Post #12: Meeting Day

Partial 3D view of our kitchen. We've tweaked the design a bit since this drawing. As for interior design selections, the island will not look the same as the perimeter of the kitchen.
L to R: 1) Wood floor to be installed in entryway, main hallway, powder room, master bathroom & laundry room. 2) Chestnut cabinets for the perimeter kitchen, mudroom, basement bathroom & laundry room. 3) Light granite for perimeter kitchen & wetbar countertops. 4) Dark granite (small slab w/ white sticker in upper left corner) for island countertop. 5) Kaffe cabinets (piece dark granite is leaning on) for island, powder room & master bathroom cabinetry. 6) Tile for kitchen backsplash & master bathroom shower floor (resting atop light granite). 7) Tiny mosiac tiles (small square) for kitchen backsplash accent...my bling.
Close-up & brighter view of Kaffe cabinets & dark granite for kitchen island.
Close-up of kitchen backsplash/bling accent.
Mudroom cabinets, tile & laminate countertop (the small piece).

Yesterday was a day full of meetings with various people to customize several aspects of our new home.

First was our 8am meeting at the house with Mike V. from Delta Electric. We walked floor by floor, room by room, customizing everything from electrical outlet placement to special lighting needs. I appreciated being able to hide many of the outlets. John C. was there, too, along with Mike's assistant, who dutifully made appropriate marks on exposed studs. They all offered ideas & suggestions, which were welcomed by us. Afterall, we've never built a custom-designed home before and were clueless about different options. For a short while, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who Mike reminded me of. The proverbial light bulb lit and I realized I was talking to a Nicolas Cage look-alike.

One of my favorite lighting options, thanks to a brilliant idea from my Mom, is to light the three stairs that go up to the master bedroom wing using the little lights that light the aisles in a movie theater. I also have the kitchen being wired to be lit like the airport. I don't like to cook in dim spaces. DH says he likes the kitchen bright because he's certain I'll cut myself while chopping if it's dim.

Our next meeting at the house was for low-voltage wiring options. Things like cable & phone outlets were placed where we did (& didn't) desire. We'll have TVs mounted on the walls, so we were able to dictate where the outlets were to eliminate dangling, unsightly cords.

Our final on-location meeting was with the landscaping company. Mark from Ciminello's Landscape Design listened to our patio dreams. He's designing our outdoor living area and the greenspace surrounding it. We had a list of trees/shrubs we want included in the plan, along with DHs long-sought-after outdoor kitchen. We can't wait to see his design!

The afternoon's waning hours were spent at the R&H Design Center with our genius & patient designer, Kristen. We selected many things for my kitchen: granite countertops, backsplash, & wood flooring. We also chose finishes for the MBR/bath & mudroom, laundry room.

One of my favorite things about the new kitchen is the two different colors of cabinets. The island will have a darker cabinet than the perimeter. Same things goes for the granite, which will be darker on the island than on the surrounding counters. I'm also in love with the wood floors, which have an Old World quality to them. The backsplash accent pleases me with it's bling-design quality (I think I've coined a new interior design phrase).

Overall, I couldn't be more excited for my new kitchen and it's interior design! The appointment was so much fun...not to mention a lot of work. I now understand why these types of selections are broken down into several 2 1/2 hour appointments. After a while you are tired of looking at samples and you could get to the point where you begin to carelessly select things just to get it over with.

Next week, we'll finalize cabinet layout (including the basement bar) and meet with Kristen again.