My first criterion for choosing stools was comfort, sturdiness, and good back support as I sit on them while doing my major prep. Then they had to "make a statement" and work with the rest of the kitchen visually. I believe they were about $290 each online; they list at about $500. (I don't know if I ever told DH what I paid, but my machinist BIL was very impressed with their quality, so he may actually have a clue!) Stainless barstools: Stainless barstools, side view

If you can move the DR door around the corner, you'd gain a much longer wall and a better work zone set-up like this You'll notice I moved *all* of the kitchen appliances into the same area. That will make meal prep less of an aerobic exercise. ;-) Your plans had the fridge placed a good distance away from the sink and cook top. The top wall next to the ovens can be your baking zone. I extended the island and added a curved bar to give you lots of island seating. The far right wall is your coffee station/snack zone/bar area. It's handy to the working kitchen area - not as far to walk with d1rty d1shes or to grab a clean mug - but it's in its own area, close to island seating and to the table. I added a prep/bar sink to that area. You can make one of the cabs a pantry cab for snack items and/or for baking goods since that is still close to the baking zone. This makes that stretch of wall your entertainment zone. I turned the table 90 degrees so that you have room to expand the table for more seating when needed. That gives you room for at least 14 seats (had to estimate dimensions for the island so I could be off a bit). Kids tend to want to hang together, IME, so I put all the seating fairly close together. It's also a short trip between snack zone and the back door, always a plus with active kids or for outdoor entertaining. Since you didn't care for the current bar, I eliminated it in this location and opted to expand your family room seating. I don't know if the pics show your current furniture or what was there when you bought the h0me but if you can, eliminate one leg of the sectional for a love seat. I added a round table at the end - another place to set a lamp and beverages, plus a sofa table behind the love seat. You can use this as an additional buffet table when you entertain. If that is your sectional and you can't or aren't willing to change it (and I totally get that), you can fill the space between the sectional and the table with an additional seating area. Perhaps something like this: [Traditional Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by Dallas Photographers Bill Bolin Photography Anyhoo, that's the idea I came up with for you. Edited to remove the dreaded green underline words. I hate that GW does this! Leave the ads in the side bar, please, not in the middle of our conversation. This post was edited by lisa_a on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 19:18

Missy- have you thought about having him stain the wood to get the exact color you want. I stained our walnut darker before putting on the waterlox. Can't wait to see it! Lakegirl- our island is 84"x36"... I just went down and looked at them and it's hard to say if they would be too big for a 66" length...they could definitely be moved closer together... I'm just not sure if they would have to be too close together for the size. Could you order them and hold them up to see and then return them if they turn out to be too big. I did that with the hundi lanterns from Pottery Barn. After seeing them in person I realized they were too big. I have another idea. Ballard design has the carriage house lantern that is the same style, but a little smaller. The capital pendants are 10" square and the Ballard Design ones are 8" square. I have the larger (12") Carriage House lantern in my foyer. Here's a pic I just looked at BD website and they have a new pendant I think would look great over an island. Check out the Calisse Pendants. I might have done two of those of the island. They are a little bigger (11"). I don't know why my pictures are so big. I resized it but it still huge!

Well, there's a million shades of gray. I was going more off of your cabinet color, which leans on the taupe gray side (at least on my monitor). The loom chairs I picked have the natural texture, the warm wood and the more natural 'gray' tones. That's why I chose those The warm leather options, I chose those because the leather was a nice contrast to your cabinet color, and pulled out the warm tones from the wood flooring. Compare the gray chairs you got w/the metal legs and cooler gray fabric. That's why it doesn't look right to you. I just really like the looks of these you could always choose a lighter rope color. doesn't have to be gray I really like these too because of the wood leg color, and the textured seat portion. along w/the natural colors. It's not gray, and doesn't have to be gray. but it works. Sullivan-Williams/Sonoma these are no less studier than the ones you just bought Or, what do you think about one like this? the warm wood matches your flooring, and the natural colors of the seat work w/your other elements (McGee and Company Ava Seagrass stool most of these would also work. Chippendale style in a gray tone?