You asked: I hate it. The bottom one looks like someone took a traditional, wicker sofa and wrapped it in leather. Those very formal, old fashioned arms, and bun feet, don't go with the eclectic, casual style of the upholstery. The shape of the red sofas is much more appropriate, but it would be better in all leather. Leather is great with kids so long as they don't have sharp things in their pockets and can be trusted not to poke pencils into it. It cleans up with water and saddle soap. But it does stick to bare skin, and can get hot. It's nature's vinyl. Which is why they combine it with fabric. Bad move. Either be fabric or be leather. The weight and texture are too different and they rarely come out looking great, especially after some living happens. The red bench is cool! Less imposing than a sofa table (console), but with a lot of the same function. And it's folky and funky. My Aunt had the two sofas flanking the fireplace in her living room. It's a great conversation grouping, but not so much for TV watching. For that, especially for the kids who probably look at the screen more, you want a straight on view. You can do a big square, though. An L of couch and settee or second couch or loveseat, and a couple of small easy chairs that are easy to get around on the opposite side. You have your red chairs. I'm not sure if they're too big to allow people to walk by easily if you close up the square, but even so, you can always pull them over for company, and keep them by the piano for family time with running kids. Re Larry, have your other family members sit tested him? I totally agree about the shape. It's very tired. But that LOVE thing is important. Your family room couch should feel Ahhh to sit on. I'm sure it'll still be there though. Maybe you can find a similarly comfy couch in a more classic shape that will give you more breadth of possibilities. Comfort comes first, but it can be done with a little more style than poor Larry. ;-)

I understand how people can be about holding tight to their original idea and looking for approval more than input. I assure you that is not the case in my circumstance. I am not fully educated in the electrical code. Therefore, I need good advice. I have spent time researching and reading up so that I don't ask stupid questions as much as possible. I want to wire everything exactly to code and even update where necessary to meet the requirements. I also want to understand the basic principles or reasoning behind some of the rules. This is why I asked about the OTR microwave versus a counter top microwave. I just wanted to understand. Excuse me for jumping to conclusions when I read "because I said so, that's why." Perhaps I did not make my question clear enough and for that I apologize. As far as the instant hot, I am not trying to argue as I don't have the experience and knowledge to do so. I am only trying to understand and share what I have found that lead me to my original conclusions. The biggest problem for me is that this is an older home with nearly every item in the kitchen wired to the same circuit and shared with other items. I am trying to sort out all this mess and "fix" all the problems I can find in the house with regards to electrical during this kitchen remodel. It is very time consuming and difficult. I only have so many spots on my panel and accessing the panel to change or modify it is extremely difficult and tricky. My situation is not ideal. Short of tearing down all the walls and running all new wire to a new panel, I may not be able to fix everything. As you can imagine this can be frustrating. We are already into the remodel, having purchased the appliances. However, paying to have all the electrical done is out of the budget at this time. I just don't know what the code dictates as far as forcing you to update old wires and circuits that have been in the home for years and years simply because you want to add an instant hot, OTR microwave and new appliances. I think though that this forum has been incredibly helpful and I will pursue getting double breakers and wiring everything on separate circuits as advised here.

I remember Francey's thread very well because it almost convinced me not to get soapstone. But after reading the responses of others, the white water marks seemed rare so I took the chance thinking it wouldn't happen to me (and it probably wouldn't have if I'd gone with Bucks County Soapstone). But it did happen and like Pluckymama, I was very close to having the counters removed and replaced with something else. They are much better since Joshua refinished them. Keep in mind, these rings are not the dark rings you get that can be wiped off. Essentially, what happens, is that the water removes the oil from the stone (don't ask me how). You won't have this problem if you don't oil your stone and the rings/spots vanish with re-oiling. I'll repeat what I've stated in other threads on this topic. I tried tap water, filtered water and distilled water...they all left white spots.

Well, what you've done already sounds lovely but can you post a photo or two? I too have a long and narrow living room, 12 x 23 and it's been a nightmare for me so I'm curious as to what you end up doing. One thing I have to add is I'm also concerned about the accent wall because I did exactly what you did with a copperish orange and even though I loved color, within a couple of months I was ready to paint over it. The reason is because orange is a very strong and energetic color and in the end it pretty much over powered the room. It also made it hard to relax in it. I plan instead to bring the autumn rustic colors into the room by way of the rug, lamps, pillows and so on, you know, little bits here and there. Directions for photo posting are here, I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done so far! Here is a link that might be useful: How to page