Please show me your backsplash...

[Arcadian]

@missy you have such a theme....lol but all of those granite slabs looked fabulous. I have to admit, I love a busy granite because it keeps me from being so darn obsessive. I already obsess on the cream colored floors everywhere in this house, especially on rainy days. while we don't wear shoes in the house, the dog on the other hand, is just... a dog. so she tracks in all kinds of what have you everywhere.

I got a commercial steamer for my floors... love that damn thing because OMG it does indeed get up the dirt without me killing my back. I have to admit, I want to get one of those Oreck Orbiters specifically because of the grout...

BTW, I just noticed you have a microwave in your island! Is that a regular microwave or the drawer?

 

[missy]

@missy you have such a theme....lol but all of those granite slabs looked fabulous. I have to admit, I love a busy granite because it keeps me from being so darn obsessive. I already obsess on the cream colored floors everywhere in this house, especially on rainy days. while we don't wear shoes in the house, the dog on the other hand, is just... a dog. so she tracks in all kinds of what have you everywhere.

I got a commercial steamer for my floors... love that damn thing because OMG it does indeed get up the dirt without me killing my back. I have to admit, I want to get one of those Oreck Orbiters specifically because of the grout...

@Arcadian, Haha yes I do. LOL. I desperately wanted to want a pattern that was more interesting but ultimately I stayed true to my heart and mind. But if you could see all my photos from our quarry hunts (believe it or not I shared hardly anything compared to what I have on my phone hahaha) you would see I worked hard to find a stone with some subtle patterning. But it was not to be. The snow white marble was impossible to source enough of in the slabs I wanted...as you know all slabs are not equal and that's why I was so happy for @ILikeShiny that she got to choose the exact slabs. The opal white marble was next as my choice but the gray blotches and what looked like pitting (but wasn't) would have driven me mad. LOL what can I say. I am plain Jane vanilla. But at this stage of my life I accept that and am more than OK with that.

But oh my goodness I wanted so badly to choose one of the granites with BLUE in it. I love blue (as you probably already know if you saw any of my colored gem posts) and that would have been wonderful to find slabs with mainly white with blue and I loved the ones that looked like waves of the ocean. But all too busy for my vanilla preferences. And the lack of symmetry would have driven me cuckoo too. All the patterns were random (and I Know that is the beauty of the marble) but it was too distracting for me...

Your steamer sounds fabulous! And I am going to start making everyone take their shoes off and I will provide slippers or something similar. Greg was resistant in the past to making guests do that but I think this renovation gives me the perfect reason and hopefully guests wont be miffed. That was the reason I was OK with him not wanting us to do that in the past but I dont think it's rude if you provide alternative choices right?

Thanks for indulging me and sorry to monopolize this thread with all these photos. Please someone else post more pics soon!

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny I got chills and gasped when I saw those slabs. Those are GORGEOUS!!! I'm such a color freak, I'd probably get some of those cut to hang on the walls...

Love the new choices. I think its good to revisit when you have the feeling "something isn't quite right" and this is definitely the time to do it. And your kitchen granite is going to be spectacular!!! (reminds me of mine, so...yeah!)

With the new granite in the bath, how is that going to pair well with the fixtures? I only ask because I know you were doing antique bronze there.

I KNOW!!! I'm seriously considering buying that slab just to have it. I told SO I had an usual request for this year's birthday present When I told/showed him what he was he was actually on board but he said there's no way I could hang it due to the weight so I have to rethink the plan. I might be okay just hanging on to it until I figure out what to do with it. Like you, I'm a color freak and some of those slabs just slay me

I'm glad you like the new choices. I'm really happy with how it's all come together. I want to see a photo of your kitchen since you have almost the same granite!! And GREAT thought on the new black granite choice. I can ease your mind by including a detail I didn't mention before, which is that the vanity is outside of the bathroom; I had a nook built in to an open area for the vanity. So the bathroom will still have the white speckled quartz, and the little black beauty will be all on its own

Here's a quick doodle of the change we made to make it clearer. We pushed the laundry room in to a planned walk-in closet to give us space to iron and hang clothes directly out of the dryer, but left room at the end for my vanity on the other side of the wall (the red rectangle).

 

[BlingDreams]

Ultimately I am very pleased with our choice of island material and countertops. And it is also super practical which doesn't hurt with 4 very messy (not typical I know) kitties.




North wall


East wall


West wall


We still have (lots of) stuff that needs to be finished and we also have to figure out what we are going to do with our original dutch kitchen door. My vote is keep it but have my dh refinish it. Only problem is how to make it more secure but we are working on that and hopefully can figure it out.

Looking forward to seeing how everyone else is doing and what progress is being made.

It looks great!! It all came together so well, and you were smart to listen to your decades-old heart's desire for a white kitchen. It's very clean and crisp looking!

 

[BlingDreams]

@missy you have such a theme....lol but all of those granite slabs looked fabulous. I have to admit, I love a busy granite because it keeps me from being so darn obsessive. I already obsess on the cream colored floors everywhere in this house, especially on rainy days. while we don't wear shoes in the house, the dog on the other hand, is just... a dog. so she tracks in all kinds of what have you everywhere.

I got a commercial steamer for my floors... love that damn thing because OMG it does indeed get up the dirt without me killing my back. I have to admit, I want to get one of those Oreck Orbiters specifically because of the grout...

I'm with you about busy granites... I love that it adds interest AND hides little specs. I'm constantly wiping off the counters because apparently I'm the only one who notices crumbs and spills :roll. At least the business helps hide it until I can clean it!

And tell me about this commercial steamer... what material is it good for? And what's an Orbiter? Damn, I guess PS is not just bad for my jewelry budget...

 

[Arcadian]

I'm with you about busy granites... I love that it adds interest AND hides little specs. I'm constantly wiping off the counters because apparently I'm the only one who notices crumbs and spills :roll. At least the business helps hide it until I can clean it!

And tell me about this commercial steamer... what material is it good for? And what's an Orbiter? Damn, I guess PS is not just bad for my jewelry budget...

I have a Daimer steam cleaner because life is hell with 1600 sqft of tile with light grout, it was just necessary. I steam clean the entire house about once a month which is about an entire weekend. Steam on this machine is 310F The ones you get at Target, et al, way way less. Kills NADA. this one kills molds, mildew bedbugs and anything else you might want to kill... Made the mistake and got steam on my hand..yeah hot! also the PSI in which it leaves the machine is excellent. So I not only do floors, but the shower, the toilet, the oven, the grill, and cement on the porch.

Basically its a rollable boiler with attachments. You do have to let it come up to the right PSI (about 10 minutes?) but once you're there, its all good.

Works well on pretty much everything I've put it on. Though grout is not the strong point......

Even cleaning a rug it works really well. I have a silk rug in the entryway which gets straight abused. After a good vac with the miele power brush, I refresh it with the steamer. Thats another topic but silk rugs are VERY tough. This one belonged to his father's family, is a persian rug and really quite old. Belonged to his father's mother! I recall someone at a house party saying thats a 20k rug in the entryway. yeah well, we ain't gonna sell it...lol


Mine is water only machine, and I use distilled water and keep a few jugs in the house just for the this purpose. Removes LOTS of stuff, including ink, paint, grease (lotsa grease) and ground in dirt.

https://www.daimer.com/steam-cleaners/kleenjet-200s-vapor.htm
I bought mine on a very good sale, they seems to have best sales around black friday (that would figure)

Dupray has one that uses detergent but its WAY expensive. Its also hotter.
https://dupray.com/steam-cleaners/hill-injection-steam-cleaner/
This is what I really wanted but that price....

Now the Oreck I want is this:
https://www.amazon.com/Oreck-Orbiter-Ultra-Purpose-Machine/dp/B004ZP4B6K

A friend of mine has this machine. She's got way more tile than I do (2 story house full of the stuff!) Depending on the attachments you get, you can really do pretty much all floor surfaces including dry cleaning carpet. She allowed me to borrow hers and my goodness I could NOT believe how awesome my grout looked!! Also its a little heavy but not back breaking, and doesn't beat the floors up. I admit I'd be hesitant on wood but apparently works ok if the wood has been sealed (still though I might not do it)

The steamer is great, don't get me wrong, and I love it because I can use it on pretty everything including the grill the oven (yep use it there lots), the cement driveway, etc. but that oreck made me drool to have....lol Space in my house is tight so stuff like this I really have to think about where to store it.

 

[Arcadian]

Here's a quick doodle of the change we made to make it clearer. We pushed the laundry room in to a planned walk-in closet to give us space to iron and hang clothes directly out of the dryer, but left room at the end for my vanity on the other side of the wall (the red rectangle).

Ok so NOW it makes sense!!

I'm attaching image of the countertop. The undercabinet lights are LED's and change colors. Valentines day they were pink, it was kinda cute...

Anway Its probably more busy now that I look at it, still, that changes dependin on the exact angle you're looking at as there is lots of quartz/ and other gem color specs visible.

 

[BlingDreams]

Ok so NOW it makes sense!!

I'm attaching image of the countertop. The undercabinet lights are LED's and change colors. Valentines day they were pink, it was kinda cute...

Anway Its probably more busy now that I look at it, still, that changes dependin on the exact angle you're looking at as there is lots of quartz/ and other gem color specs visible.

I love it! And your smiley-face spatula is toooooooo cute!!

 

[BlingDreams]

Is this too big for a prep sink? Once mounted it would probably be closer to 22 x 19. For reference, our main sink will be 33 x 22 unmounted (so around 30 x 19 when mounted). The island is 11'3" x 5'8".

https://www.us.kohler.com/us/Riverb...tDetail/kitchen-sinks/429070.htm?skuId=415114

 

[missy]

Is this too big for a prep sink? Once mounted it would probably be closer to 22 x 19. For reference, our main sink will be 33 x 22 unmounted (so around 30 x 19 when mounted). The island is 11'3" x 5'8".

https://www.us.kohler.com/us/Riverb...tDetail/kitchen-sinks/429070.htm?skuId=415114

I don't think it's too big. My view on prep sinks are this. The bigger the better as long as you have the space for it. We have a prep sink in Brooklyn and it is too small. The size you are considering sounds great IMO.

 

[Austina]

I don’t think it’s too big either. I wish I’d gone for one like that rather than the one I got.

Mine’s also a Kohler siligranite, but with the small side bowl, which really isn’t much use.



My units aren’t blue, that’s just the protective wrap!

 

[BlingDreams]

I don't think it's too big. My view on prep sinks are this. The bigger the better as long as you have the space for it. We have a prep sink in Brooklyn and it is too small. The size you are considering sounds great IMO.

I don’t think it’s too big either. I wish I’d gone for one like that rather than the one I got.

Mine’s also a Kohler siligranite, but with the small side bowl, which really isn’t much use.

Okay, great. Thanks! I was hoping it wouldn't look ridiculously big since it's a second sink. I had done some reading and people were saying choose ~18" sinks but I couldn't find any from Kohler that were that measurement, cast iron, and under-mount. So it was either this one or one around 15" (which is what I chose for the butler's pantry/beverage center).

I also stuttered on faucets, thinking of using the same faucet for both sinks, but I like variety too much .

 

[DAF]

Here are some pics I have from our visits.
In front of our almost choice (close second) the opal white marble. We almost went for these slabs but ultimately I knew the thassos white was my perfect choice. But I was tempted!






Here was our first marble choice but we could not get enough slabs to make it work for us.
Snow white Marble from Italy.

Who knew there were so many different variations of white. And all quite beautiful in their own ways.





and lest you think I'm a one note chick we did entertain other options and I do love blue...
Everest polished is gorgeous.





A few more delicious options.

Got everyone involved in helping us haha. My dh and our marble "designer" assistant Lisa.



and another photo of my favorites from Italy at the quarry a few minutes from our beach house.






But it came down to me wanting a white kitchen for decades now and the heart wants what the heart wants yanno. But oh so many gorgeous color options out there. It was not an easy decision. We had fun making it though.


Uh oh reached my max allowed photo allotment for this post. Time flies when sharing marble pics. Hahaha.

That's so funny. If you look in my phone, you'll see that I took a picture of the slab, and then the side sticker, so I would know what it was .

 

[DAF]

Ok so NOW it makes sense!!

I'm attaching image of the countertop. The undercabinet lights are LED's and change colors. Valentines day they were pink, it was kinda cute...

Anway Its probably more busy now that I look at it, still, that changes dependin on the exact angle you're looking at as there is lots of quartz/ and other gem color specs visible.

I SOOOOOO wanted the color change LEDs. DF didn't like the ribbon cable they were on.

 

[Arcadian]

I SOOOOOO wanted the color change LEDs. DF didn't like the ribbon cable they were on.

Really? that to me was a huge part of why I bought them! And the older I get, the more I realize I better get that fun where ever I can I looked at the puck lights for under the cabinets and absolutely hated how much they stuck out and the fact they left pools of light instead of a nice even "string" if that makes sense. I remember seeing some at Lowes but the price!! So I bought a big ol roll online These are the tape lights (very flat like a piece of tape, sticky on one side) If you buy them like i did, it takes some basic electrical know how, but ease of use means rigging with a plug which I did. My cabinets are divided in such a weird way by the window but I don't really mind having one side being a different color than the other. Christmas was red and green....lol

 

[BlingDreams]

One more opinion please. I'm having to design the layout of how everything is arranged in the island and I'm pretty sure this is what I want; for reference, the cooktop is centered behind the island. My thoughts were being able to do a quarter-turn to put the pots/pans/whatever in to the sink (instead of having to turn all the way around or walk down the island), and also to have a good amount of space to the side of the prep sink; in this drawing there's approximately 4' of space.

Any thoughts on rearranging before I submit it?

 

[Arcadian]

So.. I can tell you that I have a trash bin by the sink. I don't use it as a trash bin, I put my cleaning rags in there and got a separate trash can. but I'm a weirdo...lol
Your arrangement looks perfectly fine to me.

 

[BlingDreams]

So.. I can tell you that I have a trash bin by the sink. I don't use it as a trash bin, I put my cleaning rags in there and got a separate trash can. but I'm a weirdo...lol
Your arrangement looks perfectly fine to me.

Haha! I’m hoping I use it as my trash bin as that’s why I put it right by the prep sink... easy peeling potatoes, countertop clean-up, etc.

Thanks for the feedback. This really is nerve-wracking and I’m second-guessing everything!

 

[missy]

One more opinion please. I'm having to design the layout of how everything is arranged in the island and I'm pretty sure this is what I want; for reference, the cooktop is centered behind the island. My thoughts were being able to do a quarter-turn to put the pots/pans/whatever in to the sink (instead of having to turn all the way around or walk down the island), and also to have a good amount of space to the side of the prep sink; in this drawing there's approximately 4' of space.

Any thoughts on rearranging before I submit it?

Arrangement looks good @ILikeShiny. Are you guys adding a garbage disposal? I love our garbage disposals and find them very helpful.

 

[missy]

That's so funny. If you look in my phone, you'll see that I took a picture of the slab, and then the side sticker, so I would know what it was .

Yes it's the best way to keep track of each slab. Easy and efficient.

 

[BlingDreams]

Arrangement looks good @ILikeShiny. Are you guys adding a garbage disposal? I love our garbage disposals and find them very helpful.

Yep. Each sink will have one. I can’t imagine life without a disposal! Actually, I wish there was a disposal for life sometimes...

 

[missy]

Yep. Each sink will have one. I can’t imagine life without a disposal! Actually, I wish there was a disposal for life sometimes...

Hahaha yes true dat.

 

[Tekate]

Hi @missy reno going good I think. We got a lot of snow Wed/Thurs so things sort of slowed down, decorater said the hardware for the cabinets are in, the granite guys measured everything, of course this means everything was taken out. The pendant lites are in I believe the electricians have put in the new outlets and did whatever they need to do to put in the new under cabinet lights - LED tape lights I think ha! i'm so old. New oven and microwave came after everything is completed, the painter hasn't painted yet... so in all I think we are on track to be complete by the time we get back from Florida in early-mid April. I'll put some pix up eventually just lazy.

(((MISSY))))

@Tekate how's your reno going? Thinking of you and hope it's going smoothly!

More marble photos as I am going down memory lane. Haha this morning reading the latest posts here started me going through all my pics over the last 2 years and hope you don't mind me sharing. I hope you are enjoying seeing these beautiful slabs.

One of the reasons I didn't want a busier print is that for me, I go crazy not being able to tell if it is super clean so I guess that's a bit OCD on my part. The last few years dealing with the busy granite print we have now was challenging.

Aren't these gorgeous?





















and the Snow White again. If I was going with marble this was my dream choice for marble.

 

[missy]

@Tekate (((Hugs))) to you too and I am glad everything is going smoothly by you.

I am going to add another beach kitchen to this thread. Our dear friends who live only about 20 miles away from us at the beach (about a 90 minute bike ride haha) did their beach kitchen about a year ago. They also have a lovely apartment in Manhattan but I don't have photos of that. Next time. In the meantime here is their renovated beach kitchen. It has a quartzite island and countertops and is super modern. Not really my style but I love their kitchen for them. Look at that funky ceiling light. Love. And oh my look at all their cabinet space. Heaven.





Isn't their quartzite island TDF.

 

[Austina]

Wow, this is gorgeous and exactly my taste

 

[Austina]

As promised, I found the image on my phone

 

[BlingDreams]

As promised, I found the image on my phone

OMG, that's exactly what I want to do with that slab I love

 

[Austina]

I have to say, it was very striking, especially with the open tread staircase.

 

[BlingDreams]

Okay, more opinions needed. Finalizing the master bathroom accessories. As a refresher, the shower and tub will be Birch wood patterned tile, the bathtub is white, our hardware is oil rubbed bronze, the floor is a rustic white (white but with some rough texture to it), the sink cabinets are black and the countertop is white with translucent/gray flecks in it.

My question is.... what do we do for the sink??? Every other sink in the house is black. Should we stick with black here or do white? Or even gray? The gray might look really pretty with the translucent flecks plus pick up the gray from the shower/bathtub tiles.

Shower/bath selections below:


Countertop quartz:


Style of cabinet doors:


Style of sink faucets/accessories:


It's a huge bathroom, so there's room for blending (if that makes sense). I'm super tempted to do gray. Do you think that would be a mistake??

 

[Austina]

I’d stick with white in the bathroom, honestly, I’ve seen coloured bathroom sinks and they date really fast. Besides black shows lots of watermarks