I got a few fabric samples in the mail yesterday, and one of them has almost all the colors that are in the lighting, plus a nice shade of green that I think would work as a complementary accent wall. What do you all think?

Hello, thank you for all the positive feedback. Can't wait to show my kitchen to my friend in the 'burbs--her pantry is as big as my entire kitchen. Paint color on cabinets is SW Alabaster. Hubby thought it was too yellow at 1st but we're both pleased now. Perimeter countertops are Imperial Danby marble, which I obsessed over, but I honestly think could have gone with something different (and saved some $$). We used it for powder room sink vanity as well as kitchen sink window sill, and it looks nice there. Range hood is 36 in. Best hood. Architect spec'd 36 in hood for 30 in. Wolf cooktop, which was a good call. He also did a good job with lighting design.

I'm so pleased to have this feedback. Hi again, Rosie - such encouraging comments, and I really appreciate your remembering & being sensitive to our goals w/ respect to views. Actually, if I removed or narrowed that "spice pullout" to the right of the cooktop, we could shorten the island back from the traffic line - I'll definitely try that. And while the prep area no longer faces squarely through the living rm to the water, I think that it would be more-than-OK, given the glass expanse in doors to deck & your notion of the repeated happy encounters w/ the view as one moves w/in the work space. I did have a question for you from previous thread: you had mentioned a scary "close call" w/ a basement stairway - may I ask which side of the basement doorway (as one is standing in front of the door) would be best for the hinges to be on, in your experience/opinion? Thanks in advance for that and for all the times you've responded - you've been so helpful & supportive. And hello again to you, bmorepanic! Good questions about the microwave - it's been a pesky issue. Yes, I do frequently use our MW (22 yrs old & counting - guess we'll never bet on that lifespan again, from what I hear) to steam veggies, as well as to serve my coffee-reheating habit. One of the few efficient things about the layout of our existing kitchen is that the MW is on the counter right behind my chair at the table - I can reach back w/ my coffee mug, nuke, & retrieve w/out even standing up! Not that a little more excercise would be a bad thing - I will indeed consider your suggestion & would love to hear any others you have. JeannieMer, hello & again I'm SO thankful to you and others who take the time to read, consider, & then actually propose layout changes. In many homes, having the cleanup sink & DW where you've placed them would make lots of sense; our planning is self-complicated by the fact that we're trying to move the cleanup area away from that wall! Given that, I'd be grateful to see what else your obviously-logical approach to things could come up with - please post more ideas!

Thank you all for your wonderful words :) You make my heart sing, really :) The window is normal I think, no mirror in it. However, we do have treated glass so maybe that has an impact? Romanian traditional cooking will have to wait until Christmas. I'm not that much into traditional food so I only cook it once in a while. I managed to take a few more pics today. Sorry for the mess, our drawer organizers came today and I just had them installed and didn't throw the boxes yet. The light are recessed into a darker colored area, I've uploaded a detail pic. Handles too :) Uppers do indeed open upward, they are Aventos HF from Blum. Drawers are Legrabox, also from Blum. I took a few pictures with the drawers (and my good China, lol) and with the Ambia line cutlery organizers. They look very pretty but are insanely expensive here, so I only got the bare minimum. I also installed Servo Drive Uno for the garbage so that I could open it with a light leg press. I just love it! Lastly, posted a pic with the glass door. Left it dirty on purpose. One night it was clean and closed and I just banged into it :: We decided to apply a sticker on it, but until then, it stays dirty so that I can see it :) I don't think it's all that common here. But having grown up in a house with an open kitchen, I wanted to somehow be able to close the space when I cool, but still keep it semi-open the rest of the time. This seemed to fit the bill.