Goodness, thanks again everyone! Thanks, Mama , Arapaho, Roarah, Sochi, Pipdog, Yvette, Merry, Maryanne, April, Bethpen, CLblakey, Irish2,Schoolhouse, GWlolo, Sis2Two, Desert_Solitaire, Texanjana, Walnutcreek Lynnein NM, what a nice compliment! Thank you. StephF, LOL, I may still be nuts! Thank you. Desertdance, In re the curtains, you are going to be very happy. They are from West Elm, come in many sizes and are dirt cheap! (see link below). They don't have a great hand and provide almost no privacy, but there you go. I still have to put up the pair on the double window and the doors. The industrial rods (also West Elm, very happy with them) were back ordered. Luckygal, Tuesday_2008, and Beckysharp, Thank you! In re the dark table. One thing I had kind of "learned" on the boards here is to balance dark and light in a room. I was thinking the table had no tonal counterpart, but I am glad you mentioned the ladders. Yes, you are right. Dad, I will not be "ruining" the table. Bee, Thank you! You remember the silver tray hunt! I ended up getting one very cheapo from ebay --- i think like 80 bucks. It has irreparable damage in spots but it is perfect for this use. Patty cake, Yes, it is a folly. Certainly a per-sq-foot folly! I seem to be folly-prone. Thanks. Nini804, aww, that's so cute! I'm glad my target demographic likes it, too! Cyn427, I think the exterior looks a little like a toll booth, or worse yet, those security booths in gated McMansionvilles. I know dirt and a faded roof will help! And as you can see in one photo, we are starting vines to encircle the doorway. Any other ideas for the exterior? I need something that makes it look less tall --- like a big horizontal stripe! Ideas??? Mclarke - really? What a coincidence. I really wanted to wait until the vines grew in and the roof faded, but ahh what the heck. Glad you like it. It's actually prettier in person because in the photos you can't tell that its next to the pond and that is the view from most windows. Kitchendetective, Hmm, no, but there is actually a new bee box you can see in one of the photos! Not a bad idea to at least plant a butterfly bush. You are right about the setting. These types of mini vistas are why we fell in love with and bought this house, despite having no intention of moving and knowing no one here. You can't create some of what's here. I have always loved the moss-covered, fern bedecked, meandering, pond-view path to the stonehouse, and now we have a reason to go down it! Annie, i thought maybe it was because, in the thunder, you won't want to make the trip to the outhouse? lol BronwynsMom, Leave it to you to "pen" such a clever and charming review. It means a lot to me to earn your accolades, with your talent! Thank you! Jab65, Thanks! As for the ladder. I don't know if these pictures below show it better. The ladder is attached to a metal bracket drilled into the wall. When you want to use it, you lift the ladder upwards, it disengages from part of the bracket, and you pull it out. When you are done it goes flat against the wall again. All we did was show the carpenter the ladders and he figured out the rest. Here is a link that might be useful: Curtain source

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words. This was truly a labor of love. The DIY had nothing to do with saving money. We just like doing things ourselves. Plus, it makes you feel like you really accomplished something. Bemsue, yes, I love the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations product. I have done two bathroom vanities, three pieces of bedroom furniture, and one kitchen with it. It is very similar to a gel-based stain in texture, but it is water-based. It covers more fully than a stain, though. The one thing I don't like is the water-based poly you put on at the end. It is hard to work with, but I made the best of it. I supposed I could've bought another brand of water-based poly. Using that product on a kitchen is not for the faint of heart, though. It took so long to do all that painting. You have to do two coats of paint on each door, front and back. Then the poly coat on top. I guess I can say that all the work was worth it, but I don't know if I'd have the nerve to do it again. The bathroom vanities and furniture didn't take long to do, though. Kellienoelle, I cannot commit to knobs/pulls yet. I was going to just put brushed chrome round knobs, but you can see that the long drawers on the right side would not look right with round knobs, and I didn't think I wanted any pulls in the kitchen. So I am at a standstill on that. Lillyvt, I appreciate your honest feedback about the stools. I know they probably don't fit aesthetically, but we bought those when we first moved in here, and they are very functional. They support your back, swivel, move up and down, are vinyl and easy to clean, are comfy, and support a lot of weight. So for now we are keeping them. Gardenpixie, the size of our island is 51" x 28". The space from island to cabinets is 33" on the left and 32" on the right. As far as the 3 floor-to-ceiling pantries next to the fridge goes, my opinion is it may be too heavy since you won't have the lower counter next to the fridge, but who knows, it could look amazing. I have spent countless hours both in this forum and on other websites looking at kitchen pics. I don't know why I decided on black for the cabinets. My husband painted the kitchen cabinets in our old house white, and I wanted something different. White shows dirt easily, yellows with acrylic + water-based poly over it, and shows cabinet imperfections more. I debated on doing a dark brown/espresso color, but ultimately decided on black. Black isn't done a lot in kitchens, and I wanted to do something different. Because of the crown moulding on the cabs and my valance, pendant, and cat picture on the wall, I think it still has a feminine touch without looking too masculine and modern. I'm not quite sure I like the color of the island, but I just didn't think it should be black. It bugged me how our "before" kitchen was so monochromatic and orangey-looking. It needed some contrast and a dark color to anchor it. My husband still wants to install a commercial pull-down spiraly faucet. We are having trouble finding one since the ones we looked at don't seem to pull down that far.

omg, I just got so happy with my bedroom and today the demo on the adjoining master bath began and it has all gone to hell so fast! I know it will all be worth it but holy cow, what an ungodly mess. The DUST, the dust!! I'm going to head out and buy five--ten more of those huge thin plastic drop cloths tomorrow first thing just to protect furniture in other rooms from all the dust. I doubt I could make those shades, but perhaps I will try... my mom is visiting this week and she is an absolute genius with a sewing machine. Maybe I'll see if she is game.:)

Since privacy isn't an issue,you could consider Arlo blinds on Overstock when on sale https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Arlo-Blinds-Dali-Native-Cordless-Lift-Bamboo-Roman-Shades-with-60-Inch-Height/22158775/product.html?refccid=AEYVUL65EQTKL2CORS5IQJREHE&searchidx=14 (ask landlord to share costs),window film on lower portion only,roller shades (see here https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-designers-make-roller-shades-look-super-chic or just go bare. ps--Ask landlord before mounting any bracketed cornices.