Thanks for the great information ...patches I'll take a look at your plans...mightyanvil..thanks for taking the time to provide such great advice. This will be our "vacation" home..but it will really be a weekend get away place, that is if we can pull it off. The home will oriented so that the front of the home is north, the back south. We want views to the south and west. I was avoiding a second level because of cost, although considering a loft, but it sounds as though the rule of "cheaper to build up rather than out" applies. It's just DH, myself, and our chocolate lab. Originally we thought everything on one level but are now considering living room, kitchen, mudroom/bath on main level and bed and bath on above. We also considered a basement, as my DH wants the extra storage, but costs vs. it and just a slab foundation..not sure of the differences although there are those that say "might as well put in a basement while you're at it" We're not worried about excavation as we have a friend who'll do the job for us. We love open floor plan because we anticipate small footprint, we want back deck (but plan to build it on later) so outdoor spaces are important. We definitely want a mudroom...area to keep coats, boots, and area to rinse off dog after a run in the mud! We don't really need a garage..again, something we can add later... We live in Western Pa and do want a weather tight home, as we get more cold rainy weather than hot sunny...but want overhangs to keep direct sun out in summer, but still allow sun in winter (passive solar?)... Views to south (back) include woods and stream..views to west include woods and field. Weather hits us from north west...lots of wind from time to time. Why not a screened in porch? I love to sit out but hate the bugs! Ideally, we'd like to contract to get a "shell" built and finish the home ourselves as time/$ allow. Not sure what our options are there... I had to laugh about the home you'd described above with the various levels ..we currently have that set up...and have 5 levels and 4 sets of stairs and it drives me crazy! I can handle one set, but am a bit tired of 4. ;-)

Your gray stain is going to be gorgeous and is a great organizing principal to take you where you want to go. Hopefully you'll find a pale, functional stone that'll look great. I'm pretty sure you've briefly considered and set aside (as I did), composite quartz materials such as Silestone and Caesarstone, but they make truly excellent counters, as bulletproof and chef-worthy as any can be. And, of course, they come in a very large number of whites and grays. I personally love, love, love white marbles, especially honed. They are my dream material. I have never wanted a look of newness or perfection in my decor; however, I came to realize the etching problem is so bad, and so ugly to me in glass-shape circles, etc., I just couldn't have marble counters in my kitchen, where all counters get heavy use and lemon juice is much more of a staple than flour. I just counted out of curiosity, and I currently have 8 different vinegars, also used all the time. In any case, I don't know the configuration of your kitchen, but would it lend itself to a mixture of materials? Marble perhaps for a select, mostly decorative position, including an exquisite backsplash perhaps, and stainless steel or a composite material elsewhere?

I like all your pull choices, but I have to admit the first stands out to me. My island, which is not built in so technically a piece of furniture, has different knobs than my perimeter. If some pulls are more expensive, you could use those on the island, and simpler on the perimeter - if budget is a factor. Love the countertops. For cottage, think about subway tile (which I have) or you also might want to consider beadboard. Some say beadboard is harder to keep clean, but I honestly have never found my backsplash to get all that dirty - but I do not have a slide in range and it looks like you don't either - otherwise you would need to consider making sure there is something fire proof behind the range. I don't know what the floral mosaics are - could you post a pic? I love floral anything:) Just something to consider - being short, I am not overly fond of microwaves over the range. I moved my microwave down from a micro shelf that was equally high a few years ago. If you can conceive of ever doing the same, save enough leftover tile to fill in the space if you ever change over to a dedicated vent, or take the micro down, tile behind and then put it back up so the tile is there just in case. Beadboard would not be too hard to patch in if ever needed. For down the road - two decor items that I have used in my cottage kitchen decor are vintage china and floral / botanical art. My kitchen is not like yours - it is older cabinets, but there are pics in my "my pics" idea book.

Hmmm. If you've only got two weeks to get that place cleaned up and moved into, I think you need to be pretty judicious about what you do. I'm assuming this space is a rental? Or at least that you don't have full control over it, based on the statement that a range hood isn't up to you. So here's my guess: maybe the current occupants are super neatniks and are going to leave the place pristine and ready for all your finishing touches. But I doubt it. (Some people are really nice people but have a hard time with that stuff.) Anyway, I think just getting the place thoroughly cleaned up and painted is going to be a trick. --I personally wouldn't replace any appliances except the microwave. Instead, clean, clean, clean, and replace appliances once you know what you're getting into with existing electrical and install timeframes. --I'd thoroughly clean that fridge and paint it with rustoleum paint--white or any fun color you like. --Consider a bright color for the walls, especially if you're not going to repaint the cabinets. It's not easy to repaint laminate cabinets and the paint chips pretty easily so you'd be forgiven for not wanting to do it. Do you want woodwork a different color than walls? I love white woodwork but if yours isn't pretty you may not want to draw attention to it. --I would not paint the countertops unless they are unbearable. --Figure out a way to get garbage and recycling under the sink or in a suitable cabinet. --Consider replacing or painting cabinet hardware (a contrasting color would be cheap and cute.) Overall my thought is that your time will be best spent achieving a great beach house vibe. Key is for the place to be super clean, and as organized as possible (not necessarily uncluttered, but everything in its place.)