Oh This Kitchen…
Did I mention that I’m about to embark on a kitchen remodel? I think it is finally hitting me that this is going to be an expensive, anxiety producing, fretful enterprise. I don’t know what I expected. Probably that fairies and angels would perform all the work while I slept and I would awake to the kitchen of my dreams. No such luck.
My goal is to have a contemporary gourmet kitchen and not the white ugliness that I currently have.
Well let me tell you what I’ve chosen to date.
Cabinets: Haas Cabinets in Maple Spice 
in a slab door with full overlay. The goal for the cabinets is to look something like this:
Granite: You knew there had to be granite, right? Not this Formica crap I have now. I’ve chosen Black Galaxy: 
Black Galaxy is a black granite with golden flecks.
Tile Backsplash: I fell in love with this look I found in one of my kitchen design books:
So I’m going with a metallic glass tile in a black with gold swirl pattern. I’m unable to find a picture of the exact tile online, but this will give you an idea: 
It will be much more black than purple as seen in this picture.
The floor: I went with a Mercier wide slat hardwood floor in cinnamon maple. 
It looks identical to the floor we had in the old house. Here is a picture of Aurora playing with her wedding veil on the old floor: 
I have to tell you that making those selections was very difficult for me. I’m one of these people that has a hard time visualizing a finished room from just a bunch of little samples. It was so bad when it came to the floor/cabinet decision that I asked my interior designers to come in and help me figure out what worked. They helped me seal the deal.
I then thought I was done with big choices for a minute…until last Monday when Pasha, the project manager, came to do some measuring and asked what appliances I planned to use in the kitchen. I was like, don’t I get a few weeks minute to think about it? Uh no. The cabinets can’t be ordered until I decide on the appliances. Sigh. Thus I embarked on learning all I could about high-end appliances in one week.
Thanks to Garden Web/This Home Site Appliance Forums I have managed to get an A in kitchen appliances (or at least an A-). AdoringHusband and I went yesterday to see our short list of appliances in person at the store. We got another good lecture from the salesperson and have finally made our selections:
Oven: Miele Masterchef 30″ double oven in stainless steel
I’m trying to decide whether it is worth the extra $400-600 for the self cleaning model. It is already a fortune.
Cooktop: Viking Designer Series Continuous Grate 36″ Gas Cooktop
Most gas cooktops look, well, like gas cooktops: functional but not very stylish. This one at least has a little flair.
Refrigerator: Thermador 36″ Freedom Collection 3-door Built In Refrigerator
I opted for a built in rather than a cabinet depth fridge because of the cleaner lines. This left me with a choice between a SubZero and Thermador. I opted for the latter. As AdoringHusband duly noted, the SubZero looks like something you’d see in the grocery store. It is a bit too industrial looking.
Dishwasher: Miele Optima in Stainless
It has that 3rd row cutlery section that I just love! There was no other decision.
Microwave: Sharp 24″ Insight Pro Microwave Drawer
We needed just a little microwave to pop popcorn and heat frozen dinners, but I didn’t want to waste counter space for this item. This drawer will fit nicely into the side of the island across from the cooktop.
Hood: Best by Broan WC26 36″ range hood
Isn’t this pretty?
And there you have it, my friends. Thoughts, comments?
I am exhausted.
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[...] I know you thought I was all done with my choices for my kitchen, but alas no. I’m still floundering on a few items. Here’s my previous post for a review: Welcome to the Dollhouse: Oh This Kitchen… [...]