I realize this is an old post, but from personal experience (and I am not speaking necessarily about children) hooks are very plausible as a) they prevent over stacking b) gives the towels a chance to dry c) actually can look tidier as there is no need to fold/drape d) also purposeful for hanging a bathrobe or your clothes while bathing or even a small bathmat if floor space is tight. That said; for easy hanging of large bath sheets due to their length; I have sewn on a colour co-ordinated loop (double fold cotton bias tape found in the sewing notions) about mid way down on one side. Re style; just ensure you choose a hook that has a reasonable projection and has some sort of a stopper at its end and experiment with its spacing if using more than one. Oh, should add for those with the same question and have limited space for mounting; you might wish to look at a swivel type of hook as well that have more than one arm/hook.

"My concern is that it Would be very annoying to not have enough room to wash your hands without them bumping the back of the sink." Well, it depends on the particular model. Some "regular size" faucets are smaller in scale than a prep sink faucet in a different model. You've probably noticed that, like many things, faucets have generally been "Supersized" in recent years. In any event, most "prep sink size" faucets are only a bit smaller that the "regular" size in the same model. Here's a picture of my prep sink size Ladylux in my main sink, which is 25 inches interior width. I have 6 inches of clearance between the back of the sink and the water flow, so bumping the back of the sink or faucet is not an issue at all. There is also more than sufficient spread even without using the pull down feature. Note that I also tested the "bar sink" size of the same faucet, and that one looked a bit small to me given the overall scale of the sink and kitchen. Sorry for the mid-construction pic, but I thought this showed the prep sink size faucet in context of the scale of the rest of the kitchen. Bottom line: pay close attention to the spec sheets of the faucet you're contemplating, and make sure the clearance from the back won't be an issue.

Hi mom2sethc! I remember your dining area update from the decorating forum. Your entire kitchen looks more like an "after" than a "before". I still understand wanting to update things because I am in the same boat. :) When I was debating about going really dark with my countertops, what I found very helpful was putting a bunch of black construction paper on my island and leaving it there for a couple of days to see how it would look in different lighting. You could do the same with plain white paper just to get an idea if you would like the look. I also printed out pictures of my kitchen and colored the countertops different colors (my kids kind of looked at me funny when I was doing it :) and it definitely helped narrow down what I liked and did not. I may be in the minority, but I would prefer your perimeter and island counters the same. Since your space is transitional, I definitely think you can do soapstone. I normally love white countertops, however, I think with the white chairs, door, bench, and lighting fixture over the table, the darker countertops provide a nice contrast. I like the backsplash with your floor. If you want to change it, what about something that has a mix of stone and glass? It's from the Tile Shop but I cannot seem to post the picture: http://www.tileshop.com/glasstile/glassstonemix/Multi-Calhoun-with-Glass/1626.aspx I think the above tile would look awesome with soapstone! This one is cool from GlassTileStore.com: http://www.glasstilestore.com/collection/stone-mosaics/glass-stone-tiles/tao-toffee-marble-glass-tiles-taotoffee.html They also show that one above as an accent row between subway tile. I would not do white ceramics as a backsplash. Your space is too warm, and coming from someone that has white ceramic tile, there isn't a lot of dimension to it. Here's one from Home Depot. It has brown instead of green in it. Hope this gives you some more ideas :)

As much as I like the looks of one we find everyone is in the kitchen when we entertain so all booze is just put on the island and I fill one sink with ice for beer . We are pretty casual so as much as I would like to have that look it just would not work . We have a wine fridge and a drink fridge under a counter in the kitchen and glasses I just put on the counter on a big tray . So when I am ready to begin cooking everyone grabs a drink and heads to the LR .