Do you have a finalized floor plan?

First I'd start by looking on houzz.com and seeing what appeals to you. You can save the pictures there and go back to them all and see what they have in common. I wasn't building, but I wish I had looked at the granites first. For me, they were the biggest expense and I LOVE LOVE LOVE stones. If I had to do it over again, I would have picked my stone first and then picked a cabinets color to stain that worked well with my stone choice. I did my cabinets dark, really love dark, high movement stone, but once the cabinets were done, I realized that I needed lighter stone counters. BUT, if you aren't that into stone and just want a more uniform stone, then cabinets would probably be the next logical choice to start with. If you find a back splash you MUST have, you can build around that. Depending on time frame, you can spend a month or 2 looking at pictures, visiting stone yards, tile places and seeing products that are out there to get an idea of what you really love. Also, as far as cabinets, keep in mind things like if you want pull outs and things that will add to the cost. Also, get a budget in order, then prioritize what areas are most important to yo uto be perfect and what areas you are willing to give up luxuries. For me, I don't need top of the line appliances. Others would rather have Wolf and Viking and have uba tuba granite. You need to know what is important to YOU. You find that out through research first.

Laura- Phoggie has a beautiful plan that Summerfield created...it's going to be a wonderful home, by the lake :)

The Chicken.

No, wait! The Egg.

No, wait.....

These are important questions for me:

What is the style I am trying to create? In this case, it would probably hinge on the style of house that is being built.

How will I use my kitchen? Do I love to cook, do I entertain a lot, to I want the kitchen to be as functional as possible or am I want to emphasize the aesthetic. Not that these are mutually exclusive but the answers to these questions will probably affect the design and the materials you chose.

Once these questions are answered then it will be easier to decide on different components of the kitchen.

Pick the backslash, then everything to go with it!! Then you won't be ABBS in a year or so!

Nancy

Most people find an inspiration picture or two that really appeals to them and try to recreate that look, in their kitchen. Others start by shopping for a granite that really 'speaks' to them...or maybe a specific backsplash.

Since this kitchen is all yours, Phoggie...you can make decisions based solely on what YOU like. So, what do you like? Do you want a white or wood kitchen? Does granite appeal to you or do you want something softer or warmer? Since the kitchen is visible from your other living areas, are you continuing some of the kitchen elements, throughout your space? Have fun and find something you really want! :)

Take the Sweeby Test before you do anything else! It makes decisions so much easier, and you end up with a more unified design.

You actually need to pick everything at once, or at least pick a collection of possible strong contenders. Throw your net wide at first, just looking for whatever appeals to you--stones, wood tones, tiles, anything. As time goes on, you will need to ruthlessly edit your likes down to several specific directions, each one showing a palette of materials that all go together. You won't be able to confirm all the final choices until the end, perhaps when you can already see other materials full size or in the space, but that's fine. You still need all your choices mapped out, or you'll become one of those people who post, "Help! I can't find any backsplash to go with my granite!"

I think it depends a little on whether you have strong feelings about anything to begin with. Like "I MUST have a white kitchen" or "I MUST have French Country." Sometimes this can be really hard. I found on houzz.com that it was a lot easier to explain what I DIDN'T like than to find an inspiration kitchen. I also discovered that I had to pay a lot of attention to details when I saw the notes other people wrote about a particular kitchen. They were things like "nice cabinet pulls" in a kitchen that was so overwhelming in its other features that my instinct would be just to click "next" to get away just based on my first impression. Houzz can also be a bit overwhelming - there is SO MUCH there.

I have to confess I found the Sweeby test did not help me! I kept saying "yes" to the various questions, like "do you want your kitchen to be a calming oasis? Or cozy? Or utilitarian?" (I just made those up, I don't remember the actual questions!) But, "Yes. Yes. Yes."

For me it became easier once I (and my husband!) fell head over heels in love with a quartzite I just HAD TO HAVE. Because it had cobalt blue, aqua, rust, cream, and dark red in it, it pretty much dictated the rest of my choices.

marcolo's right, though - it is frustrating to have to choose one final element (and it does so often seem to be the backsplash!) after everything else has been chosen. I'm not sure why so many of us leave that decision until the end when it's a vertical surface we will be looking at a lot but I'm guilty of it too. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'd never heard the term "backsplash" until reading GW, and have never had one other than the paint the rest of the kitchen has.

Good luck and keep us posted!

bean

Is there one thing about your dream kitchen that you MUST have? Start with that must-have. For example, I knew I wanted white cabinets, so everything for me started there. Or for example, let's say you know you want soapstone counters, then start there. I chose my granite counters second, making sure to bring samples home because they look so different at home in my kitchen's light. I chose the backsplash last, and when I say last, I mean 9 months after my kitchen was complete! By the time it came to making the decision for the backsplash, I was all "decisioned-out", and couldn't choose one more thing, so I took a break. I am not saying that you should wait the way I did to choose a backsplash, but for me, it worked, because I got a refreshing rest from decisions, and also got to live with my finished kitchen for a while which helped me formulate what I wanted for my backsplash. So everyone's kitchen journey is different, but I would say start with that one thing you feel you must have in your kitchen.