That L shaped thing is horrible. Awful. Repulsive. It cuts off circulation and just isn't good design. You need an actual table in the bay, and a smaller island in the kitchen, so people can move between the two.

If executed properly - there is a chance this could work

Get with a good designer!

My first thought is to see about putting the stove on the staircase wall and moving the entry over. Something like this:

You just need to be careful of that yellow dimension. Use angled end cabinets to help with the flow of traffic through that area.

Oh!! Horrors ! Please do not store in attic or basement. If you've had them for 25 years.......they owe you nothing: )

Out of sight is out of mind, and it's either trash..or treasure. If you waffle...can't decide? It's someone ELSE's treasure!!

( someday? your kids will thank you !!?)

Thanks so much for your input. Technically I am in charge of the contractor as my parents are supplying funds but are mostly needing me to coordinate all and monitor what he does on site (I live across the street so monitoring is not usually too tough—except for when his ego comes out!). With regard to designer, she was hired to assist me on more of a “consultation” basis. This is because while I’m nowhere near a professional, I have lots of reno/design experience supervising my own home additions (completed in 2 stages three years apart). So I am pretty skilled in doing research, running around for samples, online shopping and coming up with 2 or 3 final options to present to designer for her final input before making ultimate design decisions. I certainly appreciatethe recommendation to share all design plans IN WRITING and accompanied by inspo photos. I just need to be super organized, plan ahead and share info well in advance. Doing my best but it does not help when contractor just wants to be finished fast and completes things his way instead of consulting with me when design qs do come up that are unclear.

Also note: tile “rug” in kitchen had two purposes: 1) to protect floor from stool legs scratching wood floors. 2) mom likes traditional/dark and dad likes modern/white. Put in dark herringbone fir mom in the hopes she can compromise and agree to white countertops for dad. Shopping for stone TODAY so wish me luck! Thx.

I would look for a charcoal color for the siding that would look good with the brick instead of painting it. Your roof looks like a light gray. IMO black is too severe. It certainly isn't welcoming. Here is a house with dark gray and natural cedar with a red door. It's not red brick, but it shows how these colors work together.

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This paranoia re germs will in the end , kill many. Your body is meant to withstand all kinds of bacteria . Wash your hands!!!!

Beyond that? The "critters" are all around and ON you. Unless you reside like the boy in the glass bubble.

We're literally manufacturing super bugs. Too much intervention via antibiotics and an obsession with anti bacterial everything. If you're reasonably healthy? Enjoy life and don't count little critters ?

Shouldn’t your flooring contractor know what kind of wood it is?

CORRECTED!! Need to do better proofreading in the future.

It's definitely NOT Pecan/Hickory, which stains more similarly to Oak. As G&S stated, you probably have Maple or Yellow Birch. Maple is a closed-grain wood so it doesn't absorb stain evenly. It will never look like the Oak in your third picture. Water popping before staining can help with uniformity. The colors on the first and last picture look quite similar while the third looks less of a nutty brown. Not sure whether the first or second picture is more representative of the true color, but you may not see much difference after it's refinished. I've also seen where dark stain couldn't be sanded out of Maple, leaving unsightly blotches.

desk is white, shelves are white...go with the theme=white

There is way too much going on in this bedroom. Simplify and minimize the elements in the room. Those tilted bookcases, never make any sense to me so I would eliminate them.

You could install asymmetrical drapery panels to unify the random elements on that back wall