pbear - Do you have pictures of your counter top? I was so unsure of going with the lighter granite, but thought that everyone, my sister, sister-in-law and friends all have the darker granite. We wanted to be different and thought to go light, so my DH chose the bianco romano. I loved it! I bought the samples of backsplash from glasstilestore.com. They come in 6x6 sample sizes, which is nice so you can get a better idea. I think I bought 10 samples, because I'm so unsure of what style I'm trying to go for, definitely modern. Theresse - are you talking about the plain white subway tile pictured with the red glass and granite. I love that as well... love it more because its .29 cents a tile!!! but thought maybe it was too plain, which is why I started looking at other choices, but everyone is telling me to go simple with the plain subway tile. I wanted some color and considered the red mosaic as a border somewhere in the middle, or thinking of just going over the range similar to this posting... oh and check out the border right above the granite. I love it. http://www.starpoohonline.com/photos/stiles2.jpg I added my link I added the design of our new kitchen. I'm looking for a gray slate tile for the floor, but haven't found what I'm looking for. I'm looking to have different size tiles that flow right into the sun room. If you look at the old kitchen and see where my fridge is there aren't any cabinets.... if you look at the new design I added a wall of cabinets surrounding the fridge. I'm so excited to have so many cabinets and the new countertop that extends into the sunroom. What do you think of my design? http://s919.photobucket.com/albums/ad40/rufinorox/Kitchen%20Before%20Pictures/ Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen design

having some dimensions on the drawing would help -- and a picture of the whole wall. Based on the description of your drawers, your TV may be slightly low (and/or the fireplace is simply just taller than normal). I've been through this twice. One big thing is to consider the future evolution of your equipment. You seem to have small cubbies to hold the main AV equipment. Adjustable shelving may be better -- equipment changes dimensions and new toys for the boys will show up. Leave excess room around the TV for updates and changes, and be aware that the next big thing in TVs may be slightly curved. Instead of sitting on a stand, you may consider an articulating mount to the back wall. The TV will be likely sitting recessed from the front of the fireplace, and you may actually need to pull it out for viewing in a crowd. This will require a strong back panel to your cubby, which is not a normal feature of cabinet. Also consider how power strips, Ethernet/WiFi connections and cables will get routed and where they will be located. Make sure your subwoofer storage is on a strong substrate (bottom shelf) or the vibration may be a problem. Consider where the center channel speaker will reside, and where the front surrounds will sit -- normally the center channel needs to be near the TV and the front surrounds on either side. My speakers are on either side of the entire wall, in a open frame cabinet with speaker cloth. The subwoofer is in one of them. The center channel is above the TV, on a shelf. All the wiring is hidden behind the unit. The rear channel surround speakers are mounted on the ceiling, with speaker cable routed and completely hidden. Everything is prewired for LED lighting, but I have not put it in.

cjc123, sabjimata, flwrs-n-co, jkom51, mtnrdredux thanks! We are really enjoying the new space. It is so much more functional and easy to work in. Ginger25 and jenhp: "Blizzard" is warmer than the pure white or organic white from Caesarstone. I think it works better with the rusty Danby marble than those purer whites. Here are some closeups of the Caesarstone, as requested (these are in artificial light): You have to get REALLY close up (3 inches in this case) to see the fine speckles. From farther back but as close as a foot, it reads solid white: Elba1, the uppers are 37 inches tall. The trim between the cabinets and ceiling is under 2 inches, just enough to tie the cabinets to a little bit of a crooked ceiling. There is also a 1 inch light rail underneath the uppers, to hide the under cabinet lights. The ceiling is 8 feet. I thought about incorporating some glass, but I wanted to avoid breaking up the space, for a more contemporary look. If my ceilings were higher, I would have considered a top glass section as well!

So my microwave that was in a cabinet behind closed doors was actually in a cabinet originally designed for a tv, hence the doors that retracted. We put the microwave in there when we first moved in as we didn’t have a tv for the space. We kept thinking we’d get a tv but never got around to it, so the microwave stayed. The first one lasted at least 16 years, and I only replaced it because the handle on the door broke. The second one is still working. I checked with the manufacturer and made sure I has enough space for it to ventilate properly, Another good reason for the retractable doors, I could leave them open for a bit if I wanted. In my current (much smaller)kitchen I’m hoping to do a drawer as I have limited space elsewhere.