Start to finish: family room and kitchen and laundry room

Continuing along the house tour! 

(I can't guarantee that this is more interesting than a tour of Alcatraz.) 

With our floorplan, the builder included:

• Granite countertops and fireplace surround
• The large island
• The fireplace
• Hardwood floors in the kitchen and pantry and ceramic tile in the back entryway/laundry room

We chose:

• So the kitchen is kind of where we (I) took no prisoners. While the kitchen in Old House had lots of things going for it--12' ceilings! great windows! built in breakfast nook!--it also had super sad oak cabinets and gray ceramic tile floor (with intentionally colored black grout!) and brown laminate countertops. I did what I could, but it consistently bummed me out. So when we knew we were moving, a better kitchen became my Thing. We chose the best kitchen the builder offered. That gave us cabinets to the ceiling and in more finish options (we went with a bright white), the stone and tile in the stove area and on the wall between the family room and all of the appliances. It was worth it to us as I love it.
• To add the pulls and hardware to the cabinets. Could T have done it himself? Yes. Would he want to? No. Did I want to minimize whining? Yes.
• To add transoms above the pantry door and the laundry room door.
• To add the built-in cubbies in the laundry room.
• To add four additional canned/recessed lights in the family room.
• To make the light above the family room outfitted to work for a ceiling fan.
• After we closed, the electricians replaced the four hanging lights in the kitchen, one light in the pantry, two lights in the laundry room and the one in the family room.
• T replaced the kitchen faucet with one we picked out.
• Handyman Steve assembled and hung the laundry cabinets above the washer and dryer.
• The Sherwin-Williams wall colors are Sleepy Blue in the kitchen and family room and Kilim Beige in the laundry room.

Stuff:

• Kitchen pendants over the island and sink: Horchow
• Kitchen faucet: Amazon
• Kitchen table pendant light: Shades of Light
• Kitchen table and chairs: Art Van
• Kitchen rug: RugsUSA
• Kitchen drapes over sliding glass door: WestElm
• Kitchen valance: Potterybarn
• Family room rug: RugsUSA
• Entertainment center: Restoration Hardware
• Family room table lamps: Target
• Family room floor lamp: Potterybarn
• Console table: Potterybarn
• Couch: WestElm
• Drapes: Crate & Barrel
• Leather recliner: Potterybarn
• Laundry room cabinets and wall hangings: Home Decorators
• Laundry room baskets: Target
• E and I initials: Urban Outfitters
• Cubbie hooks: Lowe's

These two rooms get so much light and I love it. It feels bright yet also cozy. I'm happy with how they turned out.