My first impression is "COOOOOOOL COMBO!" I love the idea myself and the zinc set off from the white marble could be fabulous!

We have white marble ourselves - Calacatta Classic - and as fabulous as it is, it's the combination of it with other things that make it the kitchen work so well (like the silver/grey metallic automotive paint finish on our hood cover).

I say GO FOR IT - in a BIG way!

I agree. I think it sounds FABULOUS!

Zinc is cool, but really really expensive. I got a quote for our 40-ish square feet of counter, and it was $10,000. Compared to that, soapstone seemed downright cheap, lol.

yeah, i agree. i think it sounds beautiful and wonderfully vintage-looking and both will work great with your vintage range, subways, and great-sounding old sink. i love when people respect the integrity of older homes.

it does sound like it might be a bit "cooooool" (meaning lots of cool colors) but it sounds like you're going with stained cabinets so that should help to balance the cooler tones.

the main thing to be aware of is that both zinc and marble patina, but it sounds like you're not only aware of that but you might be the type of person to whom that would be a good thing.

oh,my goodness, y'all are fantastic! I didn't expect posts so quick, I just came back online after getting lunch for the kids to double check how it sounded LOL!

You are giving me hope that it isn't completely crazy - our input here in town is not helpful - both our folks have corian and think we should do that, literally every single person we know who has redone a kitchen in the last 5 years has done granite and thinks that is the only way to go, and our previous two remodels have been on a much tighter budget so porcelain tiles. Mention marble and we get a glazed over look or comments regarding statues and zinc just brought a whole lot of "WHAT???? Never heard of it" LOL!

I love that we certainly won't be seeing this just about anywhere else (such a non-conformist...) We are complete DIYers- so far the only thing we have hired out here is the foundation pour for my workshop (16x32', just really didn't want to tackle that!) but from what I understand, slabs are always installed? That is on the slate for next week- visiting a few of the marble/granite houses here and starting to get a grip on how that whole process works. Pointers?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Green Grass House Blog

Oh yeah! Another DIY family! Took a peak at your blog, it looks like a great project and you seem to all be happy doing it too! I love to see old homes renovated!

We are completely DIY ourselves, except for the slabs on our kitchen and, for that matter - most things. Yes, we are both in the const. industry - me a building designer and he as a hvac guy ...but, ya can't beat that kind of sweat equity!

Best of luck to you, I can't wait to see the progress!

PS. When you go to the slab yards take an empty sack lunch bag to breathe in after you see the price of marble...but then again, if you go Carrerra, it's fairly reasonable...

aren't you going to give her a link to the pics of your amazing marble slabs, mindi?

yes, pics, pics, pics!! I would love to see the hood cover, too - it sounds fab! And thanks so much for the warning about bringing a bag - I have been afraid to even contemplate that yet LOL! I'm trying to justify that we kept existing cabinets and will make the extra cabs and shelving we need ourselves, and that the super cool stove was a steal on craigslist, thereby saving money...but I still have a feeling countertops are going to hurt ;-)

Zinc countertops are definitely affordable if you're DIY and not looking for a fancy edge profile.

Marble & zinc would be a fabulous combination, perfect for a farmhouse kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: Zinc Sheets

zavierchick - Well, I promised not to post new pictures until we were 100% done, but the old links appear to be gone. So, here's a sneak peak I took yesterday. My DH hauled out some of our 50's memorabilia from our old house and it might stay, but it might not...

The deal about the hood cover is, originally, I wanted it all custom fabricated out of stainless, but we spent way more on slabs and cabinets than originally planned. So, it created a "think out of the box" moment. We built it out of mdf and crown moulding which cost $40 and took it down to the body shop who worked on my husbands truck last winter. For $100 he mixed up some left over silver paints he had, laid on several coats of clearcoat and... Voila - new hood cover for $140 total!

I would have liked a bit more metallic fleck and a bit darker grey, but it's slick looking and just right!

{{!gwi}}

Wow, mindimoo, that's amazing. What a gorgeous kitchen!

zavierchick, that's a really classic look you see all the time in older houses with large kitchens (the kind that had "staff" to use the kitchen). I think it would be great in your house.

My answer to your question YES YES YES gorgeous!!! I have stainless and granite going in the same kitchen...man zinc....you're making me drool....

The combo sounds great to me, too. I'm not as brave and am sticking with stainless, but I think the zinc and marble will play off each other so nicely. I join Mindimoo in saying it's always nice to hear of other DIYers. Nothing better than having the young work crew members joining in. Too bad Mr Monster had to go!

Mindi...Have you been holding out on us, or have I completely missed your posting these latest photos somewhere? I was looking at your album and it caught the eye of my almost 19 yo son from across the room. He said, "That's cool." He is a man of few words, so that's high praise. :-)

Very gorgeous. Do you tear up when you walk in? I think I might....Or just look and look and soak it all in, while not getting anything done!

Ya know rhome410, I didn't exactly realize you could click on a picture and get the entire album until today. Actually, I am only holding out as long as it takes to entirely finish! There are 4 tiny items on the final punch list, but I want them done!

I don't tear up when I walk in- well anymore that is :-) , but it is a great feeling! Yes, I work in it, it works so well and is actually a kitchen which I can hardly say about it's predecessor!

Thanks for your and your DS's kind words!!!

Yep, Mindimoo, I figured that trick out accidentally awhile back, so I cheated and peeked. ;-)

Some people's photos don't link to an album. I don't know if that's just exclusive to Photobucket or what.

I love your kitchen Mindimoo, it's absolutely gorgeous!

I think it sounds great. I just did a DIY zinc island top and it was pretty easy. Just take some care with the corners. We folded them like a package. I used rotometals for the sheets of zinc and epoxied them to MDF using a J roller to help it adhere. We do have some areas where the metal doesn;t lie quite flat, but overall I like it and it sure beats the $5k quote i got from one of the fancy fabrication shops.

mindimoo, what type of pendant lights are those? They are gorgeous! Love your kitchen too.

Hi rkwpnw---

Is that for Pacific Northwest? Are you another local?

Actually, the pendant lights in the photo album are by Wilmette Lighting and the name is Van Buren. They are really cool, just finally ordered them after we decided to go with the brushed nickel. So, they should be installed in about 3-5 weeks, depending on shipping. I ordered them through Seattle Lighting in Bellevue.

Thanks for the kind words!

I think marble and zinc would be great! I was thinking of having both. The marble I already have in my island with a free standing butcher block. Then the counter next to my sink (antique cast iron) I was thinking of putting in a small 2'x2' zinc counter. I think DIY is the only way I would do it though because of the insane pricing of zinc.

Sorry for the hijack, but dogridge could you expand on how you DIY your zinc counter top? Do you have any pictures?

I think that it is a gorgeous combo as long as you know and like what you are getting into.

I have a friend who has striking zinc countertops that go perfectly with her very classic white kitchen and she will tear them out the moment she has enough money to replace them. She spent many, many thousands of dollars for them and they are her biggest regrets. The perimeter counters are pristine and gorgeous. They have a sheen to them that reminds me of polished nickel and I've honestly never seen anything like it. That being said, the ones that are near the sink and the integrated sink itself are very "patinaed." I happen to like the look of the uneven zinc patina as long as it is an overall look e.g. an entire zinc table that has patina across the whole thing. The problem for her is that it is very splotchy and patchy. There are a ton of white spots, and dulling gray areas. The areas near the sink are very patinaed, whereas the areas outside look like a particularly gorgeous stainless steel. For her, it could not be more frustrating to have such an uneven tone throughout her counters. Her cleaning lady dedicates about an hour of her time cleaning the area near the sink every time she is in or it would be even more noticeably different.

I guess the closest equivalent I have seen are some of the soapstone pictures that some people have posted where the area near the dishwasher and the sink look much more spotted than the areas further removed from water. It is that kind of difference that appears with the zinc. If you like the look of a really lived in kitchen, I think it totally works and both materials are gorgeous, but you should definitely know what you are getting.