This is my

Inspirational photos

Doheny Penthouse Renovation · More Info

Black fireplace inspo

Kirkland Urban Sanctuary · More Info

Inspo for mixing metals and looking amazing!

Mid Century Modern Kitchen - Glen Ellyn, IL · More Info

The folks who will be of the most help will ask you to post a floorplan to scale, with floor measurements…in one dimension. 3D is not really helpful.

Sounds like you’ve made a lot finishing choices, without having a cohesive plan. Show us pics of your samples (floor, cabs, counters, hardware, etc., if you want guidance.

And, if the kitchen floorplan is not set in stone, there are some really, great people here who will tweak your plan, to make it a true functional space.

Mood board I guess? Carpet for stairs (we have wood stairs now and it's terrible with kids and dogs), lower cabinet and island color, white upper and our flooring under it all!

In love! 😍

Layout

Pendant I was going to use. 11"x17" with 6" extender from ceiling.

Not usually a fan of LVP, however that sample looks quite nice. It goes well with your other choices.

Some posters may question your choice of Dekton for the countertops. It is difficult to fabricate, and needs a true specialist.

Anyway, please post a floorpan to scale, to get the best advice.

Thank you! My husband is an amazing cook but he's really hard on the counter tops (ex: hot pots on counter, sauces and oils spilt everywhere). So we were going with Dekton to help with the issues of staining and heat resistance. Would we be better off just doing Quartz?

I would look at soapstone. Imperious to spills and heat. Can chip though.

From what you’ve described, quartz would not be a good choice for your husband, the messy chef. Mostly because he puts hot pots and pans on the countertop.

Quartz counters are factory made out of crushed quartz chrystals, and plastic resins. Because of the resins, e-stone (engineered stone) is not heat resistant. Many a person has come on this site, and shown pics of their scorched quartz counters…and, quartz backsplashes, from the heat escaping the vent at the back of the range top.

So, if you want a white countertop that will hold up to the abuse you described, Dekton may be your only choice. But, as I said, you need a fabicator who is extremely experienced with handling and fabricating this thin, brittle product. This is what the professional fabricators who visit the forum have said, repeatedly.

A bunch of decorating choices is NOT design. Product selections comes after the concept design. Design STARTS with a budget, a space plan, an assessment of infrastructure, and a realistic assessment of DIY skills to be able to strecth the budget snd lengthen the timeline considerably.

Then an initial concept is formed, tweaked, and finalized, as those elements morph and change. Budget is the greatest constraint of most. Structural and infrastructure is the second biggest constraint, but overcomable by a very large budget.

Your cart is way out in front of your horse.

From the Featured Answer in the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread:

Please post a fully-measured layout of the space under consideration and a sketch of the entire floor. Both can be either hand-drawn, computer generated, or drawn up with computer/app tools.

By "fully-measured", we mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample below. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see post in sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you.

The sketch of the entire floor lets us see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. It doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors. In addition, it will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Label the front entry and family entry. The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries.

Regardless of how you draw it up (by hand, computer, etc.), please be sure all measurements are labeled. (Note: Computer generated layouts often lack key measurements and, sometimes, measure to/from things like the middle of a wall or the middle of a window. Neither are useful. Measure each item and the distances between each item.)

[Please make sure all labels (measurements, room labels, etc.) are legible and not too small or blurry.]

Other questions...

• Tell us about you and your family and how you plan to use your Kitchen. All-adults? Empty Nesters? Children (now or in the future)?
• What appliances (& their sizes) do you plan to have?
• Where are you flexible? Can walls/windows/doors/doorways change (move, change size, add, delete)?
• Do you have a basement under the Kitchen or are you on a slab?

Verbo is right, but you may have already done the first few steps.

I assume you have a budget for the entire remodel as well as for the Kitchen itself.

Next is coming up with a plan for the entire space, not just the Kitchen -- you may have that as well. While all the details don't need to be in the overall plan, anything that might affect the rest of the home should be planned out. E.g., taking down walls, moving walls or windows, etc.

For the Kitchen, first focus on the design/layout of the Kitchen. You can definitely think about flooring and colors (especially in an open-concept since they will impact other rooms, not just the Kitchen), but don't stress about them until you have a layout of the space complete.

While planning, keep in mind that a functional Kitchen can easily be made to look "nice". However, a dysfunctional but nice-looking Kitchen can not be made functional without ripping it out and starting over. Note that this really applies to any remodel/project, not just Kitchens.

So, let's start here with the design/layout of you Kitchen! We look forward to seeing both the fully-measured layout and the sketch of the entire floor.

Verbo- Yes, thank you. I understand this concept. It's taken me 5 months to get to this point. I have engineers and a general contractor helping with all the bones. I've reworked the layout and we've planned all the structural aspects. Increasing wall depth to standard 2x6 on exterior, increased insulation, new windows, structural beam etc. I like modern style but the house is older and things like the old stone fireplace make it much more suited to a modern farmhouse vibe. The layout for the kitchen is a complete overhaul for good flow and functionality. All this was put in place before thinking about finishes. Maybe I've done this all wrong, but I'm more asking whether my concept and choices will look cohesive. ( To be clear I think it'll look great or I wouldn't be doing it 😅). I'm looking for opinions or suggestions from people who have experience and a design eye to help me tweak my finishes for a cohesive design. Our budget has been in place from the beginning and has definitely put a damper on some of our earlier visions due to unforseen costs. Do you have any constructive feedback that I can use moving forward?

I think you provided a sketch, but I cannot read any labels. Is that brown rectangle in the middle stairs? Does it lead upstairs to bedrooms & bathrooms? If not, where are the bedrooms & bathrooms? If they're on the same floor as the Kitchen, please show them on the layout.

Your selections seems very cohesive! Have you looked at chrome lights? They would be as "bright" as gold, but might fit your scheme better. Also, I wouldn't go with quartz due to your description of your husband's chef style...

Is this a one-person home or multiple people? Any children (now or in the future)? That helps determine your needs. If you are the only person in the home and expect it to stay that way, your needs are different than a 2 or more person home. Also, if you have (or plan to have) children, plan for them as older children and helping out in the Kitchen (prepping, cooking, cleaning up, getting snacks, etc.)

A couple of comments on the layout:

Refrigerator...The refrigerator needs to moved away from the wall. Unless it's a true built-in, it needs to either have the doors extend past all surrounding walls, counters, cabinets, etc., --OR-- have approximately 12" between the refrigerator and the wall.

Since you don't have a prep sink in the island, try to have at least 42" b/w the range and the sink. If you put a prep sink in the island, then 36" or so is fine. BTW...a prep sink will make the island a lot more useful. KEY items in a truly functional Prep Zone are #1 -- direct access to water, #2 -- sufficient workspace adjacent to that water source (42" or more is ideal), and #3 -- next to or across from the range (Cooking Zone).

About that island...if it's only 36" deep and you have standard 24"D base cabinets, that means you only have a 9.5" seating overhang. The minimum recommended seating overhang for counter-height seating is 15".

36" - 1.5" overhang in the front of the island - 24" deep cabinets - 1" decorative door/end panel on the backs of the cabinets = 9.5"

With standard base cabinets, an island with seating needs to be at least 41.5" deep. (1.5" front overhang + 24"D cabs + 1" door/end panel + 15" clear leg/knee overhang space = 41.5")

Since I don't know how deep your Kitchen is, I have no idea how deep an island you can fit in your Kitchen. (No matter how badly someone wants an island, not all Kitchens can support an island.)

If you cannot make the island deeper, then I recommend getting 18" deep base cabinets for the island, not 24". You gain 6" of overhang space to give you the recommended minimum (1.5" + 18" + 1" + 15" = 35.5")

Skimping on overhang does not make up for a narrow aisle space behind the seats -- people just stick out farther into the aisle as they hunch/lean over to reach the counter.

Aisles...Aisles are another concern, especially since you have a lot going on behind the island and in front of the island. How wide are they? Aisles are measured to/from the items that stick out into the aisle the farthest -- counter overhangs, appliance handles, etc. Cabinet measurements only include the cabinet box, they do not include the doors/drawer fronts (+1") or knobs/pulls (0.5" or more). They also do not include the counters that overhang the cabinet boxes by 1.5". Most cabinet salespeople, contractors, architects, and even some Kitchen Designers mis-measure aisles and, when you're done, you discover they're 3 to 6" narrower than you thought they were going to be and it's too late to do anything about it (so you're stuck with a dysfunctional "item" in your Kitchen). Since I don't know how deep your Kitchen is, I have no idea what your aisle widths are.

The minimum recommendations:

• 42" for a one-person and always a one-person work aisle
• 48" for more than one person working
• 48" behind seats if there's only minor traffic and no appliances, counter, or cabinets behind the seats
• 54" if there will be a lot of traffic and/or there are appliances, counter, or cabinets behind the seats (If the seats are rarely used or the cabinets and door behind your island are rarely used, you might be able to get away with 48", but no shallower. Note that this will be a "pinch point" when either the seats are in use or the cabinets/door are used and/or people are trying to walk past.)
• 36" for a walkway with no seats, appliances, work counter, or cabinets behind the seats
• 60" between a table and an island with seating on the same side as the table

I will work on getting a sketch on here. I do have the layout and everything all measured out but it won't let me show the dimensions easily for you to see 😅

We're a young family of 4, 2 adults and 2 young kids under 4yrs. We have 3 dogs, 2x 50lbs and 1x 20lbs.

So, big family (I include dogs in the family!) and aisles should definitely be a concern.

I'm a "dog-person" as well, but we only have 2 dogs (50lbs).

This place is weird. Anyway, since you asked for help with FINISHING DETAILS, not INITIAL BUDGET and LAYOUT, I am doing something very similar with my finishes and found a lighting company called Worley’s that is on my short list. You can customize colors and materials on their pieces, and I think that will help me blend the black and gold that I am planning on. That said, I love the pendant you showed and think it will be fine as long as you echo the brass in other spots in the kitchen. Good luck!

@User...No, you just don't realize the intent of most of us. When we see issues that there's time to fix, we jump in and discuss them. I am extremely grateful for this site. I first posted about my countertop choice but ended up redoing my ENTIRE layout...thankfully! Yes, it was done by a KD, but one that gives you what you want, not what you need or can realistically/functionally do. Since we do this free, we don't have to worry about losing a client b/c we tell them something won't work. [Many people insist on having something b/c it's "all the rage" (e.g., islands, monster ranges), even when that something won't fit/work. And yes, rather than listen to someone who knows more about such things, they leave and try to find someone who will give them what they want regardless of the consequences!]

Even my KD admitted it was much better after I worked out a completely different layout with the good folks here. (We thought we had our final layout, but we hadn't ordered our cabinets yet, so we were able to make change.)

Many people can tell you such stories. We pay it forward by helping others.

I hope you can see this ok?

I'll work on one with whole floor, but you get the layout from my other posted pic.

Questions:

1)How do I incorporate the pop of gold from the kitchen pendants into the rest of the space so it doesn't look out of place? Could I just have a single gold picture frame or mirror within view of the kitchen to make it work?

2)I want to know how to design the lighting along the fireplace/dining room wall. There was originally a wall separating those spaces, but it's gone now. With the fireplace being painted black and a large piece of art (4'x6') hanging on the same wall but in the dining area I wasn't sure how to light the space to pay homage to each focal point without it looking busy? What's best? Wall washers? Sconces on either side of fireplace and either side of art? Spotlight on art and no additional lighting around fireplace?