Kitchen Renovation

It's been awhile since I've been here. Good to see some of the "veterans" still around

What started out as an appliance upgrade has turned into a whole kitchen renovation.

We will keep the layout the same, but have decided to rip everything out and start over.

Going with a white kitchen and quartzite countertops - with stainless steel Thermador appliances.

Here are some photos:

I know it looks like a pretty nice kitchen - and it is....but we didn't build our home and the kitchen was already done when we purchased it. It's been 10 years, and we are ready for a change.

I really want to brighten it up - and we are going for a "coastal" feel - as we have a full bank of windows along the back of our house. We live in the Chicago area, and winter is long and depressing.

We are keeping the floors - and this is part of the reason for the reno too. I was never really crazy about the color of the floors; but they are everywhere -- 3200 sq ft. of wood throughout the house. So changing the color is not an option. I've viewed many, many photos on Houzz and elsewhere, and white kitchens with this color floor seem to work really well.

sample photo:

<div><a href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/scarsdale-kitchen-1-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~7741255'><img

We are getting rid of the sink in the wet bar area. We never use it.

We want to replace most of our lower cabinets with drawers.

We are planning a 48" built in fridge and a double oven micro combo with warming drawer beneath

No micro over the cooktop - but increasing size to 36" from 30

Would love a painted island - but not sure of color

The counter where the stools are will changed to standard counter height, so it has the feel of a table.

Going for very simple cabinets - and a white hood - I'd like a little shelf on it

Something like this:

<div><a href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/long-beach-beach-style-kitchen-chicago-phvw-vp~6155782'><img

This renovation will end up spilling over into our DR and FR a bit, as we have quite a mix of styles going on. But that's for another post.

Questions:

Island color? What do you think? Wood stain? Painted?

Tile backsplash - subway or is that overdone?

Quartzite countertops - are these are great as everyone claims?

Wet bar -- we will be adding a wine fridge -- what do you think of wallpaper for the backsplash to add a bit of fun? We will relocate the fish tank

Lighting - I have no idea on lighting

Hardware - I have no idea, but don't want black.

I'm sure I'll have more questions. I'm always so impressed with the ideas you guys come up with.

Thanks a bunch!

ps. I posted over in the kitchen forum also - but I actually prefer it over here. If you think I should delete my post there, just let me know....