IMO, you only take color to the ceiling and all over trim when you are sure - very sure - about the color. You are painting now because you have to. Many people have to paint before a space is complete or they move in and that is out of the technically ideal order. Ideally, you "paint last". That's in a perfect world and interior designers in particular like to do it that way - but they also usually get to do a room top to bottom in one fell swoop. That's not the way most people get to do it or live. The architect's point of view is typical as well. For him it's about the space, the lines, the materials, light, cohesiveness. Variations on one wall color suits that point of view - and typically architects do not choose *colors*, it's most often very neutral, pale, almost non-colors. The color consultant told you atrium white everywhere because you're painting before the space is finished. You aren't in a position to see everything in place and then choose color. Atrium White is the 'safest' most flexible choice to see you thru. The full spectrum specs make sense as well. You have to paint now or you have to see if you can postpone it somehow. If you go with now, I would go with the most flexible choices and the easiest to paint over, to change in the future. Reconcile with the fact that as you settle in and add more decor, you may want to add more color to walls, ceilings, trim. Sometimes you can only *see* so far...

A year or two ago, these kinda techniques just DIED at our store. Nobody inquires about sponging/ragging anymore... Trends now seem to be heading towards skimmed-on plasters...some with multiple hues in them. Also, the Modern Masters Rusting and/or Patina-ed solutions on top of their tinted Shimmerstone bases look awesome! A couple of Realtors I know mention their clients often "shudder" at most spongeing jobs now... (NOT tryin' to burst your bubble, but up here anyway...spongeing is "dead") Faron

Its great to hear that the project is moving forward! Just a few thoughts.......... I think putting the retail shelf by the workstation crowds things too much and does not give the client time to browse. Put the display in the seating area. I would not put a shelf up by the seating area to display retail items. They might get pilfered by clients who think they are "samples". Plus they could get knocked over all the time with clients bumping the shelves. They would get dusty on a shelf too. You want the products to looks fresh. I would put them in a small curio cabinet. One that is wide and not too deep, and has lots of glass, preferably on three sides, with minimal framing so as not to block the view of products. You can pick them up for a song on CL. Paint it black or a color to go with your wall color. Get it in a moderate size so as not to crowd the space with the two chairs. Angle chairs. I would use floating shelves by the work station. The brackets crowd the area. The chandy you chose looks great but maybe a bit heavy for the space being wrought iron or what ever metal it is. Maybe add a few more crystals? You can buy them at craft stores. If you Google 'mini chandelier' or 'kids room chandelier' you can see inexpensive ones that are lightweight in feel and a bit more sparkley. Maybe there is something else out there? Target? I would not do a mirror on the wall behind the workstation next to the bathroom door. Having two mirrors reflect into each other would give it that 'Cream of Wheat' effect. It would be too cluttery and give a tunnel look to the area. I know that mirrors are important to a salon but I have never seen a salon where this is done with mirrors. I would not use wicker baskets. Too Country. Metal would be noisy and plastic looks cheap. How about faux leather baskets? They come in many colors. Or ones covered in fabric that they sell? I've picked them up real cheap for my use at both Ikea and Homegoods. You can use them with or without the lids. Picture it without the newspaper. It comes in white, pink, other colors: I know I had said upholstery is probably out due to hair and dust and you agreed but what about slipcovered chairs? Upholstered chairs would be more comfortable and wouldn't be noisy like metal ones. You can get those dining room parsons chairs for a song on CL and a slipcover for $14.99. They even have 'shortie' ones that show some of the chair leg. You could change them out with the seasons and they can be washed anytime for freshening. Here is a link that might be useful: Slipcovers for Chairs

LOL about the cat peeing, schoolhouse. I forgot to warn you that this blog was wired for sound. Oops! That caught me off guard, too. : ) Good question on what they use to reach the uppers, suska. My decorative dishes are stored away in boxes at the tops of tall bookshelves while we reno, and it is no picnic trying to get those heavy, awkward things down to move them. LOL, robotropolis. Glad you enjoyed it! : ) "I don't think I'd have as many things sitting about on counters and such but maybe the space wouldn't look quite as nice without them? That is, there would be too much empty space? " Good question, schoolhouse. I wondered that myself. It's nice to see a kitchen that truly looks like it reflects the owner. I think the height does help give it enough "breathing room" so that the amount of goodies doesn't feel overpowering. Ha, Texasgem. I like the *look* of the height of the room, but for our family, I think it would operate like an echo chamber, which would make me batty. I like the colors and finishes, too. I found it inspiring since I'm trying to work with cabinets of a very similar color, and I'm still trying to figure out my paint colors. I wish I knew which directions her windows face, because it looks like it gets a lot more sun than our kitchen ever will.