I had to speak about the lead as well. Pls get it tested... and if possible cleaned up ... if not DON'T USE IT! My dh is a lawyer in Baltimore City... I can safely say problems from lead paint poisoning is close to 90% of his job... Lead paint WILL flake. Lead paint has a slightly sweet taste to it which attracts the kiddos... Lead paint will get into the dust and aerate. Lead paint will cause permanent brain damage in the developing minds of children. After all that has been said, Dh and I are in the finishing stages of building a banquette ourselves - I'm hoping he gets the major stuff done tomorrow :-). Our banquette has some similarities to what you described - it's not quite an "L" shape - will have one "morgue" drawer. I don't know how old your kids are, but every decision I made when designing our banquette was "how easy will this be to clean? will peanut butter/jelly/mac cheese get stuck in the groves?" ;-) (my 4 kids are ages 5-12) (LOVE the exposed brick too) This post was edited by lawjedi on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 22:10

Oops, didn't realize you lived in the frozen north! Well, your spring is coming soon, surely. I found your kitchen on RMS; in fact, I looked at all your pics and your whole house is gorgeous! Loved all your pics - I'm more than just TKO, also suffer from THO in general. Love what you did with the little powder room, it's darling. Are the toilet and sink on the 4' or 5' wall? I'm wondering cause I'm wanting to add a powder room in the hopefully not too distant future and it'll also be a tiny space. I may even copy your wainscoting idea and the pretty sconces and, heck why not, even the octogonal window if I can afford it. So glad you got the runner on the staircase for Buddy. I always had to carry Pepe upstairs at night and then back down in the morning. When we first moved here, he couldn't get traction and fell half-way down, poor baby, so after that I always carried him. And I always meant to get that runner but was waiting til we finished work in the stair hall, and really I didn't mind carrying him - just another excuse to cuddle. Ricky bounds up and down the stairs like it's nothing. Oh, and he thanks you for the hug, cause he loooooves hugs!!!

I just now saw the questions posed to me, and I am sorry for not having checked in sooner! ML, the 3-drawer stack I bought was just the 18" base cabinet with 3 drawers, and I ordered it with Arlig (now Harlig) drawer fronts. When you order it like that, everything you need for that arrangement is included in the price. I am sorry I do not remember off-hand how much it cost, but I know it was under $100 at the time. I see the price has gone up to approximately $150 now, but that was 4.5 years ago. That 3-drawer cabinet is in my linen closet now, and I have extra toiletries--toothpaste, shampoo, soap, mouthwash, etc. in one drawer, some cosmetic items and personal stuff in the shallow (top) drawer, and misc bath items in the bottom drawer. This was the cabinet that convinced DH that IKEA kitchen cabinets were a whole 'nother animal than their other cabinets. Newbie, it actually IS my only dining area. It was the "formal" dining room, but we never used it as such, except for holidays and entertaining. Every other day, it became a catch-all. This drove DH crazy, as he cannot stand any kind of clutter. We had a small table in our kitchen area, and that is where we ate. We have two children, and when we first started this, they were a bit younger and SMALLER. ;^) We tore down the wall between the two spaces because it felt so cramped. It is such huge difference having that wall down! I came up with the idea of the banquette when I was trying to create more storage. I looked online for some pictures and drew out the plan on graph paper first. DH was hesitant at first, thought it might be too "frilly-nilly" as he called it. He loves it now. Our table has two leaves, and we have used it that way. There is plenty of room for entertaining and holidays. It would be nice if that were our "breakfast room", and we had a more grand dining space, but our house just is not that large. I am fine with the cozy cottagey vibe we have going. In fact, I am quite fond of it. :^) I imagine I will be even happier when we get around to finishing the basement, which is next on the list. DH wants a year off of house stuff, though, when this kitchen is finally done. I can hardly blame him. He has been amazing! Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA--Harlig three-drawer stack

Okay, so about an hour later after 1st reading the responses I am back. Thank you so very much, NHB for the links. I love them & the article is very informing - esp about a thicker cushion & height/depth. I love Kitchenkelly's morgue drawers - hee hee:) Sueb20 - your banquette is beautiful & exactly what I had in mind. Chijim - yep, that is high line right there!! Is he the designer they call the king of chintz? Lovely & over the top:) Well, I was thinking of a banquette but DH nixed the idea. Oh well, I enjoyed all the pics & info. I think it is so great for a breakfast nook. Thank you all. Smiles:)