When we were building our house 3 years ago the builder didn't necessarily have the exact options for the kitchen that I had been dreaming of--so my husband I made the decision to just get the cabinets through the builder and do a mini remodel a couple years down the line. Well this past June we did it, and it could not have gone any better. We built out our island to make it bigger and then had the whole thing framed out in paneling. We went back and forth for about 6 months on if we should get marble since every stone warehouse we walked into tried to talk us out of it when they saw our 3 kids, but we went for it anyway, and so far 6 months later I DON'T regret it at all!!!! We ended up going with the timeless subway tile for the back splash, but did get the beveled edge to add more dimension. In the end I wanted the focal to be the art of the veining in the marble.

Our kitchen is completely open to our family room also known as a great room. All the walls are painted grey throughout with one navy wall in the kitchen. I used lots of whites, golds, greys, and blues in both rooms with pops of citrus green. I wanted the light airy feeling with out having it feel sterile for our family.

We seriously were shocked at how easy the whole process was once I decided on finishes! Here are a few tips I learned along the way...

We went with a large single basin stainless sink, but NOT the apron front to save a little money. If we would have got the apron front we would have had to buy 2 new cabinets for under it to make it fit. I was a little sad about this at first, but now 6 months later I am still in love with it--so if you find yourself in the same position and don't know where to cut some corners--think about this idea.
Another trick I learned is if you can not decide if you want dark or light grout paint the wall a dark color prior to the tile install and look at it before its grouted from across the room--this will give you a pretty good idea if you will like a darker grout. I chose to go all white (surprise surprise) but I did entertain the idea for a day or 2 while gazing at the back splash up before it was grouted.
When meeting with all your contractors for every trade--meet a few for every job. Make sure they are licensed and bonded, and just google their names. Once we found our counter top fabricator (he was the 4th one we met with) he actually referred us to a cabinet guy he liked working with four island build out. This made me even more comfortable having a referral.
After your job is done ask if there is any extra material--they don't just give this info up! We actually had enough to do our bathroom counter top in our powder room down stairs, but if I had not of asked I am not sure we would have known this.
Show them photos!!! I had inspiration board after inspiration board for these men which made it a whole lot easier to feel confident we were on the same page!
When you go to the stone warehouse/showroom they don't give you a price in most of them because they have the fabricator do it so they can mark it up however much they want. Now this is completely understandable, but I sent 3 different fabricators to the same showroom to see the same slabs for pricing and they ranged up to $2000.00 difference!!! That seems a little unfair and shady to me so just be careful!!!

The whole install took about 10 days, and the contractors were all amazing to work with so if your in AZ let me know if you need any recommendations.