mom2-3boys - I have New Venetian gold and also had the same problem finding something without the pink. I had wanted tumbled stone, but they are all pinkish and when you added the protective coating, they got even pinker! I finally found something for the backsplash but never got around to having it installed. lol It's called Ambra Ecru by Magica Here is a link that might be useful: Ambra Ecru

suzatwork: i have to say your floors have very much the same grain and variation in tone as my highly-coveted black walnut. they're stunning! i'm wondering how they take stain, since i'd like darker floors? my plan is to go with the walnut but i'll have to get some samples and check the amendoim out. i'll have to look it up, but also assuming this species would be harder than walnut... hmmm... GREAT! more for me to think about! thanks for posting your gorgeous floors.

Buehl-- we're hoping that the spare bedroom upstairs will end up becoming the new playroom, and some stuff will be in their rooms. We'll end up with a small toy chest in the living room and the rest upstairs. So the whole "new space" thats created when we take down the wall will just be kitchen and dining room. After seeing Raenjapan's kitchen I may be swayed back to keeping the kithen to the left side and moving the bench for the banquette along the 94" wall and putting a penninsula between the other two windows. Lyvia-- the two 24" bases you see in the current kitchen are actually an island with a strange overhang. I wouldn't be able to put a fridge there. (I know the drawing is a little confusing, it was drawn mostly to show the layout of the first floor.) I also think I won't really have room for two separate seating areas in the kitchen, even if one is really small. Once I start drawing things in, and factoring in wide enough walkways it gets crowded fast. nini & florantha-- seems like G-shaped kitchens are more popular than I thought!!! That is what I origianlly was thinking for the kitchen (towards the left of the empty floorplan above). I love hearing that you have this same thing and it works for you. Also, we currently have Austrailan Cypress flooring in about 75% of the downstairs and plan to push it right through the new kitchena nd dining space as well. Its really beautiful (here is the internet pic.) LRy-- I think the pendants are from Ikea. if not, they are almost identical. If you go to their website ikea-usa.com I think under other departments they list lighting, and its 3 or 4 pages in. $29.99!! I saw them last weekend in person and fell in love. They are really sharp looking. Mnerg-- there are LOTS of possibilities with this blank space. TOO many! LOL! I am having a terrible time making up my mind. I keep worrying I won't ever get it right! I have also considered a small movable table for the center of the kitchen. I guess if I end up with a large center space I can always buy something like that to hang out in the middle when I need it to. Thanks everyone for all the help!!

I have an induction cooktop in a one-level island. We have 2 small kids, aged 4 and 2, who sit on the other side of the island to eat their dinner. I can cook/prepare and face them and a large window behind them. We love this set-up and do not think it is unsafe. The induction cooktop means that the cooktop does not get hot enough to burn, and it is out of reach of the kids (unless they climb onto the counter and crawl over to it, of course). They are close enough, though, to see what I am doing, and they can "chop" something to add (blunt knife!). I can give them a prep bowl to mix in, and they can see what is cooking, and how, on the cooktop. They are both interested in cooking (and eating!), and I've found it a really nice way to get them involved in both everyday meal prep and in baking/special recipes, etc. I think with small kids, any kitchen set-up can be potentially unsafe. Its just a matter of determining the potential hazards in your own set-up and watching for these and making the kids aware of them too. In our last house (which had cooktop against a wall), when my little boy (then 2-3) wanted to help, he had to sit up on the counter between the cooktop and sink -- far less safe and not very comfortable for anyone. Our island is about 4 ft deep by 6 ft wide. The cooktop has about 12-15 inches to the left and i think 30" to the right. There's about 2 ft of counter behind the cooktop. I do my prep on the island -- mostly in that 12-15" to left of cooktop (if I stand sideways, then I have 4ft wide by 12-15" deep!) We have a no-name Italian island hood (Lux-Aire), which i got online for about $800. It seems to work OK, but its not quiet! I am vegetarian though, so I don't often cook meat/fish on the cooktop. I'm linking to some pics below. Here is a link that might be useful: island cooktop