Kitchen done (now quite a while ago)

Clearly, a full kitchen remodel (and the first time I've attempted such a project), starting back to teaching after a year+ maternity leave, moving into the new house and having two young ones proved a little too much for me to be able to keep up with my blog!  The remodel went great, the kitchen is beautiful and functional, and we've even remodeled a bathroom (!) since my last post.  Without further ado, shall we recall what the kitchen looked like before?

 

And the glorious after!

  

From the other angle, looking at the old eat-in dining area:

And the new, pared-down cafe table at which the boys eat breakfast:

We went with tile floors after we were unable to find a reasonable match for the engineered hardwood, but in the end I am infinitely more happy with it.  It's a great pale gray 12 x 24" tile in a brick style, with grout to match (hard to see in the photo).  The counter is Caesarstone in "Nougat" and the appliances are Bosch (save the fridge, which is Kitchenaid).  The only thing we kept from the original kitchen was the giant stainless steel sink (30" wide!). Here's a photo of the other side of the kitchen, where the fridge and walk-in pantry live (clearly taken before we moved in):

Okay, with the New Year mere hours away, I feel content having finished this cliff-hanger!  I'm not big on resolutions, but for this year, maintaining a better work-play-family balance is a high priority.  Hopefully, I'll be able to report on more projects in 2012!

(P.S.  There are many in-process photos, but I decided to skip to the fun end.  If any one wants more details or info about the process, message me!)