So, for the details:
Cabinets - IKEA Adel medium brown
Handles - IKEA Lansa 10"
Appliances - IKEA by Whirlpool
Countertop - Icestone Amber Pearl
Faucet/soap dispenser - Price Pfister
The countertops are quite cool - recycled glass in a concrete matrix. Made in Brooklyn. You can see the detail in the photo above - there's even mother of pearl in it! From the picture, it's hard to see, but some of the chips, if you look super close, have that iridescent white/red color like a piece of chipped off peppermint candy. Sparkly!!!
The IKEA cabinets are awesome; made to EU standards, low VOC, and much sturdier than anything you could get at a box store. IMO the only thing better would be solid wood but at 10x the cost! Have you ever been to an IKEA store on the weekends? Those kitchens get the crap kicked out of them by everyone - kids hanging on the doors, open/closed 1000000 times, etc. If they can handle that, I think they'll survive our "tough" use! The flooring is IKEA too...
Backsplash is still in process as we haven't decided what to do yet. Looking at replacing the windows in the house so backsplash may wait until that's done.
Under-mount stainless steel sink. The silicone that's attaching the sink to the counter has to dry for about 24+ hrs before we're able to hook up the plumbing. So right now, it's just sitting there looking pretty. It will be nice to wash my hands in the sink again - and not have to go to the bathroom for washing what few dishes we've used.
Overall rating = 8 on a scale of 10. Why? There are a few finishing touches to do [including hanging the wine rack which I spent days trying to find a custom stain for to match the cabinets]. I can't imagine doing a remodel while working full time - thank god I'm unemployed right now! [Translation, BF's hours at work make it 100% impossible for him to do it, hence me not working helped in managing & organizing everything]. It was worth paying someone to assemble & install the cabinets. BF's house is about 80yrs old. During the install process, the cabinet guys assembled all the cabinets [12 total] in 2hrs and installed in about 5.5hrs. I learned the ceiling sloped in one spot by about 3/4 inch, there's a 1/2 inch bow on the same wall, and the other wall slopes 1/2 inch from one end to the other. Installing cabinets is quite the science to make sure everything is level & plumb.
We also like how the cabinets all have the silent closing hinges on them [custom cabinets will cost you $100+ per door/drawer extra for this feature] - which is standard for IKEA. There are some neat features too, like a lazy susan for the corner, pull out cabinet for some small appliances, huge deep drawers & lots of under counter space to fit the coffee pot & Kitchenaid mixer.
BF will be doing the plumbing hookup on his own. Hired professionals to move a handful of outlets around & run the gas line for the cooktop. Bonus points for IKEA again, as custom cabinets would've cost as much as this entire project + taken at least 4-6 weeks to get in. Start to finish on this project from demo to done was 3 weeks!
*and note, I say "we" but to be fair, it's all BF's $$$ and house since he paid for everything! I just had fun managing all of it!
