Your OT idea sounds like it would make the baker's table look great, but it's another way of breaking up the lines of your kitchen. If you keep the cabinets over the same as the other uppers it'll draw the eye along to the end of the room, and help to neutralize the way the table itself (its rather wonderful self!) breaks things up. An alternative might be, instead, to use smaller details to differentiate the baker's table section. Like using similar hardware on the uppers. I love your idea in isolation, but considering the room as a whole, maybe you could make yourself a list of all the eclectic notions you love (baker's table, apron sink, cabinets (pseudo hutch) to match baker's table, etc.) and prioritize them. Choose one, or at most two, to be the highlight feature. Like what they say about jewelry--finish off your outfit by taking some off. On the other hand, there's the Auntie Rosy look. You know, the auntie who has half a dozen rings, dangly earrings, beads, chains, a pendant and a charm bracelet--and manages to make it all look good! For that, lard it on. Go for the apron front, and the painted cabs, the glass fronts, different hardware in each section, etc., etc. Maybe even a different colored end wall. That much mismatch in a confined space will take some special care to achieve harmony, but it could come out looking like a funky European kitchen, really different, colorful, and compact rather than claustrophobic.

We have cherry furniture just about everywhere and have used SW Svelte Sage or Grassland in several rooms because it just looks so good together. Everytime I go to choose a new color, if we have cherry furniture there, we keep going back to those greens. However, I do love Blonde with cherry too, and would love to have cherry cabinets in my kitchen (instead of my whites ones) because then I would use Blonde in there. Oh, and I also have an area painted in Laura Ashley 'Spice' (think dusty pumpkin) without any cherry furniture, but once when I had placed some in there temporarily, I thought how nice it looked too (which I wouldn't think would've worked). I know you didn't ask about those colors, but they're so much "richer" than beige when it comes to making cherry stand out. However--I was in a $500k home the other day which used Latte throughout and they had cherry floors and several things "cherry" and it looked great. So....Latte would be my vote if you were set on using something along those lines.

Flipping through magazines and clipping picutres here on GW can really help. You can clip by saving to your "Clippings" the scissors on the upper right corner of your post. Visit FKB (Finished Kitchens blog) look at all the cherry and brown kitchens you can find to see what you like. I tend to agree with you that a cool brown not cherry is going to be easier to work with than a red cherry color. But this is just my personal love of wood tones. Keep in mind colors of floor, walls, counters, and the lighting will all add to the way the colors work. Meanwhile here are some different toned woods. Maybe you husband can start looking at what he loves the most and perhaps the two of you can find a dream kitchen. ~boxerpups Cherry Here are both woods used. A reddish tone and a warm brown island. Oak or fir (something with a rich grain) Maple Celebrity Cabinetry Strawberry Hill Millwork Cherry Luxury homes Delaware Cherry with a pecan stain Progressive Builders Mutschler Ktichens inc. Blake Sophisticated Stone Kansas City Lyptus Wood DuraSupreme Alectra Montego Door Lyptus Riemer Fine Cabinetry 11 If there is more of one color or type above let me know by responding and I will try to find more images similar to what you like above. Thinking of you and hoping you can find the right combo for your new kitchen. ~boxerpups

Hi bristlingacres, I am the writer of the Decorating in Prairie style articles on the rug website. I wanted to explain what I mean by "organic architecture". It is different from what most people think of "organic". Most people describe "organic" as something that looks like plants, flowers, along the lines of "organic gardening". Also people looking at Modern designs describe organic shapes as very elongated curvy types designs. Nothing rigid. I think the shapes the "stuff" in a lava lamp are organic. For "organic architecture" that I write about, it means that the home and all the furnishings are designed for the specific site. Frank Lloyd Wright used the term all the time, so since my rugs are geared towards people who like that concept, I use the term organic in that context. Since the Prairie style houses are generally low, horizontal, rectilinear structures, the furniture designed for those homes were rectilinear. The art glass windows were mostly designs of the wild plants found near the building site of the house. The architects of the time would do geometric abstractions of those plants in the window design. If rugs were designed specifically for the home, then they would echo those geometric designs. Thus (finally got here, whew) the rug designs tend to be geometric motifs and not the curvy or plant like designs that most associate with the term organic. I agree, my designs are not for everyone, but for the people who are attracted to the whole concept and like a linear abstraction - they seem to be the ticket. By the way I think the rug you picked is a great addition to a Craftsman look and feel. Thanks for looking at my website.