rookie - I'm touched that you remember our storm experience and all! It was really the drawn-out fight to get a fair settlement out of the insurance company that postponed things much longer than I'd hoped. But, here we are, looking at getting back in a home that's OURS just a hair after two years since the tornado. This is the first time I've joined in on a monthly progress post, and I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing everyone's beautiful houses, watching the different styles take shape. This is something I'm going to look forward to for the next "how ever many" months! Oh, and Jolson, I second everyone's else admiration for the bench: we miscalculated and are now doing our master bath without a tub (not exactly heartbroken, as we aren't really tub pple). Something like that bench is perfect for the 5'x9' "wall" that makes up the center of the walk-in shower. * There's an entrance on each end of the rectangular shower, w/a 5' wide expanse between them. It was supposed to be the "header" for the tub to extend from into the center of the bath, but we cut it too close and I can't handle a 5' tub, so voila ... no tub and now a fun area to experiment with! (Tomorrow is picture day, so I'll be well-prepared for September's progress post!) Oh, and rookie? YOUR HOUSE IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! It would look reaaallllyy beautiful on, oh let's say, a pecan farm? ;D

Thanks for the advice, all...I totally agree with pretty much everything that's been said. Boopadaboo - I did read that thread about decorating around a mistake! I just can't decide yet if this is a mistake or not, KWIM? I definitely love the idea of eclectic, but I find there's a really difficult balance between eclectic and just plain *crazy*. And Lyfia - if you have ideas on how I can make this fit into "transitional", I'm all ears. Transitional is the style my DH seems to like most, but at the same time, he's really intent on keeping the hutch, which I think is totally cottage and maybe the wrong direction for us. I can't decide if he REALLY thinks it works (this is probably the case, but I am obviously skeptical and consider myself more qualified to make this decision than him, haha) or if he just doesn't want to "waste" the money we spent, and so he's going to force it just so he can feel okay with the purchase. I'd definitely consider us a casual traditional/Pottery Barn type group. We gravitate toward simple leather sofas, and I am a sucker for a shaker style/uncomplicated white kitchen, if that makes sense? That being said, I love color and am not afraid of it, I just want it to work. I really do LOVE the piece. I'm the type that just knows instantly if I love something; I don't have to do a lot of thinking about whether or not it appeals to me. I just am not sure if it's going to fit in with the rest of my house? Here's just a quick idea of a color palette (maybe not so much the pink, but the turquoise, brown and paprika color). I have this vision in my head of a vase of bright orangey-red tulips on a hutch this color. Again, LOVE the color of the hutch, but not sure the style is working. :(

firsthouse, if you can believe it, we STILL don't have a countertop! (Our contractor has been dragging his feet on the rest of the kitchen as well, but that's a different story for a different day). The countertop delay is all my fault...well, mostly. I HAD settled on Super White and was actually pretty excited about it, but then the stone yard where I had my slabs on hold called to say they made a mistake -- the slabs I wanted were already on hold by someone else! Those slabs were the only Super White slabs in my city. Such a bummer! I really love the white quartzites and wish I could get some! I have looked at photos of your gorgeous kitchen many, many times now. Soooo drool-worthy!

It's looking like some shade of aqua/turquoise will be a winner. Dianalo, the tile on recyclingthepast.com is going to be my new obsession! Amazing stuff. I wonder if it's just coincidence that they have such a large selection of Belgian stuff right now. Belgium is a favorite travel destination of ours, and in fact, the artwork in the kitchen and dining room is mostly Belgian prints. I think we really need to work in some sort of accent with that tile! I'm also in love with those big sinks with attached drainboards -- always on the lookout for one, never get lucky. It would necessitate bigger changes to the cabinets than I was thinking, but it would be so worth it. I will definitely try the hot iron approach to removing the backsplash. mama_goose, it's true - the worst that can happen is that I'm that much more motivated! fori, you are right, the peninsula is innocent! It's a bad relationship between it, the fridge, and the neighboring cabinet. That countertop where the microwave currently lives mostly functions as a clutter-magnet, so I could certainly live without that counter space. It does provide good storage below, though. After doing some measuring, I'm not sure how much recessing the fridge and/or removing that cabinet would do. The pantry wall on the left of the fridge limits how far I could push it back and still get the freezer door open all the way. I'd get 2 inches, at best. Not sure that's worth the work of breaking down the wall there. Forgetting about that base cabinet for the moment, the diagonal measurement from peninsula corner to fridge corner is only 30" and the diagonal from the opposite corner of the peninsula to the laundry closet wall is only 33." Since the fridge can't move much, and the laundry closet is not changing, I think that area would still feel cramped even if we took out that base cabinet entirely. paintergirl94, I am blown away by your drawings! I hope my kitchen looks so good in the end! I am really liking the microwave shelf idea -- had never even heard of that before I started reading this forum. Your plywood counter is so cool, I never would have thought of something like that. DH actually came across a local cabinetmaker the other day, so that and you all are spurring me on to consult with some independent guys here and see what they can offer. I'm getting optimistic that we can get some combination of new and old to blend well here.