One day to remove, one day to remake the wall, one day to set, one day to grout...I think that's fair really. It is a time consuming job and you want him to do it carefully so the cabinets and counter aren't damaged in the process. You know, I'd like to suggest something entirely different which you might hate, but I'll do it anyhoo :) DH had your kitchen in his texas place, almost identical in tones so we had to giggle when we saw this post. I see you love earth tones by your pottery etc and you love slate and granite....honey you're wasting your time trying to make the space bright when the things you love are not bright. You just haven't embraced your dark side yet :) Come, step over to the dark side...earth tones and rich stones are devine when accented properly. You need to go with a rich tone on your walls like a brick or deep red, even a really deep green or gold (look to your crocks for inspiration). They'll make your cabinets sing and your stone will become a star. Hang a textured (dupioni or tapestry) drapery on the window top, soft and slouchy because you have so many hard edges) with a rich deep trim on it. CHANGE YOUR LIGHTING!!! You are entirely underlit and the white shades don't work with anything you've got going in your room. Go with beautiful rich amber shades and larger, more prevalent lighting as well as under and upper cabinet lighting (and to do that on the cheap, just put a bunch of christmas light strings on the top of the cabinet scattered about, you'll be amazed how much that helps your gloomy issue here). Embrace the darkside luke...umm I mean susan :) And your lovely kitchen will become a rich paradise you don't mind being in. You're half way there...step over the line :) And remember, a can of paint is WAY cheaper than a new backsplash isn't it? What's the worst thing that can happen???? You paint again. But in DH's kitchen, who everyone said was too dark when he tried to sell initially....I went with a deep umber tone on the walls and it sold three days later to a gal who described it as wonderfully cozy and rich :)

Dear Polar Princess, I am happy to read of your recent survivorship and a getting new lease on life. I think your oak cabinets look very well made and can be a star with some new accessories. Oak is a timeless, beautiful wood. Here are the changes I would try for minimal cost: 1) As has been mentioned numerous times: remove the stenciling & ivy to freshen the look. 2) If you can easily remove the light bridge over the sink and add molding to the top of the 2 cabinets where it connected, that will also modernize the look, as previous poster suggested, for not much money. 3) Backsplash: Provide Maximum sizzle and splash, which will transform the kitchen with a shimmering glass tile mosaic. See link below as example. Your area is not big, so you could pull this off for only $200 to $250 in materials. 4) Definitely bring in the brown leather bar stools you like or even something very modern in style as a contrast. 5) Counter tops: white laminate is not necessarily bad. In fact, if you add a shimmering glass backsplash that is a nice counterpoint to the white counters, you may find they are now more pleasing to you, without going to the expense of adding granite. You already know how easy to maintain your laminate counters are. You might jazz them up with some interesting place mats or update your centerpiece to be more in keeping with the brown leather & mosaics. 6) Window valence: maybe replace the lace look with something more tailored to complement the new backsplash and stools. 7) Wall paint: See how the backsplash changes the look and decide if you want to add wall color or not. 8) If you still yearn for SS appliances, check into changing out the front panels of the frig and dishwasher with SS. Don't think that is possible with the stove. I would really keep the bisque because they will look nice with the new backsplash as well. The link is from a larger website with many different choices of mosaic color combinations. The featured one is Anima because I think it would complement your while/bisque and oak and brown leather. Also check out several of the Spectralight (with and without El Dorado), Shimmerfly (one is Honey Pearl)and others which might complement your adjacent room colors. Good luck with all your decisions. We celebrate that you are here to make them! Anna Lee F Here is a link that might be useful: Glass tile backsplash

Sarah, I think I was more concerned about the money spent than too much light. As you mention, window light is hardly anything compared to the lights, especially in winter. Sun in the summer is decent. At this point I need some time to go by, maybe even a couple of seasons, to really see exactly how well the lights doing for the plants. My Echeverias are coloring up well. As far as cactus flowering, I'll have to see. The only thing I can do for the lower level is to raise the plants. I could possibly add another Sunblaster to the middle level (upper one in the latest photo), but I don't know if it will be optimal. I hope it's enough to at least prevent etiolated plants, which is what caused me to give up on Echeverias and lose some interest in growing succulents. My plants are increasing enough already that it's the basement where I normally grow seeds, cuttings and Coleus that might need more lights, but that's another story.

I ended up putting the Sunblaster over the second shelf. I lowered it a few inches so that it's closer to the plants. Recently I got a two lamp light to go over the bottom shelf, which has a bigger area. I had to put this flush to the top or I wouldn't have enough room to take out plants to water them. So far, so good. The two lamp fixture is very bright. Now I have to work on organization. I have to think about if I should put taller plants by the window and shorter plants up front t, for presentation, or put smaller ones in back so they'll all get some sun, or somehow try to raise the shorter ones. If you have ideas, let me know. There are houseplants on a third shelf above without lights. I really appreciate the feedback I've gotten.