Good ideas Katrina! Thanks!

Do refinish the floors darker. All too much the same color wood, makes it look like a wooden box. Contrast is good.

Go a gold shade for granite not too dark. Leave island. Room looks too cluttered.

Remove all items from top of cabinets. Hanging pots look cluttered. Paint walls a color from granite.

New leather bar stools just 2 in a color, like red. Pier one carries.

Remove valance on windows replace with a light color roman shade, to match walls.

I agree about swapping out the barstools for different ones, and if possible, go down to only two stools. Would you consider getting backless stools? The current stools you have are so dark and really don't add anything to your kitchen and detract from the many nice aspects of the room. I recently purchased two backless upholstered benches online from Grandin Road on sale for $99 and free shipping. They are perfect for our island and the leather upholstery comes in a variety of colors. http://www.grandinroad.com/julien-leather-bar-stool/374607

You have a nice home! I would simply paint the island. Leave the potrack!!! it is great! Get some new hardware.... the barstools are fine, work with what you have unless you NEED to unload some $$$$$.

any updated pictures yet for those who are curious :)

Not really. I've just been cleaning out closets and drawers. I'm trying to find a couple slabs of granite that I like without going broke. Problem is that I love the really expensive granite. I posted a question earlier about doing two different color granites. A nice multiple colored one with lots of veins for the center island and a plainer one for the back counters. I'm kind of in idle until I find a counter.

I didn't see that counter discussion, but I love the two different color idea. I was the same way (loved the expensive stuff) so I got the expensive stuff for my island only:)

I think that's the route I'm going to go. I've got 82 square feet of counters, plus a 2 sink and a 1 sink vanity for our upstairs bathrooms. I was thinking granite in Minnesota would be cheaper, but our cheap builder granite starts at 45-55 sf.

Jamie- what places have you looked in MN for granite?

Mostly places around Anoka, fridley and maple grove. Any suggestions of cheaper places? From what we found out, they all get their slabs from the same places in cold stone. You are pretty much pricing out labor.

When I was looking at and pricing out granite I went to Twin City Discount Granite- they have locations in Coon Rapids & Maplewood. They had the best prices and they threw in new vanity top for a bathroom and stainless steel sink if you bought a minimum of square footage.

I have to say, the cheapest fabricator is not always the best way to go. Do your research. A bad fabricator can be a big mistake.

Yep! We went there also. I think we are going to find and put a hold on our slabs and then try to work them for installation.

I never did get granite or quartz- I need a vacation more than new countertops...but they did have the best prices. I can't say anything about their installation other than they were recommended by a guy I work with as he used them when he redid his kitchen- he had no complaints.

Your kitchen looks great after you de-cluttered!

I did the same, picked a slab and then figured out a fabricator.

A door, inside a pantry can fit a pot rack. Or a rod pot rack across stove wall.

I see lots of wood & browns in both rooms. Need more textures ... maybe something with a pattern under the kitchen table (if there is room) that would contain your favorite colors. You could then chose accent colors from there for both rooms. Add some cushions to the sofa in the accent color.
Like the idea of painted island (dark charcoal) same as stones in the fireplace.
Some have mentioned that the cabinet over the desk area seems too heavy , how about making the it look lighter by making the desk look heavier. just add some sides to the desk .......& paint it & the top cabinet an accent color ( would make it look more not like a continuation of the cupboards)
Are you able to recover the kitchen chair seats (with a pattern other than brown).Once you reduce some of the wood your room will take on a new look... good luck!

Wish me luck! I just bought these 2 slabs. I went with a honed opalessence for the perimeter of the counters and stormy night for my center island. Installed May 19th!

Good Luck!

Oh, I think it will be amazing!!!!

What are you thinking for a backsplash or will that be determined later? Are you doing the 4" granite backsplash or not? If you are thinking of some kind of tile backsplash, I would not do the 4" granite splash.

Nope. Not the granite backsplash. I have no clue what kind of tile though. I lean more towards the bigger tile. I figured I'll get a ton of samples and drive my husband crazy! I really like the idea of this picture though.

Good idea, take it slow and one step at a time. The granite will be beautiful! No hurry at all to choose the backsplash.

Well this is turning into a nightmare! 5 minutes before the installers were supposed to be here this morning to install our granite, they called to say that they dropped our custom ordered sink and couldn't use it. We had to run around to stores to try and find a sink that was either the same size or bigger because the hole was already cut. The only one that we could find that would work, was $200.00 more. The granite place didn't want to pay us the difference, but did end up agreeing to it. After dropping off the new sink, they said that they would be to our house as soon as they fixed the sink cut. They then called 3 hours later saying that 1/2 of our bathroom vanities got put on the wrong truck, so they couldn't finish the whole job today. They finally get here and start installing. The first problem was that they cut one side of our counter 1 inch too short. The side with our sink on it. So I'm sure I won't have a usable sink for days now. The second problem is that they were supposed to have our lines in the granite match on our center island. We were very clear and thought that we were paying to use whatever we needed to on our slab so that the lines flowed together. Nope! They are totally wrong. So now I can't hook up my stove either. I have no clue what they are going to offer as a solution in the morning. I'm just so upset!

They made the mistakes. They need to correct them. Whatever it takes. They should also compensate you for the extra time for the delay and inconvenience. None of this was your fault. I hope you have the granite plan layout in writing.

I feel bad for you. It's such a hassle.

The counter that they measured or cut wrong, I don't think we should have a problem with. It's very obviously wrong. I just hope they don't think we will be okay with another seam to fix their mistake. It's a honed granite which they don't stock, so I'm nervous on how long this project is going to drag out to be. The other section, we made it clear to everyone we talked to that the lines had to flow into each other. I had him walk out with me to look at our slab and how it was all going to lay out. The only thing I have in writing is chicken scratch that I can't make out. Any ideas on what this stands for? It says no tile, no ??? And then underlined follow ???

Hi Jamie. First of all, please take a deep breath and maybe have a glass of wine (if you enjoy wine). OK, so they'll obviously redo the perimeter countertop, right? It's a pain to be without a sink for a few days, but it sounds like they'll make that right, so I might try to be understanding if they are making an effort to replace it as soon as they can. Then, regarding the island, I think it looks very, very nice even though the grain direction isn't an exact match. I really think it's one of those things you won't give a thought to after you get past that stage where you are just staring at the new change. I bet they did the best they could with the granite's movement and how it laid out for them. I have a very visible seam in my island and it was all I noticed at first, but dang I love my quartzite (with lots of movement), so the seam doesn't even phase me anymore. I think your island looks like it was very well done (you didn't even have to have a seam right?) - it's pretty! I was sooooo stressed the day my countertop was installed so I sure get your concerns, but I think it's actually going pretty well for you and I think it will be beautiful in just a few days!

Since they don't have the perimeter honed granite, they might have to pay to have your sink hooked up until they can get the granite in again, and then pay to have the sink hooked up a second time. I think that would be a reasonable solution to that. I still think the island is beautiful as it is!

Also, I'd like to add - the two materials you chose are stunning together!

That's true. I had it in my head that I'm going to have to be without a sink. I was so worried about having a busy granite and with the lines going the wrong way on each side, it looks even more busy. Just so disappointed.

I think Ann's right about the look of the granite. It's not that obvious as far as the flow.

I think it's beautiful! It's very different from what you had. Is it possible you just need a few days to get used to it. Do you still love the island granite? I knew I was going to have a seam in mine, but the first night, I cried about it (and I RARELY cry) because I thought the seam was all anyone would ever notice. A year later, I love my quartzite more than anything else in my whole house. It's so pretty!!! I bet if you stand back and take a picture and look at the big picture, you'll see how pretty it is.

I do like it, it's just a lot of money to pay for something that's not what we discussed. I could live with it, but at $75.00 a square foot, I don't think I can get over it.

Our quarzite was $100 a square foot and I could have had a better looking seam that was bookmatched if I would have bought a second slab but the second slab would have cost about $2000 extra and that was just overwhelming. So, the fabricator used about every inch of the one slab. Our island has two angles like yours so the fit was challenging - I watched them playing with the template placement. After seeing that process, I'm actually thoroughly impressed with how nicely yours turned out. I wish some of the granite pros would see this discussion and chime in, but I sure think your island turned out great. The too short perimeter counter is an obvious mistake, but I'm sure they realize that and will fix it correctly. From what I can see from the pic of the island, I'd say you had a good fabricator. It's really pretty, Jamie!

Jamie, please keep us updated as you work through the process with the fabricator. Also, please post your thoughts about the island in about 2 weeks. I'm thinking and hoping you'll have a completely different outlook about it. If you want opinions from granite pros on Houzz, you could start a separate dilemma with just your picture of the island and title it something like "What do you think of the installation job of my new granite island?". That would probably get the attention of the granite pros.

Update! It took awhile, we had a lot of outside projects that we did this summer, but my kitchen is almost complete! I still need to find new cupboard handles and new switch plate covers, but all in all its done!

Jamie, it looks very, very nice! I love your new lights and I hope you've grown to love the granite.

jamie, your kitchen looks so refreshed! i hope you love it. looks great!

Looks beautiful.

Very Nice!

You have the fun stuff left to do and can now relax and smile and enjoy that great new space!!!

Way to go Jamie! It has been so fun seeing the progress. Your DH probably wants to ban you from Houzz :). A finishing touch would be to hang some rattan blinds over the corner windows. Install the blinds up high, almost to the ceiling. They will make your windows look much taller and in scale to the cupboards.

I know I am coming into this discussion really late but I have a question that I'm hoping you can answer for me. My husband and I live in MN too and we are currently shopping around looking for reasonably priced granite for our kitchen and it's proving to be a bit of a challenge. We really wanted to go with quartz but it's just way out of our budget. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't see anywhere in the comments what company you ended up going with for your granite. Did you decide to go with TC discount granite or did you chose a different company? I am glad to see you got everything straightened out but I admit we were considering them but now I am feeling a bit leary. BTW, I think your kitchen is beautiful!

We did go with TC Granite. I've never heard of anyone else having as many problems as us. I think our kitchen is just not a normal layout and our stove is an industrial size stove. They had to come out and adjust around the stove a couple times because I think they kept using the measurements of a normal one and ours isn't. Just make sure that you oversee everything and make sure that you are very clear with what you want when the guy comes to measure your counters. Through all the problems that we had, the owners were very good about communicating with us and making sure that we were happy in the end.

I'm very happy to hear that even though you ran into problems they were good about working with you to make sure in the end you were happy. Sometimes no matter how great a company can be you can still have unexpected problems that come up and it's good to know if that happens they wont leave you hanging and willl work to resolve the issue. I want to be able to find quality granite that's within our budget but good customer service is equally important to me. That does help to ease my mind a bit. Thank you so much for your feedback Jamie.