Enjoy the island 'view'.

2 things I forgot re island. 1, that TM quartzite looks fabulous. What an entry into LR & K. 2, I like panels on end of island. They really dress it up & make it look like a piece of furniture than an attractive wooden box.

Beautiful! Nice job!

The island is great contrast, and I love the new hood above the stove!

Actually, I think you should've left it the way it was. NOT! :-)

The breakfast stool area is a great addition!

Thank you! The kids love the island seating and prefer it to the "formal" breakfast table. :) But when we eat as a family, it's always at the table.

Close up of the "hutch" area. I threw some color in there but will continue to spruce it up in time. I do need more wine in there ASAP, though!!

We didn't want to do tiny glassed cabs on top and building a large soffit to the ceiling would have been too bulky in scale. I don't mind the look, but I know folks don't love the "hireline" on top of cabs! :)

Gorgeous top to bottom!

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!! I love all your elements and especially the giant island. The drum shade light fixture is perfect eye candy. Love it all, enjoy your hard work.

Great job. We are looking at reconfiguring to remove cabinets that divide the cooking from eating areas and add an island instead. Are you happy with the sink in the island? Someone suggested that I consider that and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Looks great, love the two glass front cabinets!

bjb33, we did something similar to what you're considering. Our K had a peninsula & its uppers divided K from DR. Our neighbor w/ same plan had done a reno where they removed uppers & add cabinets under what had been the breakfast counter, only move peninsula 10" twd DR to make K bigger. When our CKD came over, she said since we'd be redoing the floor, why not go w/ island instead. Ours has rangetop as bringing water & drain lines over too expensive & gas, electrical and venting were already there. Dasha's house was built w/ sink in island. I call ours "Sydney's Revolution" after our CKD.

bjb33, I think it's all very personal. When we moved into our home, the sink was already in the island. I do like that configuration because we have an open concept and the entire kitchen overlooks the family room and the windows into the backyard. For me, I like being able to keep an eye on the kids as I am meal prepping and/or washing dishes. Or watching TV as I clean up.

On the other hand, when people come over, the island is the main gathering area and when I need to put dirty pots/pans in the sink, I don't love that they're right in front of our guests.

Some folks love a range in the island, as folks can taste food as it's cooking or you can serve directly from there. I fear with kids, they could lean too much and touch the hot grill. Or if people are sitting around the island while you're cooking, there is chance of water or oil splatter.

To me, the BEST configuration is one where the sink is under a window to the side, range against a wall and the island is a large landing/entertaining/prepping area without sink or range.

Sorry for the very long winded opinion. Bruce is great at explaining the logic behind some of these things as well! Happy renovating!

Dasha81, that's what I'm leaning toward as well-sink under the window, and the island a general prep area. Thanks for the detailed answer!

Love the hutch area and the backsplash! Great job!

Looks awesome!

dasha81, just saw Bruce's reference to this. Such a fantastic update. I've seen pieces of your house from other dilemmas and it must be a very nice place to live.

shwshw, thank you so much!! Bruce has been with me throughout every room. I literally couldn't have done it without him. The kitchen update was a big one. As you can see, we have since painted the walls a light gray, changed out the drapery and the breakfast area chairs. I need to take more updated pics of the kitchen since all of those changes!

Great color choices. Beautiful!

Dasha's new K is terrific. What makes it more special, to me at least, is when she embarked on her reno a couple pros told her her ideas were terrible and the design would never work. But she knew what she wanted, and alas, . . . !

It looks so good!!

Beautiful! Great job!

Awesome redo! What a lovely place to be, you must love it, great job!

Gorgeous work!

Good for you! I especially like the island. Glad to hear you didn't let the professional's negativity hold you back.