Thanks, all! I just love my kitchen, even still. The only thing I'd change about it (besides what I wrote about today!) would be adding granite instead of laminate. But the entire kitchen was done on a budget ($10,000, Kraftmaid cabs), and I paid for it all myself. I had a really good job at the time and didn't want to go into debt, and this was the absolute best I could do. I actually did think of putting up a triangular wall shelf; in fact, we tried to install one last year. But on the right-hand side of that corner, there's a pipe coming down from the bathroom, which is directly above the kitchen. So where the shelf hit on the right side, we couldn't drill into it, obviously. So that idea was lost. Now I have two Ansel Adams prints framed in black with white mats in the space. Looks great, but like I said, I need more space. We have two small kids since the remodel, meaning more food, more everything! I just hate to remove that light fixture, but it might be necessary. I got it from Rejuvenation, and just love it. Wouldn't glass shelves be dangerous? As in, if I put my china there, wouldn't it have a good chance of sliding off? Is that a stupid question? LOL! My son is two and runs through my house like an elephant, causing lots of vibrations. (We have all hardwood floors). So, I need to make an appointment at Home Depot to see what options are even available in my cabinet style. I did call, and they told me a hinged corner cabinet would be $291. Thank you for suggesting maybe a shorter cabinet...that way, I could do the crown molding and it wouldn't interfere with the light. My cabinets are tall (42" I think), and if I got the smaller option (30", right?) that would solve it! I had not thought of that and it's a great idea! All your ideas are great! Thank you for them. I have some thinking, planning, and saving of money to do. :) Please don't look too closely at my tile work. I did it all by myself, and probably should have used white grout. It's so uneven in many spots and my biggest pet peeve about the kitchen. I've thought about scraping it out and starting over, but heard it's very hard to do! BTW, my tile is just regular Daltile, Rittenhouse Square, I believe. It was the cheapest option at the time for the look I wanted. Beth

WOW! Thanks to all for the wonderful comments. I'm pleased with my choice, or should I say my DH's choice, which is why I was a bit concerned if everything would blend. I agree once all the finishing touches are complete, most importantly the backsplash, I will be so happy. vampiressm - I wasn't sure about the green either, but made my choice early on, so I stuck with it there really weren't any other colors I really loved. Anyway, i could always change the paint color down the road. beekeeperswife - you're funny! I'm not sure the 700 lbs of granite will be going anywhere. Its starting to grow on me. I'm loving it! debrak2008 - I'm thrilled that you saved my kitchen as an inspiration! Makes me feel real good about my design and choices. and to those who noticed my Roxy girl - she's a sweet dog! She's been a trooper living through our kitchen demo. I'm sure she'll be excitred to have a new eating area. Anyone with backsplash ideas, please keep them coming. I have no idea what to do.

I feel your exhaustion. I can't get good pictures with my cell. It just causes glare. However, I have Shaker espresso maple cabs in my MBR and used Emperdor Dark in mine, with chrome (shiney silver) fixtures. My sinks are very light/white cream. I love my bathroom. The floor is a tile with lighter and darker browns in it, but my dark oak flooring is very visible from the bathroom area. I think it's beautiful. Don't dispair. There's also a lighter Emperdor (I'm not sure I'm spelling that right.). This is marble, so you'll have to go through all the hoo-ha about whether or not you should/shouldn't put marble in a kitchen. However, it remains your choice. There's also no reason you couldn't put a butcher block counter top in there, and before it's sealed, rub very, very watered cream or white paint into it and wipe it off immediately. Then seal. It would give you a beautiful wash and a lighter look. This would probably help your costs immensely in your not-forever home.

Thanks Marcy and peytonroad .. (I have also seen nursetammi's splash in another thread) Scabos is quite colorful and looks great. But I think it becomes the focal point and the granite will compete with it. If we can get a lighter scabos .. (or we can use lighter colored ones only, but that would become cost prohibitive) peytonroad, nice stools in that thread. We also want counter height stools for our peninsula, so I will bookmark that thread. annetacm, I am using google sketchup. It took me about 3 hours to make that backsplash up. sketchup is not very difficult, but there is some learning curve. I started learning it couple of months ago when we started planning for our kitchen. The good thing is, there is a lot of information/tips n'tricks on the internets. (I am also using irfanview to crop/process images that I like and then bring those into google sketchup)