Counters and Colors

The stone place surprised me with a call about four days after the

templates were made.  They would be ready to do the install on the

MLK holiday.  I was off work so it was perfect timing.  

Here's a peek at the counter tops.  I couldn't wait to set my faucet

in to place.  It's the Rohl Perrin & Rowe bridge faucet in polished nickel.

I looked at as many faucets as I did light fixtures and I think this is the 

most beautiful one by far.  

The installation was just as interesting as the templating.  The installation

team cam in and measured each section again and made tweaks to the

stone outside before bringing it in and setting it in to place. 

On two of the sections, they even made new templates and took them

outside before grinding here and there to make sure everything was perfect.

They were really impressive.

Shortly before the install, the cabinet doors were finished up and

installed.  The detail on the doors was replicated from the panels on

the front of the store counter.  The base moldings still need to go in.

You can see my predicament with the wood color here.  The doors

are made of the wood from the antique store counter but they needed

to be planed down to made the rails and stiles of the doors.  And then

the drawers were made out of fir when we ran out of wood.

After considering the Farrow & Ball colors, I just couldn't find a

gray in the right shade and value so I picked a Benjamin Moore

color I thought would look nice.  It's Cape May Cobblestone which

is on the same strip in the fan deck as my exterior house color.

It goes really well with everything:  the floor, the marble, the stainless,

but I'm having two problems with it.  Don't get me wrong, I think it

looks beautiful but I think it's maybe too safe.  More importantly, I'm

feeling like it's wrong for the architecture of the piece.  The hefty carvings

somehow don't feel right in this misty, modern color.  It's kind of like the

Dowager Countess wearing a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress.

Okay, maybe not that silly but it's a good way to describe

how I feel about it.  I'm not going to rush a decision.

Of course, the cabinet color also affects the window casings

and sashes so I can't wait too long.