It seems like in the kitchens where the tile doesnt go all the way up, it works best when the cabinets (surrounding the range/hood) also dont go all the way to the ceiling. But, in your case the cabinet to the left of the range does go all the way up to the ceiling. So, I also vote for tile to the ceiling. And the staggered brick, but like steph said the stacked would also look nice, just a different "feel".

Resurrecting this thread with the 2 current floor plan possibilities. Until these I was absolutely POSITIVE the kitchen was returning the front of the house and thus much larger. I'm getting older and really don't think I will need a huge kitchen, besides we'll be much closer to decent restaurants. The MBR had become 23 feet wide because DH wanted a place to disappear. (It's a better size now.) It finally occurred to me to think hard about how we live and I decided what we really needed was a separate living room that could be closed off from the rest of the space. It is now the TV room with surround sound. The other living room will have the stereo and a small TV. It's still an open plan just not as open as it could be. Just because wide open is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea. My custom 7 foot cherry dining table (built so DH can get his knees under the skirt board rather than butted up into it) has been a bit of a problem to work around. I don't really need a formal dining room as we only use the table for major holidays. But then it's nice to have when I do need it. First planThe dining table just sort of sits there, floating sort of. I don't like the way the kitchen/TV room wall does not line up with the MBR/2nd living room wall, hence plan version number 2. Second Plan I like "neatness" of the walls though the MBR closet is smaller (I also widened the MBA aisle a little though technically 3'8" would be better for wheelchair access) This version has a vestibule-like area at the front door (hey, Mark!), which I kind of like. The dining room looks a little cramped but when I look at the 3D views I think it looks great. I dislike my exercise bike having to go into the garage and losing a linen closet, but, oh well. I am debating losing the soaker tub. which would free up some space to play with. Now a few reminders : The post frame and trusses are up so this is the final shape of the house. All interior walls are still moveable but those red posts within walls must remain where they are ( 12 feet apart) They cannot be cut and have headers installed, etc in order to move windows. The number of windows and is what I have to deal with without spending more money to have the engineer at the pole barn company re-engineer everything. The windows are mostly 4 feet wide by 5.5 feet tall though. They also have to remain within their respective 12 spaces unless we pay that engineer again. CP, I did manage to get DH to shift the house a few degrees so the back of the house is a little bit more toward the south but for the most part it's still has the front of the house facing northwest into the winter wind (thank goodness we planted a windbreak 20 years ago) and the back facing southeast. It is not the worst configuration up here. The furniture placement on the plan for the 2 living rooms is done with lots of chairs, most of which we do not own, and the sofa which we do own may be tossed. Just making sure stuff fits. Okay, rip it apart while I go try a plan with a master bath without a tub....

If what you like is a one-wall kitchen with an island, that is possible. You'd have a super long island that is 3' deep and way roomier walkways (4') around the island. If you did that, I'd just make the nook a straight windowseat. Like this: The island has legs on one end for seating like this: The bay window provides extra space needed to walk comfortably behind the island seating. I'd add another doorway into the dining room, since that is now your primary eating area. You want non-cooking traffic to be able to get back and forth without entering your kitchen work zones. And I think you'll generally like the greater visibility and circular flow between rooms. If you orient the island drawer stack closest to the dining room so it opens toward the dining room, you'll be able to unload the dishwasher directly into that. And glasses can go in the pantry, which is just a step or two further. The pantry is floor-to-ceiling cabinets and around 12" deep. That's great pantry storage - stores a ton, and it's easy to see everything with nothing lost in the back. Note that the downsides are: - You lost a hallway closet and deepened the other hallway closet in order to elongate the one-wall part of the kitchen. You wouldn't have to do this if you lose the wall ovens, but I assume you don't want that. - It's going to be complicated to vent the range hood. - You'll need to get a fridge with one door and drawer freezer so they don't bang the open dishwasher. Or make peace with not opening the fridge and dishwasher at the same time.

OhmyGOSH, thank you guys so much for the reassurance! If success is possible, armed with less than a dozen pictures and my own personality, well, what a relief. :-P Don't become too enamored with any specific house design or type until you have specific land in mind. :-) Virtually zero chance of that happening, lol, but the reminder is *always* a good one!!! I'm actually not sure I'm capable of becoming attached to a house (former military brat who moved around a lot), lol, so no worries there. And yes, atrium would be awesome, but so would a million combinations of other things, like 2 L's facing each other but one inverted; 2 mirrored U's; 2 mirrored C's; an I with an L; an H with an I; three Is (man I wish this forum used a serif font, so that my Is made more sense); whatever. As long as I can get some courtyards out of it, that I can throw potted roses into, I'll be happy, lol. I will admit that sometimes, it seems like I'm so picky I'll never be happy, and other times I'm totally like, "Oh yeah all of those options are cool." I think with macro stuff, I'm happy with a ton of different things, but the micro gets me every time (like why can't I find *any* light fixtures that I would kill to have????). :-D So maybe my real worry should be interior design, lol.