I’m going to say what’s throwing you off is your led strip lights it’s giving too much attention to your tiles and not only that it’s blue. How about changing it to white

I think Beths post hit the nail on the head. I think the tiling at the sink looks infinished. Need to go up to the ceiling. Love the tile. Went take much to make it work. Leave the cabinet color alone. It’s fine.

"I will take daylight pictures and post them tomorrow. the cabinets aren't really white (except the ones under the sink that I still have to paint), they are a tanish-pinkish color."

I think you have identified your color clashing issue. If you have pinkish cabinets they go great with your kitchen walls and family room color scheme. However, your granite countertops are yellow toned. Your cabinet color and kitchen walls and family room wall color is clashing with your granite. Pink and yellow clash. Seems that your backsplash is more neutral and is okay with the yellow tones of your granite, or it may be clashing a bit also?. If your lovely granite stays you may need to change your color scheme of the cabinets to the wall color to complement the yellow tones.

It’s not pink paint it just appears to be but it’s supposedly is one of those coffee latte colors and I think she was trying to tie in that color with the granite

Perhaps when you finish your kitchen completely you will love it. The under cabinet lights really were not helping, but it seems like all of the colors work. Just keep going and we would love to see the finished product.

Interesting discussion for me. I have a similar opening between my sink/counter area except mine is arch shaped. I want to spice up my plain white tile backsplash but wonder about overkill by doing the whole wall with tile. Right now it is white with copper art above the opening. A flat plain wall can be jazzed up with art. But a half tile wall might look weird . . . Btw, I like the bold tile. Not everyone is pattern-averse.

There are some pink undertones to the cabinet paint, definitely. As much as I love the paint color, I am not 100% sure it's the right color. I am going to wait until I have completed the other changes I listed in a previous post before I decide if the paint needs to change. If I do change it, I will get something with just a little bit more brown in it.

The new cabinet pulls came today. I put a few of them up on the uppers to see how I liked them. I think they really make a difference and I really like how they look (great suggestion)! I've got lots of holes to patch now.

Cindy,,,what color did you use on these? there is another OP w/similar granite trying to pick a white.

@Beth: Valspar (from Lowe's) called March Ice; code is 1001-10B

thank you. I'll let her know and show her your pic. (I like your splash!)

I think your kitchen looks really nice and I like the tile. I would just run the tile over the sink to the bottom height of the cabinets next to the sink.

Progress pics: new cabinet pulls, light fixtures and art. Also started
running the tile up behind the sink. I am having some doubts about
beefing up the crown molding, especially along that long bank of
cabinets above the cooktop. Seems like it might be too much accenting
the horizontal lines? I do like how these changes have made such a
large impact, though! I am eager to get everything finished, now, and see how it all comes together.

Really nice thanks for the share.looking French....maybe blue something against the tile....great backdrop for color pop here and there.

You’ve done a beautiful job Cindy. I love how the light fixtures tie in with the tiles, and the new hardware echoes the dark outlines. It’s tempting to take the tiles all the way up. You could use a bit of adhesive to glue tiles on to a board, then attach to the wall to see how it would look.

It looks like it is coming along nicely. The changes you've made were all things i would have suggested too. Never bring those purple lights back and get rid of the pink in the cabinets.

I think it’s sometimes really hard to put your finger on what’s not right until a little more of the pieces come together. The addition of the new door hardware made a nice improvement. When you add accessories and color later, your eye will focus on other locations in the kitchen. I really like the rooms next to the kitchen that you’ve done. You are just second guessing yourself. I think you are headed in the right direction. However, I would remove art piece on the tile because it doesn’t add anything and seems to clutter up the wall. That piece seems out of place with the look of the kitchen.

I agree the soffit cabinet extension looks incomplete and more like an add-on at this stage. Part of the reason is most soffits you see will have the soffit’s bottom edge either overhang the cabinet when they are not trimmed, OR, if flush, you will see it trimmed with a moulding where they meet, also maybe a moulding in the center and then a crown moulding at the ceiling. I’ve attached two links to show you how these bloggers finished off their cabinet extensions --

“Just A Girl Blog” http://www.justagirlblog.com/extending-cabinets-to-ceiling/

and “Remodelando la Casa” http://www.remodelandolacasa.com/2012/01/closing-space-above-kitchen-cabinets.html

This might just solve your soffit problem.

Your cabinets have gone to the ceiling. May there is no need to put the tiles to the ceiling?

Looking at the larger kitchen picture, it seems that where the difficulty comes in the the height of the tile on either side of the sink, which is awkward due to the angle of the cabinet and the break in the wall. If the cabinet ended as it normally would without the additional little angle add on that goes beyond the wall corner, you would have a cleaner line with the tile. Not sure why the additional corner piece is there, could it be removed? Then your sides of the sink relative to the tile would be even with the ending of the cabinets?

Also, a little piece of molding under the cabinets really finishes the cabinet adds so much.

The molding also shown in one of the other example pictures above.

Is the refrigerator too big protruding out too much and making that corner feel weird? Possibly get a counter depth refrigerator.

I could be wrong but the kitchen now seems fully traditional with the change of the cabinet pulls.

So what ever happened in the kitchen??

May I ask where you got your family room lamps?
they are exactly what I'm looking for.

@coreybeck I got them at Wayfair https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/mercury-row-22-table-lamp-mcrr1550.html

Looks like they are out of stock. But, you may be able to find them somewhere else.

The kitchen is still a work in progress. I tried to hire an interior decorator to help me out, but she ended up flaking out. Then I had contractor trouble and lots of work travel. Then, it was pool season so I put everything away until it starts cooling down here. :-)

At any rate, here are today pics. I found a set of open shelves that were the perfect size to help square-up the window (resulting in so much contractor drama). I starting adding 1 x 6 to the tops of the cabinets and found some crown that should look nice (that is being held up in another pic) to go over the 1 x 6. The tile is going to go to the ceiling. The only place I think it might be overwhelming is on the sides of the opening around the sink. I'm hoping to find some decor that will help tone it down.

It starts cooling down here in October and I plan to resume work then.

The crown that I'll install.

I love the lights you added.

Cindy, thanks for the updated photos. Nice touch adding the open shelving next to the window. Are you going to use another one next to the upper cabinet left of the sink? If not an open shelf on the upper cabinet left of the sink, you could add a pull out unit there. But, you would have to add it before the crown work goes in. They come in different sizes. Like this:

Rev-A-Shelf Wall Cabinet Organizer.

Something to consider is adding the same door hardware to the faux drawer fronts under the cook-top and the sink and the doors under the sink. The eye seems to pause there without them.

These faux drawer fronts can be turned in to tilt-outs to house utensils by the cook-top, or sponges, brushes, etc. by the sink. The bins are removable for easy cleaning. Nice to have some things at your fingertips. They also work in bathroom cabinets. Looks like a simple install.

Rev-A-Shelf tip out drawer fronts with bins

I generally put a neutral or marble-like Peel N Stick tile in the sink cabinet and where the pots are stored. I wax it once they are down. So much easier to clean these cabinet shelves that take a lot of abuse.

Wow Cindy, you certainly found a great moulding. I like the details it has all in one piece. I think it will look great. Plus adding the 1x6 piece gives a nice reveal shadow to just above the doors. Looks more finished. Can’t wait to see it done.

Like you, in CA I've had a very very hot and really humid summer, so many of my own projects were put off until the weather cooled. Yeah it cooled last week and I have been full speed ahead working on my To Do List while we still have some long days. I am actually changing all the things that annoyed me about my house and the things I always meant to do. My list is so long I will probably need to live to be 147 years old. LOL.

Good Luck on your projects, you are almost there.

That area next to the sink is tricky. I think it is just going to have to be one of those quirks in my home that I just live with until it's time to get new cabinets made. I've included some close-up pics.

If I leave that faux outer piece and add shelves, they will start interfering with sink access. If I remove it, there isn't enough space to add any kind of shelving before the wall bends, unless I get it custom made (which I am not willing to do).

Also, if I add shelves on the left, it would cause the right side of the sink to look funny. I think. My current plan is to just find some sort of decor that will draw your eyes away from the weirdness of that area.

I have been thinking about adding pulls to those cabinet fronts. But, I thought they might poke us when using the stove and sink.

On the drawer/door hardware, I don't think that would happen because rarely do you lean against the drawers when doing these tasks. You see handles in these locations in tons of kitchens. Plus your counter-top has a small amount of overhang to it.

OMG that is a quirky end to the cabinet. What does the fixture hidden under there do for the sink?

There is no hidden fixture. There is just a 1x that the builder installed to have something to attach that weird outer to.

The dark grout on your tile looks too much and you need better lighting. Looking at later pictures, it seems that it's not grout but the tile itself. I think that it still doesn't work and that you need a classic arabesque tile in plan white color.

Oh in the under photo it looked like there was a square box or hole inside. I thought that's what you meant by Sink Access.

You will need to keep some extra tile for when you remove that end piece off the cabinet.

Aqua, my guess is that at this stage and expense the tile will be staying. Sometimes things look a lot different in person than in a photo.

Aqua: It was overcast and raining when I took the most recent pictures. If I put white anything in that kitchen, I would need sunglasses to go in there. I know this for a fact because I had originally painted just the bottom cabinets white (to see if I liked it) and it was awful. I'm not wanting a blah-on-blah-on-blah look anywhere in my home. Blah is definitely not my style. :)

I have seen lots of pictures on Houzz where people used much bolder tile and color choices and their kitchens turned out amazing! Lots of personality!!! I am just needing some ideas to pull this kitchen together. I got some great ideas and have incorporated a lot of them; and they have all helped to get it more pulled together.

So, yeah, the tile isn't going anywhere as Tiffany mentioned. ;-)

This is about the widest photo I could get of our primary living space. I think it tells a better story than just a few kitchen pics can.

The changes you have made have made such a difference, I love it!

The little touches will pull it together. Two things stand out, lack of border around the tile and molding is a friend and necessity. I believe you mentioned that you were planning bringing the molding around the kitchen. It is a great way to unify a kitchen, however the size of the one piece you chose (looks like a one piece) may not fit over the door. Make sure to paint the molding the same color of the cabinets or it will look way off.

Also, all of the tile edges need a border or edge piece, around the window and around the kitchen/fam room opening. This can either be tile (recommend a thin border), or wood (recommend to match cabinets as well). Also, I recommend a piece of dividing room molding from counter to ceiling crown to transition from the kitchen opening to the ‘table’ on what appears to be a 10” -12”piece of wall. The tile can run into it from the left providing a clean look and giving the kitchen a lux feel. Also putting molding on the inside of the opening along the sides and top will also provide a border and frame the opening, then add another little piece of molding around the edge of the molding to finish it. Sounds complicated but I’ll see if I can find a pic for you. Also, a piece of molding should cover the seams where the wood edges meet if they are the same depth.

Is this what you are talking about trimming the tile? this is next to the fridge and what I will be doing where the tile ends. You can see the guideline I marked off around the sink opening.

If this isn't what you are talking about, then yeah...pics please!

This is what is going on around the window. I have plantation shutters to reinstall once I finish that wall up. You can see it in an earlier pic.

The window edging works, though a casement around the window itself would be a better presentation along with the shutters. I wouldn’t use the fridge edging near the kitchen opening. A casement would provide a clean look along the window. Not the photos I was thinking of but they show the idea.

I think I understand what you are suggesting. However, I can't think of a way to make any kind of casing work in the opening to the family room because of what is on the family room side. There doesn't appear to be any way to elegantly end the casing on that side.

Nope, doesn’t look like you can. What about a tile end piece instead of the metal?

I have white tile end pieces (the picture I posted next to the refrigerator earlier) for everywhere except the window. The window will be covered by the shutters so I am just using some Schluter.

You could install moulding trim on the square edge facing the sink and not wrapping it the whole depth to the family room side. Get a few scraps of moulding at Home Depot to see if you like it. They let you cut the moulding by the foot.

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In the window what are you planning to do over the Schluter trim -- tile or wood?

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A suggestion for the door and drawer hardware. Why not spray them with some oil rubbed bronze spray paint for one section and see if you like that look before you buy new. If you like it, you could spray all of them. Also think about spray painting your existing curtain rod.

Rust-Oleum has two colors that might work -- Bronze Metallic OR Dark Bronze bright coat metallic.

The backsplash is too busy for the countertop and the grout makes it look even busier.

I think you need a simpler tile because there is a lot going on with your countertop

Blublublubly, see Cindy's post on Wednesday at 5:09AM. I guess I am unclear how the grout on this mosaic tile could be making this tile looks busy.

Tiffany: especially, you know, because there isn't any grout, yet! :-D :-) :-P

It's looking great so far. I think a lighter taupy grout would help calm the backsplash a little. I like how it looks in this area:

A mockup:

That's an interesting idea! I'll definitely consider that. It would make it look more like vertical waves (like the curtains) and less like Xs.