GLAD-SOONERMAGIC--PDXGAL-- I LOVE ALL OF YOUR KITCHENS...thanks for sharing your pictures...certainly have given me some great ideas...ANNAB6 that was very creative..how did you do that .... MAROQW that was an awesome site...christopher peacock ...totally inspiring...now im getting more confused...i kept saying i wanted a cottage/english feel...now im looking at those amazing pictures from somethings gotta give hampton house and also the pictures from a new post titled "beautiful white kitchen with whole house to match" that was posted here on march 14th. when i look at the kitchen i love it....to me the pictures show old world meeting modern....check them out...im really leaning towards the subway but of course finding the right shade....but have not ruled out a square tile.....my cabinets seem to be more ornate raised panel then some of the simpler lines.....will that still go ok with the subway???? sorry if im rambling....anyway ,...thanks for your comments...i will figure this out....ps i paid the tile installer today...pss i have two boards of matching wainscoating in my garage that i did not use...is it to rustic for my cabinets? who me confused lol yes.. as you can see im all over the place.... :) have a great night and again thank you for your pictures ,,,thoughts....and ideas..... lisa :)

I didn't put the cooktop in the island -- I don't think you have to get used to the idea. You have a choice. I have had both and really like having an island as a buffet counter, dough working area and prep space -- even a dual sided work space when DH and I are both working. I had them with young kids, but never with seating. We didn't have any safety issues, but I can see the potential and I dont think it would be comfortable or appealing to sit at the island if the cooktop is on. Your view is blocked, there will be heat and you (or your book, homework, phone, etc.) can get splattered. You could even put the cleanup sink an DW in the island and have a bar sink in the beverage/snack area but not a prep sink. I tend to like single level islands, and it seems a lot of folks who have had dual level ones change them out to a single level. You could do two levels if that suits you better. Either way, my preference would be to not have seating at the island. That appears to be a major traffic path. Do you really need it? Would it really work out well? I didn't have room to even consider seating in my kitchen, so I put 13" deep cabinets (like my wall cabinets) on the back side of my island. It has turned out to be incredible small appliance, outdoor or holiday dish storage and more. You could make the cabinets 15" and pick up just a little more in storage options (a few appliances and serving pieces could use the extra room). If you put a bench against the wall, furniture or built-in, you can extend that island and still have a good size sink and good prep space.

One problem with making this decision is that your needs change as your family grows - both in number and in years. For example my sister in law put an island in her new kitchen instead of a table when her kids were small. The twins were constantly falling off the tall stools,and she really liked the idea of gathering around a table for family dinner so she ripped out the island, and bought a table. That was several years ago. Now she is missing the workspace (and her prep sink, which went away with the island) and, regrettably, there are fewer opportunities for family dinners with older kids rushing off to sports and other evening activities. We are fortunate enough to have room for a peninsula with seating as well as a table. But it does seem somewhat redundant. Especially as we also have a dining room with table (which I'm certain will never get used except holidays.) However, we are a family of 6, so we could never fit entirely around a peninsula or island. I do think kitchen tables are underutilized especially when entertaining - everyone crowds in the kitchen and some perch themselves on a peninsula barstool, but who goes and sits at the kitchen table? I think it's because it is so low compared to the rest of the counters. A friend of mine bought a counter-height kitchen table and tall chairs to try and include the table area more in the overall kitchen scheme. I thought about that but I found a traditional round kitchen table that I really love so I am going with that.

The Pepto-Bismol pink is a bit much for me, and I have never cared for black and pink together either. But, my neighbors had the original bath from 1942 up until 3 years ago, and the tiles were small pale pink squares. Much nicer! I do like the various shades of green. And I adore those closet showers! I've been in many houses built in the 1920s-30s and never seen that. My first house, built in 1929, still had the original classic black and white tile and fixtures (including the china X shaped handles on the shower and sink) .