Before photos:

Is there a way I can make the photos right-side up?

So warm and inviting! It also looks very functional. I was tempted to start with, "What, you didn't want to keep the stone wall?" Really like all your choices

Love it!

Wow. Your kitchen is beautiful!

One question...did you hire a contractor with a team or individual contractors for tile, counters, cabinet installation, flooring, etcetera? Your kitchen is beautiful.

Looks great!

Thanks for sharing it looks great

@felizlady - we used a GC who handled the structural reworking, framing, plumbing, tile, cabinet installation and then he also hired the trades for flooring, electric, etc.

I appreciate your post so much. I have a similar size kitchen and am in the late planning stages. I've spent at least 6 hours on tile choices alone today. I've found just what I want on Modwalls tiles, but at $36 sf for the tile, i am trying to 'hack' it with something cheaper. Would you mind sharing the ballpark of what the GC cost? I'm meeting with multiple people this week to find out if my first bid is in line with the industry. Thanks!

I like it a lot, especially the two toned backsplash! Very unique.
Thanks for your honest and thorough write up, it was super helpful 😊

Great new kitchen. Where did you get the runners? Love them.

Lovely and cheerful. So much fun to cook in a pretty, efficient kitchen! Can you give me some information on the table and seating area. Who makes the table ? Is it expandable? Is the banquette/couch new?

@Robin Roberts - I am not 100% sure what the exact GC cost was, as we had a lot of work done in other parts of the house and he also invoiced us directly for some of the supplies. I will see if I can find the invoices. We are in the DC area, and labor costs are high here. Regarding your tile, I suggest you wait to make a final decision on tile until your cabinets and counters are installed. That way you can test it out in your actual space and lighting. I really changed my choices after seeing the kitchen in person.

@laurbeck75 - The runners are from Ruggable.

@helou49 - The table was a hand me down from my neighbor, and I think she got it second hand too! It is expandable, but I don’t know who made it. The seating is not new (you can see it in the before shots). It’s from Ballard Designs, and I’m pretty sure they still make it or something similar. We used to arrange it as a corner banquette in the old kitchen, but now that we have a walkway into our adjoining family room, we can’t use it as a corner anymore. I will probably replace it at some point.

Beautiful! That was an amazing transformation from your before kitchen.

I'm glad you were able to keep the post-stuff-on-the-refrigerator theme continuous from before to after.

Wow, awesome!

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - I don’t know if you’re joking or insulting me, but I have no shame in my stuff-on-the-refrigerator game!! But your comment also reminds me that I had been very worried about that open expanse of counter on the island. As you all can see from the before photos, we are not a neat family. But I’m happy to report that we do indeed keep that island counter pretty clear on a day to day basis. We have a credenza in the room that remains a paper clutter magnet, but we seem to respect the island as an area of food prep that should not be an area to collect other items. Also, that sink is deep enough that we can put a lot of dirty dishes in it (there are lunch dishes in there in the photos).

Such a difference! Looks great and fresh!

Um, I the refrigerator covered in papers. It's a sign of family life. What could be better?

Wow! Nice job!! I particularly like your breakfast area with the small-scale sofa. I would add a few pieces of framed art (oil painting, watercolor, prints, photo art, even calendar photos).
And once you select your window treatments, add a few colorful kitchen accessories on the counter.

I love a b/a pic that shows using the same furniture. Seeing your breakfast area still in tact and the credenza still there and it all works beautifully is a true real life job IMHO. Great job!

The new kitchen looks not only newer, but also more spacious. I like this option. I can say for sure that I would make myself such a kitchen, but since I have an apartment and a small kitchen, this is not my option. A separate plus you have become a cleaner kitchen, I am inclined to believe that the countertops should have a minimum amount of equipment and objects. Because often you have to clean everything from the tables and wash all items. What do you think of this storage method?

Looks fabulous! Can we get a closer look at the cabinets’ construction and organizational features?

I do have a suggestion regarding your kitchen towel situation: install a full-length towel bar on the false drawer front underneath the sink. While it is a handy solution, the over-the-door towel rack you have there now is going to mess up the beautiful paint job.

;)

It's a nice kitchen for sure. Love that you included a towel bar for dish cloths at the sink!

Wow, what an amazing transformation and a HUGE improvement in the function of your kitchen. Great job - congratulations! Thank you for the detailed info you shared; that is always helpful.

Amazing kitchen transformation! It looks more modern and spacious than the old one.

See if you can find a magnetic bulletin board or cork board for all your notes an announcements and messages, putting it out of view. I welcome kids’ art on the fridge.

It looks great! I love the black and white cabinets!

@Sammy, here are some pics of the inside of the cabinets. I found this part of the planning particularly challenging and it probably would have helped to have professional help. We did take an inventory of our old kitchen and then map out where the those items would go in the new layout. Because we were not increasing the footprint of the kitchen, I wanted to be sure that the cabinet layout and interiors increased our storage capabilities. And wow, they really did! We were able to bring cook and cookware items up from our basement and store them in the kitchen now. With the base cabinet drawers, everything is so much easier to access. I was also worried about how sturdy the drawers would be, but we have a couple them loaded down with Dutch ovens and they feel very able to handle the weight. We have two pull out trash bins on either side of the island, which the Home Depot designer thought was weird. We use one side for trash and one side for recycling and it was a good “against the grain” choice for us.

Sorry, having trouble posting pics at the moment. I will try again later!

More cabinets:

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That turned out great. Congrats.

With 6 months under your belt, is there anything you'd change or wish that you'd done differently?

@opaone, the only thing that bothers me are the freezer drawers on the refrigerator. We don’t have enough freezer space, and the deeper drawer is annoying to get things in and out of. I don’t know that I’d change it, as we got a great deal on the fridge and will eventually have a small freezer in the basement for overflow. And if I were doing it over from scratch with no time limitations, etc., I’d probably pick a different backsplash, but I do like what I have now so I have no intention to change it.

Thanks for posting the pics! I’ve been researching cabinet lines to death in preparation for my kitchen remodel and hadn’t even considered Kraftmaid as a possibility. But seeing your kitchen may have changed my mind. :)

Love the kitchen! Looks great!