I think plantation shutters would look really nice in your home. I've had both wood blinds and shutters (never had the composite shutters) and I found the shutters to be much easier to clean!! And no cords! We just ordered 11 plantation shutters for part of our main level..in fact, they were just delivered today. They have 4" slats, so when open it won't appear as busy as the smaller slats. We opened one package just to check the color, etc, and they appear to be made very well. We ordered them from "the Shutter Store". They seemed to have more options available than others we found online. We did get bids from a local guy who sells Hunter Douglas products, and he quoted us $15,000+ just for the living room windows. I'm sure they are nice shutters, but not that nice! I will post pictures once they are installed. We are leaving on vacation, so don't have the installers scheduled until mid-July. In a previous home in Colorado, we had shutters throughout the entire house. They were made like pieces of furniture, and I found them very easy to keep up. Just dust them! They were 3" slats, and made by Sherwood Shutters (which I think is no longer in business). But that was almost 20 yrs ago now.

Wow ... thanks for getting the gears turning. With the early layouts (island including, storage along wall opposite sink/refrig/etc), would it be possible to stick a single oven/mw stack in at the end (toward the window)-- how close to the window could that go? (And yes, if we switch the eating and cooking sections, we would have to build out the wall to increase the 21" section, I agree.) Another thought ... what about taking a table out of the kitchen entirely, enlarging the island to include seating, and leaving the wall for "tall storage" empty. Then putting storage (maybe a corner walk-in pantry) and other miscellaneous (coffee bar, wine cooler) down in the corner where the mocked-up banquette is? I'll have to figure out how to draw all this on the computer now ... it's my understanding that there aren't a lot of kitchen design software choices for a Mac? I guess I'll try the Drawing component.

Love the table! Thanks for the pic. We would like to open the shutters sometimes. Won't leave any open, though. Here's a pic of the smaller window: Best I can tell the mounting spot would have to be removing the 3/4 x 1/2 ogee molding and installing a mounting strip there. Only other option would be a full replacement of the casing with a trim (that could direct mount the hinges). there are so many windows, I don't want to replace the entire sill and all the trim, if I can avoid it.

Check and see if you have The Louver Shop in your area. I have used them in two houses and the shutters are very good quality, very good price and custom sized. They will give you a free estimate and you can pick and choose which windows you want to do. I did the front of the house first and the master bedroom and then added a couple other bedrooms (which were not occupied at the time) later. I did all wood except in the garage which are PVC. I should have done PVC in the master bath as well as the window is over the tub and the paint has chipped from moisture. Otherwise they have held up perfectly and are 10 years old. They have a number of standard colors which match most basic trim colors but they will custom color for a small upcharge. I would consider doing the front of your house first as that will be the most visible from the street, instead of choosing "the downstairs rooms" which might not give it as unified a look outside. Plantation shutters are particularly suited to places you need privacy (bedrooms and bathrooms) as they can be closed completely. They don't work as well where you want light. I put them on my dining room because it was on the front of the house and we thought it would vastly improve the look of our house outside to put them across the front, which it did. However, I have very little light in my dining room now (I also have silk panels). The good news is we are close to the street so folks can't see us while we are eating in there! Another similar product would be wood blinds, either painted or stained. These can look very nice, particularly when you add a little extra money to add tapes to the blinds to cover the hardware. My sister has a mixture of these in her house (both painted white and stained) and has different colored tapes depending on the room and they look great. I also love the look of bamboo blinds to finish a window but they provide very little light control or privacy (they don't look very good when they are lowered), so I have those in my breakfast nook and den across the back of my house where privacy is not a concern. These can be very affordable - got mine at American Blinds and Wallpaper and they were great quality and they always have a coupon.