Lyfia, I thought about your great idea and stood there and sized up the situation. I think that is beyond my meager capabilities and the chair rail would come right in the middle of it. I wish I'd thought of it before I put up the wainscoting, and maybe then I'd have had a fighting chance at it, but not now. Lukkirish, I will, thanks. Here is what keeps haunting me about this job. I have a leftover (from previous home) partial roll of wallpaper here that I adore, that looks fab with the Mucha. It's an arts and crafts pattern. I just keep coming back to wanting to use this paper. [](http://tinypic.com?ref=2woja78) The problem is, I don't have enough of it for the job, even with not going over the bathtub area. I have looked and looked and can't find anything out there like it. So the question is, could I put up narrow margin molding frames on the upper walls and put this paper inside them, then paint the paper's background color on the rest of the wall? Or the lighter beige\-peach featured in the first picture here? Or with the wainscoting would that look too choppy? Here is an example of a framed wallpaper panel: [](http://tinypic.com?ref=vkxae) What if I did it ONLY behind the Mucha and nowhere else in the room? What do you think?

For quality for price, maybe start with Consumer Reports? They may not have the last word, but they do at least provide information and perspective. Your backsplash pattern is really nice, but black might overpower it, make it look weak. Maybe a softer, dark gray counter, moving to off-black in the way the lighter field is off-white? Or, since you love the black, keep looking for a backsplash + black counter combo that your husband would really like.

Bump-It!

Something to start thinking about. Here are three versions. Notes: In layouts 1 & 2, the range is in the same place as it is now. This allows you to begin working around the range immediately. To move it will most likely mean electrical work to install an appropriate electrical outlet. I don't think you will want to start monkeying around with the electrical changes yet. Layout #3 has it moved to where the refrigerator is now. There is plenty of work room for prepping/cooking a meal, baking, and cake decorating. Pantry....there are two options: Pantry cabinets or a built-in pantry. Both can be installed now. They are in the same location in all three layouts, so if you decide to go with one of these layouts, you can install the pantry now, regardless of which one you decide to use.. Option 1, Pantry cabinets: The pantry cabinets I show are 30" wide, but you could put the two 24" ones there for now. Option 2, Built-in pantry: This could also be installed now. The advantages of this option are: You get more storage space overall (floor-to-ceiling storage, no cabinet constraints) The setup allows you to see all of what you have at one time without having to open/close doors/drawers The shelves are shallow enough that things will not get lost. Freezer: It can go where I show the MW center for now. It won't look "pretty", but there's not much you can do to make it look nice at this point. I do think you would be better off getting a different refrigerator with better freezer capacity and configuration. Refrigerator: In the layouts it's a 36" counter-depth refrigerator. It could be a standard depth, but it would stick out another 4 or 5 inches into the kitchen - you have the space, but I don't know if you'll like how it looks. Finished end panels on the sides would help minimize the effect somewhat, but it will still look big. For now, you will probably leave the refrigerator where it is since you don't want to move the water...unless you can do without a water line for now. It's not that difficult to make your own ice cubes for a year or so while you save $$ for plumbing & electric work. One final note - have you considered using IKEA cabinets? They are much less expensive than cabinet lines such as Omega, KraftMaid, etc. You might be able to afford to do it all now if you're willing to consider IKEA. The last time Consumer Reports rated cabinets, IKEA was rate highly. Many GWers have installed IKEA cabinets and they look wonderful! If you're even moderately handy, you can even "hack" IKEA cabinets to get even more options (check out IKEA Fans - linked below.) What's also nice is that they come standard with soft-close drawers and other options that other cabinetmakers either charge quite a bit for or don't offer at all. Layout #1: Layout #2: Layout #3: Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA Fans website