Here was our kitchen: dated, dark and tunnel-like. Although we updated it 15 years ago, the effort was half-hearted at best. We refaced the cabinets, got rid of the 1990's florescent light fixture, and installed new granite and backsplash. This time we wanted to start over from scratch and upgrade most items. We decided early on that the huge refrigerator had to go. It stuck out into the room, taking up so much visual space. Plus it is just the two of us and we don't need that large a refrigerator. We also knew we had to replace the original 27" wall oven across from the fridge. The white trash compactor no longer compacted, so that was going. We kept the newish dishwasher, cooktop, and exhaust fan. Our hardwood floor was still in decent shape and we love its herringbone pattern, so we kept it, too. The green granite matched the granite in the bar that is on the other side of the pass-through window. It works well in the bar, but for this kitchen, it is just too dark. Now that we knew what we wanted to change, what we wanted to add, and what we wanted it to look like, we took our inspiration photos and started shopping.