Terible (I feel funny writing that name ;-) ) - We wanted the bling to come in through the granite. That's why either Bianco Antico or Cafe Imperial appeals to me - they have sparkle. I was also considering mini crystal chandeliers as pendants for a more luxurious aspect. The kitchen opens up to the family room which we are redecorating (new furniture, paint, carpet, etc) when we redo the kitchen. Family room: Here's some other pics of rooms in our home, to give you an idea of our style. Most of our rooms still need more furniture and accessories. We're also lacking colour which we'll eventually add through artwork and accesories. I'm a minimalist but not THAT much of a minimalist!! Dining room: Master bedroom: Powder room: Living room:

@ raehelen, Thank you, and YES, I am soooo happy that the granite/BS search is behind me!! LOL @ jancy, the cabinet color that I chose was Coffee Clutch. The code for the color is D1-7. I have read of many others using Bittersweet Chocolate by BM and Black Bean by SW. But, the Coffee Clutch looked great to me at Ace, so I chose it. I did have to sand the cabinets to rough them up, and I primed them with a tinted primer first. I think I used Zinser 123. The cabinet and trim paint goes on really nice. I just brushed it on and it went on nice and smooth. Almost smooths itself out. Just use long strokes and plan on 2 coats. It dries hard and shiny. I did not have to poly over it. I painted them over a year ago and they've held up beautifully! The other nice thing was that the wood grain still shows through. It came out really well. Don't be afraid... go for it!! :)

I think one of the things that ends up missing in a lot of discussions about backsplashes, is that they are supposed to be easier to clean and more durable than a painted wall, and a painted wall is fairly easy to clean and pretty durable. I think the argument that a backsplash is needed because you are going to splash things on it gets a little weaker when the backsplash is stone or mosaic that is primarily ornamental and would be susceptible to stain and water absorption without sealing it. My gym recently updated the showers with stone tile and mosaic. They removed tile showers that were probably 60 years old. The stone requires a lot more maintenance, isn't as bullet proof as glazed tile, and, since they are used heavily, you can tell when they need to be resealed: they smell bad, like a combination of mold and mildew, and they feel slimy. I don't take showers there anymore. Not that this is going to happen to a residential kitchen backsplash---but my point is that a good paint would probably be just as good a backsplash from a functional standpoint as cleft stone. This sort of backsplash veers into the Ornamental category. As for the 1" backsplash not Adding anything to the look. I agree, but it doesn't subtract much from the look either: it's there primarily for function.

Swiss Chard Been there done - physically done the rehab on several houses from late 1890s - 1950s. And most of the posters suggestions are gonna blow past $6000, 8000+++ in a heartbeat, (Have figured out that it seems like most on Houzz have never lifted a paintbrush - let alone actually done the work like messing with a load bearing wall or reframing doors or wiring.) Start replacing those cabinets with even unfinished cabinets and you are already at $1000 for unfinished oak - and a lot of swearing and shimming and "you can 2 of the 3 - straight, level or plumb but not all 3." And dishwasher drawers...... shessh there goes another $600 -800 and that doesn't include the complicate plumbing runs to get to those. Now to come in at the low end of budget: (1) Leave the fridge where it is. Forget opening a load bearing wall and doing some build-out on the other side. Guarantee you are going to run into problems with support and getting the needed wiring in will lead to much -huge amounts of - cursing and "you want me to WHAT" from your husband. You would need to push a 31" deep fridge back 10 1/2" through the wall and into the adjoining room. Building a 6 1/2" deep bumpout (total depth 11 inches) into the adjoining room -and through a load-bearing wall to boot with removing/relocating 3 studs- would be a scary project. (And yeah we have opened up load-bearing walls and done the cross-beam support thing) Plywood walls .....now we are into "Nightmare on Elm Street" territory. You can just build a floor-ceiling wall on the open side of the fridge where it is- makes it look built-in and breaks it off from the dining room. Maybe there is room in the laundry for the fridge. Hard to tell how the laundry room size but from the one photo, it looks like there is no room to take up 11" of floor space with a bumpback wall - probably not enough room for fridge either unless there is (a) space across from the washer/dryer or (b) you go to a stackable washer/dryer setup or a clothes processor (only thing I have used for 15++ years -love it.) No way to put a fridge in that kitchen. The only space is only 20 1/2 deep and you would come through the back door and in one small step run smack into that 36" wide 31" deep moose sticking out in the traffic pattern. You might have been able to squeeze in counter-depth fridge there as it would only have stuck out 4 or 5 inches but to get one not more than 25" deep and 19 cu ft or more is way way way expensive - like over $7000. (2) To the left of the sink, you CAN fit an 18" Dishwasher if that is at least an 18" cabinet - just have to remove the shelves and the kickplate and face frame. An 18" DW is actually more like 17 1/2 - it is called an 18" because it needs an 18" cutout. (3) Leave the cabinets alone -just refinish. (a) You could give them a sand and restain and use real varnish (not poly) to seal or paint and seal with real varnish (no need to sand - just use Zinnser BIN or 123) (b) You can dress up the front of the cabinets by adding molding. This works nicely - not so tall coming out from the door that it is annoying but adds dimension. http://www.homedepot.com/p/DecraMold-DM-L58-7-32-in-x-17-32-in-Solid-Pine-Wall-and-Cabinet-Trim-Embossed-with-a-Button-Style-Design-10000108/100391978; http://www.homedepot.com/p/DecraMold-DM-L58-17-32-in-x-7-32-in-x-96-in-Solid-Pine-Wall-and-Cabinet-Trim-Moulding-10000107/100392983 If you want to get really fancy, you could add some birch embossings to the cabinet doors. Easy to do - put with some wood glue and small brads. Search for "Birch appliques" http://www.homedepot.com/s/birch%2520%2520appliques?NCNI-5 With a good quality gel stain (Old Village or Bartley) you can get the original doors and pine trim to stain to match. (BTW Old Masters is not that good - it will never get an even match with 2 different woods and Minwax is fit only for the trash bin.) (4) 3'5" wall next to water heater. You still need a home for a microwave. The space is 21 1/2 deep. You can make a pantry/microwave space by doing the following * get unfinished UPPER cabinets which are 12" deep - all big box stores have them. 1 row will make the base and 1 or 2 rows the top (2 if you want to go to the ceiling.) * get some 1x3x8 and some furniture feet (the 4 -4 1/2" bun feet would work.) * make a rectangular frame with the 1x3 to run under the bottom the lower cabinet run. Attach the furniture feet plates and then the feet. *attach the cabinet to the wall. The feet and the countertop will bring it up to 36" high -standard counter height. * top the lower cabinet run with some countertop -you can use plywood or particle board (3/4 " -2 thick) and tile or laminate or cutdown pre-made laminate counter or the concrete thing I describe below. Give the counter a 1" overhang. (Total counter depth 13" * GE makes several microwaves that are 12 3/4 deep. * Put an outlet there so that the microwave plugs in to its side and not straight back * Mount a matching run of upper cabinets above * Top the upper cabinets with a 12" edge-glued board (these are a true 12" - not the "called 12" but really 11 1/2" lumber. Add some molding to the from edge of the edge-glue board so it comes out past the cabinet. Quarter round works or this works http://www.homedepot.com/p/House-of-Fara-5-8-in-x-3-4-in-x-84-in-Hardwood-Panel-Shelf-Moulding-545/203362309 Paint or stain as you like. Now you have microwave home AND more cabinets for storage - a 12" deep pantry. (5) Counter - you have a few low-cost but better looking options than is there. (a) Strip the laminate and tile it. Lowe's has a white or cream 4x4 tile by American Olean for 16 cents a tile. You can use the fancy-schmancy countertop edge tile or you can do the same tile as the top on the front-edge cut so they fit under the counter tile (kind of a brick look pattern) . Probably a good choice - you have very little counterspace and need to be able toput down hot pans. (b) Strip the laminate and relaminate with material of your choice. Figure $60 -180 depending upon what you pick. (c) Strip the laminate. Do 3 coats of feather-finish concrete (sanding with 200 paper after each.) You can leave the concrete or paint it in a stone pattern if you like (lots of videos and instructions on the web for faux marble or faux granite.) Seal the counter with a 2 part bartop expoxy. Famowood Glazecoat works -Home Depot has it. (Just make sure that it is 75-80 degrees right at the countertop while the expoy is setting up - it needs a WARM area like that to set up. Definitely not a project for a winter day on counters on an exterior walls) Stripping the current laminate just means a heat gun and 5-1 painters tool - comes right up (6) Sink - just get a stainless steel. That looks like a standard 33" wide. 10" deep double bowl (50/50) is $107 at Home Depot. If you have an architectural salvage place in your area (Habitat for Humanity Restore or others (we have one called Odom Reusable Building Materials - love that place) check them out for materials. Cabinets will go for $30 -50 and stainless sinks for $25 -35 (And if you get lucky, you can even score a Kohler white cast iron double basin kitchen sink for $60!) BTW if you want to buy more space, dump the tank water heater and get a Bosch Tankless. Hangs on the wall. and is only 18" wide. With a tankless (gerat thing - never run out of hot water) you might be able to move the water heater the laundry and get rid of that closet - and thus add more 12" deep cabinet storage and counter. If you go to a tankless and keep the closet, you can cut down the water heater closet and use louvered door. (At a salvage place that louvre door you show would be about $35 - not the $200ish at a big box store.) (BTW, the picture you have of one door.....uh there is an never-used louvered door here in the garage just like that.....its looking for a home.) Total done like this = UNDER $1400.