There is NO SUCH THING as "too many lights"! Our aging eyes need many more lumens to see the same things clearly that we saw well with younger eyes. More lights are always better! And incorporate dimmers into all of them so that you can adjust the levels infinitely. Dimmers are the key to being happy with your lighting. BTW, I would not do pendants on either side of an island hood. That's too many things hanging from the ceiling. I would do two cans with flood lamps. Don't forget a few cans with spot lamps to wash down the front of your cabinets to create drama. You want both flood and spot lamp recessed lighting, as well as under cabinet, and a couple of semi flush fixtures as well. Maybe even some small lamps.

One thing that no one's mentioned and that I'm seeing in my neighborhood is that while our homes are all basic 2200 - 2500 sq ft homes with laminate counters & inexpensive cabinetry (all the builder offered at the time), the majority of people who have renovated have gutted the homes, added expensive cabinetry & surfaces, etc. So, while yes, most homes still have the less-expensive fittings, that is gradually changing. Part of that may be that when the neighborhood was built, the location was considered pretty far from major cities (DC & Baltimore), had no city water/sewer, and generally quite rural so the prices weren't very high and the location wasn't as desirable to those who could afford "bigger and better". Fast forward 13 years and the mega-construction that's occurred in that time and the pushing out further and further from the cities to find room to build. We are now considered one of the more desirable areas, the fact that we have wells & septic is a non-issue b/c it means that each house has a minimum of 3 acres and land is considered a premium. Our homes have appreciated over 300% since they were built (probably only 250% now due to the economy). So, more money is moving into the neighborhood and as a result more renovating is going on. [Of interest to me is that most of the renovations are being done by the few new owners, most of the original owners are staying with what they have...which is probably why the remodeled homes are all becoming "higher end". Although, I seem to have sparked interest among us "originals" with my remodel...I've had several ask me recently if I can recommend anyone and what I think of their plans for renovating.] Renovating in our neighborhood, then, means upgrading a lot, not maintaining the status quo b/c the status quo is changing! What I'm getting at is that each neighborhood is different, look around and see what others are doing...if everyone is sticking with their old cabinets & inexpensive surfaces or similar and/or you plan to sell in the next 2-5 years, then your best bet, as many others have already said, is to stick with similar. Note that in your case, you're already in the "top 5" so others may be playing "catch up". If, however, you're staying long-term (and 10 years is long-term, I think) or you see that when others renovate in your neighborhood they're upgrading significantly (higher-end than where you're currently at), then you should probably do the same...but whatever you do in this situation, do it for you (and what you can afford), not some hypothetical future buyer.

"I love the look of paneled wainscoting," Missed that by a mile. Sorry. It is a personal choice. Often times the difficulty becomes the choice of a wainscot or a full wall panel or wether you want it painted or a natural wood or stone finish. Typically in a den or a study I would use wood with at least one full wall paneled wall across from built-ins and coffered ceilings. Dining rooms I do the same except often times it is a softer wood with fabric panels on stretchers. Your decor and how you plan on furnishing the room should be part of the factor too. While you will get some who will disagree there is no such thing as an architecturally correct answer. Every room you've mentioned so far is a great candidate just make them a bit different from each other.

girl_wonder, don't worry, I was unprepared to so many things I won't bore you with the list..)) so I went to see what I store there..or rather, my kids-it's a hall bathroom so it's theirs when they're home, and guests'-and it's easier to say what's not there. My stuff is not.(it's in the master) And supplies and seasonal things(like bug sprays etc) are in the closet in the corridor. I also have several hiding places for medicines allover the house. (for who knows when fate might strike right? lol) Otherwise..it's shaving cream, and alcohol(I mean the one that desinfects), and all sorts of medicines, and creams, and spare soaps and deodorants and shampoos and I don't know what else. Yes, whatever they use daily is in the upper part of the cabinet. But not neccessarily. As for your other question, regarding vintage cabinet next to plain mirror-no, it doesn't have to look unbalanced. We did something similar in my MIL's bath . It really depends on proportions and everything else. Will you recess it? If not-it'll go last anyway, and you'll already have all the elements there, and it'll be much easier to figure out what works , what not, and where exactly to put it so it's most pleasing to the eye and most functional height to use. Whether to go with a long storage cabinet at all or do something else..well it depends on your bath. My hall bath is small, pretty hardworking, the vanity is 36'( I think), it's second hand too and looks light because it has open shelves-I didn't want to overwhelm that bathroom.. The shelves look fine because I use bins there so everything's contained. But I sorely needed much more storage. Hence the biggest ready-made cabinet I could get. Frankly I was going to buy some cool vintage doors, and started hunting for them -but then they explained to me that I might end up paying thousand and more to build a frame to fit old cool doors. That sad fact brought me to Wayfair. Otherwise I'd have cool vintage doors wherever I could. I had big plans and all that. In our master we have wall cabinet only in the restroom and it's also vintage and has glass, as a roll of toilet paper aside-I put there things that look pretty. Main space-we have long roomy vanity, custom-made and very conveniently planned, so no need for medicine cabinet. Everything fits inside. We also have a tiny-tiny powder room, and there we put another vintage cabinet over the toilet and across the mirror. There also the vanity is tiny (rather a stand..also vintage), so the mirror has small shelf (took me months to find a mirror with a shelf that'd fit there. Also Wayfair. And frankly-it's a high price for the quality. , The cabinet holds standard jazz medicines, tooth brushes for guests etc, I like how mirrored vintage cabinet is reflected in the mirror, and vice versa. It's really a tiny space. . So it depends on so many things-how many bathrooms are there in the house, their sizes, what else will be there in terms of storage, how many people will use it, what are their needs, what are their habits, what are most realistic scenarios for your family.. My mantra usually is-increase smart storage whenever possible. What's smart-will depend. I come from urban living and tight quarters and many people who share them. It always looked pretty, clean, and ready for guests too (guests were big part of life) because of how it was organized. Bungalow from 40 s sounds very cool. I hope you'll achieve there just that right vibe you look to achieve. Sounds exciting, anxiety aside. I'd rather use something not recessed if I already have one recessed plain mirror cabinet, and different in nature so it all looks intentional -or something concealed and not taking any attention. Make sure if you haven't yet that your electrical plan for sconces will work in your space. Saying that just because I had a plan, and hunted very pretty sconces, and all-but it turned out to be too narrow a space, and sconces could somehow be fit but looked like my life at its low point. Seeing the plan with measurements will be helpful, if/whenever you decide to ask specific questions.