The rise in your ceiling is so gentle that I don't think it needs to be featured. If you are choosing a soft neutral color for your walls, I would paint the ceiling the same color, to make the shape of the walls seem more natural. Your room needs better lighting almost everywhere, and I agree that you need a larger, lower chandelier over your table. I'd also recommend the following steps, before you make a big investment in furniture. Move the big picture toward the corner cabinet, so that its center lines up with the center of the table, and hang it lower, so that the top of the frame lines up with the top of your china cabinet. If your corner cabinet is not a valuable antique, paint the inside to match the wall, which will lighten the look of that corner. Take everything off the top of it, too. Try shifting your loveseat another foot away from the wall, and move the console that is now along the long wall to stand behind the loveseat, facing into the dining room. Use that wall like an art gallery, and cover it with pictures you like, and your children's drawings in inexpensive frames. Add a more substantial end table between the loveseat and the wall, with a larger lamp. Try shifting your larger sofa forward into the room, at least a foot away from the railing, add a skinny table behind it, and a nice pair of floor lamps to stand behind the outer ends of the sofa. Find a big, rectangular mirror and hang that vertically over your drop-leaf table in the living room. It will open that wall visually, break up the space, and reflect light from the window into the room, as well as add some sparkle and glow. Consider replacing the two unrelated shelf cabinets in that end of the room with a pair of very tall, slender bookcases painted to match your walls, perhaps with a deep contrasting color inside the boxes. Move everything that's now in and on top of your two cases, as well as all the photos on the table, into those bookcases, to unclutter the surfaces, and pull all those things into some sort of order. Then you'll have room to put a lamp on that table as well. Those changes should pull your nice things together better, and solve the light issue, and then you will know what else you want to do.

Hi OP! I got your email and have to be brief since I'm just taking a mental break from packing for our move tomorrow. I saw your sketch, and you are right, we have simlar kitchens. I'm afraid I can't offer much help. My architect also wanted my rangetop on the same wall yours is on, and he wanted the hood to go all the way up to the ceiling. I didn't like that it would be off-center to my peak, so I had them move it to my window wall and we put windows on each side of the hood on that wall with everything centered. Having the vent on the window wall presented several challenges. Since I had a remote blower for my rooftop, and wanted it on the back of the house (windows face front of house), moving my rangetop meant 3 elbows and a much longer duct run. This meant I needed to get a much higher powered blower (I ended up with 1200 units of whatever they the airflow in.) The height of my kitchen was also a tricky issue (original height pre-lofting was 8') I dont' live there yet, so am not sure if the hood is venting well enough or not, but it holds a piece of paper tightly when on high, so I'm optimistic that it will be sufficient! Back to your sketch, I'm afraid I have to agree with you that I don't care for it stopping short of the ceiling with a custom wood hood. But I also wouldn't like the look of it going all the way up unless it were centered (it looks slightly to the right in the sketch; is that correct?) Of the suggestions above, I think I like the idea of having the venting pipe exposed. Maybe consider leaving your hood SS (or copper or whatever; it could really be very beautiful, although I admit a different look than the built-in white kitchen I have and that you like!) Best wishes to you! Feel free to email if you have any other questions I might actually be able to be helpful with - I'll try to get back within a reasonable time, but again we are moving tomorrow! <:o>PS. If I knew what I know now back in the planning stage, I wouldn't have done inset cabinets. I know a great cabinet maker who makes beaded inset LOOK cabinets that are actually overlay. It's not necessarily cheaper to do, but I wouldn't be having the sticking of doors due to the high humidity levels in my house (AC only recently went fully operational and the construction guys are incapable of keeping doors and windows closed!). Email me if you are in NJ and I'll give you his contact info. He did all my bath vanities and more, and I wish I used him for my kitchen!

We have a similar construction (cathedral ceilings, no skylight). We removed the wallpaper (ours was floor to ceiling wallpaper) and painted walls white. We did the same, remodeled the hall bath first and used that while the MBath was being remodeled. The hall bath we added a sink and kept the original 70s hanging lights (chrome globe) over the vanity. Our bath/shower in that one is perpendicular to the exterior wall, so I painted that wall as an accent (kids picked the color, its a screaming lavender). Figured that short wall wwould joe be easier to repaint than the higher walls.

I think a perspective from the entry is needed here. Make it appear as a formal foyer and living room/den beyond as you enter. You have no foyer so create one in this space as a focal point, and then draw the eye beyond it to something more interesting looking than a playroom. The idea is that the kitchen/playroom is diguised as seen from the front door. Move the child's table and rust colored set out of sight and move the blue sofa to where it is the focal point as seen from the front door. Hang a wall of sheer drapes to the ceiling behind it to soften the windows and add a sophisticated look. Place a round entry table centered in your 'circulatory' space. Possibly move the sideboard to another room if the space is tight. Paint the art wall a rich blue to draw the eye to the left and away from the kitchen. Flank the painting with sconces on each side. Hang a modern chandelier over the entry table. This is a nice entry table with coordinated decor in blue.