Saturday, June 13, 2015

Kitchen details ( a.k.a. decision exhaustion)

There are so many decisions to make with the new house!! Privileged people problems, I know ... but seriously - so many decisions.

For the last week we've been wrestling with kitchen decisions. Many have been made.


  • Appliances
    • Standard size french door refrigerator - We knew going in we wanted french door without an external water dispenser and stuck with these preferences. We considered custom paneling (why do manufacturers charge more for panel ready fridges when it is less material for them???) and counter-depth in lieu of standard depth. Ultimately, we decided to forgo both for cost savings and ease of replacement in the future. We're still shopping for the exact model. We've narrowed it down to a few options and the upcoming 4th of July sales will be the determining factor.
    • GE Cafe Free Standing Dual-Fuel Range - We thought a lot about this decision. I was initially leaning towards a pro-style range and Alex was leaning towards a more traditional range. The GE Cafe range is a nice compromise between the two. It doesn't have the exact "look" I was hoping for, but I'm not willing to increase our budget by $3k just for a look. Based on the research we've done, it cooks and bakes as well, if not better, than the Wolf and Thermador options we were considering. It is still a splurge, but one we think we'll be happy we made every time we use it.
    • Dishwasher - We're still narrowing down the options here. As with the fridge, we considered and then vetoed the custom paneling option. Given that the kitchen is in a shared open space with the dining and great rooms, we are concerned with noise. Right now the front-runner is a Bosch that claims to be super quiet.
    • Rohl chrome bridge faucet - Funny story. We went to a local plumbing supply showroom and picked out everything we thought we wanted for the house (2 1/2 bathrooms and the kitchen). Our budget was about $2k and we joked that the quote would come in around $5k. It came in at $12k!!! And that was with a friendly discount. Woah. We had to make a lot of adjustments. The one splurge we didn't adjust was the Rohl kitchen faucet. The kitchen island is HUGE and will be a centerpiece in our home. We feel the faucet is almost like a piece of art that we will be looking at and using every day. Also, our salesperson gave us a ridiculous deal. We can't wait to see it in the space.
  • Finishes
    • Counters: Our counters will be white marble or white granite. We hear marble is higher maintenance but I like the look A LOT and, surprisingly, white granite may be significantly more expensive. We've looked at some options in warehouses and are waiting on our contractor to get back to us with quotes.
    • Floors: We will have the same hardwood flooring throughout the house.
    • Cabinets: We're going with basic white shaker style cabinetry. We're playing with some open shelving options that would accommodate hanging pots and pans. A lot of people don't like open shelving and warn us against it - but we've had it in Sheridan for the last 2 years and love the ease of access to everyday dishes. 
  • Light fixtures and hardware: This is where the most indecision is coming in. I've narrowed it down to two options:
    • "Classic vintage" - schoolhouse pendants, oil rubbed bronze drawer pulls, white wood range hood, OR


    • "Classy clean" - clear glass pendants, glass drawer pulls with either chrome or oil rubbed bronze backings/screws, and a stainless steel range hood


    You can view real life kitchens with these different options on my "new kitchen" Pinterest board

    So, what do you think - should we go with classic vintage or classy clean?