Back from vacation! Good catch, mjlb - yes, the "timepiece" is because I collect hourglasses. I have that one almost everywhere, it's not in high demand. If you see that username on any site, it's probably me. And yes, the fireplace isn't quite as in the corner as I put it - I was just throwing it on there to give an indication - it wasn't in the original plans. It is a nice fireplace, but we never use it. There's already a bookcase in the dining area too, and there's still enough space I think, so I'm not too worried about that (you can see it in the one pic from the kitchen that has the fridge in it). There's also a bookcase under the pass-though. And one downstairs, and one upstairs. And they're all as full as the ones you can see. I wasn't kidding when I said I had a lot of books.

Sorry if I got some people confused - the picture I posted is not an inspiration picture, just one I found with chairs similar to what I have. I think if I don't paint the hutch, I have to find a new home for it. I think it is the main thing not working in my "dream" view of this room. I would say it photographs way better than it looks in person. I got it many years ago at an auction, paid $350 for it and my husband was appalled I was willing to pay that much. But that was when it had no back and the mirror was falling out. The doors don't close right, needs the hinges taken off, the holes patched and redrilled so the screws are tight. I'm normally against painting any furniture, but I knew when I bought this piece that it needed to be refinished. I also did some research on it (from the label on back) and it's nothing special. I don't want to put a mirror, picture or anything like that above the hutch. All along it was suppose to have shelves of some sort there, which is why it's got beadboard, it's meant to look like the back of a cupboard, not part of the walls of the room - another reason I don't want to paint it the color of the walls. This is helping me a lot. I've had to think long and hard why I didn't like the idea of painting the recess and putting a picture or mirror there. They are very good ideas, but just didn't feel quite right to me. I learned the hard way to be careful not to let myself get talked into something that is beautiful, but does not make my heart happy. After we built our house in WI, I decorated it based on a lot of magazines and resell and stuff like that, and in the end I felt like I was living in someone else's house. Since the house was brand new, it was almost like I was afraid to put my stamp on it. Now that place had a view! This was out the dining room window.

@ SapphireStitch While it would be nice to wave a magic wand with an unlimited checkbook - I don't have that. I do have access to some money (got a HELOC). If some of the changes need to be done in stages and can be done effectively - we can do that, because the more money I have to pull upfront from the HELOC, the more I'll end up paying in interest. (yuck). I'm also not averse to acting as my own general contractor/project manager, if needed; I've done that before (successfully) But I'd rather not have to overall manage the project, just because my current employment is a boatload more demanding than my previous employment. The nice thing is that we don't have a defined deadline where "this must be done by" - no one is getting married, boatloads of relatives aren't coming to visit, etc. However, the kitchen as it currently stands is a source of daily irritation. We're getting to the point that if anyone is already in the kitchen, we try to avoid going in there until that person has left the kitchen. Tempers flare....we've got my boyfriend (who was envisioning a quiet, child-free retirement), my teenager (while she's not as much of a drama queen as some teens - she's just starting the teenage years, LOL), and me - frustrated as the primary food purchaser, preparer, organizer, clean-up person. And if my boyfriend happens to suddenly realize his blood sugar has dropped - get the hell out of the way in the kitchen. He's not very good at listening to his body - he literally passed out one time when his blood sugar dropped too low - he dashed into the kitchen, grabbed a glucerna and the last thing he remembered was opening it up - but he woke up on the floor sitting in a puddle of the stuff. (I wasn't home at the time). When either I or my teen are in the kitchen and if boyfriend does the mad dash into the kitchen - we pretty much have to drop what we are doing so he can grab something and while he stands there and he starts shoveling whatever down his throat. And since the space is so tight - it can mean leaving stuff cooking on the stove, etc. One time he dashed in, grabbed a breakfast sandwich out of the refrigerator, yanked what was already cooking in the microwave out, and threw his sandwich in. Anyhow, I digress. I know that some of the things we want are going to be big-ticket items - new cabinets, granite or quartzite countertops, slide-in induction stove. That's why I'm also looking for cost-efficient plans, such as instead of moving the sink to the middle of the room, let's keep it on the same wall and just shorten the distance from the hot water heater to the new sink location. Let's not blow out any of the exterior walls, and we can keep the current windows, dishwasher, and refrigerator. If replacing the 10'x13' current laminate would be cheapest to match new hardwood to the existing hardwood, rather than ripping it all out and putting tile down in a 20'x13' space, I'm fine keeping hardwood. If a nice, medium-stain maple cabinet is cheaper than white painted cabinets, I'm find with the the stained version... I prefer it, personally. Rather than a huge pantry cabinet, if building a pantry closet with adjustable shelves is cheaper, I'm fine with that (plus with all the small appliances and bulk-purchases from Costco and BJ's - I think it would suit our storage needs better). If getting an island fits the layout, but is out of reach - I'm fine holding off on installing island cabinets and countertop and using a kitchen table in the meantime. And because we don't have a "get it done by" date... once I have a really solid design/layout... I have the time to shop different cabinet lines and stoves, wait for sales and then to be ready to capitalize on hopefully a decent deal. I don't know if it's true, but I did see some articles that indicate the best time to shop for kitchen cabinets is November to early January.

Hey There: Yes, you can for sure use different window treatment styles for different rooms. First decide what function you want from the shade in every room - do you want black out in the bedrooms or is light filtering ok? How about the living room or you doors? Is there room for panel blinds? Do you have trim around the windows that you don't want to cover and that require an inside mount installation? I have many more questions before I can give you a definite answer to your questions. Give me a video call at 619.665.9446 or visit us online at www.fenstermann.com for more information.