mama_goose: thank you SO MUCH for that link! I have searched and searched for this but could not come up with the right set of words to bring this up. I too want to be able to see out into the garden and not stare at a wall with high-ish windows. I actually talked to a contractor about options (I was thinking of having subtle brackets that could hold a back piece that we could slide in to form a back rest) but this would be even better, especially as I only need it at the two ends where someone might want to lean back and read. The window seat (window bed?) is so deep that no one will be able to lean back if facing the table. I am also going to use tempered glass to cut down on the number of people leaning backwards and ending up in the emergency room. Brilliant...maybe I will even have the fold down bit under the seat cushion so it is not visible most of the time. Good to know that problem has an elegant solution. holly-kay: this takes me right back to why we had that peninsula in the drawings. And why I am on the fence. I wish I could try each out for a week. When cooking for dinner parties and holidays the whole kitchen ends up covered in pots, pans, roasting trays and goodness knows what else and I thought we could use the extra counter to serve from. Then I got feedback that I had created a one person kitchen (when the distance from sink counter to the peninsula was drawn to be 4'6")...so I ditched the overhang, made the peninsula narrower (2 feet wide) in order to get more room inside the kitchen. The span is now about 5'6" in between sink and peninsula. Do you think the peninsula is too narrow? I have visions of Julia Child sliding things over that toppled to the floor? original plan was 3 feet wide but probably don't have the room for that And what do you think about the width needed so that two or more people can be in the kitchen without bumping into one another or having to scootch by sideways?

I don't know what that is at the end of the hallway (first picture) but it's partly mirror. You can see the reflection of the light fixtures and some wallpaper at the top and the floor towards the bottom. Weird. I love wallpaper and glad to see it making a come-back. We have no hallways in our house but if we did, I wouldn't be opposed to wallpapering it. It would have to be a lighter color and more of a tone on tone. Love the grayish beige paper with the oak floor. Several years ago (2004) we redid our daughter's bedroom. One wall had wallpaper on it. The 70something year old texture guy said he could probably just texture over the wallpaper :o What??? After he inspected it he said not to bother trying to remove it, he could go over it. I don't know how much I had gotten off. Maybe all the top decorative layer (the easy part). Well he went right over it and NO one but NO one can tell there is wallpaper under that texture. No issues what so ever and it's been 12 years.

Mindy- just doing my kitchen (2021) & thought of doing stainless at base of island. Found your post - what did you end up doing & if SS using? I am like you - don't want scratches showing, cheap look etc. I need 11 foot long x 4 1/2 inches tall. Not finding anything that long, so concerned about the sight of a seam where the 2 pieces meet, also need to bend at corner on both ends of island. Found some stick on & they will send sample. Ikea nothing, & will check the SS tornado listed above. Thanks!

I go like grasscloth but these walls were recently painted (a color I LOVE), so if I’m covering them, I want something that’s “wow” But... I’m wondering if wallpapering in-between 2 spaces with same color will look weird Maybe I should put up a gallery and maybe a runner/rug on the floor. Was considering this.. my wall are BM Smoke