Actually, "almost seems" is the important part of what Shanghaimom said. The vast majority do not do their islands in a contrasting finish. They're just more noticeable and more likely to read this thread. It has been trendy recently, and that's probably where the seems like comes from, but by far the majority do matching. I agree that contrasting is as normal as anything else, though. What I'm hearing from you, Gsmama, is that it's not so much that you want a contrasting island, but that you're unsure of having too much white. Regarding the bench, if you intend to put cushions on it, I'd reconsider making it wood. I think it would have more continuity if it was all one tone, with a vibrant cushion to set it off. If the bench area is open to another room, however, I do see the point of doing the wood to ease the transition, and delineate it as separate from the kitchen proper. Before I saw your elevations I thought matching the island to a contrasting bench might be a mistake. As it is, I think it would look fine any of the four possible ways: all white, all white with wood bench, white perimeter with wood island and wood bench, or white perimeter and bench with wood island. Any of these would really look fine!! What do YOU like best? Not which do you think will do this or that to match whatever, but which makes you happiest? Because, really any of them would be nice. (Or you can just wimp out and say wood, because it's a lot easier to refinish wood with paint than vice versa.)

Over the last couple of yrs. I've had to buy rulers for classes: the 8 x 24, then 12.5 square, then 3.5 square then 4.5 square (I'm not doing angles yet). Despite all that, I revert back to the same rulers I used as a teenager (I'm 51): 2 x 18, clear lucite, marked in 1/8" (comes marked or red or turquoise). My latest pair of the last few yrs. once I started rotary cutting, I got one w/ a metal edge. I'm just sooooo used to the 1/8 mark & the almost automatic 1/4 that's so easily marked w/ these. Just last night I opened my first pack of sandpaper dots (had for couple of yrs.) after a small slip cutting around the 4.5" square. Turns out they're great! They're 3/8" in diameter w/ some adhesive backing, makes a BIG difference. From the LQS, comes 36 in a pack, called Fabric Grips (for $2.40). Try 'em! But now that you all have reminded me I own a 6 X 24, that's what I've needed for the last 3 wks doing homework for a color class, working all in 4.5" squares. Have to make 4 separate quilts, each 6 x 8 repeats finished at 4" square. I;ve cut individually around the square, yikes! Yes, NOW I remember the larger rule. Can you hear me smacking myself in head (you know, like the V-8 commercial)?

We've had 4 contractors...no GC. 1 plumber to move the gas line, but they didn't seem to care about building codes when they drilled though the ceiling joists and didn't listen very well when I told them where to put the gas for the range. The actual gas supply is where it needs to be but the shut off valve is *barely* not behind the adjacent cabinet. We did our own water supply. 2 drywall contractors, the first of which was recommended by neighbors and were HORRIBLE, the second were reasonably good where it counts but still haven't come back out to sand in corners near the floor so we can have straight baseboards. Good thing we're nowhere near ready for baseboards. And to be fair to them, we did have a hurricane get in the way of everything. The 4th is a very expensive electrician, who my dad has known for 20 years and does all his electric. They've been pretty good too but a lot of junction boxes are still set back to far for proper seating of covers, and we haven't even tiled the backsplash yet, which will make it even worse. Long story short, there are many out there who won't do the job you would do in your own home if you were able to. So now my regrets...we're not finished, so they haven't all come to light yet...I only have 1. I wish we had better quality cabinets. They're not terrible. They were already assembled RTA we bought off Craigslist and they saved us about $6000. The thing is, if we gotten the ones we were planning to buy (Shenandoah from Lowes) we would probably have run out of money by now. So there's that.

Florist's cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum and hybrids) are not winter hardy below z9, however I have used them in outdoor seasonal planters and provided they stay out of the rain and don't get too cold, they will last for weeks and even tolerate the occasional light frost. They are larger than the hardy types, very showy and with a much wider range of colors. Hardy cyclamen - and the usual ones are H. coum or hederifolium - should be winter hardy to at least z5, maybe lower. Hederifolium blooms in late summer to fall and coum could conceivably be in bloom in December, but is generally a late winter/early spring bloomer so maybe unreliable for Christmas color. And deer have never bothered mine.