I have cancelled THREE finalization appointments with the cabinet maker. I HAVE to make a decision. What the heck is wrong that I can't make a decision? I don't want to make a mistake. When I look at kitchens, googling all different combinations, this is what I feel.... The white island with wood top makes my heart leap. The Alder island with white top makes my heart leap. No wood on wood, no white on white, no wood with anything other than white, and no white with anything other than wood. (for the island) So, how do you decide? I LOVE the white perimeter, wood island contrast. But, I Don't love giving up the wood top on the island. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking of giving up on it. Now, for a bit of information that might make a difference in your suggestions, I just bought the antique table with three chairs that will sit on the end of the island. It is 3'x3', and it is oak. This has been in the plan all along, a small table at the end of the island for the grandkids or me and DH when just the two of us. The large dining table is caddy-corner from the kitchen and it will be a 10' farmhouse table with walnut top. Should I just say "that is enough wood" and call it good? And, no wood top on island? (sick feeling) The "side" kitchen is planned white cabinets which houses fridge/freezer, oven, and microwave. Would it look like I bought some craigslist cabinets and threw them in there if I have those made alder? It's clearly visible to the main area of the kitchen. I think I need a therapist.

Since you've seen my spice drawer, that is a 24 inch frameless drawer. I have one for spices and one next to it for utensils. Having my spice drawer meant having a utensil crock on the counter for the other utensils. Anyway, that drawer holds about 110 jars and that the round ones. They allow me to get my fingers in between the tops. The narrower top on the Victorian jars should also. Mine are 2.25 inches wide while the Victorian are 2 inches. I don't know the width of your drawer, but you would get more of the Victorian in the same space as mine. That's a lot of spice jars. Have you figured out how many you can fit or how many you need? I know some folks balk at the idea of buying matching jars or having to set them all up, but the ease of use over the years has been well worth it. I also bought a Brother label maker with laminated tape for the tops. It was a good excuse for an upgrade -- and they seem to go on half price sale fairly often. The laminated tape keeps them cleaner than regular labels or paper tape. I've been using these for close to 8 years now and I'll never go back. I know that drawers are tough to give up, but when you think about how much cabinet or pantry space you free up, it's a lot easier. I would stay with a top drawer if at all possible -- the jars are right there at your fingertips when you need them. I was supposed to have a 4 drawer stack where I would up with a 3, so I looked at adding a roll-out tray inside the top of that middle drawer. I haven't done it, but that could be an option for you in terms of getting some of the organization you might like in the deeper drawers.

Before you go any further pick up the book What Not to Build. Trust me it will help you. I can say it helped with my build. I'm sorry but this is too complicated. The book I recommended will explain why in more detail. The thing that bothers me the most other than those oversized windows all competing for attention is the feeling that the second floor is going to crush the first floor. It feels taller than the first floor! And second floor windows shouldn't overpower the house by being larger than the first floor windows. There are 4 different materials on the front elevation and 4 different window styles which have no relationship to one another. The garage door wood is vertical yet the wood under the windows is horizontal. Then you have the chimney? sticking up with no relation to anything else. It just cuts the house in half and doesn't even continue up to the second floor. On the left first floor you have stucco above the windows but on the right side the windows continue up to the ceiling. Again nothing cohesive between them. There are too many competing things with too many materials and too many different planes. There is no focal point.

Considering that there was a point when I was about 2-3 years old, out playing on the front grass while my mom worked in the flower beds - and some guy in a van parked across the street but not directly in front of the house...mom heard the phone ring and in the time it took her to go in and tell whoever that she'd call them back, the guy had gotten out of his van and was proceeding towards me like he intended to snatch me up and drive off...before she started yelling at him and he ran back to his vehicle then sped away...I get that parents need to be watchful when it comes to who, what, when and where their children are. It's not like I'm advocating for 6 year old kids to freely roam their street or walk 3 blocks to and from school by themselves (if the bus drops them off at the stop sign on the corner 5 houses down, depending on the neighborhood and the child, it probably isn't a big deal if you wait for them in your front yard instead of insisting on being physically and exactly there at the drop point when they get off the bus or get on the bus until they're starting high school...or maybe not before they're leaving for college - presuming they're going to be allowed to go to college that is far enough away that they will be living in a dorm - if one is a *bit* of a helicopter type.) The problem is, everyone imagines that the worst is only possible if there's a stranger lurking around to cause such things. We don't like to think of the uncomfortable truth that children are most often victimized by someone they know (sometimes it's someone living in the home, sometimes it's a neighbor, a church group leader, people the parents know and believe they can trust, even spouses and their other children...I'm not trying to scare people here, but our society currently struggles to understand that some of the problem is...we teach children to unquestioningly respect adults and do as they're told, we believe that a child molester or a rapist must somehow look the depraved, obviously evil, criminal-minded look in their eyes 'after school special depicted' part while they lurk in darkened alleys or loiter on the edges of the emptying playground as the sun begins to set, lying in wait for the 'ideal victim' - one who acts/dresses/associates with 'good' people only/never goes places where bad things could happen - and we raise girls to keep their voices down, to go along to get along, and let a guy down gently no matter how persistent he might be - but continue to teach boys that they must take charge and aggressively pursue what they want, that they won't succeed as men if they don't swagger in and take what they believe is their due, all of these things set children up for problems with self esteem, difficulty in how to proceed w/regard to their right to their bodily autonomy and the boundaries they set with others about such matters to be respected, self-doubt and issues with how to go about being an independent adult when their entire lives up until they finish college or begin working for more than just some 'pocket money' have been overseen/dictated/helicoptered by their parent(s). Basically, I think that it's not about when they can be left alone for a while, the real need is for parents to teach their kids the things that they absolutely must know for the time when they are no longer children but adults on their own - and this has to gradually happen from the very earliest point in their lives, give them the chance to take risks and potentially fail when the consequences aren't the kind that lands them in prison. If parents must work multiple jobs to keep the lights on and a roof over the family's heads then the community needs to find ways to be empowered - the proverbial village - that can help guide children and provide structure, purpose - rather than simply complain that there are too many who seek a 'family' of the sort that a street gang offers them, or looking at the issue as "not your kids not your problem" kind of thing.