Chisue, I hate to admit it but yes, we have little to no upper cabinets. We have a kitchen that is open to the great room with the separation being columns and a buffet area in between with a prep sink, bev fridge, and lower cabs/drawers. On the range wall we have two large windows on either side. Originally our architect said we could do upper cabinets in the column space (she'd done it before in another house. After talking with the cabinet guy it became clear that it would be a large expense for very limited storage space to build cabinets into the columns. Then the wall area where the fridge/freezer are going was going to have space on the side for a upper/lower cabinets. I figured the uppers here would be great for daily glassware, etc. Unfortunately, the fridge/freezer takes up most of that wall space leaving little to no room for upper cabs here. Our architect did a good job with the house but a lot of her measurements for kitchen items were off and I'd even given her specs for all the appliances as we'd already purchased them. So I thought we'd have some upper cabinets but now it's looking like we'll have two above the fridge/freezer (not convenient for daily use items). One bit of good news, We're thinking we might be able to reduce the columns down to three sides to make room for usable cabinets in the area that separates the kit from great room. Still looking at the idea, I'm not sure it can work yet.

I suspect you're not getting any responses b/c no one can think of any possible way that you can fit a breakfast table into the space you have. You said you have 9 feet from wall to island...but from the dimensions shown on your diagram, it is clear that 9 ft doesn't count the space taken up by the bar stools around your island. Then, because you have to access the office/playroom, you need space to walk between the bar stools and whatever chairs/benches you would have around the breakfast table because you have to access that office playroom. The barstools and walkway will take up a minimum of 4 feet of your 9 foot of space. That only leaves 5 feet for the breakfast table and chairs. Two people can barely sit knee to knee in 5 feet of space...much less have room to stick a table between the two that is wide enough for breakfast things. If you haven't started building yet, I would rethink this whole plan. If you have started building and are therefore stuck with this space, I see two options. 1) Forget about sitting at the island, make it half as wide and move the sink/dishwasher around so that you face the windows when washing dishes and forget about having any barstools. Then, you'll have about 11 ft of space and no barstools taking up part of it. That is room enough for a normal breakfast table with space enough between table and island to walk to/from the office. If you decide to keep the "french doors" I'd make them inoperable. 2) Forget about having a breakfast table at all. Instead, enlarge the island and do all your dining at the island. Be aware tho that many people don't find it terribly comfortable to sit on raised bar stools when they eat. You might need to find someplace else for the sink and DW and lower the entire (enlarged) island to normal table height. table at all. Just eat all meals at the kitchen island.

Your proposed wood table reminds me of Bristish West Indies style such as Ethan Allen's British Classic collection. If you look at their peices, you will see that some accent pieces have rattan. It really makes the furniture lend itself to both a formal look with the dark toned wood, yet some casual feeling with the rattan. Pricey, but you can find cheaper furniture in this same style (except for the bombay chest which is way overpriced and nothing similiar / cheaper exists! Errrrr). But then again, your photshopped sconces and chairs have a modern style (to me) and your fabric on the bench also is more modern. Maybe the darker table shown by Francoise47 would work better. I love your kitchen which has a farmhouse, cottagey feel and if it were mine, I'd stick to this style for most elements. I'd also put a small chandelier over the table instead of wall mounted sconces.

Okay, bad news - talked to DH last night and it's a no go on adding recessed lights. :( Now we do have 6 recessed lights in the den which connects to the kitchen on the breakfast nook side. When those lights are on, that side of the kitchen is nicely lit - but, it would probably be silly to rely on those for kitchen lighting... farmhousebound - So glad you like the lighting choices (especially the stairwell light)! I'll stop stressing about the stairwell light now. :) I am still stressing about the nook light though. I agree with you and really do Love the look of "C" - but I'm so worried that the opaque shade just won't provide enough light. I'm afraid I'm still undecided on it. If someone else wants to buy it from you, please feel free - I don't want to hold you up. But I will definitely keep you posted! (We're in Long Island in NY.) That is an Amazing price on your fixtures. Wow! I talked to DH about making our own fixtures, but he's overwhelmed with all of the house renovations and doesn't want to add more to the to-do list. He just wants me to pick one fixture for the nook and be done with it. =/ Sigh. It would have been SO nice to have had a matching light and fan (and save money too!) I spent too much time yesterday looking at lights - I stumbled upon a school house shade that is Way out of budget, but soooo pretty. I probably shouldn't be considering it b/c of the price, it's not an exact match to the fan (sort of similar shape), and the concern of light output - but, since you're a fellow schoolhouse lover, I wanted to share it - http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/3169 - Pretty, huh? I think I'm drawn to the blue stripe that would go with the color scheme. lascatx - I really love the look of the pulley light - but, without adding recessed lights - would it be too dark? Should I keep looking? I'm wondering if we should do something completely different to ensure that we get enough light - like maybe a small, multi light chandelier (with lighting towards the bottom to avoid the soffit issue)? I'm open to suggestions. Thank you both for your help! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!! Here is a link that might be useful: Please tell me I'm crazy to consider this since it's out of budget, not a perfect match to the fan, probably won't provide enough light, etc., etc.