Roo, I recently went to our local decorator showhouse and they had a room with a car theme so here are some ideas: The neatest thing I saw was an oval mirror with a black frame with matchbox cars glued to the frame to look like a racetrack. They also had valances and a bedskirt made from pices of (what looked like) felt with pictures of various license plates. It looked like they used photo print material and ironed it onto the pieces of felt. They had a seat from the back of a van as seating (it was kind of neat, and kind of odd simultaneously - if that makes sense.) They also had 1 wall covered in maps as the theme had a travel element to it as well. I know these are not exactly baby oriented but if you decide to go with cars, the ideas might get you thinking. I do think the oval mirror was so cute and could be cheap and easy and would be okay for a baby too. Pam

As others have said, no to changing the flow of the railing and no to horizontal cables, won't fit the style of your house and in many building codes, a spacing of over 4" is not allowed, so even if horizontal did fit your home style, horizontal "lines" 4" apart would not be very appealing. One thing you can do if you want to update the current spindles is to replace the ones with the "balls" and go with all straight spindles.

Here are three layouts. First, you have a lot of space, don't waste it in locations where it's not useful b/c of it's distance from primary work zones or appliances. >>>> Detailed Analysis <<<<< The first two layouts are very similar, the only difference is the deeper cabinets & counter on the right wall and the changes to accommodate the deeper cabs/counter in Layout #2. (15"D upper cabinets, 27"D base cabinets, 28.5"D counters. Standard are 12", 24", & 25.5" deep, respectively.) Personally, I prefer Layout #2, but since symmetry appears to be very important to you, you will probably prefer Layout #1 over #2. Layout #1 has 24" wide uppers plus a 48" upper that would have two 24" wide doors. This gives you the symmetry you desire. It really doesn't make that big a difference in functionality. The difference it makes is how much "face" room there is at the sink since there's no window. In the second layout, the deeper cabinets & counter give you more space in front of you when standing at the sink. Fortunately, you won't spend that much time at the cleanup sink* since, in the "grand scheme of things", you'll be spending far more time at the island prepping and that has the best "view" and space for working. The third layout has the deeper cabinets/counters on the top wall. In this case, the counter is 30" deep with the cabinets pulled approx 1.5" out from the wall when installed. As with the other, the cabinets are 5"D upper cabinets & 27"D base cabinets. They all have similar islands with a 24"W sink base for the prep sink. Even in #3, I think it will be important b/c of the smaller Cleanup Zone that will likely encroach on the other side of the sink (labeled Secondary Prep Zone). In all three, but especially the first 2, the three primary work zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup) are nicely separated but with the Prep & Cooking Zones near each other. With the Primary Prep Zone in the island instead of the Cleanup Zone, your dirty dishes will not be front & center and on display for all to see nor will they be "in the face" of those seated at the island. Another reason I prefer the first two is that the Cleanup Zone is off to the side and far from the Dining Room so any dirty dishes will be mostly hidden from both the Dining Room and the Great Room. The Cleanup Zone & Dish storage (especially the first 2) are out of the way of those prepping & cooking so someone can be cleaning up, loading the DW, unloading the DW, or setting the table without getting in the way of those prepping & cooking. The Cooking Zone is nicely protected from Kitchen "through traffic" since it's on the inside. The refrigerator & MW drawer are on the perimeter so they're easily accessed by those prepping & cooking as well as those making a snack of getting condiments while setting the table. The refrigerator is also near the Dining Room so it's easy to get condiments or drink refills during a meal. There is plenty of room b/w the sink and rangetop (or range) so they're not on top of each other and so there is plenty of workspace for both as well as emergency landing space for the rangetop. There should be a minimum of 30" b/w the rangetop and sink to accommodate the landing space for both (18" for cleanup sink + 12" for rangetop (widest minimum + 12" when sharing landing space)). If the primary Prep Zone is in that space, then the minimum would be 48" (widest minimum is 36" + 12" = 48"). In the first two, the ovens & refrigerator are on the "top" wall separated by 24" cabinets to provide "insulating" space b/w the refrigerator and ovens and to prevent the refrigerator door from hitting the ovens in case you have a french-door or side-by-side refrigerator. The "insulating" space is to provide space so the heat from the ovens won't affect the refrigerator. Some ovens (& refrigerators) have better insulation than others. It might not matter for the ones you plan, but I don't know one way or the other. In all layouts, the under-counter Beverage Refrigerator is located on the perimeter of the island for ease of access for those looking for a snack/beverage. While it's not in the primary work area of the Kitchen, it is nearby if someone prepping/cooking needs to get something from it. . * Time spent & work done in the Kitchen: 70% or more time spent/work done in the Kitchen is prepping - preparing a meal or snack [Prep Zone] 10% is spent cooking -- actually watching food cook, adding ingredients, stirring [Cooking Zone] 20% or less is spent cleaning up -- that includes sweeping the floor, clearing & wiping down the counters, clearing & wiping down the table, loading the DW, & unloading the DW. Most of the cleanup work is not done at the sink [It should be noted that I am assuming that function is important, not just "looks". It's easy to make a functional Kitchen look nice, but it's next to impossible to make a nice-looking but dysfunctional Kitchen functional without ripping it out and starting over. Some people don't care about function, they only care how a Kitchen looks, if that's you, that's OK, just tell us so we know. Most of us are function-first or form-follows-function people, so that will be the types of comments you will be getting.]

MY advice id firsr take everything out that is not a must . That includes kids stuff , dog crat e and all the table sna nd other units that are holding stuff. You need actual lighting not a fan light so end tables and lamps for sure . The measurements are helpful but we need a to scale floor plan showing every window, doorway and where those lead . All the measurements clearly marked and all the funiture measurements too. As for wall color that comes later after you figur eout what to keep in the space .If that is your only child thye look big enought to have all that play stuff in their room and can bring things out and put them back as they play. Prety sure the dog crate can find a better home too.I disliek gallery walls and for sure if they are family photos IMO they do not belong in more public places but a hallways leading to bedrooms is a great place to do thoe matching frames. . So post the floor plan here on graph paper in jpeg format all the info clearly marked and post here in a comment DO NOT start another post.