In my house, when someone cuts themself, we rummage around in the junk drawer, through the piles of decaying rubber bands, leaking batteries, Medusa's nest of cables to iThis and iThat, decorative bottle openers tarnished with the blood of prior guests (they never visit twice), Lego bits, moldy cookies, and small stones. Eventually we unearth a darkly grubby, crumpled-up spongy thing with a faded purple dinosaur on it. Pick the crumbling backing from the gooey adhesive. Advance on the terrified guest who is cowering in the corner, clutching her dripping pinkie. Apply the formerly-known-as-bandaid, like a medieval leech, and mutter "I said it was sharp". We don't get many complaints, but these process servers have been hanging about lately.

If Im correct, I think Doraville is saying she likes the stone but is suggesting that I dont choose a dark stone because of the dark backsplash. I agree, I want a light stone.....I am going to intersperse it with a glass subway tile... I went to the tile store today and am looking at a light-tan honed travertine 3X6 with a 3x6 glass subway to intersperse but probably not a sage color. Im thinking maybe a khaki color which is what my walls are....Do you think that's too blah? My kitchen opens up to my family room which has "tomato" accents....Maybe a "tomato" tile?? so confused!!!

We had a wall of recessed cabinets custom-built by a cabinetmaker - I did not want the "tower" in the middle because I don't like how it takes up all the counter space. This is basically just a 5 or 6" deep cabinet that spans the entire wall. The contractor then made the rest of the wall (behind the backsplash and sinks) even with the cabinet so it seems like the cabinet is recessed into the wall even though it is really sitting on top of the original wall. I love it - we have so much space (and we have a ton of bathroom crap so I never thought I'd have extra room!) I will say that if I hadn't done this, I would probably have gone for tall recessed cabinets in the side walls and mirrors in front of the sinks -- kind of like the 2nd pic you posted. Victoria Elizabeth Barnes made one for her bathroom - you can get to it from this link: http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/before-and-after-diy-bathroom-remodel-bright-and-light-subway-tile-marble-lookalike-custom-medicine-cabinet/ Arcy -- LOVE that cabinet! I think that is a great idea - can't wait to see it done!

katie- I am mostly responding to the concerns in your other thread here. First of all, I certainly emphasize with the strain of not being able to figure out how to make the layout work, or how to hire the people you need when budget is a concern. We have been *thinking of* doing our kitchen for seven years while we try to figure it out! In terms of your stress level, I would encourage you to think about whether it is the actual kitchen condition that is causing you stress, or it is the project that is causing you stress...in which case it might be best to sit back and try to make your kitchen workable so that you have a little breathing room. Trying to just get it done may end up costing more to get less of what you want. I assume you are waiting to replace your microwave because you want to buy a new one with the built in look...but we were able to pick up a used microwave for $25 on craigslist (which we have now used for 6 years...it is good we picked it up). A garbage disposal replacement is usual a DIY install...and the new disposal should be able to be installed in your new kitchen...my hubby (who is a chemistry professor but likes DIY) also has installed dishwashers if you know that appliances you want. That does not solve the open sofits and cealing, but it does make the kitchen more functional. I think pictures would help me visualize the spaces more, but I am going to be the odd man out and say that I think trying to recess your fridge into the dining room is going to eat up a lot of your budget, and I am not completely sure what you are going to gain. I think your concern is that your fridge is sticking too far into the highly trafficked space. Do you have any built in pieces that make the "living room" the living room, the dining room the dining room and the family room the family room? I think I would try to turn the dining room in the "living room" (or the family room kids hangout space with the door that closes!). Then you could put in a large island with sink running the long direction of the house (or leave your sink) , put your fridge between the french door and the low window with a pantry (or counterspace next to it) and leave the stove where it is. You could then put your dining table in the living room (but have bar seating on the island) and even set up a small seating area in your new dining room...our house is probably a very different style than yours, but our little couch at the end of our dining room is quite popular! (It's in an alcove, but you see our chandelier and built in china closet...it is very much part of the dining room...you might even be able to put in a built in bench under your low window). I have certainly found the staring over phenomenon quite difficult...especially because everyone does things differently. Our first quote came back "no structural engineer required," the second contractor wanted us to hire a structural engineer before he wrote the quote (although he did say he would most likely correctly guess what needed to be done), the architect we talked to would bring a structural engineer and start boring in the walls. The third contractor said he would open up the walls, and then have the engineer come make drawings if we wanted...he said that we could go either way but the permitting would be much easier with a stamped engineers drawing. Each contractor uses a different cabinet sales person that sells a different line of cabinets! Have you tried home depot or cliqstudios or something similar? I went to home depot and met with the designer...they gave me a ballpark figure but said I would have to pay $100 for a measure to get an actual design/quote, but the kitchen designer I met with was very helpful and gave me some good ideas. The $100 would be applied to the install...we need a gut to update knob and tube wire etc so we are not doing home depot install. I talked to cliqstudioes today and I am curious with what they come up with. I have also found it really helpful to look at real estate photos of similar houses to mine to see how they updated the kitchen...they are more consistent with the style, budget and layout constraints of my project than the Houzz photos are.