We live on 5 acres and our road is private but our deed restrictions clearly say NO ATVs. Are there no rules for your private road? Are you SURE it is legal for your kids to be riding where they are and that your kids never go on anyone else's property or make noise or disturb anyone? And what if your neighbors do tell you that they are bothered by the noise, will you tell your kids to stop or do you get special rights because your house is bigger? I would go insane if someone let their kids ride ATVs all around our neighborhood. We haven't even moved in yet and we already politely told some underaged kids that were riding dirt bikes through the neighborhood that that was NOT allowed (they stopped- if they hadn't, our other neighbors were going to get the police and let them sort out the issue). I am sorry but it is unfathomable to me that someone would allow their children to ride ATVS in a quiet country neighborhood repeatedly for hours and ON THE ROAD none-the-less. There is a vast, vast difference between dogs barking and chickens, which are expected and normal parts of country life, and a bunch of kids riding around on ATVs. Personally, I think your neighbors have showed remarkable restraint. There's something to be said for learning that there is a time and place for everything and for learning to respect the homes and lives of others. It is not your right to do as you wish when you live in a community of other people. If MANY other people in that community are bothered by behavior that only YOU are doing, which obviously is not appropriate for the environment, then you aren't being a good neighbor.

You guys are terrific, and I really appreciate your input. You have definitely helped me settle on grout the same color as the tile. So, to follow-up, yes the shelf I was thinking of was the Grundtal shelf, and yes, I was thinking I would install it so as to hide the brackets behind the tile, which is why I'd need to decide in advance. This one has separate rails that make up the shelf (see link). I was thinking a solid shelf might interfere too much with the venting and lights. I'm still not sold, and I hadn't thought that it could potentially look cheesy next to the range and hood. I think I'll go ahead and get one to check this out. I could always use it somewhere else in the house if it doesn't look good over the range. If I do decide to use the shelf, do you all think it should align with the bottom of the adjacent cabinets? The large pot in the photo is my tallest stock pot. Would that leave enough room to put things on the shelf and be able to lift pot lids comfortably? About the tile next to the window, I just checked and it looks like it's about 1.5-1.75 inches between the window and cabs. Do you really think that's too much of a sliver? I suppose I could mock up that section too see how it will look before committing. Fori, the range is an AGA Legacy. Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA shelf

I'm attaching a link to my house plan. my house is that Augusta plan reversed. So in my new plan, the bar is open to the living room. How much work space do I need? My kitchen isn't the smallest kitchen, and even if I had the pantries as counter instead, I would still have only added 48" of counter there when I originally built my house. And after making meals here, I can't imagine having to sit and prep my meals anywhere that far away from the stove? If I take out the columns from the stove and replace the smaller cabinet with a larger 30" x 27 cabinet, I get full use of the 27" on either side of the stove so 54" total counter there vs 36" in the plan so I'm gaining 18" of space. Plus I'm adding another 48" of counter with the island (rolling or not). My dining room space is smaller than my kitchen space so I don't see how I'd gain anything there? Especially considering that I'd be paying to move all the water, and electric in there. I was trying to enhance things without paying for all the items in the kitchen from being moved. For the most part, I enjoy my kitchen layout and am where things are. I was also hoping not to have to change the structure of the house (windows or doors) but I'd would like and would rather make the kitchen sliding glass doors a single french door and work with adding counter/cabinet to the stove wall which would go from 8" to 11 ft. I am worried however with matching my siding although I suppose that they can without trouble My house is 12 years old. I am on a wooded lot so I really do like having the large window in the dining room. I don't have another window on the other wall in the dining room so I want to keep that huge window. But if we do something with the sliding glass doors, that gives me almost 36" inches? What do you guys think of that idea? I think that may make things a bit more workable. I am excited to hear what you think. Here is a link that might be useful: My House Plan

I would go with the 30" tall window. Visually, it is lining up pretty well with the bottom of your upper cabinets to the left of the window. (I know those are probably not exactly 49.5" above the floor, but since it's unlikely that you will look on it dead-on, it will be OK, I think.) Bye bye, 1978 cabinets... good luck with the transition!