Neice gave me access to her account so I could "see" her photos and listen to her "great" music. I don't think she realizes I'm smart enough to navigate the entire site. I don't want to burst her bubble and let her know the music isn't really all that great, either. LOL I had to set up a dummy account of my own. I have a fake non-name user name; no personal info other than "married," "age" (was a default setting) and "USA", and have it set so no one except Niece can look at it. Nephew doesn't know I accessed his page. I used his email address, and BOOM!; there he was in all his pierced and tattooed glory. (Their tats don't bother me as much as the lip piercings; and neither bother me as much as the contents and comments.) The page was set to "public" so I could see it. For now, I'm just going to steer clear of the pages and continue to write, call, email, through the regular channels and try to encourage them to do the best they can. I never had children; but here I am, experiencing all the worry, anxiety, fear, anger, and hope "real" mothers are subjected to. Niece is, and has always been, my special girl and spent every summer with me from birth until she was 14. Her 15th summer was spent at home, and she got pregnant. Nephew lived with me two different times for a total of 4-5 years. I wish I could smack their bottoms, send them to their rooms, and ground them until they are 45. I have two other young nieces, three young nephews, and five great nieces/nephews. I better wear out the old knees praying there's hope for these young ones.

Yes, I got to 42" by adding the 24" and 18" cabinet widths of cabinets 8 and 10. And yes, there will be a panel on the "dining room" sides of cabinets 7 and 9, the living room side of cabinet 10, and kitchen side of cabinet 8. I didn't think about the 1" overhang on the working sides of the island, thanks! I've seen the recommended minimum overhang for counter height seating is 15", and we "field tested" some of the kitchen displays at IKEA. None of them were 15" (two were between 11" and 13") and they didn't feel narrow or awkward even for my DH who is 6'1". I was hoping to save an 1"-1.5" there if possible. This home was built in 1952, and we learned after our first winter in the house last year that the exterior walls are not insulated... We've been told by one contractor that he can install a header and remove the studs, so we're planning on recessing about 3".

Again with celery's post about orange/caramel colors -- this is nice because it's one color, and not that mix of colors. Can't see in person, but might blend with living rug. Has soft pattern.... ?

I think it achieves what you're going for - definitely gives you a place to eat, and it likely doubles your working space when baking. I think it's a keeper. If you are wanting to dine there, then get a couple of comfortable counter-height chairs. Just stick with streamlined designs, so that you'll be able to push them all the way in when not in use. Side note: the direction that the fridge opens would drive me bananas. Most fridge doors can be either left or right opening, if there is not a barrier that I can't see in the pictures, then I'd switch the handles to the other side. That will make baking much more pleasant.