Making the selections for the kitchen was the next task after finalizing the layout. Now that I know where I want items, I need to decide what they should look like.
The most important selection is the cabinets, as that is the visually dominant item in the room and provides the most color. The
Kraftmaid cabinets in Cherry with a sunset finish matched our color scheme for the house. I chose a Harper style for ease of maintenance.
I next wanted a stylish countertop that was easy to maintain; I'd heard that granite required regular refinishing so that was out. Laminate countertops are susceptible to burns and cutting marks and I've done both. I opted for quartz as an alternative. I like the gemlike aspect of the appearance of quartz too. We selected the
Cambria Nottingham finish. I was originally looking at a lighter colored countertop, but in some of the lighter finishes the cambria can look water spotted.
Sink selection took an extraordinarily long time debating between apron front, undermount, stainless, cast iron, colored, and what dimension. After pricing the apron fronts I realized I could install two undermount sinks for the same price so decided to do that. Stainless looked too jarring against the earth tones selected so far, and white cast iron looked too stark. Colored cast iron was again cost prohibitive but a composite sink fit the bill. We selected the
Blanco Anthracite sink made in Silgranit, which is a composite of 80% granite. For the larger sink I opted for the large single bowl so that large platters could be laid flat. I'm tired of working around the divider in traditional double bowl. The double bowl was originally designed for dish washing and as we have a dishwasher I can do away with it. The second, smaller sink will be used for prep and can fit a colander for draining pasta.
I found faucets in a dark oil-rubbed bronze finish to pick up the counter's coppery highlights and tie in with the black sink. I'll be getting two faucets, one with a pull down sprayer for the main sink and a standard faucet for the prep sink, with a side sprayer. I also have an RO beverage system so will get the beverage faucet top for that. I like the simple style of the
Linden by Delta Faucet. The traditional style of the
beverage faucet compliments it.
Finally I had to decide what goes underfoot. There was a lot of dark in the kitchen so I wanted something lighter to brighten it up. The
Quickstep Spalted Maple floor did that nicely while still tying in with the darker tone of the kitchen overall.
Next I added some more enhancements to the cabinets (not shown in my style/finish selection):
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| Sink front tip out storage |
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| Mullion Glass door front |
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| Tray cabinet |
