Hang in there.....you will be sooooo happy in the end. Soon you will be able to drink lots of coffee (and wine) in your new kitchen!!!

Thought I'd post a sneak peek!

Before:

Judy
Your new kitchen looks wonderful! How happy you must be!

Happy to see your new Cluny installed! It looks fabulous. Please write and tell more about how you are liking it.

Congratulations on having come this far. I remember reading your earliest posts where you had decided on your plan.

Sounds like me. I am so tired, I hardly have time to read this forum, yet alone post.

Thursday I painted for 14 hours; Saturday 12 hours and Sunday 6 hours; so that walls would be done and moulding be primed. Didn't finish the moulding and didn't get to the ceiling yet. So some of it got installed with no priming. Today the tile was to be installed. Hee hee hee, I haven't even picked it out yet. I am going to meet the tile guy at lunch and hopefully can find something.

The Cluny is fabulous--it's performance exceeds any previous range I've ever had, including the Dacor dual-fuel which was 14,000 btus max. I did a quick balsamic chicken dish with boneless, skinless breasts yesterday & got a nice sear outside with a tender, juicy middle. The smallest burner goes low enough to accommodate my espresso pot. Ovens are just the right size for everyday use. If I were still a serious baker (developed a wheat allergy & my days of baking 52 dozen Christmas cookies are over!), I'd have found a spot for a wall oven. I'm going to stir-fry tonight--just bought a new wok that I'll season once the workmen clear out for the day. I definitely LOVE this range!

I am terribly jealous...you get to cook on your lacanche? Pooh pooh head (in the words of my 2 year old) :oP Mine sits alone in the kitchen, just waiting to be turned on (and put together actually)

jaedwards.....what sink do you have?????

jaedwards: I can relate. Demo started Monday and I did my first batch of tub dishes last night. Can you tell me the brand and color of your paint - gorgeous!

I'chick--the Lacanche is worth every penny--you're gonna love it!
bservaites--paint is Benjamin Moore Aura (low VOC) in Steel Blue
gglks--sink is by Lavello

Here's a pic with the marble backsplash installed!

Second night of sanding and staining. I think the contractor figured out that I need a deadline or else I'd take weeks to get the stuff done! He's brining me even more wood tomorrow. But I get my plumbing on Friday so it's all good!

Great progress! You should be tired!!! How exciting a time it is to get new counters! And, they are gorgeous, love the backsplash!

Jae: Hang in there! Your kitchen is stunning. Good luck with it.
Barb

I've been waiting for that backsplash photo--looks amazing!! Will you please remind me what marble that is? Thanks--and more pics, more pics, more pics!!

I can't take more pics until I get yet another pile of woodwork sanded and stained (it's stacked on my well-protected counter). My contractor decided that all the trim on the first floor has to match & I've worked all day trying to keep abreast of him. Thankfully, he just left for the day & I can sit down for a few minutes, then it's back to finishing the baseboards, which have a beaded edge that he just finished routing. Sanding that beading is a PITA! We also had him replace the stair rail, railing (with added columns) at the step down to the LR, and build china cabinets with a colonnade stepping up into the DR. All that has to be sanded & stained yet. THEN I have to repair and paint the hallway walls and repair and venetian plaster the DR. WHEW!

Jane--my marble is just honed carrara but I love it.

Hello,
I have no words to help, since I haven't even started demo, but I'm pretty sure that I will experience similar tiredness (and then some).

Your previous layout is similar to mine w/ the U-shaped kitchen (except my range is on the peninsula) next to the slider doors.
Does/did your sliders go to a deck/patio/something? If yes, can your windows function as a pass-through to get food/drinks, etc to the deck?

My new layout is similar to yours, (EXCEPT I WON'T HAVE A CLUNY - envy envy), even w/ the double DWs. Once we remove our slider/french doors, to get to the deck/patio, we'd have to go another ~10 feet to get to the other set of French door.
Since we host big BBQ and you know how you always need something from the kitchen, I thought how it'd be so much easier if I could pass them through my ~11feet wide windows.

Just wondering how you dealt w/ losing those slider doors...

Any pix of the fridge? We have the all-fridge/all-freezer at the end of the long L.
And the MW?

Sorry for hogging your kitchen.
Amanda

Hey Amanda--taking a break from sanding--I'm almost done for tonight!

My patio does back to those windows which are two sets of little sliders and, yes, the screens come out and it'll be perfect to serve from! We removed the sliding doors but have FOUR sets of french doors on that back wall -- one set is within two feet of where the big sliders were.

You can't really tell from my before pic, but the other side of the DR doorway, where the coffee bar/refrigerator is now, was the laundry behind sliding doors. There was also a sliding door pantry opposite the sliders. The microwave is in a cabinet above the coffee bar. I have a little one because I just defrost or reheat coffee in it.

My fridge is a 30" Liebherr which is plenty big for the two of us. We have a freezer w/ little fridge in the garage for overflow. I would definitely want your all fridge/all freezer if my 4 kids were still at home.

I will post more pics in a day or two. Plumbers come tomorrow! Once I get some water in there I'll give it a spit-shine & be somewhat photo ready!

Everything looks great!

I am planning a similar coffee center, what are your
dimensions please?

What wood/stain are your cabinets?

Congrats on a great looking kitchen so far!

Vicnsb--my coffee bar/dog feeding station is 24" deep and 68" wide. My upper cabinets are 14" deep with the microwave space recessed into the dummy wall that was built to enclose some pipes. My cabinets are cherry with a nutmeg stain.

Thanks for asking!