chicagoans - I've seen those corner drawers and they are so cool. I actually got the idea to put the bank of regular drawers on the diagonal instead from an article that discussed how expensive they are. Ooops - I guess there's a reason that option is cheaper. bmorepanic - How did you know?!?! I re-measured the architect's floor-plan (scale) and it looks like the range wall to island (counter to counter) is 48" and the sink wall to island (counter to counter) is 39". I'm really happy about the 48", but surprised about the 39". I will discuss with the architect because I distinctly remember her saying 42" for minimum aisle width. Hopefully we can bump it three inches without too much issue. And, I will definitely do the furniture trick. We already swapped the LR and DR furniture to see if we'd like it (love it!!!), so this is just the next logical step. rhome - I remembered why we can't move the fridge there! The architect said it will be too deep and it will obscure the site line when coming up the stairs. I suppose we could opt for a CD fridge, but I'm not really sold on them (especially with two growing boys!). Re: OVENS... So, I think I really confused everyone with my oven question. I don't actually want wall ovens - we can't spare the counter space. I was think a separate cooktop and oven, but installing the oven at regular range height. That's why I was thinking fridge / oven / cooktop. The reason for doing this is that I like the seamless flow of the counter around the cooktop and I feel like lots of crud could get stuck around the edges of a range. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

First of all, congratulations on your new baby daughter, and your new home! I'm going to start with suggestions that aren't hugely expensive, but will give you a lot of bang for your buck. Anything that you'd like to buy new, you go for it. * Our Overall Happy Place: Our homes need to be our comfort places. They need to make us, as well as our families and friends feel comfortable and welcome. It wastes time and money to lurch when buying for and decorating our homes. Yes, most of us started off with some hand-me-downs from our families, or things from our single days, but it's up to us to pull them together cohesively into OUR OWN PERSONAL REFUGE. Seriously take your time looking at rooms online, in stores, and in magazines and think about what styles make you happy. That look welcoming and feel comfortable to you. Pick an accent color or two, and add it throughout your rooms via throw pillows, art, lamps, etc. *Furniture Placement: Your living room presents a real design dilemma. It's narrow and I can see that it's hard to set up a relaxing place to sit and watch tv or socialize with friends, because the walkway from the front door into the house is right in front of your tv. I'm guessing that the doorway off your dining room leads into the kitchen. Too bad, as it would make a more ideal living room. So, if it were me, I would move the tv to the recessed wall area and either paint the tv stand you have for now black, buy a shallow, longer tv stand in black, or buy or build a shelf/cabinet in that recessed area to house the tv, books and whatever. Because you have at least one child, I know from experience that storage for kid/baby things is a BIG priority. With that in mind, I'd eventually (or now) look for, or build, built-ins with lower cabinets to store things. As has already been suggested here, a couple of barrel chairs, preferably ones that swivel to flank the sofa with a long-ish, narrow coffee table (again, one with hidden storage would be ideal), or 2 shorter but narrow coffee tables. A large framed piece of art above the sofa and two (more solid) end tables with a lamp (with 3-way bulbs and tall enough to read by) on each. Add your accent colors with a couple of comfortable-to-actually-use throw pillows, your artwork, and lamps. Now you'll have seating for 4-5 people. And, as far as furniture goes, if your not ready to buy new end tables, coffee table, lamps and artwork , please consider consignment shops, garage sales, and IKEA. Oftentimes, you'll find great prices on beautiful furniture pieces. And never forget that these pieces can be painted or stained. * Your Artwork: It's hung too high pretty much on every wall, and it's too small. Although pretty, it makes every wall look cluttered and indecisive. My suggestion is to gradually buy new, larger framed pieces. And don't, like my little sis did, try and buy art to match the room (LOL! She seriously did ). Buy what makes you happy now and that will make you happy and comfortable to look at for the at least the next few years. I don't know what your budget is like, but art on your walls adds so much to any room. If you're looking to save money in this area, please look at consignment shops, and at stores like Home Goods for good, reasonably priced large pieces. *Ceiling Fan: replace the blades on the one in your living room with larger blades and get rid of the light. Overhead lighting is very harsh and unattractive, IMO. *Draperies: For the time being, I'd take off the ties and push to each side. *Dining Room: get rid of the black rug and replace with a round or oval rug in a less harsh color, preferably with a pattern. And replace your hanging light with something more trendy/young/large. Question: is that centered over the table? I can't tell, but it needs to be. *Decorative Pieces: small, scattered pieces tend to look cluttery and busy. And they really have no impact on a room, décor-wise, except to add clutter. I would look for some inexpensive cloth baskets/storage cube bins for the lower shelves in your living and dining rooms to store things while making a nice visual impact. I know from experience that with small kids, you have to be very careful as they get into everything, can climb on or tip over, break, chew on, etc. things. When you're ready for some pieces to buy for your shelves, again, look for large pieces that make a visual impact, possibly in one of your accent colors . . . and that are kid-proof (LOL)!

When it comes to hanging art, keep in mind those Velcro Command Strips. I use them to hang almost everything and they don't damage the walls. They hold a surprising amount of weight. That metal scrollwork would probably take one nail, but most artwork, unless the frames are really heavy, can be hung with the command strips. I'm not so sure the metal piece is "farmhouse." Rustic, probably. When I think farmhouse, though, I don't think of that type of piece. I think you can do better, but if you really LOVE it, then go for it! I do like the upholstered ottoman but I like yayagal's coffee table suggestion even better! It will definitely help set the farmhouse tone you want.

If you repaint the columns white, that alone will improve the look. If the bar at the island is useful, as you replace your countertops, consider whether you want to keep it that height or create one level: If you choose white or mostly white countertops and white posts within the bar countertop rather than framing it, that might make the columns less visible and the bar more useful. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/29/67/22/29672294beb5ed2a9dd8030fbd58d92f.jpg Then you might consider a high overhead cabinet with glass doors on both sides for displaying some of your best serving dishes or canister sets or art or family treasures. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559501953679331712/ Because of the "return vent? in the base of the bar, that kitchen counter appears deeper than usual which might well give you enough countertop room to add shallow cabinets to the kitchen side of the posts and still have work space in front of the cabinet. https://www.wayfair.com/NewAge-Products--9-Piece-Bar-Cabinet-615-L73-K~NOD12662.html?refid=GX528897189796-NOD12662&device=c&ptid=902664818048&network=g&targetid=aud-354999624671:pla-902664818048&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=97966143&fdid=1817&PiID%5B%5D=45343396&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxtXj4tqT8wIVVm1vBB3TIA2dEAQYAiABEgKUJvD_BwE  -- or use that side as an appliance garage -- there are different kinds of doors for those:. https://www.bhg.com/kitchen/storage/organization/options-for-appliance-garages/ https://www.bhg.com/kitchen/storage/organization/options-for-appliance-garages/?slide=slide_4cd82047-1253-41c1-bc90-f652b6e9589f#slide_4cd82047-1253-41c1-bc90-f652b6e9589f