We got the Pottery Barn Espresso extra-large recessed cabinets in our master bath remodel. I absolutely love them. We are getting more when we redo the other bathrooms. They were under $300 each, are really decent quality, and I love having my marble countertop completely clutter free. Feels like a luxury hotel bathroom every single morning I drag myself in there to get ready for work. We also have many pull-out drawers in the vanities so it wasn't just for storage. I wanted the look of a framed mirror which is what I got. Getting extra storage along with it seemed like a no-brainer. If they were surface mount I might feel differently, but when you are going down to the studs anyway there is no reason not to put these in. Just my very-biased opinion of course.:) Here is a link that might be useful: Link to pictures of PB medicine cabs

thanks for the thoughts and suggestions. oaktown and writersblock, I love the idea of a projector! I hadn't even though about that. We're calling an AV person to see if they can help us with that. louisana, you're correct, the wall between the open kitchen/family/dining does not fully separate the living room, so there will be sound transfer. Actually, one of the bedrooms does not have a wall going to the ceiling so there is a lot of noise carrying around the space. Here's how the space is laid out (pre-remodel): ineffable, I'm a TV listener too. We have Sonos speakers we've installed in the house and I could be perfectly happy just listening to Pandora and watching Downton Abbey and SNL on my iPad, but my husband would be so lost without a TV of his own. tom_nwnj, thanks for the recs -- I will check them out. Good luck with the remodel! robotropolis, thanks! I like the idea of putting all the comfy seating in the formal living room and just making the den/space next to the kitchen just a "lounge" area -- for drinking wine, playing games, etc. I think it would significantly enhance our use of the house as we don't currently use the living room. That room is bathed in light most of the day and has the best views of any room in the house -- it seems like a waste not to utilize it. linelle, we were just visiting friends recently and they had a TV (LARGE ones!) in every room, including several of the bathrooms. The owners both work in the entertainment industry, but it was slightly overkill. karenseb, thanks for the nice words. In our upcoming kitchen renovation, we plan on replacing the double ovens with a pantry as we have no pantry and limited food storage space. A tv at the end of the bar is still definitely an option if we can recess it -- we're going to have an AV person come out to measure. If all else fails a TV in the master bedroom is an option, but I'm not generally a fan of TVs in bedrooms.

Tea4all- the pantry was reclaimed from the bathroom exactly - essentially the shower stall. It's 45" wide by 36" deep. There are narrow shelves on the side that I love because small items are only one item deep - these shelves are 4" deep- sized perfectly for a jar of pickles. :). The heights of these small shelves are about 8" each. In the back main part, shelf height varies: 12", 16", 18", etc, which I did on purpose. Depth also varies: 18"', 24". Two baskets that pull out for potatoes and onions are also in there. Also installed a plug for the DustBuster and a light that turns on automatically when the door is opened. I also love my drawers of batteries that are not only brought in from the garage but finally organized! Kakasmama- A few layout changes: the kitchen was always a galley, but the old kitchen ended just where out oven/micro/command center now start. We moved 3ft into the family room and love it. So we basically just lengthened the kitchen which gave us a LOT more space. We also took out the shower in the BR to make the walk-in pantry. In the mudroom which is off the garage, we took out the extra freezer, moved it into the garage and added a coat closet in its place. (The other coat closet is at the front door, but who goes in their own front door?) We took out a coat tree which was a mess and added the cubbies, and added our giant shoe rack. Andreak100 and icekream- the toe kick drawers are awesome "free" space. They open by kicking/pushing them rather than handles (KD's idea). I should've specified that they be "extra deep" like the drawers and cabs that they are under, but didn't think of it. Our cabs are by New River but I think anyone can do it. Funny because our 1st KD didn't want to do it- said it would attract vermin! Lynn2006- our ceilings are 9ft high. The upper cabinets are 42" high and 14-15" deep. I ordered 15" deep but now when I measure the inside, I note it's only 14" deep. Counters were supposed to be 27" instead of the usual 24" but GC had to build up the wall area behind the cabs for some reason and it ended up making the counters 28.5" deep on the main "cooking/prep" side, and 29.5" deep on the other side! I love the extra depth! I was worried that my shortness would make it difficult, but it hasn't and I was also worried that it would narrow our galley (which was frankly pretty wide anyway) but it hasn't. Thanks!

“Do you have any exposed brick?” All of the brick is covered in plaster, but I would seriously consider exposing a brick wall. “Are your stair treads and risers wood?” No; carpet. But a future project will almost certainly be removing the dark laminate floors and replacing them with a lighter hardwood. When that happens, I suspect we’ll also remove the carpet from the stairs and install hardwood rises and treads. “Do you like the mood of your current dining room? It reads dark, without much ambient lighting.” Yes and no. I like the colors in the dining room – green paint, some original red-brown wood on the door and stair rail, white trim, and black cabinet (painted white inside). We have similar colors in the living room – the same green paint, white trim, reclaimed wood shelves supported by cast iron brackets, and a new (modern-ish) stained glass transom window over the door. There is a casual slipcover couch, that is white. The former fireplace, that is now a built-in bookcase, is also white. Red-brown piano. What we don’t like: the dining room is still a little dark, although new track lighting and brigher lights in center of the room have helped a lot. In some places the space in and between the rooms flows oddly. So I guess my overall inclination is to try to embrace some of the things that seem warm or quirky about the house - but open up the space, improve lighting, etc. “Have you decided what you are doing with the opening to the DR?” The plan right now is employ Rebunky’s idea. To cut away some of the left hand entry – the deep side – and infill the right wall only as deep and high as is necessary to cover the sides of the new cabinets. That keeps the space open for light to pass through, and it prevents any new visual barriers from hampering conversations between people in the kitchen and dining area. We have also tentatively decided on the skylight, and additional lights in the kitchen. There is a single overhead light in the kitchen now, so while the ceiling is out we’ll put in a series of new lights. “If you go with timeless neutrals you'll be able to decorate with color rather than rip out a backsplash when your taste changes.” This is very good point. And it sounds like everyone agrees that in trying to match the warmth and colors of the current house, we're getting too dark. I'm going to step back from the backsplash idea and try to think about what might keep the look a little more light or open. My original idea - gray and white - would certainly have been airier. We could, of course, still chose this. Then again, my husband likes the red-brown cabinets, and they do fit the setting. So maybe what I should think about is how to complement and balance the choice, rather than trying to layer on elements that dark or rich.