Beautiful! Love the butcher block. Do you cut on it? I grew up with a butcher block island and loved having it . . . trying to incorporate it into my white marble kitchen also!

As far as the edge depth goes, I know the fabricator can make the edge thick without using thick piece of marble. . . . my mom just had it done in a bath reno. As far as the rest, details please!

Oh my gosh ... I'm drooling. That's awesome. You know what I think REALLY puts it over the top into the FABULOUS category? The undercabinet lighting! It's a simple thing, but it makes the whole kitchen feel light and bright and someplace I'd want to be.

What I love most about it is that this a very realistically sized kitchen. Sometimes you see these photos of these gorgeous but HUGE kitchens and they seem foreign for those of us with small or modestly sized homes.

Great job. It's amazing.

Classic kitchen! It looks like it fits in so well with the rest of your home, and you have made some decisions that really make it YOUR classic white kitchen--the butcher block, the very special hood, the extra-chunky marble. Love all those!!! Enjoy!!!

ajard;

How bee-u-teee-ful! The mix of marble and butcherblock is such a great contrast! I really like the curves that you've placed in the hood, in the case over the desk area, and the . . . well, I don't know what to call them -- the corbels? under the upper cabs -- they match those in the LR bookcases (oh, and Elmo's head!) and seem to pull it all together.

Enjoy!

That butcher block is wonderful! I love the way it is integrated like in the Christopher Peacock kitchens. Very very nice touch.

I am a real sucker for marble and white kitchens so this totally speask to me. Great job!

Beautiful! I especially love those thick marble counters and that gorgeous butcher block. And that hood! Congratulations!

Thank you all sooo much, I put my heart and sole into every decision and dealt with a very insulting cabinet man that drove me to the rafters but in the end I have what I had hoped it would be in this space, I was totally TKO!!!! Tomorrow I will post all the details.. I was not able to do so today....

Beautiful! It looks prefectly done. I'm looking forward to your details.

What an amazing transformation! Just gorgeous. Love the butcher block with the marble.

Oooh, beautiful! Those chunky marble tops are to die for! I love that walnut block integrated with the marble, too! Really yummy! Love your hood--if I were to "have to" (see my gears spinning?) get another hood, it would have to be one like that. Sometimes I hear it call my name....

Please give us the deets on your lovely space! :^)

Wow, what a difference! Gorgeous, gorgeous kitchen.

Congratulations! It is a great, light transformation. Of course I love the chunky counters, but I am really really loving on that floor! Can't wait to hear the details. New? Original to house?

There was just a post on here the other day asking about mixing woods and you've done it well!

Beautiful! Love the cabs, counters, lighting etc. All the details were well thought out. Enjoy!

Cabinets Mouser Custom Cabinetry. Color is Divinity- it is an off white, close to BM White Dove

Marble- 2 inch thick Premium Carrara from Italy. Yes, 2 inch is available , NY metro area it is housed in most marble/granite yards. The slabs are quite small ( typically 60x120) so if you have a large kitchen you may have to purchase 2 slabs. If you live elsewhere you can probably special request it. The premium is just how they upcharge you for the slab being very white and clean and not a lot of dark busy veining . Rookie 2010...I LOVE the marble. I am not concerned about stains since the sealer seems to really work.. but when you sit at my table in that lighting you can see spill etches everywhere.. big and small.... I can see why rumor has it that meg ryan took tomatoes and lemons and rubbed them all over to make it all etched. I will let mine get all etched over time so that it is 100 etched and maybe you wont see dots and spills anymore.. but it doesnt bother me at all.. what does bother me is some scratches I created when I moved a nice ceramic serving dish on top... beware of the rough bottoms of vases and dishes.. I also have a nice chip on the marble around the sink and I expect more over time..once of the reasons I really wanted a thick marble... but I still prefer it over any granite in a white kitchen. If I did wood color I would not choose marble. I am finding the butcher block to be more work to maintain then the marble but worth it!

Walnut END grain Butcher Block and Walnut Edge grain desktop- www.theboardsmith.com David is awesome to work with! His work is quality and his BB is what most people when they came LOVE the most. He is making me a custom walnut knife block for my counter soon too! I totally planned to cut on it.. and this man really makes table top bb for cutting on... he typically doesnt make countertops.. but it is soooo beautiful I dont have the heart to cut on it as I thought I would.. so I keep a table top one from crateandbarrell on my counter that I also love and have had for several years and still looks great!

Hood- Modernaire. I had a very good experience dealing with them , as for I made a terrible error and signed off on the wrong size hood. They took it back and sent a new one. I LOVE it! It is the exact hood that katieob has. It is 36x24x18 between 12 inch deep cabinets. I was looking at Rangecraft a competitor on the east coast but for many design reasons I preferred the rod and rivet size of the MA

Pendants- Hudson Valley Lighting ( Pelham Pendant) . They have sooo many amazing options.. It was hard to choose.

Wall Color- Benjamin Moore Camouflage

Hardware Pulls are Restoration hardware, Knobs are Top Knobs and latches are Rejuvenation.. all Polished Nickel

Sink 30 inch Shaws

Faucet. Is Rohl Country Line in PN and the Instant Hot is also PN from Insinkerator

Stainless Steel Floating Shelf on backsplash is from www.danver.com

Appliances:
Wolf Double Oven
Dacor Warming DrawerLOVE IT.. the Wolf was WD was $1500 more, so I went with Dacor since it doesnt have a handle it looks good under any oven. I was afraid to put a wood panel on it since it is controversial as to whether or not you loose the crisping feature of the drawer when you put a wood panel
Wolf 36 inch Induction cooktop, I have had this for 2 years.. LOVE it soooo much and didnt expect to, but gas was not an option here
Dishwashers:
Miele DW.. this I am bitter about since I had a 2 year old GE monogram that I liked a lot but my KD forgot to consider the handle and I cant open the drawer perpendiculer to it so I had to get a new DW without a handle
Fisher Paytel single DW drawer with wood panel.. this has been awesome too ! We entertain a lot so this has already in s short time to be a great option .. and the drawer for storage under it is still SUPER deep!!
GE Monogram 42 inch refrigerator

Undercabinet lighting is xenon and we added all new low voltage high hats
New window treatments are woven woods from Hunter Douglas in a walnut color

Floors are original but I had them refinished and stained a darker color to match with the walnut. I think it was min wax provence

Tiles are some Italian handmade ones, they are uneven edges.. I can look it up if anyone wants to know. The grout is white.. this is one regret.. I should have spent a bit more time on the grout color, possibly gone with something besides white...

The only 2 regrets I have is that the garbage is under a drawer next to the sink. I think I should have elminated the drawer possibly and had a shelf under it for the box of garbage bags.. but I didnt want to give up storage at the time. not sure on this one and lastly.. the faucet is set back from the sink edge a bit too far.. wish it was closer so when I washed things less water would be on the counter around the faucet base.

DID I leave anything out???? I hope I answered everyones questions!!!

jeri...did you start your kitchen???

It's gorgeous! I love the marble and butcher block counters and your beautiful white cabinets! And your awesome hood and the whole kitchen! Enjoy!

That does it. My next kitchen will be white. I just finished a reno with maple shaker cabs, but now I am having serious white kitchen envy. I love the way the stainless (or is it chrome?) hardware and lights and the white complement each other. Fabulous job!

chocolatetruffle is it polished nickel, not chrome. my husband would have a heart attack if i speak of another kitchen reno after this!

jeri...did you start your kitchen???

We wont start until Spring of 2012 which gives me lots of time to drool over kitchens such as yours and take lots of notes. :-)

Ive tried to follow all your posts I know you had some frustrating issues, but your kitchen is just what you wanted. All your hard work and thoughtful decisions have really paid off. Im so very happy for you AJ.

ChocolateTruffle (Yum!) My last kitchen was a medium brown with a golden granite. After seeing all of the beautiful white kitchens here, my next one (in the planning stages) will be white with marble probably this same hood as well. :-)

Jeri

jeri.. the hood is worth budgeting in!!!! but surprisingly everyone that has come over has wooed over the butcher block more!

Gorgeous!! I have the same play kitchen that is in the background in one of the pics...Now I just want the same real kitchen!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

Ajard,

It looks so amazing!! Congrats-are you loving walking in each morning? I am LOVING the butcher block, the light/airy vibe, the creaminess of the cabinets & marble...And the PN is just the right amount of sparkle.

You should be really proud of that transformation & thanks for the shout out!

Enjoy every meal,
Katie

Light, fresh, elegant, lovely. Proud you didn't chicken out of marble, I did, but I love my counters. I just want three kitchens for the different counter, cabinets and finishes I admire. And you are inspiring for me with the polished nickel - I did not chicken out on that and hope to not regret when it goes in next week. It really is a beautiful kitchen, with thoughtful attention to detail.

Thanks Katie!!!! I really appreciated all your input throughout my design decision process

Jeri - I really tried to talk myself into satin nickel.. but the little sparkle that Katie spoke of above would not be there and I think to achieve this look it is needed... you cant go wrong with SN... but the overall look will be different.. a bit more subdued. I love the bling with my matte marble and matte wood finish on the floors.. I would have been as happy with the overall look if i did SN as my local designers tried to talk me into since it is easier to maintain. I took my door sample to a local shop that sells fancy fixtures and hardware.. When I put the door up against a side by side faucet of PN and SN.... I knew at that moment I could not settle for anything but the PN.. so I take my little microfiber clothes each night and wipe down my PN faucet and hardware.. so far sooo good and only take a quick few minutes.

Isnt it amazing when you have something you love you want to take better care of it? Wiping down each drawer handle in your last kitchen was probably the last thing on your mind, yet in this kitchen that you love, you polish them each evening. :-)

Ill definitely rethink the SN vs BN decision because I love the look. Katie - did you go with polished marble too? I forget...

AJ - You must be so jazzed... Does your husband love the way it turned out?

jeri I just realized I wrote above that I would have been as happy... I meant I would not have been as happy.. I went with honed marble as per all the recommendations on this site. I imagine the scratches and / or etches would be more obvious if I did polished. My husband LOVES it!!!! thank god..... considering all he saw initially was the cost but couldnt visualize the outcome.

I will see if I can photo all the etches.. but they are throughout and lots... but you cant see them in most lights... they do seem like the charm of marble... my DH needed a bit of convincing that it is OKAY and nothing to do about it

AND YES I would have NEVER been seen wiping down my hardware each night in my old kitchen so diligently. It is amazing!!!!

I just added this to the FKB. It seems that all you have to do is fill out the form unless I missed something

Wow! Beautiful transformation. I am agonizing over my countertop...to the point where I am holding up cabinet installation...I don't know how all of you are accomplishing these gorgeous kitchens.
I admire you for using honed marble - it is my 1st choice, 2nd choice Super White, but I'm chickening out :(
I love your new kitchen! So beautiful!

Lovely. Wow on the hood over the range - that's spectacular.
Nice job.
Are you going to paint the brick fireplace? A light gray would brighten that corner and tie in the kitchen....my two cents.

Love it. Love the hood, love the BB, love the desk area (which I normally don't) but yours is fantastic. Love the whole room. What a great family space. I esp. love how you made that collage of family pics. It is so abstract. Are they attached to corkboard or what?

Wonderful Ajard. I have a quick question...

How high did you mount the hood above the cooking surface? It is hard to tell from the photos, but it appears you mounted it a bit higher than typically recommended, which is something I'm considering for my kitchen. A 24'' deep hood that sits at forehead level just seems too low for me. I'm 6' and would like the hood about 6'1'' or so above the floor. If you did the same, do you find the hood works effectively? What CFM and type of fan does it use?

Thanks,
Jon

Congrats Ajard! Your kitchen is beautiful. I love everything you have done. Love, love the hood. You and Katie O. have great taste. I have been a Katie O. fan for some time now. I would love to own that hood but for lack of space had to put a micro over the range. I used marble in the bathrooms but not brave enough to put it in the kitchen.

My kitchen is still not finished but getting close. You may not remember but we are building a new house. We hope to be moved in by 9/17. I'll post pics once I'm in and all is done.

Hello.. I have not logged on here all summer! sorry about that.... Thank you all for your ideas and compliments.. Katie O was my inspiration!

louisianapurchase the photos are attached to a linen board from pottery barn

itsnotrocketscience .. Jon.. my hood is 34 inches from the counter. I was advised that 30-34 is the acceptable range. I went to the max on "acceptable" and I am glad I did because I really wanted that shelf on the wall and it has worked out perfectly! It is a 600 CFM... whatever fan modernaire uses... it workds good for induction cooking and i DONT fry often. With gas cooking and a person that frys alot it may not be strong enough.

camerong:
As far as the marble... I dont baby it at all... sauce, red wine and coffee galore.. the sealer leaves it stain free.. but etches EVERYWHERE!!! they dont bother me at all! I dont regret it and I would have been unhappy settling for something else in this particular space

gruellie - i have not made any changes to the fireplace... I have had a few ideas.. but not going to spend any more money on this space this year! I still have bathrooms that need reno and some landscaping that needs to be done... so maybe a new hearth gate thingy when my kids are past the age of coloring on it, but thanks for some more ideas for the future

I'm not here very often now, so I missed this in July. So glad I saw it today. Beautiful. I love your marble and the walnut butcher block is perfect. I wish I had gone for that hood. Hood envy. Enjoy!!!!

I think I missed this too...really nice, very classy looking. I just love a white kitchen. :-)

LOL igloo on the Elmo chair!!!

What a lovely kitchen! May I ask what tile you used for your backsplash? Did you buy it locally? I've been looking for something similar. Thanks.

tanders my tile is from a company called Horus Art
They are Italian and I found this brand at many tile stores in the north east.
They are not perfect rectangles which is why I like them and they are not perfectly flat either. The reminded me of the shaw sink i have also handmade so it is not perfectly flat. I should have spent some time testing various grouts.. because I also liked the way it looked before we added white grout.. maybe I should have gone darker.. but I love the tile. If you need specific model or style number let me know and I will find it

I am new to gardenweb and have been admiring your amazing kitchen!!! It is my new inspiration! Would you mind me asking the height of your upper cabinets and the height of your moulding?

Oh thank you.... my inspiration was katieob... check out her kitchen! My upper cabinets were 36 inches with 6 inch mouldings above. I have 8 foot ceilings. I didnt want to give up the wood beams on the the other side of the kitchen so upper piece of the two piece mouldings had to be the smaller portion to match the moulding inbetween the wood beams.. if that makes sense.. I think the top piece was 2.5 and the lower piece of moulding is 3.5

The warmth of the floor and the butcherblock are the best parts, in my humble estimation. That cutting board countertop was an inspired idea--adds a counterpoint (pun intended) texture and color that the white kitchen needed, esp. in view of the fireplace in distance and the historic notes in the adjacent rooms.

florantha.. thank you.. yes I really feel the wood was needed to warm up the white space.

Hi! I love your pulls from Restoration Hardware in polished nickel. They come in different sizes, though, which has me confused as I preapre to buy them! I'm trying to decide between 3" and 4"....but RH even has them in 6" and 8". What size did you use on your cabinets? Do you feel like your hand is comfortable pulling out the drawers in the size pull you bought?

akeogh.. I am pretty sure they are the 4 inch and my hand is very comfortable with the width.. I will double check.. the cup is 3 inches. but from screw to screw is 4, so that is why I think it is the 4 inch. I ordered the 6 but it was waayyyy to big for my cabinets. They do get spotted.. but I still LOVE the look

It looks AWESOME!!!! I love it!

I also love your kitchen table and chairs! Could you share where you purchased those? :) Thanks !!!

THANK YOU farmhousegirl... The farm table is from Ethan Allen which is a nationwide furniture store and the chairs are from a local store that makes country pine furniture and you pick the paint and how distressed you want them to make it look. The store is on Long Island, NY .. if you want the details I can get that for you

LOVE LOVE LOVE you did a fantastic job!

I saw your kitchen pics right after putting a question on the board about thick granite and marble.

I also live in the NYC area. Would you mind telling me the % upcharge for the thicker marble? You don't have to quote a number, just how much more it was than standard 3cm / 1.25" if you know.

Thanks!

dandylandy . Honestly I never really priced 1.25 inch carrara marble.. I priced 2 inch from all different types of marbles. I can tell you that if you dont use the carrara and go with another type of marble ( such as danby, calcutta, stauary) it was double the price. For me the upcharge was if i purchased through who my cabinet people referred me to, they were giving themselves a large kickback of about 2,000.
I went direct through a recommendation of a family in my town of a home that had 8 stone bathrooms and probably a 200,000 dollar kitchen done by a particular stone guy who I highly recommend now too... because..... most 2 inch slabs or marble are typically smaller then the 1.25 ones. For my kitchen I needed just a tad more then 1 slab. Everyone I priced insisted my only option was to buy two slabs. The awesome guy I worked with told me hang on and lets wait and search and eventually we will find a slab that is just slightly larger and sure enough we did... that saved me thousands! He did an awesome job with making sure any flaws in the marble were not visible when he did my cut outs. If it helps you since I dont know the price of 1.25 carrara, I paid 4000.00 for my 2inch carrara marble, I can look up the measurements if it would really help. At one point I wanted danby so I was willing to goto 1.25 inches.. but it was still about 2,000 more then the 2 inch carrara and I am glad I went with the thicker carrara, I LOVE IT.. If you would like a referral for my stone guy please let me know

I thought of another question. Is there a way to attach the moldings without visible nail holes? I know you can caulk them, but if you order the moldings already painted from the cabinet company, I'm not sure if this would look right since you can't really touch-up the caulk with paint. Any ideas? Thanks!

Whoops! Just realized I posted that to the wrong thread!

Ajard, Fabulous kitchen! Can you tell me the size of the space overall (including eating area, width to fp wall. Also, how may feet of the width did you dedicate to the kitchen? Thanks! I am trying to decide on the best layout for my space, 14 x 27 and although the architect and KD have designed it with an island, I can't help but think a penninsula might give me more "living" space while making the kitchen more compact. Dilemmas....

Let's revive this thread! How's the marble holding up?! Sounds like I am in the same dilemma as you from a few years back! Love your kitchen :)