mtnrdredux your house is absolutely absolutely amazing! It makes me want to sell my new-built one and go and buy yours! That window seat with the arched stained glass window is a work of art! And your fireplaces and floors!! I also love your style and ALL of your furniture. You aren't too far from us, so if you have a moving sale, please really let me know and I'll come and buy some of your furniture. That's so cool you got married at the house too and what a beautiful setting to do it. My fiance and I are planning on getting married at our new house as well. I'm sure your new home must be magical for you to leave such a lovely home! Thanks for the book ideas- there are a bunch of really cool ones! I definitely have more books than shelves. We've got a quasi-two story library with a library ladder and books to the ceiling :) We've been buying those readers digest books at estate sales, the leather bound condensed books. And old law books. I kept a few of my old law books from law school but they are nowhere near as nice as your husband's collection! beckysharp it is the sun blinding effect that I'm afraid of with the windows that is making me think I'll want to do at least shutters on some of the windows. macybaby, the swag of the chandelier is definitely a good idea. Then I could do the ceiling medallion I want to do as well. fori, I agree 48" seems a bit big for a table. That's why I'm hoping I'll be OK w/ space. That was the size I saw on the first three tables I looked at to get an idea of dimensions when I was talking to my cabinet maker, so I'm not sure why they were all so large!

You can get short undercabinet lights. Even my kitchen which isn't so convoluted os yours I put an individual light bar under each cabinet. Your designer/electirican should have no problem with this. I don't see anything too complex about yours. The electrical will have to rough in the wiring at the proper location for each cabinet. Make sure they rough in a box for the vent hood (get the manual out for the hood you want to use). Usually, they need a receptacle mounted up where the shroud around the exhaust duct goes. As for your countertop receptacles, your "intent" is immaterial to the code. Every spot along the counter (measured along the wall) needs to be within 2 feet of a receptacle. The only exception are countertops shorter than 12 inches (the one on the extreme left MIGHT meet that, but I'd still put one there anyhow). There are a variety of decorative receptacles that can fit nicely in your backsplash. Another option is to mount them high (you can go 20" above the countertop right under the cabinets, the legrand adorne line might be interesting to you). The tricky ones may be under your double window if you need to put one there. I've got some turned sideways to fit under basements in my kitchen. The island technically only needs one receptacle. Unless you want tombstones sticking up, you'll have to mount them below the countertop. Code allows the required one to be no more than 6" below the top and under no further than a 12" overhang. Mounting them to the ends of your design should not be hard and compliant. You might consider an additional one down low in the foot well on the "eating" side. My island in my former place had one down there, and while it doesn't meet the rule for the required outlet, it's allowed as an added one and was convenient at times.

You need 48” aisles. Measured from the furthest protuberance into those aisles. Like the fridge handles. Shorten the island by 2’, as a start. And it requires a prep sink. The kitchen would be better off with a peninsula than an island. It’s an over crowded appliance showroom too. The appliance choices are out if scale to it. And yet they aren’t even planned properly. Like the 54” 1200 CFM hood needed above the 48” range. Plus the makeup air system. Etc. Start over eith things more in scale with the actual size of the space.

Paint can definitely go a long way when it comes to inexpensive but impactful upgrades to a space. Your black countertop is quite pretty, but matching the paint color to your backsplash might be difficult. If this is a temporary solution and you plan to do a more complete renovation in the future, you can either live with the backsplash that may not work with your new cabinet paint color or try painting the backsplash. Painting the backsplash is definitely not a long-term solution, but can last for a few years without being an eyesore. A white kitchen is a classic option you won’t regret, and Cloud White by Benjamin Moore is a solid choice. We have a few otherideas for white paint for kitchen cabinets, as well as some of our favorite countertops for white cabinets. This home has black countertops similar to yours and some of those tan/beige hues in your backsplash, and the cabinets are Simply White by Benjamin Moore. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!