Remodeling a kitchen can be tough.  I know, shocker.  Kitchens are the heart of the home, used many times each day.  Sometimes taken for granted.  You know how it feels when the electricity goes out: you go to do something completely ordinary, like turn on a light, and only after do you remember the power is out?  Yeah, that’s kind of how it is living without a kitchen.  With each new, functional piece, it feels like Christmas morning.  Well, Merry Christmas and happy new year to us because we’ve got a cooktop.

A functioning, 48 inch, 6 burner and griddle cook surface was exciting before the remodel, but downright thrilling now.  It fits perfectly in the island, completing the cook show stage.  Ha!  We decided to reuse the maple butcher block counter, too.  It was really nice to have a built-in, oversized cutting board.

We chose a GE Monogram after reading reviews on many other brands.

All burners are the exact same.  There’s an extra high setting that heats up in a hurry.

And an ultra low simmer that GE demos by melting chocolate chips on a paper plate.  I kind of want to give that a try.  I mean, that’s usually how I melt chocolate.

If you’re into wok cooking, each grate flips to hold a wok.  Note to self, must learn how to make delicious Asian food.

I knew I missed having a gas top, but it really is so different from electric.  Temperature changes are instantaneous.  It’s sleek, streamlined, and pretty.  Once the cabinets are faced out and drawer fronts are on, the sides won’t stick out as far.

There have been several questions about the sink, too.  We had it custom-made by Venus Fabrication in Texas.

Like the cooktop, it’s stunning.  I’ll admit, it wasn’t cheap, but it is the most used part of a kitchen and totally worth it.

To balance out the wide cooktop, we widened the sink from 30 to 36 inches.  Best decision ever.  Soaking pans and cookie sheets is easy.

Similar to our custom sink for our last house, this sink is the full counter depth.  Neither Ben or I are fans of the skinny strip of counter along the backs of sinks.  Instead, the counters will rest on top of the sides, leaving the back open.

As with the cooktop, (seriously, how many times have I said that already?!) the cabinet faces will make the reveal smaller.

Now we’re only missing the double oven.  Before we can install the ovens, we need to attach the face trim to the cabinet boxes, prime, and paint.  From there, everything left to do is mostly for looks.