There used to be a professional chef posting on this forum who strongly advised people not to get a French top for home use. He said in restaurants it came in handy for keeping multiple sauces warm but that for home use you'd be better off with more burners.

LOL! I don't know, I just found these pictures that day, looking for something else. I'm glad you like them, though :) Sorry for the confusion...I was thinking about two different house plan layouts, not just kitchen layouts. One had the formal dining room, with kitchen in back (with small eating table/banquette) and that one had a bigger island and nice view...but no room for the wood stove or seating area. This plan just seems more 'us' out on the farm, since we don't really need a formal dining area (as nice as one is, in theory) and I just really liked that little seating area, with the wood stove. Since we now have the dining and seating areas, I feel like my back is only facing one area at a time, but I can still turn my head and talk to the other area. Plus, when I'm baking (my favorite thing to do in the kitchen) the island is going to be perfect! This plan also reflects the house, as it is now, much more than my other idea. The corner windows in the seating area are already there and the dining area is currently, the old porch. The living room fireplace is beautiful brick, but off center (5' on one side, 3' on the other) and I think the corner seating area in the kitchen, kind of mimics that 'informal' style. My other favorite thing...the dining table can be huge, when we do have people over. That room is 16' long and a table with a couple of leaves would work. I should be able to seat 8-10 people, no problem. I've always wanted to be able to do that, whether it's for the holidays or just people stopping by and having a snack, in the summer. How is your planning going? You have such a great, open layout...it's going to look amazing, when you're all done. What side does the back face? Was it west? Anyway, just wondered if you're adding any arbors or anything for shade or to grow plants on...I just love flowers blooming, outside the windows. We have deer (who love to nibble on my roses) so I've been okay with shrubs that I can hide behind lavender and other herbs, but not much space for climbing roses. I'm hoping we can fence in a little courtyard area, off the dining room and greenhouse...and actually have climbing pink roses, around the dining room window (behind the banquette). There's a beautiful one (John Davis?) that is hardy to zone 3...and that should work, even with our cold winters! That would be so cottage-y and maybe some wisteria on the big pergola, with the swing. Right now, I use a lot of clematis, which is also pretty, but the deer do not eat it! LOL Sorry to digress into gardening, but I've been planning gardens (for next spring) the last few days. We had someone hit our house with their car last Saturday night (scary) and completely take out our front porch and part of our living room bay window. He also hit both our vehicles (hit one into the other) and of course, he's uninsured. We currently live in a manufactured home, next to the farmhouse, we plan to remodel...and for once, I'm SO glad that it is a manufactured home, because a stick built home would have had much more damage. Not only is the main part of the house up a big higher (about 3' off the ground) but it can take a good shake, without walls cracking (they do travel down the higway to get to the building site). Luckily, we have great insurance, so it should be okay...but all this mess has a little silver lining...a new porch means I can move the stairs over a few feet and make room for another bed against the front of the house. The south side would be perfect for growing tomatoes (which do terribly here) and that would be wonderful!

Whelp I got the project mostly done. I need better latches on the upper cabinet doors as the cat Abby has decided I put that there for her to open doors and climb up into. GGGGRRRRRR Both pieces were on wheels !!!! All furniture should be on wheels. LOL The old stuff has come from all over. I remember the hooser came from a liquor store in Challis. Just some thing they were selling on the side.Most of my stuff really is just junk. Yard sale stuff thrift store. I still need to fine tune things in studio and kitchen but already Hoosier is great where it is and the ability to easily get to the appliances is a big help. Not that getting them from a shelf below cabinet is all that hard. For me now it is. sigh. Good news is my hands are getting better. This has been pretty miserable. I am going to jazz up the hoosier a little bit. I am not at all concerned to devalue it as it is not a good one. Crappy wood not pretty oak. Painted and all. Then I will get a picture. Adding fru fru to the top is out of the question Again Abby has her own opinion on what belongs up there and has cleared it twice already of what she does not like. This dang cat is more like an Orangutan than a sweet little kitty.

So glad you all enjoyed this thread! RHome, we have a space above the island facing the cooktop....I was thinking about doing some word art there (a phrase or saying), but photos could be fun! Kate, happy anniversary! I *love* the scene you've described and agree with Caroline that this is a great movie to see with your DH/DW. I went with a girlfriend becaue DH was out of town but I am definitely going again with him! BTW, I haven't read Julie and Julia either but I can strongly recommend My Life in France. Judy, ah yes, the butter. I couldn't believe how much we used too, for the entire meal. The chicken alone is sauteed in one stick of butter, and when you make the sauce from the drippings (which of course has rich and lovely egg yolks), Julia suggests you add two to three tablepsoons of additional butter to the sauce! LOVE the fact that Julia and Paul both lived to a ripe old age. I also love some of her thoughts on food: "Eat well and drink well," says Julia Child, "everything in moderation -- and never snack." And this on butter: "If you're afraid of butter, as many people are nowadays," she said in one of her more recent television shows, "Just put in cream!" she proclaimed, with a twinkle in her eye. Apprently she believd that the secret to a long and happy lfe, along with the moderation, was red meat and gin. My kind of gal! :-) Regardless of what and how you eat, it really does make you realise that the act of sharing good food is really one of life's great pleasures. As she said..."Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal." Bon appetit to that! Eliz