Chris, I posted a similar question a while ago, and mine posed the situation of having different stained wood tones in rooms that are open to one another. Specifically, we have an Ethan Allen farmhouse table (maple - medium stain). We were looking to get an entertainment unit for a room adjacent to the dining area. We wondered if we had to go with Ethan Allen so the wood tones would match. Everyone here said it actually looks better to have a more collected look than the matchy-matchy thing going on. We ended up getting an antiqued entertainment unit from Hooker Furniture, and we are so happy with it. It looks better than trying to match all of the wood tones exactly. It blends, but it's not the exact same product as the dining table wood. Anyway, with that said, we have creamy kitchen cabinets, glazed brown. Our island is black. The dining table is a medium brown stain, and the dining chairs are painted black. Our mantle in the adjoining room is stained, as is the entertainment center. All of our woodwork is painted a creamy color. We have maple hardwood flooring in the kitchen, dining, and foyer areas. It is second grade (which shows variations) and is finished naturally. It all looks great together. I bet your EA coffee table will be charming with your other things. It's hard to visualize everything coming together, I know, but everyone here was correct in steering me away from trying to match things up too much. The room will end up looking too planned/contrived. It adds a lot of interest to have different finishes. If you are using the off-white color in other places besides the coffee table, I think it will look fine. Jan

Hello Everyone: I took a snapshot to highlight my concerns as I don't think I was clear enough in my initial post. Here's a close up of the valance (in the specs it should have been flush with the doors to give it a framed look): End of Cabinet Run: the toe kick is recessed and I wanted them to finish it off: To answer some other question: - Kitchen Cabinet/Wall colour - Benajamin Moore - White Down (CC-50) - Island is a stained maple (colour: Brown Mahogany) - Floor is red oak, 4 inches wide (stain name is Antique Brown from Dura Seal) - Countertops: we chose Calcatta Marble for the perimeter and Antique Nordic Black for the island - it looks honed (see picture below) - All that's left to do is pick the knobs (I want to go with glass knobs for the uppers) and satin nickel handles for the drawers) Any thoughts/suggestions? I love looking at knobs/handles -- is that weird?

Today, I had the privilege of seeing mamadadapaige's kitchen and I have to say the pics just do not do it justice. It is even more amazing in real life! The quality of the Crown Point cabinets is evident, by the subtle finishing details that only a true craftsman provides. The Ocean Green granite looks like a mixure of soapstone and green marble. It's smooth honed finish tops off the lovely veining and deep, but not dark green color. Her butcher block countertop provides the warming contrast and balance to the granite. The large window over that sink that provides a wonderful view of the water and boats in the inlet. The rangecraft hood, the tile backsplash, her choice of hardware and all the other details that make this kitchen one of GW's favorites are just so well put together. mamadadapaige truly has a magazine worthy kitchen and she is as friendly and helpful in person as she is online! Thank you mama, you really helped me today!

Katybuggs, dcclerk, maydl, thank you for your compliments. I have had a lot of compliments from people who have seen my kitchen for the first time, and especially from those who knew what it was like before. The best compliment I have had came earlier this week when a good friend saw it for the first time and she said "It is so functional." Besides wanting it to look good, I worked hard to make it functional for us. Katybuggs, The room size is 21 feet 3 inches by 13 feet 10 inches. This also includes the area where the table is and the wall with the two antique pieces. My long run of cabinets (which is the stove wall) is 14 feet long. Our old kitchen had a wall dividing the kitchen and what used to be the family room. We exended the cabinets and made a pennisula and, yes, it was always cluttered. We would come in and drop everything there. I am working hard not to do that with the island. So far I am very pleased with everything. I do not know of anything that I would change. If we still had children at home, I think the stainless steel appliances might be hard to keep, but since it is just DH and myself we are OK. dcclerk, My long distance KD was Lyndi Sheasley from Interior Ideas, Inc. in Bellevue, WA. I know other GW'ers have used her and I got her name from here. She was very good to work with and I felt no pressure from her. I was able to take her plans to cabinet shops and get quotes to compare prices. In a small town it is very easy to make someone mad/hurt feelings, ect. so I did not want to spend time to work up designs and then not use them. I need my backsplash and curtains to be completely finished, but I did finally bite the bullet and order the tiles for my backsplash. I hope I like them when they come in! I will post the finished product when completed. Thanks again, everyone, for the compliments!