They probably got a lot of unbound books. When they dump inventory they remove the covers and send them back to the publishers for credit. The actual book parts are supposed to be destroyed (saves a lot of shipping to just send the covers). Sometimes the books get liberated from the recycling. It's hard to tell, but most of the books look like they have no covers. "Artistically" displaying them this way shows off the paper, without showing the ugly, unglued spine. That's my theory anyway. It's meant to be a still life with white pitchers, rather than a take on a lifestyle. Personally, I find the light fixture more disturbing. Not a great look for earthquake country...

Great photo! I really do believe that traits like creativity and artistic ability are genetic. Also, personality traits. My first wife, Mary, and present wife, Sue (or Bigbaby) as she's known here have, have totally different personalites. My son, Ryan, was 8 when Mary died. Yet, 90% of his personality is so much like Marys. It's downright eerie at times. Ron

Tough call--I like it more open, which also leaves room for traffic, but I like the bookcase dividers, too. I almost never met a bookcase that I didn't like. ;) Will you have cased mill work where the yellow lines are drawn? Keep in mind that the decorative post is directly in line with the front door, so you might want to make both legs of the 90° grouping shorter. Or make the bottom one longer to match up with the stair wall. I think I'd have a solid wall on the left side of the dining room, so that the kitchen and hall are blocked from the front entry--but I like rooms more closed off. My front door opens into the LR, so maybe I just think I'd like it more closed off. ETA, I like cpartist's drawing with the shorter (narrower) cases, which would work well if you shorten bookcases on the 90° group. Here's an idea lining up the dividers with the 36" pantry and 36" fridge, which flank the kitchen wall, and with the window in the great room: Adding the grid drawing from above--with the island drawn as 10' long (rather than 10.5'), and lined up with the side of the fridge, and the room divider. I moved the island toward the sliding doors 6", which puts it at 4' from the doors. With the middle of the room open, I also moved the island back toward the great room making the work aisle 48" (actually more like 45-46" with the overhangs on the counters.) You don't have to make the island 6" shorter, but I thought you might like to see what it would look like more centered on the opening.

I once told a waiter, "I'll take an appetizer, entree, and a dessert, you pick" . . . does that count? I think you meant this as sarcasm but I do this all the time. Do you know what the beef delivery looked like, which were the best vegetables today, have you served several people a dish that they didn't like, or a dish they raved about? Have you tried everything on the menu, cooked by each chef? A good waiter knows all this and loves to hear - "What's good today?" Also if you really want a fun dining experience, go to a nice restaurant and ask if they do a chef 5 course. You will get smaller portions of the five things the chef does best. It is a great dining experience, especially when he comes to your table and says, "tonight I have prepared for you ....." To the OP - If he is a stronger designer than you, and you like his stuff and feel strongly that you would like to have most of the work he has done, then let him do it. If you have a strong vision and sense of design for your house, don't.