Oh oh oh....you have the most wonderful work table. Have you checked the thread for islands that was posted? Yours is the style I wanted. I have the greatest suggestion for a towel bar, I intend to do it if I ever get a work table like you have. Use the copper pipes and fittings from plumbing supply . It looks wonderful especially when it has a blow torch touched over it to bring out the rainbows in the metal. I have seen it done now a couple times and it just looks so great. Given the rustic area where you are located and that GORGEOUS floor I think it will look so perfect and very original and creative. c

Thanks, TR, that's a great idea. Hmmmm...wonder if we have a blow torch? I will stop at a plumbing supply shop this week.

I looked at this table for a few months before finally purchasing it. I'm really glad I did!

I will look for the thread on islands. I hang out more on the decorating board, so I missed it.

Thanks again!

This is the one I use. It's meant for paper towels, but kitchen towels fit just fine. Click picture to see a better view of it.

I just sanded and spray painted one dark bronze for the powder room also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paper Towel Bar

kimberly, I didn't look closely at your name when I opened this thread, and would never have known if I hadn't scrolled down, but when I saw your before, and then looked at your in progress again, I jumped up and down with excitement to see what you've done! It looks so amazing, and I can only imagine how much you are enjoying having your kitchen open. Did you get any more help from this forum with your plans or just come up with it based on what you posted the one time? Can we have a sneak preview of the rest? Did you figure out your mudroom and your china cabinet? PLEASE... at least plan to post your finished kitchen when you are close to being done... you don't have to wait! (And how is it that your kitchen is so clean in mid-remodel?) Congratulations!

ps I don't really have a good source for towel bars, if TR's suggestion doesn't work out (other than IKEA... you may be able to find something there... or etsy).

kimberlyrkb - I just wanted to comment on the lovely kitchen. The island really adds character and is much more open then the original peninsula. What are the counters on your perimeter? I suggest something darker for the island counter for contrast (complement to the darker window and appliances) - but there are so many options. I would consider a darker wood - because it has the table feel and would add more warmth and key off the beautiful floors (love them) or soapstone or even metal - stainless steel, do people put in copper (that would be fun.) Anything that adds some contrast and keeps the table feel of the island.

In the bathroom forum, here is a thread on grab bars that look good, and are towel bars or handshower slide bars.

Here is a link that might be useful: towel bar = grab bar

I ordered my towel bars from Burnett Forge online. They make great wrought iron bars with a leaf pattern at the ends. Check out their products for the bathroom and you will find them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Burnett Forge

Thanks for the additional towel bar suggestions. I will check them all out! We've looked at the copper pipe idea, but as we haven't made a decision yet (common theme/problem for us!), I am always up for more ideas. ;)

jsweenc - wow - good memory, as I think it's been a number of months since I first posted asking for help. Thanks for your excitement! I didn't post again after that first time until now; I got additional help from someone who does a lot of kitchen design and works closely with the contractor doing a lot of the work for us.

As for our china cabinet, I STILL am having trouble accessorizing. I got a lot of good suggestions here, but due to my inability to make decisions, and the fact that I am clueless about decor, I haven't made much progress. Since our walls are now painted a sunny yellow, I will be painting the gold cabinet a white match the kitchen cabinets and pull some white into the dining area. (I never did post an update about the china cabinet accessorizing because I was embarrassed I hadn't made any progress. To be fair to myself, though, I work 50+ hours per week at my real job, plus run a non-profit on the side, so I don't have a ton of time for this kind of thing.)

Sparklekitty, thanks for your compliments, too! I do like the more open kitchen. In fact, now I feel like we have too much space! But I'm sure that'll change when we can put all our stuff back. The only thing I don't like about the island is we no longer have an "eat in" counter. The counter top is new venetian gold granite, and I like the idea of putting something dark on the island. (And look at that island shelf - another surface that will need to look nice - oy!)

I will be happy to post a few more pictures, but may wait until next week. Back splash will be installed in 2 days (bone crackle glaze subway tile). Door between kitchen and mudroom has been enlarged. Mudroom cabinets are being sprayed sometime in the next week to match kitchen cabinets.

My biggest current problem/disappointment is the sunny yellow walls. We chose BM Straw, which we loved in our old house, but is SCREAMING YELLOW in its current application, perhaps because there is less natural light?? I for sure don't like it with the brown wood trim. I wish I had gone with maybe a cafe au lait color or something, but we're sticking with the yellow for now.

Thanks all!

I'll be looking for an update post! The yellow looks refreshing and creamy-buttery, from the picture, but it's what it looks like to you that matters. But if you can live with it for a while and finish the rest, at least it's not a HUGE deal to repaint. (Big enough, I know, but less so than new cabinets.)

As for keeping your island neat, depending on what you are keeping there it may not be necessary. For smaller things, more baskets like the one you have there will be your friend. For pots/pans, etc., having them stacked in the open will give it a homey, rustic, "I cook in this kitchen" feel. It definitely makes it seem bigger without a solid barrier there. I also agree that when you get your stuff put back it will not feel overly spacious! (Hopefully just right.)

The reason I remember so much is because i rarely comment on layouts... not my gift and takes me way too long to analyze and respond well. I usually end up sounding like I know nothing (which is true, but why broadcast it?).

Anyway, I can't wait to see more... but no rush. Sounds like you have a busy life!

I was just wondering if anyone else had any recommendations for a low profile towel bar. I've looked at bar pulls, but there's not much available and the appliance pulls are a bit overkill and pricey for this application. I'm hoping for a towel bar to fit comfortably on a 36" drawer bank.

Here's an inspiration picture:

Well, how about that--we have almost the same kitchen!

Below is the design-it-yourself way with fittings, brackets and flanges for different size rails. Its the raw materials that make something like what kathec shows.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crown fittings

Thanks for the Crown Fittings link. Everything looked great until I realized that the fittings are for 2" diameter brass pipe. Bummer.

Now that I know some of the names of the fittings, maybe I can find them by name. Before I was calling stuff "the end thingamajiggy" which Google doesn't like.

We have nowhere to mount a towel bar on our cabinets, except a space 13.5 inches wide max. I knew this going into the project, but was sure I would find something. There are a few a foot long on the internet, but they cost upwards of $60 in bright chrome, plus shipping usually. Glorioski!

Spent a little time at the Home Improvement stores. They have readymade longer ones but because you assemble them yourself, DH says he can shorten the rod. But...the end pieces are at least 2 inches wide, rather hefty for a short towel bar and many are more ornate than I want, so some of them would give me a very very short rod section--and in order to be gracious, I'm going to have to mount the legs in from the outside of the wood panel a ways, shortening it even more. It will only be able to hold a folded towel. AARGH!

Am also telling myself to go look at magnetic towel bars for the side of the refrigerator. And I'm going to have to use the oven handle also, which I don't particularly like doing. Once we get our closet finished we can perhaps mount one of those fingers-on-a-wrist type old fashioned drying racks in there so I can put my wet aprons and such in the closet to dry.

We don't use paper towels, so clean, dry handtowels are essential. I lay out washed garden produce on towels on the counter, so that's another source of wet towels. And I'm trying the teatowel mode of drying handwashed dishes (as per many GW conversations) to avoid getting a dish drying rack, so there's another source of wet towels. We have installed air conditioning, so at least this last ultrahumid summer we didn't have too many pewy smelling towels lying around, but still, I have a lot of wet stuff to dry out.

Wishing you all well on your search! I have visited Twin Cities Hardware showroom where they have wonderful displays of bathroom and kitchen hardware. They have some marvelous long double rod units in many styles. Wish I had the space for them.

Dian57...where did you get your towel bar?

I, too, have been looking for towel bars, probably for the end of my island, where I would only have 23". At one time I was looking for ideas and found these at an online marine store:

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/20169-small-teak-towel-bar.html

Not metal, though.

what I did in my bathroom is I found beautiful finials (from the drapery dept) as the supports and and iron rod as the bar.
looks lovely and fits into the theme of the bathroom very nicely
Would be even better for kitchen towels as they are not as long or need as much space between the cabinet and the bar
I'll try to take a picture

I wanted to hang a towel on my dishwasher next to my sink, so I panelled it and put on a curved 18" bar pull. I needed something sleek and low-profile with no projecting finials etc to snag on pockets or clothes.

There are a zillion styles of bar pulls out there; just pick one that doesn't have pointy pokey edges. Once you find a style you like, check eBay and search the web for the best pricing.

Here is a link that might be useful: some pulls

Well, Dian57, we sure do have the same kitchen! Pretty near, anyway. And your kitchen gave me an idea. I have some cool, old corbels that just may work on our island. We still need to put a new top on it, and could extend the top to accommodate two counter stools if we used the corbels I've been carting around for 15 years. They're even a chippy white so they may just work without any sprucing up.

Thanks to everyone for the additional comments on the towel bar. I still haven't done anything - I can't make a decision. Story of my life. ;)

I appreciate it!

Unlike many here, we have ugly towels that are as old as we are married. We keep them out of sight.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-a-shelf towel holder