We spent an eon agonizing over how to incorporate a computer into the kitchen -- the computer is where we get all of our recipes, all of our music, as well as all of our news/movies/info/entertainment. We came _this close_ to buying an i-mac and putting it on an articulating arm mounted to the side of the pantry (which is next to the prep area). Our thinking was that it could face someone seated at the island for t.v. or could be used for recipe sites in the prep area, while also being able to play music or podcasts over the in-ceiling speakers. In the end after visiting the Apple store and talking at length with an APple guy (who happens to be a lawyer by day and about to embark on his own kitchen renovation), with his help we went an altogether different route, although the new i-macs are beautiful, we realized that we'd rather search for recipies (and music, and everything else) on our individual laptops while seated in the living room and then carry the laptop into the kitchen as opposed to doing this while sitting or standing in the kitchen. By our way of thinking, the hours that the kitchen computer would get used would not be enough to justify buying a new computer for the job, and most of what we wanted it to do could be better done on a laptop (and I'd argue even better done on a brand spankin' new i-book, but so far no dice). Thus this is the route we chose instead: 1 - speakers installed in the kitchen ceiling (and living room ceiling too)and wired to the back of the pantry, we had our electrician put an outlet inside it 2 - a shelf installed in the pantry that holds the following: 2- powered amps (0ne for each set of speakers), and an Airport Express that my laptop (or any computer in the household) that allows me to opt to play through the in-ceiling speakers (I-tunes, or Pandora mostly, but could play anything the computer can get to). 3 - a slate lazy susan (ordered from Amazon) to hold a laptop on the island while cooking, the thought here is that it keeps it up out of spills, and also turns as the cook changes positions while cooking. 4 - as for the t.v., there are lots of small, high-res lcd t.v.'s at Sam's Club/Costco that would do the job and fit nicely in a small space for less than $300, it didn't seem to make sense to buy a dedicated computer to primarily be a t.v. (at 3x the cost of the t.v.). We don't actually watch t.v.(just Netflix, I-tunes t.v. shows and Hulu) so it hasn't been an issue, but if we did, say want t.v. going while in the kitchen, II think I'd buy an inexpensive one rather than buying another/dedicated computer to be a t.v. (though that could be done as well). 5 I'd till like to add a wireless keyboard and mouse tothe laptop because they're under $100, cute as a button and would allow me to not worry about having messy hands on the keyboard while cooking. Although the island is still under construction, the speakers, amps and airport extreme are up and running, and we're...

My room only has 2 walls! Do I get EXTRA bonus points? This is obviously the "before" picture - this is how the previous owners of my old house had it when they put it on the market, and I never got any "after" pictures after we moved in and painted and redecorated. But I wanted you to see the layout of our room, and describe where we had the TV. In the foreground, you can see the half-wall between this room and the breakfast room. Obviously, they had the TV on that wall. The fireplace is just outside the bottom-left corner of the photo, angled in the corner of the room. The kitchen is to the right and very open to the living room. We practically only had one wall, the wall where you see the loveseat. But we didn't want the TV there because of glare coming through the windows. We had it in the corner where the blue chair is. We just had it on a low TV stand. The couches were actually angled in the room - one parallel to the TV, so you were watching it straight on, and one at 90 degrees to the first couch. This setup worked because I like the idea of not having a huge entertainment center. It also worked because you could see the TV very well from the kitchen.

christamarie, any room you design, you need to work from outside in at the same time you design inside out. The extension you put on your house has to go with the existing look of the house. Right now, I envision an ugly nose stuck in the middle of your current house without other information to go with. The window over the sink is not even centered on the extension as is. The roofline of the extension has to tie in nicely with the extension. This can be quite expensive depending on what you do. If the rooflines are not tied in well, you can conceivably create leak points. If the additions are not done well structurally, they tend to sag and fall apart from the existing house over next several years. You can see this when you look at old houses that had 'suboptimal' additions put on them. First, the esthetics of the extension from the ouside has to look harmonious and well designed with the existing house. This is what makes you look at the house and say 'that house looks ugly' or 'that house looks nice'. People will have a gut response to the exterior of the house immediately. A well-done extension will improve the look of the house. If not well done, it looks like an ugly sore. You also have an opportunity to improve the way the house relates to the natural light coming into the house. I see tiny little windows added to the extension. This is a wasted opportunity IMHO. Ourside corner windows can be used beautifully to add wonderful architectural interest to the house. In your case, you have put a pantry there. Try to get some 3D software and try to envision the exterior of the house first. There will be many iterations as you work the exterior as well as the interior at the same time. This type of design is NOT EASY...

Sounds like the copper pull out will break up all the black and give a little bling / zest / interest. Keep it. Metals throughout the house (or even in one room) do not have to match.