Okay, the last time you saw the kitchen it looked like this, and now take a look! The Corian countertop arrived today from Home Depot in two mondo pieces, one so large it took four guys to heft it into place. The installer's attached the two pieces together (there's now an invisible seam behind the cooktop) and set the brushed nickel adjustable-height legs from Richelieu in place for the bar. The wait was definitely worth it (we've been living with chunks of plywood and a temporary sink for a while). We'd picked Silver Birch for the surface, since it had a lovely terrazo feel, and chose a clean and modern profile with an eased edge. The sink is Corian too, in Pearl Gray, and was fit seamlessly into the countertop before the whole shebang was installed.

All the appliances are happily ensconced into the kitchen now too. They're from Jenn-Air in a stainless steel finish and are absolutely boffo with the hi-gloss white Venicia cabinetry. The fridge is a sleek counter-depth unit with a bottom-drawer freezer, the dishwasher is one of the best Energy Star rated units on the market and the dual-fuel slide-in range, well, I love the fact it has a downdraft (so no need for a rangehood!) while David, my baking-obsessed other half, loves that one of the burners has a melt setting for when he makes brownies.

The cherry on the cake is Kohler's swish Karbon articulating faucet; this one is a deck-mount, but it's just been released as a wall mount too. It's currently just there for show; the plumber is popping in tomorrow to hook it up, and the backsplash tiles happen the day after that. I swear, we're almost done!