Summerfield- I showed my husband the plan and he thinks it's wonderful! He thinks the wood storage idea is great and also likes the pergola. He can't believe how much it looks like the farmhouse, but so much better! LOL Is it okay if we make just a few changes? (I tried to show it on the plan.) His only concern is that the furniture is too close to the fireplace...which I told him, is the way I drew it :) Could we move the sectional down a bit, towards the entry? It could be a little shorter on the end seat, just enough to put your feet up, when sitting there. It would also be great to move down the TV console and the chair and ottoman. It's a big fireplace, and even with a screen, the furniture has to be at least 3' away. The good news...I have room to put the window seat next to the fireplace! There doesn't have to be a lot of room in front of it...since it's mostly for visiting nieces and nephews to use. That's why I took out the chair in front of the shelves and put the floor pillows...that's their toy area. I have a lot of Fisher Price and coloring books we keep on hand for the little ones. In the kitchen, I made the island just a little shorter, which let me move the chair and put a plant in the corner window. I also added a plant table under the window, with the window box and plants on either side. I really want a place to have some star jasmine and some smaller plants and that's a nice south corner. Thank you SO much for all your help! We really appreciate it and it's so amazing that you've brought our little farmhouse to life. Thanks again :)

what if i cant reach the ceiling.. lol ... they also used to make peg board doohickeys for baby jars ??? yeah.. my dad did this in the late 60s .. early 70's .... i dont think the man ever threw away a nut/bolt/screw/etc ... he didnt waste gas driving to the store for one fastener ... even if the drive would have taken ten minutes total roundtrip... but the search thru the jars took 3 hours ... i think the search.. and the fact that he saved 8 cents on the screw... was the thrill ... of course.. he saved gas money.. back when it was 17 cents a gallon ... ken

What about putting a tiered stand similar to this to put in the corner or your counters with a loaf of sandwich bread on the bottom and the fun stuff (muffins, bagels, nut bread) on top? It would also be a nice way to display fruit. Alas, here in NJ is too hot and humid in the summer to store bread on the counter for more than 24 hours. As an aside, I'll note that my "kids" will eat whatever I put out on the tiered stand on the island (kale chips, raw broccoli, apples, flax seed muffins, etc.) while they would never take the trouble to open the fridge for a healthy snack. Here is a link that might be useful: Tiered stand from Potterybarn

I have a drawer full of them loose- but most of them have their own plastic protectors/sheaths. If I had the wall space for them, I would put them on a magnetic strip in a heartbeat. I don't like using a block because a block can be a hosting ground for random food bits and bacteria. No matter how well you clean your knives or nicely store your block, the stuff can get in there. That's why I use plastic protectors instead- you can soak them in bleach water to really clean em good as needed.