I love the look of your kitchen, babs, I think the open space above is a great look. Unless you have money to burn AND a too-large kitchen, I vote for 8 to 8.5 ft of cabinets with cove lighting above. What does cove lighting do? It gives soft indirect light which is always more flattering than high wattage central bulbs. Plus for smaller kitchens it highlights the openness of your ceilings and turns dark, murky shadows above the cabinets into a pleasant accent feature. I love all your stacked/stacked look pics above, guys, especially with the backlit top row. But worth the extra money over cove lighting? Probably not unless you have an unlimited budget or you've REALLY REALLY gotta have it. Then you probably should get it. :) Davif

Talked to builder the reason there is drywall space on the 2 story great room between the windows is because the roof overhang with the covered deck would not allow them to add more than 2 smaller windows in the mid drywall area. As it is now we will have 4 3x6 windows near the ceiling and 4 3x6 closer to floor. A suggestion was add 1 foot transoms to windows closer to the floor but theres no room to add them to the windows closer to the ceiling. So the choice is leave alone as they are now drywall space will be approx 3 and a half feet or add transoms lower windows only and have 2 and a half drywall feet. What would look best ? These sre the only options unless we centered 2 smaller windows in middle of drywall which im not sure about. Need to give them answer mondayI say. please help. thank you!

I kind of like the fireplace. It's nice to have a fireplace bridging the living room and dining room, making both spaces feel cozier. But it really makes no sense as the location for the TV. Just look at the renderings. How does anyone sitting on the sofa along that window wall even see the TV? Patricia Colwell called it--you need a different furniture layout and/or a different TV location. Something worth figuring out before wiring is done, or masonry designed for a TV inset.

"...possibly a hanging light in the middle...We have pot lights as well." Be sure that any hanging or fan-mounted light shines downward and no from it light shines through the fan blades. Likewise be sure any "pot" light is positioned away from the fan blades. You don't want light to shine through the moving blades and create nauseating shadows that swirl around the room. I love a ceiling fan. Energy Star Ceiling Fan Info Energy Star Certified Ceiling Fans