. Please keep posting!

Wow...what a difference! I can't wait to see the final result!

Thanks for the info on the cabinets! Ours are Thomasville Belgrade in maple with chocolate finish. We got a very similar deal, so couldn't pass it up either. Although have had a few bumps in the road with quality control at Thomasville and with HD's communications with them (much like you described). HD is doing our install and is doing a great job. Kudos to you for DIYing it...if only we had the time and patience. We did our demo, including some faux walls and soffits, but nothing like those monsters you had! LOL Can't wait too see more progress. Love the dark finishes!

Thanks for the info on the cabinets! Ours are Thomasville Belgrade in maple with chocolate finish. We got a very similar deal, so couldn't pass it up either. Although have had a few bumps in the road with quality control at Thomasville and with HD's communications with them (much like you described). HD is doing our install and is doing a great job. Kudos to you for DIYing it...if only we had the time and patience. We did our demo, including some faux walls and soffits, but nothing like those monsters you had! LOL Can't wait too see more progress. Love the dark finishes!

Amazing!! YOu should feel so proud...what a transformation! I love your floors and cabinets.

You took what looked impossible and made it possible--really impressive undertaking and really great results! Sounds like you're near me (G'ville), and if so, I'm sure those fans have gotten some use the last few days. I'll look forward to seeing your finished product.

You conquered the soffit monsters! Congratulations! I'd say you're well on the way to having a beautiful home. I love your dark floors and cabs. I'm sure you'll love your 36 inch range (wish I had one). Can't wait to see what stone you pick for your countertops. Definitely looking forward to seeing your next pics 'cause they're going to be beautiful!

Wow--talk about having a vision! Love the story and the pics!

PS Have I got a modern fan for you--look at the Matthews Fans. We LOVE our Vent Bettina fan!

Here is a link that might be useful: Matthews Fans

I don't know if it is the NYer, in me but when I was reading about your F-sides, I think I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I thought at first you meant F&*#@)~ sides....when you probably just got tired of typing out the word "furniture"...

I think the old soffit situation would have worked if you have had an ultra modern kitchen. Then it would have been space age/Star Trek chic. With an older style, it was just odd. I love your new setup and think the same color stain for cabs and floor is fine because you went with a modern look and it was a dark shade. With a medium color wood, it would be more likely to overload on one tone. I think you also get away with it because of your tall ceilings.
I can't wait to see it all come together. Your halfway point is looking good!

I kept looking for the sink in the pics because I KNOW I saw it on the plan! You need to get one of those. I hear they're quite handy to have IN the kitchen. ;)

Looks great. You win the award for the ugliest soffit!

That was a massive undertaking (n my book). Great job - I like that the cabinetry and floors have a similar tone (there is such a thing as too much contrast). Looking forward to seeing the steps as you move toward completion.

Wow, thank you, everyone, for your kind and encouraging words. Having spent countless hours, taking notes from this site (even when I knew some things were impossible to achieve in this kitchen) and quietly admiring all of your beautiful kitchens, from the big, jaw-dropping ones to the smaller, but oh so lovingly personalized ones, it means a lot to me and my SO that so many of you like what we've done so far. As newbies to all of this, we questioned every single small decision we made, and then questioned it some more, never quite sure if we made the right choice--especially going with practically the same color floor and cabinets--so it's great to get some positive feedback. Except the soffit. We never questioned that decision. We knew those had to vamoose! You should see the ones we took out of the bathrooms! EEEeeeeek!

Anyways, thank you so much!