Our Kitchen Selections: Granite, Cabinets, and Lighting

Selecting the options for our kitchen was fairly easy because we pretty much knew what we wanted.  Luckily, the model home at our community features our selections, so it was easy to know and love what they will look like in "real life."

I love a timeless, white kitchen.

Ryan Homes Naples Kitchen Model

Ryan Homes Kitchen with Morning Room (source)

The only thing hard to picture about our kitchen has been the actual layout.  The kitchens above have become the "old" kitchen models as Ryan Homes frequently changes their floor plans.

Our kitchen layout moves the fridge to another wall, adding extra cabinet and countertop space.  We have a morning room, so we will lose the window above the sink in the first picture and instead have bar space overlooking the morning room, as shown in the second photo.

The refrigerator will now be on this wall, alongside the hallway leading to the dining room.  The pantry is on the right of the hallway to the dining room.

As mentioned, luckily our granite is installed in the model so it is easy to see what it will look like.  However, if you are interested in building with Ryan Homes, your granite samples to choose from are small squares.

Santa Cecilia Granite

The Santa Cecilia granite has two different shades to it, and can be either of the variations shown above (one has more gold to it).  So it is important that if you choose Santa Cecilia (and can't choose your own slab, which we are not sure we can at this point) that you love both variations.

Santa Cecilia Granite

You can see the different variations in color actually sometimes run through the granite as in the photo above.  Also note too when choosing a granite the granite names are standard.  We were able to go to Home Depot and pick up a small sample of our granite to have on hand.

Under-Cabinet Lighting

My father suggested we add the under-cabinet lighting and I am so glad we did.  It looks beautiful in the model, but it will also simply add more light in the kitchen, and it will be nice to not always have to burn the can lights overhead for our recessed lighting.

Timberlake Rushmore Painted Maple Glaze Cabinets

We are really happy with our cabinets, the Timberlake Rushmore Painted Maple Glaze cabinets.  The Timberlake brand also offers a "hazelnut" glaze but we were worried they would look too dark, and liked the look of the cabinets in the model.

The next step for our kitchen (besides it actually being completed) is coming up with a "design" plan.  We will want to find a kitchen island, choose and DIY a backsplash after move-in, and determine what color to paint, as well as a color scheme for decorative accents.  It should be fun!

Do you like a white kitchen, or do you prefer darker cabinets?  Both styles will be around for years to come.