Details:

Cabinet: Krafmaid,Kaffe Finish, Slab Door; Glass doors are Kraftmaid Aluminum door with frosted glass.
Countertops: Exotic Granite (cant remember name) Countertop: I custom designed the frosted glass countertop with stainless steel standoffs (legs) and had a glass fabricator make a template and then fabricate and installed it....went great!
Backsplash: Cubist by Solistone (as much as I insisted he not use this tile, becuase its impossible to clean, he insisted on using it...he doesnt cook much anyway!)
Appliances: 36" Viking Range with grill and convection oven; 36" Viking freestanding french door (ordered top grilled to make fridge appear to be built-in); 24" Viking dishwasher; Miele designer wall hood; 24" Viking undercabinet wine fridge; 30" Viking built in microwave
Pulls; Standard stainless steel pulls
Flooring; Dark Walnut engineered flooring
Faucets: Kohler Simplice pull down at both sinks
Sinks: Main Sink is Kohler's Verity Apron front stainless sink; Bar sink is Elkay's Mystic River sink in stainless
Lighting: WAC recessed ceiling lights and button lights. Pendants by Illuminating Experiences

I'm not into modern kitchens but I gotta say, that's fantastic! Usually I think of modern as very cold and industrial but you have a lot of warmth there, and many of the elements make me feel like I'm in a natural setting like the beach or near a creek. Some of it is because of color and textures but man I LOVE the glass countertop! I wouldn't have expected to like glass but wow - it makes me want to go swimming! That fluid look is really cool. I also like the contrast between the sharp straight lines everywhere and the roundness of the hood, faucets, sink, glass top and chairs. It also manages to be classy yet fun with all those great shapes. Two thumbs up! :)

I have to agree with Theresse, it's FANTASTIC!
The owner must be absolutely thrilled. Nice balance of natural contemporary, that must be so hard to pull off. Everything about it shows that an incredible amount of consideration went into the design and layout. The layout makes it a very functional space while the combination of shapes is so chic and interesting. Very, very, very well done! Thanks for sharing!

I think it came out great! My only reservation is those hanging lights. The rest of the kitchen flows and has a nice balance of forms. The layout looks nicely workable too. On the whole, I give it 2 thumbs up ;)

Very nice! I love the granite (please try to remember the name) combined with the glass top. Too bad your friend doesn't cook much because you gave him a very nice space. Maybe he'll start now.

Love most of it. Very warm and inviting. The only things that stand out to me are the backsplash only because I can see it will be a nightmare to keep clean. I know the tile and wanted it until I realized what a cleaning nightmare it would be behind a cooktop. I personally would have preferred the cabinets on either side of the hood to go to the ceiling, but that's a personal design decision. The other thing is I'd have liked not to have to turn around to take something out of the microwave but that's me and it's a personal decision. Otherwise I think your friend is really lucky to have had you design her space.

Very nice and great use of materials and colors.

While modern isn't really me, I love it! The elements I love the best are the dark slab cabs combined with the aluminum & frosted glass, and the glass and granite on the island. Personally, I wouldn't have chosen the backsplash but as you said, it was his choice--although it certainly looks stunning! It looks like you really maximized the storage/functionality of the space. I hope your friend is inspired to start cooking more in this great new space!!!

After viewing the pictures, I think it is beautifully done and your choices look like they all coordinate together well. I'm not crazy about the hanging lights as they look like the wiring is "kinked" or something but maybe they just need to relax and the wire will look better. Either way you should be proud of doing such a good job. I tend to be more on the traditional side but your kitchen design looks great!

There are some cool aspects to this design. I wouldn't usually say anything negative about a finished project, but you seem to genuinely want honest feedback: There is a lot going on here for me with the different door styles, shapes, and materials that might be competing for attention, and I'm not as crazy about the gold/brown granite and greenish glass together as others obviously are. I think there might be something I'm missing in the photos that looks different in person, though. This is all just my personal opinion, and it's not my kitchen, so not that valuable. ;-)

What's important is whether the owner(s) love it!! And I bet they do, and in that case, it's a success.

I think those lights are one of the most distinctive things in this room. If they are sufficient for good lighting, then they're good. That bend in the electric line is part of the "look", a counterpoint to the fixed length supports.

I like the extremes in texture and color--the rock counters, the lights, the countertop, the dark wood, the metal. Also like the counterpoint of mod lines in kitchen adjacent to traditional lines of paned glass and white woodwork in the windows and door.

The room will tend toward starkness unless softening items are present. If this is a bachelor pad, you might need to make some suggestions. The range wall left and right on the ends would make good sites for some killer art pieces.

I find it ironic that someone who doesn't cook much has such a large range. Is the tile problematic because of the irregularity of the surface or is it likely to absorb grease?

Just checking, but I have the same Miele hood. Is that little square supposed to show? Ours is in the inside of the extension overlap. Perhaps one of ours is upside down?

Is the granite "Solarius"?

I'm a modern fan, and I like it. I loved that tile, too, but knew it would be impossible to keep clean. But the client gets what he wants! There is a lot going on in that kitchen -- a lot of things that could be considered features on their own. I might make two simple changes: swap out the outlets and covers on the front of the island so they blend in better with the wood tone; and swap out the metal/glass cabinet doors at the top of the microwave stack for regular wooden doors.

I like it....a lot! I'm into modern and your details are wonderful. I immediately checked out the lights but they are a little too pricey for me.

Backsplash... hard to keep clean but who cares, I'm sure he has a cleaning person. It's very unique and adds texture to the whole space.

Love the glass bar too.

Thanks so much for your feedback! To answer some of your questions...

The pendant lights do provide tons of light. It was a sunny day when I took those pics, so you prob cant tell. The non straight cord is how the fixture is designed, so unfortunately, it will never "settle" and straighten up. But there werent any other pendants that I could fine that had such cool factor and that fit with the size of the room, without taking up visual space.

The very first picks show white outlets on the back of the island. This was an early pick before we were finally complete, so they were changed out to a dark brown color, which made them disappear into the dark would of the island.

The owner doesnt cook that much becuase he is a prof athlete and thus not home half of the year. He really wanted the grill, and I didnt want him to sacrfice 2 burners on a 30" range, nor have to worry about placing a grill compartment over a set of burners when he wanted to use and then take it off when he was done, so the 36" afforded this.

The backsplash tile is cool to look at, but hard to clean. It wouldnt absorb any stains, but it you would bascially need a toothbrush to clean the nooks and cracks, as the tile is bascially little cubes, some pushed in and some pushed out to give that textured look.

And yes this is a bachelor pad, so with the exception of adding artwork, nothing that "soften" the look would he allow. Although the pics dont show it, we did add some beautiful grey dupioni silk drapes on chunky, square, dark brown wood rods, finials, and rings, so this softened the wall of windows/door. The furniture on the other side of the room consisted of a modern style sofa, but in a distressed brown leather with square end tables, but with a textured look.

As for the hood, I'm not exactly sure it the square is supposed to show or not. Ive wondered that, but the contractor insisted it was fine......

The granite may have been Solarius....that does ring a bell. I do know that when we selected it, it appeared to be one of few in this area but now there are dozens similar and almost exactly as this stone.

The glass cabinets were a direct request, and placing them sort of randomly was what he wanted. Typically I am very symmetrical, so the glass door placement that's there was as random as I could get.

I lowered the two cabinets on either side of the range for two reasons. First, I do not care for the look of too many wall cabinets all going up to the ceiling...too much consistently, esp since we had floor to ceiling cabinets to the right of the refrigerator. Secondly, becuase I wanted to add lights on top of those cabinets to shine up to the ceiling and illuminate the backsplash tile. Thirdly, because I didnt want "heavy" cabinets up to the ceiling on either side of the glass canopy wall hood, that is rather light in comparison, so lowering the walls cabinets was my way of gradually leading up to the lightness of the hood.

This definitely was a great project, as I had a great budget and pretty much free rane, with the few exceptions he requested. It became a slight tug of war between man and woman as I tend to be a little more softer and modern, ie..Baker Furniture, Restoration Hardware, muted colors, plush fabrics, while he is definitely a "man's man", wanting elements that signified strength and masculinity. But I think the end result was great, not too modern, and definitely a distinctive mix of materials, textures, and movement, as a well a balance of hard and soft.

Thank you guys again for your feedback!

Is the tile problematic because of the irregularity of the surface or is it likely to absorb grease?

Both. LOL. The tile is a tumbled travertine with irregular edges and tops. Gorgeous to look at, but I can't imagine trying to get grease off in the crevices. I instead opted to use a similar tile to that behind my jacuzzi tub (just us two old f*** so not much splashing) and behind my sinks in my M bath. We of course are having it sealed and the wall behind it is backerboard and was also sealed before he started tiling. Below is a link to the type of tile it is:

Here is a link that might be useful: split face tile

Yes. you are correct. The tile was sealed and will be continued to be sealed, so absorbing stains wont be an issue. The bigger issue is cleaning it! But hey, you can't win all the battles....Ive educated him so he knows that I would have not chosen the tile and he knows what to expect of it, and heck its not my kitchen and I dont have to clean....leave it to his cleaning lady!

Modern is definitely not my style, but this is a stunning kitchen. You can be really proud, and he certainly is lucky to have you for a friend. You have maximized this small space and created a fabulous kitchen.

As others have said, the backsplash is quite beautiful. And sometimes there are things you just gotta have, despite the chore of cleaning it. The glass counter is amazing, but the color doesn't quite "go" ... in my personal opinion. Maybe it's the granite that doesn't quite work for me. The space seems tight to me. But it could be the pics. I personally don't care for the lights but they work in this kitchen.

Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, the wiring on the lights sort of ruins the look. Is there some way to feed the wire down one of the supports? That might help hide it. Rest of it looks great even though I'm not a modern fan.

That "square" at the top of the hood I believe indicates that the hood is set up for recirculating the air rather than exhausting it outside. I don't think that is recommended for a gas stove due to carbon monoxide. Might want to have that looked at.

I adore the glass counter and its shape. Agree with Rhome on the door style mix a bit too busy, BUT that is what the client wanted.

I totally agree with you on the two cabinets to the side of the hood- I like that they do not reach the ceiling because it would look too heavy. That is how I chose to do mine as well. I know, its "in" to have them all go to the ceiling but I like then not to the ceiling. Personal taste.

I also like that rug your client has. Could you possibly tell me where he got it? I love zebra rugs with modern styles. I am thinking the lights are probably nicer in real life than the photo.

Because the first picture is a bit out of focus (and the color reading a bit warm), my first impression was that the backsplash was hammered copper, which would also have looked totally hot in this application. The tile looks awesome, but I wouldn't have done it. I cook!

It looks awesome. I'm a big fan of glass and love the island. Like some of the other posters, I'm not completely sold on the combination of the granite and glass colors, but then my monitor colors or the pictures could be showing the colors a bit "off." Really nice overall!

I really love the design -- you should be very proud of yourself! I know it's your client's fault, but I'm not fond of the busy granite and backsplash combo either. Regardless, you've still got a fantastic project for your portfolio! I also really love the cabs and glass.

would you mind posting the drawings for this desing?

Magnificent! The only thing which struck me immediately were the white electrical outlets in the island. Would dark ones work better there? Otherwise, love it!

Congradulations on finishing a project. That is a huge accomplishment.

This is my honest feedback... Alot of this has to do with one's taste, obviously. I am sure the end product is a combination of you and your client....

For me, there are too many competing elements in the design. So the room does not come off as sophisticated but rather busy and trying too hard. There are so many things that are screaming "pay attention to me" that one does not know where to rest ones eyes and take in the visual beauty of any one thing.

I would have used more restraint and scaled back much of what is there.... I would have only picked one or two things to showcare; glasstop, curved sink, stainless steel legs, aluminum glass door fronts, tile, granite, lights, what have you but so much all in the same room.

Some ideas that pop into me: if you wanted to showcase the glass and its shape, I would have used much subtler counter top by using muted color/material. Then this could have been balanced by shimmering glasstiles on the other wall.

The SS legs of the counter tops fight with the aluminum rails of the door of the lower cabs.... So one does not see the elegant legs.

Not sure if my opinion is worth much but I am not saying these things to hurt your feeling.... I am just giving you my personal honest feedback which you requested.

I wish you the best. I hope you continue to grow as a designer.