Beautiful! Enjoy!

It's beautifully updated. Great job.

Wow what a difference! Looks wonderful. I really like how you did a positive reveal on the sink and so that drain rack rests on the lip. Did that part come with the sink?

it is beautiful. tile and counter are very similar to my new kitchen, spring 2022. I hope it makes you smile every day.

Thank you for all the positive comments and feedback!

@Lynn Lou It's actually from Home Depot: Amagansett in Sky Blue by Ivy Hill Tile

We were originally looking at the same tile marketed under a different name from The Tile Bar - until I realized Tile Bar charges quite a bit in shipping.

@rebunky Well spotted! It came with both the inset drain rack and also a cutting board which I don't have set up in those pictures. Really happy with it so far. It's the Kraus Kore Workstation Sink (in Gunmetal Black).

@Quirkegirl So far so good on those smiles. :) I hope you posted pictures - and you're still all smiles with your new kitchen? I'll have to do a quick search to see.

Love the crown on the cabinets. ENJOY!!

Very pretty!

Looks Awesome!

Good Work!

Love that you didn’t compromise the space and flow for an island. Looks great!

Wow, it doesn't even look like the same room! Looks terrific! And ditto what Alicia said -- yours is a beautiful example of a well-done penninsula. An island isn't a good choice for every kitchen.

Thanks again to all for the lovely comments.

@Alicia & @porkchop_z5b_MI - Thank you both! We entertained an island for a hot second, but realised we just really don't have the proper amount of space. (Along with our most excellent contractor gently encouraging us to make more sound decisions.)

Beautiful! light and airy! glad you didn't do the island, much more functional! Enjoy making some delicious memories!!

Major improvement. Lovely kitchen.

Beautiful. So much more airy annd fresh looking

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It definitely does meet our "light and airy" request.

I’m not normally a fan of grey but I think it looks gorgeous in your space. Light and airy on the nose. Congrats on your new kitchen!

@Miss NoK Love your kitchen, you must be so pleased... What a fabulous outcome. Could you tell us or better yet provide a link to the backsplash? It's just beautiful. Thank you!

It looks lovely! Can I ask a ”function” question? Did you have any issues with the dishwasher door and adjacent doors and drawers and their handles colliding? Did yiu choose hardware to avoid it?

Love the open shelves.

Actually, I love everything about this kitchen!

Gorgeous! May I ask about your budget? We need to update a 70s kitchen and I'm not sure what we can affird to replace.

Bravo! (Standing ovation!)

More functional and brighter. Nice upgrade.

Thanks again, all! :)

@cupofkindnessgw - Thank you. Did a lot of research on those tiles! It actually is marketed under two different names depending on which retailer, Tile Bar and Home Depot. I got samples from both places just to be sure I was looking at the same material. We wound up going with Home Depot due to the free ship to store option vs. Tile Bar's flat rate shipping. At Home Depot, the tile is the Amagansett in Sky Blue by Ivy Hill Tile

Here's another picture of it. Kind of hard to capture the finish in pictures. Has the handmade look so parts of it reflect the light, depending on the angle, which is what we wanted instead of a plain subway tile. Also comes in a square version. It's really got a bit of a pearlescent shimmer to it and there are about three separate finishes in the box, one gloss, and two with a more satin look - but all with the same pearlescent sheen. The blue is really more of a grey - with only the very slightest hint of the palest of blues and only in certain lighting.

@bpath - Thank you! That's a great question. Not sure what I was thinking when I got the dishwasher with the handle; I suppose I liked the look a tad better. Our contractor had to put shims in front of the dishwasher to push it further back into the cabinet opening. So, the adjacent drawer doesn't open into the dishwasher handle, but the dishwasher needs to be fully closed. He also put restrictor clips on the adjacent cabinet door so it didn't open into the dishwasher.

No special consideration with the hardware - other than going with a gunmetal grey to match our sink and faucet. (Also wanted something less square, but just personal preference.)

@Diana G - Thanks! I wish I could give you a ballpark but we had lots of other work rolled into this job. Don't want to scare you with something inaccurate!

@Miss NoK Thank you for the low down on your gorgeous backsplash! Beautiful kitchen!

@Miss NoK, I’m glad your contractor was able to make it fit. Our 1960 kitchen calls for no handle on the dishwasher, otherwise it hits the knob of the drawer and cabinet. And even still, when I replaced the knobs, I got two slightly shorter knobs for those two, because the knobs I liked best everywhere else (form but mainly finction) got hit by the dishwasher. They are very similar, but not exactly the same. And yes, the dishwasher has to be completely closed for the drawer to open.

The cabinet knob hits the door, but instead of putting a restrictor on the door, which is a better idea, we have a kind of bumper on the dishwasher door exactly where the knob would hit.

One of the advantages of a peninsula is, no one, but no one, has ever noticed those two oddities in 15 years of hosting family gatherings. I don’t think my DH and kids have noticed, either.

Your contractor did well for you there!

@bpath I'm giggling - and not surprised - at the "don't think my DH and kids have noticed, either" bit.

Big Improvement!

Beautiful form and function! Congratulations! Love the backsplash tile…what is it?

@Susan - Thanks! It's marketed under two different names depending on which retailer, Tile Bar and Home Depot. I did get samples from both places just to be sure I was looking at the same material. At Home Depot, the tile is the Amagansett in Sky Blue by Ivy Hill Tile

It has a handmade look so parts of it reflect the light, depending on the angle, which is what we looking for instead of a flat, glossy subway tile. It also comes in a square version. Hard to capture in the pictures but it has a pearlescent shimmer to it and there are about three separate finishes in the box, one gloss, and two with a more satin look - but all with the same pearlescent sheen. The blue is really more of a grey - with only the very slightest hint of the palest of blues and only in certain lighting.

Thanks for the info…beautiful!

I love story where everyone is happy with results, gorgeous remodel

Wow this is stunning. I love the backsplash. Great job!

Looks amazing, awesome job!

Lovely. Usually not a floating shelf fan in a kitchen but these are really well done.

@Miss NoK beautiful kitchen, well done! Question for you on the backsplash. Did you (or the installer) use spacers? I ask only because I know some recommend stacking these right up to each other when setting. You still get a small grout line with this method, but am just curious what you did because we're installing the exact same tile in the same color for our backsplash. Did you end up purchasing from Home Depot or Tile Bar (Montauk Sky). I bought an entire box from Tilebar to get a sense of the different sheens, but it's very, very subtle. I'm hoping I'll see more variation when they're up on the wall. Love the countertops too! We've settled on Cambria Smithfield, with white cabinets and a grey island, so fairly similar. Thanks and let me know.

Thanks for the comments and compliments, all. :)

@Kendrah - Thank you! We agonized over those flippin' shelves! I got a bit scared about losing too much storage space - not thinking about how much we were gaining by having the cabinets going up to the ceiling. I'm really glad we went with the shelves in the end, since the cabinet there always blocked much of the view and light from the windows to the left.

@Bruce Mac - Thanks! We went with Home Depot (it worked out to be far less for us with the price Home Depot had then and the lack of shipping charge). The installer did use spacers. I'm sure stacking will be lovely. They really are gorgeous tiles. Subtle, though, like you say. I'm seeing roughly 3 variations in the tile: a very shiny, one slightly satin and one very satin - but all with that pearlescent sheen.

I'll attach a picture below, which tries to capture the variation - keep in mind, this is light coming in from under-cabinet LEDs (because our kitchen faces north hence the "cave" bit). They don't appear this "warm" in natural light, but the variation is definitely there. If you get lots of natural light, it'll definitely show off how pretty they are, I'm sure of it. (The top left-most tile is the most satin of the finishes, with the one surrounding the outlet being the second most satin, and the second row are the shiny ones. The grout we used, in case you were interested, is Mapei in the Rain colour.)

Hope this helps!

It’s lovely. So bright. And a good argument for keeping a peninsular when everyone wants to tears theirs out for an island.

Beautiful kitchen, You did a great job!

Beautiful

Gorgeous transformation! The shelves are a great addition. It truly is amazing how much extra storage you pick up taking the cabinets to the ceiling. I'm sure you get great pleasure cooking meals in your new kitchen!

Stunning!

Thanks again, all. :)

Beautiful transformation!

what flooring did you pick?

@Aaron Sloan It's Amber Brazilian Oak Solid Hardwood from LL Flooring.

thank you! we were making the same decision between those two finishes! looks great!