I am approx 3 weeks away from demo and the jitters have kicked in. I am also excited and in shock that the day is drawing closer.
It feels like awaiting the birth of our sons only this has taken 4 years and no one will rip the kitchen out of ... well, you know....lol.....

I'm getting ready to sign on the line...contracts and then checks. lol *seeing $$$ flying out the door*

And I have some of the same jitters as you do.

One thing my cabinet guy is going to do for me is produce some sample doors so I can view what-I-think-is-my-stain color on two different wood species. Is your's willing to do the same for you? Maybe make two doors ... hang them on a wall and walk by them for a couple of days so you can see them at various times of the day?

It would be worth it to take a small amount of time and wood to do a trial run rather than cutting all the doors with the grain running horizontal and then changing your mind.

Best wishes!
Pepper
~Who has already purchased three of four appliances, still needs a sink....and is angsting over the Delta Touch faucet....that is totally not necessary when my six-month old Moen will suffice. :D

Pepper, he would do that for me but I don't want to slow things up. He showed me all the veneers that came in for my cabs and they were lovely. This guy is a perfectionist and he's going to carefully book match my cabs.

We tried a good 20 stain mixtures to get what I think I want. First it was too white, then it was too gray (which looked dirty without any white. And all the time I kept saying, that I wanted the birch tone to come through. Then we started to add some blue to the mix.....finally achieved the look I wanted.

At this point, I don't think a door would really help me, it's the whole unique look that is making me nervous. He will be bringing me some larger stained samples next week, when he comes to check out some final measurements after the demo is done. I'll slow down the process if I have to. Thanks for the suggestion.

I love all the elements, I just hope they all look as good in real life as they do in my head. I thinks thats the big problem giving me jitters....

Ah yes....our little flock that is chasing those elusive gray-stained cabinets. : D

Not too dark, not dirty looking, no yellow showing through, we still want to see wood grain, transparent - not opaque, which wood species....(+ will it still go with my it's-the-one-granite selection and not-yet-selected-flooring-material (which is a moving target) and solid-glass backsplash (which I worry will be too greenish)????

lol...my short-term memory is killed da-yed by all the research that I've been doing for my reno. Sorry I didn't recognize you right off the bat. But to my credit, I went back and read the post where we first 'met-up'....well, I'm holding your hand in spirit. We are fighting many of the same battles.

Just curious....did your cab guy express his opinion on your horizontal grain idea?

I've found that true craftsmen (especially those that seriously work in wood) have an aesthetic/artistic sense and will give an opinion if requested. Also, they want to make sure that their name/reputation is imprinted on something they will be proud of.

I would love to see a pic of your prelim stain sample.

Pepper

ps. This pic is getting close-r to the color that I'm looking for. I still want it to be a bit more gray.

Yep, Nancy, I think we all go through this, even more so those of us who insist we know what we want things to look like and force the world to conform to our ideas rather than just picking options from a set menu. I can promise you two things. First, that no matter how exact you make things, they will never live up to the picture in your head. In your head you have perfect lighting, no clutter, you don't have the appliance that was supposed to be flush but was built crooked, and you don't have the bit that was installed "wrong" because your idea of the obvious way to do things and the workman's were diametrically opposite--but it's too minor and too expensive in time and money to change so you'll be living with it.

The other thing I can promise you is that, however much you might regret letting Mr. X into your house, or choosing to deal with flake Y because his work is so gorgeous and you are now stuck waiting months for him to finish, you will not regret it. You won't regret the time and effort to get the stain right. You won't regret the singular color scheme that more than anything else is a peek inside of your head. You won't regret doing things differently, and you won't regret your choices. At least, you might sometimes wonder why you put yourself through this, but when you consider the alternative I promise you won't regret it.

You might have a few Robert Frost moments wondering what the other road(s) would have been like, but you'll never regret taking the road less travelled.

Hey All,
Thanks for all of your help. After our major project we have decided to try to help others avoid the same problems that we incurred in our kitchen remodeling project. Please take a moment to answer the following question at the link below. What is your number 1 question about kitchen design? Thanks
Joe & Jen

Here is a link that might be useful: What is your number 1 question about kitchen design?

wizardnm - your kitchen sounds like it is going to be gorgeous. Especially the blue. I remember some big designer once said "if you truly love everything that you choose for your home, it will all go together." Sounds just like what you did. As long as you have a few perfectionists helping you out, you will be fine

(PS the Karbon IS perfection - I love, love, love mine) :-)

Wizardnm - My jitters were insane. I too was creating a look that did not have an exact inspirational photo and honestly was unable to visualize the big picture accurately. I was thrilled with the results. I think the attention to color/tone and how all the materials worked together is what really paid off in the end for me and it is clear that you have put much energy into that.

Speaking of "go and touch them", after we templated the counters I got cold feet. I put my counter order on hold and had to take another visit 'to make sure' before I would let them cut it. I get it.

On another note, I think the horizontal grain pattern will be stunning. I wonder why kitchens if most kitchens are heavy vertical with uppers, why run the grain to accentuate that? OK so I am biased, I have red birch natural cabinets and have already written about how the drawer slabs with the horizontal grain 'make my heart sing'...

Lots of us go through this. I didn't have an inpiration picture either and while I knew what I wanted most could not "see" what I had in my head and I wasn't good at explaining it. I sensed others feelings that they didn't think I had a clue what I was doing. With that came a little doubt. However, I'm some what used to that so I stayed with the made up photo in my mind. My kitchen came out better than my vision and it perfecty goes in my home. Stick to what you want but be prepared to get stuck on a few things. Just when I thought I had it all figured out I got stuck on barstools of all things...it nearly drove me mad and I pretty much terrorized this forum with my stool search. The people on this site saved the day on a few things (you know who you are). Best of everything...your picks sound lovely!

Thank you all, I guess I just needed some support from other KO friends who understand. I'm all alone in this, my other half is creatively challenged and just let's me decide on everything. There's good and bad to that.

Here's a sneak peek at my island light fixtures....

Pepper, have you tried other woods than the oak?

Sparklekitty, I get your heart singing, I hope mine does too. Mt kitchen is not large and the cabs will go to the ceiling. My hope is that visually the grain running horizontal on my slab style cabs will take the eye around rather than up.

Laurain, I do love my color scheme, I was inspired by a pottery bowl I bought in the spring at an art fair.

Plllog, somehow I knew you would understand my jitters. We let the creative juices flow. This time my canvas is my kitchen and I don't have the option of wiping it off and starting over.

Jterrilynn, I really got hung up on my light fixture. I almost quit, thinking I could wait until everything else was done and just have the elec box put in place. At least now I have something I can try. I'll start over later if they don't work out.

Nancy

Wiz...

I'm expoloring other wood species. My very first, and extremely long-running choice was maple. But that was when I thought I wanted just natural with a clear-coat.

Now that I want a light gray stain, I'm visiting the thought of a different species. I only showed white oak as it was the only picture example out there that gave me a starting reference point as to stain color. I prefer a tighter, less intrusive grain pattern...which unless I get a really high-grade oak, I will have the potential of knots, etc.

I woke up this morning to the brilliant thought (about your cabinets and wood grain pattern) that some of the extremely high-end 'Italian' kitchens being touted right now show a horizontal grain design. As we all know that the Italians are masters of design, you are keeping good company. : )

~ Merillat shows a kitchen where some of the grain goes horizontal...which now looking at the pic from a slightly different perspective, I think it would have looked fab with the door grain running the same.

~ Sochi used horizontal grain on her cabinets with superb results. A link is below.

And in closing....my granite has a distinct horizontal (to the slab dimensions) pattern that I think would be fabulous being reinforced with a horizontal wood grain.

Now see what you've done to me!!!!! : D

Pepper
~ Now having another new set of thinky thoughts.

ps. Is the addition of blue in your stain formula a distinct color element or was it added to offset the yellow tones of the wood?

Here is a link that might be useful: Sochi's Kitchen pics

wizardnm- I LOVE that light fixture! My DH would never go for something like that as he is way too traditional in general, (although he has thrown in some nontraditional design features for our kitchen), but I will be anxiously waiting to see what you do.

I am such a blue lover that I think your choices will be lovely. And the horizontal grain pattern follows the Frank Lloyd Wrightishness style of horizontality that even my husband would love (lol)

Pepper, you wouldn't know that the blue was there. The blue pigment just cleaned up the gray. He got too much blue in one of the mixtures and I had him try cutting the blue by 50% and that did the trick. I didn't want a blueish cast but grays can be tricky.

I oil paint and love playing with colors.

Feel free to email me through GW if you have any questions. I know he's going to give me the 'recipe'.

Nancy

Nancy, that handkerchief fixture is the bomb!

Okay. I can't believe I just said that, but it is.

BTW, there are reasons why grain isn't used that much horizontally. One of the big ones is a hold over from using real wood, rather than veneer. Trees are tall and narrow. There for doors are tall and narrow and drawer fronts are wide side to side and narrow top to bottom. It's the way the lumber grows. The horizontal grain looks so modern and interesting because it can now be achieved in a practical manner, but is still unusual. I'm really looking forward to seeing Nancy's cabinets with the grain and gray stain!

Wiz....

The one stain sample that I tried had a smidge of blue added to a clear stain base. I had posted a picture of the effort in the earlier thread. The intent was more to offset the yellow in the maple but I still didn't achieve what I wanted. Obviously. lol

I've been working so hard on trying to figure out my floor, that I haven't worked further on the wood stain issue.

Good to read that you are carrying the torch for us 'Gray' Ladies.

Pepper
~ Still contemplating horizontal grain pattern.