Thank you for the replies. I didn't want to skew them by offering my initial thoughts, but I was going in another direction. When we were building the space I thought I'd go with a pale shade of blue to mirror the lake (the rest of the house, except bathrooms, has creamy white walls.) But once we got up there we realized it had more of a treehouse feel - we weren't on the lake, we were in the foliage of the trees. The Comfort Grey seemed like a perfect fit. It offered the warmth of a bit of color in the large space, but it didn't compete with any of the beautiful landscape colors outside. It's really a chameleon color, I think, combining grey, green & blue in a very calming hue. So, I was actually thinking of adding creamy yellow and a muted red as accents. I thought during summer I could bring in red geraniums in the window boxes and have Parisian style rattan chairs in red at a table in the kitchenette area. I thought I could ground the sleeping area with a creamy yellow & red striped rug and have bedding to coordinate. It seemed like a gender friendly combination that would work throughout the 4 seasons. Now I am wondering if I am "off" with this palette...

oldbat2be-I'm kind of thrown on the pink tiles. I don't think they quite coordinate. I've been staring at them all day and I've pretty much talked myself out of them. Now I'm back at square one on the backsplash. Not a huge deal, because I really don't need one. Behind the sink seems to be the only place that needs a frequent wipe down. I blame that mostly on using a horrible sink/faucet combo while waiting for the sink decision. I can handle wiping it down until I choose something else. Got any excellent suggestions? Cheap is the name of the game. Whatever it is will likely cover the entire sink wall up to the cabinets and the entire wall in the range alcove. Those tiny mosaics and more brick are the only definite nos I've got. The only tile I've looked in person were in the home improvement stores. Mr. MM liked some Dark Emperador Cafe tiles from Home Depot that we looked at. I think there is a better choice. He's leery of letting me loose in a tile store. I know I'd fall in love with something that was $500 a sq. ft. Like the first backsplash love that I've ever felt. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/new-look-for-an-exclusive-coastal-residence-mediterranean-kitchen-san-diego-phvw-vp~264799) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by La Jolla General Contractor GDC Construction I had dreams about that backsplash for months. It also sings with the voice of angels. Really, in the end, I just want a kitchen that looks lived in. Comfortable and cozy. Something that ages gracefully with little maintenance. That's the vibe I'm going for, if that helps at all. The addition is much needed and has been discussed since we bought the house. The plan was to save up for a bigger piece of property and a new construction, but land prices went from about $3500 an acre to $10-14k an acre in the last 5 years. So we're going to stay put at least until the kids graduate. Most likely will stay put for good and just buy land for the future generations to enjoy. 5 people, two bedrooms, one bath won't work for many more years. The addition would be ripping out the old kitchen, and extending that out another 8 ft, digging a basement under that portion, fixing the rest of the foundation, and adding a second floor. We'd gain a proper laundry room, 2 bedrooms, and two bathrooms, and we'll have more than 2 tiny closets in the entire house. I think we're done expanding the family, so each child will have a bedroom, although I expect they will all stay in one for at least a few more years. They cried when I told them they would all have their own bedroom! I feel about the same as you when it comes to faucets. I'd like to love one, but I have yet to find one that truly makes my heart sing. Maybe a cheapy will do until I find the one. I think the Karbon might be a little too modern for the space, but I do get the urge to find one in a showroom just to play with for a few minutes. As far as lighting goes, I hadn't thought a ton about glare, just because I have exposed bulbs now that don't bother me, but moving them down a foot or two might change that drastically. As far as what I'm lighting, it would mostly be the island and the area directly around it. But if they lit up the entire room, that would be fine as well. Unless we eat around or after dusk, I don't even turn on the main kitchen lights. Just the two above the range. I like to be able to see what I'm doing, but don't require stadium lighting to do so. Maybe I should start a new thread on lighting and see where that takes me. I just hate to post too much, don't want to spam up the board for more important issues.

Looking great, everyone! Our road opened, and then it started raining, and raining, and raining some more the next day. We did get the countertops in and the finish carpenters are close to being done. We need to close by 6/3, but concrete, septic, and grass are going to be very tricky due to mud. The upside is that the forecast is 60s and sunny all week (after tomorrow). Hoping it all comes together! Another upside is that even though I can't get a CO, I could start moving a few things to get them out of my way to get our current house on the market (couldn't handle the stress of listing while a family of five, a dog and a cat are all living here). Countertops in (bad pics, sorry) Caesarstone Piatra Grey (love!). I'm not in love with the brackets under the bar. They're not structural, so I'll probably switch them out myself.

cslaughter27 regarding appliances: I had a lot of problems with a new Samsung fridge and range in a previous remodel. For our new house, I went with the Kitchenaid with the pro looking handles. I was very close to going with the JennAir, with the current rebates the price difference was only a few hundred btw at a local appliance store. Then I was on the best buy website and saw the fridge as an open box with "like new" condition at a nearby store for almost $1K less, buying online did not offer delivery so I was a little hesitant at first. I chatted with the online rep and confirmed that if I did not like I could return with no issue, no restocking fee etc. I went by the store over the weekend to look at my purchase before arranging for someone to pickup, I saw an identical fridge for several hundred less than even what I had paid. I looked mine over and chatted with the sales manager, he agreed to reduce mine even more and since I added 2 more appliances I received all 3 for the 10% off. Total savings was over 2K less than the "best price" I could get from another local store during the presidents day sale and I don't have to wait for any rebates to show up on some prepaid debit card. There are no dings, dents, scratches etc and they wrapped it up while I was there and moved it to the back to wait for the delivery date. BB had free delivery AND install, also their 5 year warranty was less because the total price was less, that added to several hundred more in savings btw. Even if you are not interested in a display or open box item, it may be worth your time to go into the store and talk to them they may have more pricing options that what is available online.