Kitchen Tour Ideas





We're in the thinking stage of changing out our kitchen counter tops.  By thinking, I mean that The Captain is approaching this by logical investigation and comparison shopping, and I'm freaking out.  We have lots of counter top space - 70 square feet - and I'm afraid of making a big, expensive mistake! 

He bought tickets to the Newcastle Kitchen Tour and yesterday we traipsed through some absolutely gorgeous kitchens.  Newcastle is a small town on the water and  home of  the highest per capita income in the state, making it the perfect place to check out fancy-schmancy kitchens. 

All the kitchens were professionally designed , so it was a chance to "second -hand" shop their great ideas.  Sadly, there was a "no photographs allowed" rule, so I only have a few pictures from the brochure:

I do love this all-white look - and the window shades- and the drawer pulls!



Interesting wall of cabinets without hardware - out of picture range are two large suction cup knobs that you move to whatever cupboard you need to open!

All of the houses were stunning, most were new or newly renovated.  A couple of colonial-era homes were on the tour and it was interesting to see how very old, very small kitchens were transformed and yet kept their old-world charm.

I noticed a few themes:

     *  All of the houses  except one had granite counter tops (the hold-out had soapstone). 

     *  Most houses had large islands

     *  Most had large deep, single sinks

     *  All had lots of light - either natural or artificial

     *  Window treatments were absent or minimal

     *  All had minimal clutter - counters were pretty bare

     *  Most had light colored cabinets - either light wood or painted white

We learned a couple of things - that my idea of having the stove island done in butcher block has been done and looks fantastic.  Check it out in the photo above. 

Another good idea - the off center faucet, like this one from Young House Love:



On the way home, we checked out some counter top options.  I like the idea of granite, but not the highly polished look.  The aged, "leather" finish is nice - matte with some texture:



 I also saw some Corian I liked and love the one piece sink option, plus the no-seam finish.  While it costs as much as granite (at least the color I like does), it doesn't have the instant pedigree of granite!  This is Corian Verde:

And with the Corian one-piece sink:

More searching, more looking, more investigating before taking the plunge.  Any suggestions?