Just some comments...from my point of view You have way too many potlights. 6- 75par30/fl clear alzak potlights for general lighting in a rectangular pattern One 4" low voltage 35w narrow flood over the sink Keep the centre light for horizontal light...any room with only downlights takes on a cave-like appearance and causes very dark shadows on your face(remember putting a flashlight under your face at Halloween?) The other option is 3 mini pendants over the eating bar, or 3 low voltage 35w watt downlights. Xenon puck lights or bars is the way to light under cabinet counters. I don't think dimming is necessary, but it can provide a great night light effect. If you put recessed over the eating bar, perhaps a2 mini pendants over the peninsula.(or the reverse)

desert, I plan to get out to some showrooms this week to see what's there and I'm really hoping that will help move me forward a lot more. When we built this house, we hooked up a trailer and drove to Dalton GA and came back with all the flooring needed to do the entire house. It was easier to make choices when we were looking at the entire roll and not just small samples. We got terrific deals and then just paid the labor to have everything installed by a friend of DH. For the majority of other items we spent hours at Lowes. lanval, I plan to give the island a new top along with whatever we choose for the countertops and I know that will help spruce it up more. Originally we were told there was no room for an island at all, but our cabinet guy designed the funky shape to fit one in. I wish we had space to redesign it to allow more of a rectangle shape with an overhang to fit a couple of stools, but there is just not enough space around the u-design of my current layout. Anne, DH is assigned the reno to his brother. He doesn't have time to get involved in the work itself. That's probably a good thing since we end up disagreeing on details most of the time. I've learned we just see things from different perspectives because I'm considering details he thinks are not important. And since the kitchen is not really his domain, I don't want to get into a power struggle over the choices I make. I tried to discuss the timing with him yesterday and he sees no problem moving ahead with the April schedule. I pointed out the events coming up that will coincide with the time the kitchen is torn apart, and his basic outlook/comment is "it's no big deal"...he's just a 'get'r done' kinda guy. I tried to remind him this is not one of his empty houses that is unoccupied and the fact there is more involved than just slapping on a countertop and being done. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard, but I can see the entire kitchen torn apart and me being stressed enough over that while trying to juggle our spring busy season and my DD's precious time left living at home knowing the activities associated with that. Plus the responsibilities of finishing up our eoy business details is difficult enough alone, and now I'm sposed to be doing research/legwork to plan a kitchen reno. I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but when I say 'overwhelmed' I'm not exaggerating. If I could just put everything else in my life on hold right now, it might be no problem, but everything else is not going to just stop. I'm glad you see what I'm feeling about the timing of my DD last days at home. Just last year when she wanted to have her after-prom party here, I had some mini meltdowns feeling overwhelmed with my regular daily workload and then adding more to it. This year isn't looking much better... Anyway, to clarify some of the questions you asked: I broke the measurements into 2 sections since the bar seems to separate it into 2 areas. The nook area is 13'x9'8". The kitchen area is 9'5"x13'2" but that is only the actual floor space. The cabinets are 25" deep so you could add that to the width of 9.5 for a size of the actual room. The garage is on the other end of the house. There is door to the backyard patio in the nook area. The original plan called for columns and a more open floorplan. DH chose to change it to large c.o. I posted pics from different angles to try to show this. I measured everything you asked to help clarify; fridge is 35"Dx35"W - cab depth is 25" - MW cab is 29"D - raised bar is 12"D. I checked the face frame of cabs and it appears the only ones sharing is the section to the right of the sink where the raised bar is. The rest are chopped up due to the DW, stove, and corner that leads to the MW cab. I'm trying to visualize the changes you suggested...I guess I need to sketch it out to understand it completely. Since his brother is doing the reno, it actually gives me more comfort b/c I know is fully capable of any little details I bring up. At this point...right now...I'm in panic mode after talking with DH last night and he totally doesn't get my lack of enthusiasm about the schedule. He makes it sound so easy. The ct can be done in one day, the floor can be done in one day... what's the problem??? Arrggh!! happy, Glad to hear of your wp sucess, painted and stripped. I hung every bit of the paper in this house and have 3 baths of wp also facing stripping.

The moosehead will be wonderful. With that rock wall, it will be perfect. Living in eastern Washington (five miles from Idaho) moose heads are not that unusual. The leather and antler chandelier, will tie it all together. The other fabrics (especially some velvet) the lines you're choosing for the furniture, a little more carved detail (perhaps) on the wooden tables, (maybe a marble top, on an end table?) will all work with your rustic/romantic mix. Blondie- You have great taste, so go for it :) As for the sofa, check other furniture stores, but bring your picture. I'm sure there will be similar items that are much more affordable. Thomasville is not cheap, and Hemingway was their most expensive collection (probably still is).

I'm sorry, the bad views are where? Top, bottom, right, left on the drawing labeled main floor plan. Off hand, it seems a long distance to the back door from the kitchen. It might not matter to you, but if outdoor cooking or meals are important or frequent, it might need some thought. Same thing with the "supply lines" of car to back hall to kitchen. Kinda have a concern about dining and stools back to back. It's long and geeky, so hang in there. If your dining chairs are oversize, it might be worthwhile to look at the amount of room the table+chairs need when no one is there and the amount of room while in use. Generally, a 3 foot wide table needs another 4-5 feet when in use for the depth of the chairs and seated human bodies or 2-2.5 feet per side. With the stool seating at the counter, you need to allow around 2 feet from the counter edge for a seated person and the stool. Put them both together and you'd think ok, 4-4.5 feet between the edge of the table and the edge of the counter, but wait, there's more! For both the stool seating and the table seating, the allowance for a seated diner temporarily expands to 32" when a person is becoming seated or leaving the table. And you need some passage space between the two sets of seating. It's said that between a diner and a blank wall, you need 44" minimum for a walking passage behind the diner - its a passage only 20" wide. Because I'd bet on carrying food platters, I'd want it about 36" wide - it also helps maintain some sort of passage when people are leaving or becoming seated. So, I'd take the 2-2.5 feet of clearance for a seated person times 2 for both sides and add 3 feet but ignore the getting into and out of chair part, figuring that when both sides are being used, the extra 16" can pretty much come out of the center aisle with some room left over. So the table edge should be positioned around 7-7.5 feet, perhaps +/- a little, from the counter edge, add 3 feet for the table itself and approximate 2.5 feet for the chairs and the space to get into them. FINALLY there... If I'm reading correctly, they've allowed 10 feet for 12.5 feet of needed width. You might be able to squish it a little depending on your table and your guess at how often both spaces will be used simultaneously, but I wouldn't want you to be taken by surprise if it felt cramped. Two tiny miscellaneous thoughts. If your roof lines permit, you might do some solar tubes in the long hall. Back door should probably open in the other direction - so it ended up opening towards the wall and could park there when you're going back and forth with trays of stuff.