• For an extensive kitchen remodel that will take months, budget extra for eating out often.

• At a certain point, because we had no kitchen, dining room and eating area, there was less to do in the house. We had extra time on our hands. Enjoy it. Take advantage of it to do things you don’t normally do.

• Do go with paper plates, bowls and cups. We try to be green so we washed dishes in the bathroom sink for two months, then finally gave into convenience. Good grief, what took us so long!

Here's one photo. For more pictures of our kitchen visit the new Rate My Space section of HGTV.com. When you get there be sure to look in the right column for additional photos.

One thing we learned in the process of remodeling this kitchen is that contrast is good. If you pick light floors, light cabinets and light countertops, the kitchen will look fairly monotone with everything blending together. The same thing happens when you choose all dark colors. Of course much of this falls to personal taste. But we like the contrast we got with light wood floors, and the dark cabinets. Then against the walls we have the lighter cabinets contrasting with dark granite countertops, and a dark backsplash .

One thing to be careful of. We overloaded the top drawer in the pantry with about 40 pounds of cans. The drawer actually broke loose and crashed down on the next drawer. Our carpenter came back and repaired it. He told us to keep the heavier stuff in the back. Anyone else have issues with this kind of drawer?

These are the drawers on the island.

That said, Gretchen did a smart thing when thinking about pulls for our new kitchen. She wanted to keep it simple, and avoid having the pulls stand out too much. So we went with simply, small, pewter pulls from Home Depot. Here's what they look like-- on the lighter cabinets, and on the darker island. At first I wondered about them being too small. But that hasn't been a problem at all. What kind of pulls do you like?

We put the dishrack directly above the dishwasher, and in between the sink and the microwave. It is very handy. The other nice thing about this design is it breaks up the monotony of solid faced cabinets throughout the kitchen. It adds some visual interest. This dishrack unit comes from KraftMaid, the same company that made the rest of our cabinets. I should note that Gretchen is very happy with this open dish arrangement because it is somewhat country. You'll recall that I've been steering things toward a more contemporary look. But I too like the open dishes.

We're fans of the concept that everyday items can be art. In other words, dishes and glasses and bowls are a form of art. They don't have to be super fancy, just something you like to look at. Gretchen has been collecting Polish Pottery for several years. These dishes and bowls have made their way into our everyday use. You'll see some in the photo below.

When choosing glass for the the cabinet doors, we discovered there are dozens of styles. Everything from simple clear glass, to glass with ridges, etchings, coloring and more. We choose a style from Kraftmaid called Antiquity. It has small bubbles in it that gives the glass a textured look.

We had "puck" lights (so called because they're the size of a hockey puck) installed in the top of these cabinets. This give the cabinets a nice warm glow, and showcases my wife's beloved Polish Pottery.

Glass cabinet inserts. Somehow the camera flash accentuates the bubbles in the glass
and makes them look much more prominent in this photo.

We also installed small "puck" lights (they are about the shape of a hockey puck) underneath the cabinets, so the countertops will have a nice amount of light shining on them. These are halogen lights.

With all the lights turned on the place is lit up like Las Vegas. The nice thing is, we don't have to turn on all the lights at once. We can use different lights for different tasks. Or turn on just a few lights for a more romatic atmosphere.

Pendants over the island bartop. To the left you can see the can lights and the pendant over the sink.

Another view where you can see more of the can lights.

These are the undercounter "puck" lights.

All the countertops we have had in the past have been your basic laminate variety. So we're excited to work with granite. It is beautiful and, well, hard as a rock. You have to be a little careful when setting breakable items on it.

One of the pluses with granite is you can set hot pots and pans on it. Gretchen claims you can also cut on it. I'm not so sure about that one. I think you can, but in the process you can also harm the finish.

What is your experience with granite? Any tips on living with it, caring for it, etc.?

The backsplash tiles are square with a pewter look. The tiles are made from a resin rather than ceramic, which makes it lighter. In the right light, it has a little metallic glint to it which picks up on the stainless steel island countertop, the fridge and the sink. The backsplash also has bronze colored rods inserted at the bottom (where it meets the granite) and a few rows up. This is a decorative touch that creates a border between the backsplash and the granite, and adds visual interest in the form of a horizontal line.

We put a fair amount of thought into buying a new refrigerator. After several store visits, here's where we landed: We like the sleek, clean look of stainless steel. I'm reading at work that sales of stainless appliances are cooling off — bronze and other colors are the new trends. We're okay with that. We've always had white refrigerators, so stainless feels quite contemporary. And we like the new French door approach with the freezer on the bottom.