Cooktop

Well, we officially have a functioning kitchen! LD and I went out to Home Depot yesterday, and purchased a temporary laminate countertop to install our cooktop. We bought a stainless steel 30" Induction Hybrid Electrolux Cooktop from the Sears Outlet during the after Thanksgiving sale. We got a deal we couldn't walk away from, and it is an ELECTROLUX!!! So not only did we have to test it, but we wanted to see it in action.

We still have not decided on the final cabinet stain color. We go back and forth between espresso and mahogany. We are interested in putting in a "white" recycled glass countertop, so we chose an off-white countertop to see how it would look against the current stain ("mahogany") on the cabinets and the stainless steel cooktop. We both agreed that it did not look that hot with the current stain or the cooktop; however, a light colored countertop looks sharp against an expresso finish.

With the depth of our new kitchen island, fitting the cooktop and the countertop was a challenge. We really did not want to cut into the brand new cabinets, so LD made some careful measurements. She layed out the template, and I used the jigsaw to cut it out. The cooktop dropped in easier than we expected.

The electrical connection, however, was a little more challenging. With a little assistance from our neighbor, we worked our way through the wire situation. LD turned the electical switch back on, and our new Electrolux cooktop came to life! We tested the two electrical elements, but were unable to test the two induction elements because we need to buy some aluminum or stainless steel cookware. Currently, we only own cast iron skillets, which are not recommended for the glass cooktop.