OK, no pictures yet, but here is where we are at: 1) Installed beadboard (the wood stuff that comes in 6" (or so) tongue and groove strips. 2) It was a pain for our contractor to get it all laid in tight with no seams etc. Cost us more than I had hoped, but still worth it. 3) Painted with oil base primer 4) One coat of oil based topcoat in the same color as our cabinets. It looks very good - we think the verticals in the beadboard go nicely with the vertically fluted columns (which I didn't think would work so well at all). We had bought some Utilitech LED under cabinet lights from Lowes and we returned these as they were 1) not dimmable and 2) Kinda ugly. We are looking to purchase a different set of "softer light" dimmable LED lights so we will only have "landing strip" illumined countertops when DW really wants everything "lit up". Our hope is that with dimmable "soft white" under cabinet LEDs the white beadboard will give us what we want (not too bright, and predictable) until we have time to replace the Staron countertops with some sexy granite or soapstone and a different backsplash. I promise to post pics after the final coat of oil piant and after UC LEDs are in place! At this point we really think the beadboard looks nicer than we had hoped esp. for an interim solution.

momto4boys~~ I didn't keep all of my samples, so don't know if I can help you much or not...but then I was looking for something that would go with pecan stained cherry cabinets instead of black ones. But I did happen to find these the might give you an idea...you can go to the websites and look at them...order several you might want to see (they are free samples) and ask for 5x3" pieces so you have a better idea of the laminate. Have you looked at Wilson Art?...they have some great looking laminate also. The one I saw that was similar was Wilsonart Laminate 4550-01 Granite.... If we had used laminate (although it is not cheap by any means) would have been Formica Labrador Granite Honed Finish #3692-77, but I think it would make your kitchen way too dark with black cabinets, but I just kept going back to that sample. My granite tiles look similar to downsy's (only lighter), but we had the cabinet shop cut our wooden edges in the ogee (?) shape with their router....and wish I knew how to post pics, but I don't seem to get that mastered in this old mind~~~ Your kitchen is going to look great.....and I know it is a huge stress for you. Thinking good thoughts for you and your decisions.

OK, well I think I'd either do 10 lite doors which wouldn't be as busy as 15. Our doors would be WHITE. OR, I do really like either the doors with beveled glass like mpg2004 showed OR, even though Marcolo (whose opinion I respect a lot) says that the leaded glass is off-era, I really love it and wonder if I were to use a silver caming instead of black if that would modernize it a bit? On the Simpson Door site it describes black caming as rustic, old world and the Silver Caming as updated. Our door hardware will also be brushed silver tone. BLACK: SILVER: (but done in a 10 lite or similar door) I think this is silver? I like this too but think with a wider (34") door the look may change...

Do you have Balsam Hill? On my ~ 12 year-old Frontgate, have never encountered a bulb different size than the others. And I bet I've replaced every one of them by now! But mine may be different. MANY times if I replace any that are discolored, plug a socket ALL the way into the lightkeeper tool, and click the trigger a few times, the branch will come back on. but sometimes a long struggle, trying to trace which part of branch has power, which doesn't then concentrate in the area in between as the area where the bad bulb should be. very hard to trace the wire exactly though. if no power anywhere in strand, check fuse, plug if you notice a BRIGHT branch (bulbs getting too much power at risk of blowing more), or bulbs out "during the season" replace any out that you see/can reach. if a whole branch is out once ornaments up, forget it Every year I consider an LED tree, but it's not the same look and some have flicker and I'm not convinced about getting replacement bulbs for those though haven't researched. I'd buy a bunch at the same time as tree if I did. It's a myth that LED don't burn out. At least you shouldn't lose the whole strand though. With this tree most of the work is FINDING the bad one when whole strand is out