It's looking like some shade of aqua/turquoise will be a winner. Dianalo, the tile on recyclingthepast.com is going to be my new obsession! Amazing stuff. I wonder if it's just coincidence that they have such a large selection of Belgian stuff right now. Belgium is a favorite travel destination of ours, and in fact, the artwork in the kitchen and dining room is mostly Belgian prints. I think we really need to work in some sort of accent with that tile! I'm also in love with those big sinks with attached drainboards -- always on the lookout for one, never get lucky. It would necessitate bigger changes to the cabinets than I was thinking, but it would be so worth it. I will definitely try the hot iron approach to removing the backsplash. mama_goose, it's true - the worst that can happen is that I'm that much more motivated! fori, you are right, the peninsula is innocent! It's a bad relationship between it, the fridge, and the neighboring cabinet. That countertop where the microwave currently lives mostly functions as a clutter-magnet, so I could certainly live without that counter space. It does provide good storage below, though. After doing some measuring, I'm not sure how much recessing the fridge and/or removing that cabinet would do. The pantry wall on the left of the fridge limits how far I could push it back and still get the freezer door open all the way. I'd get 2 inches, at best. Not sure that's worth the work of breaking down the wall there. Forgetting about that base cabinet for the moment, the diagonal measurement from peninsula corner to fridge corner is only 30" and the diagonal from the opposite corner of the peninsula to the laundry closet wall is only 33." Since the fridge can't move much, and the laundry closet is not changing, I think that area would still feel cramped even if we took out that base cabinet entirely. paintergirl94, I am blown away by your drawings! I hope my kitchen looks so good in the end! I am really liking the microwave shelf idea -- had never even heard of that before I started reading this forum. Your plywood counter is so cool, I never would have thought of something like that. DH actually came across a local cabinetmaker the other day, so that and you all are spurring me on to consult with some independent guys here and see what they can offer. I'm getting optimistic that we can get some combination of new and old to blend well here.

I think the wall to the left of the stove was originally tiled out of necessity. Once you start cooking I imagine it will be difficult to keep clean. It might also be a fire hazard...I'd think about tiling it.

I don't mind the shutters, but it might look better without them. Try it and see which you like more. I think your best bet is to focus on the landscape. If you don't pull out the row of yews (?) then make sure that you hand prune them. They need to get shorter by about four inches. Hand prune them so that they stay full, although right after you cut them they will look a bit bare. The goal is to keep them below the windows. I would extend the planting be with some shade loving plants, like these: Some of these plants would work: According to the designer, the green ground cover is baby's tears. The front of the border is planted with golden oxalis. The grass on the left is Hakonechloa macro 'Allgold' and on the right is an evergreen Carex. One of the hostas is called 'Sunpower. A small rhododendron is behind the baby's tears. A fern called Onoclea sensibilis is behind the Hakonechloa 'Allgold'. The far right is Cornus alba 'Elegantissima'.

I did a gut remodel relatively recently of my condo which included a kitchen. You are in a high cost of living area so prices will be high for quality workers. That is the true variable since the cost of the actual materials are going to be the same for the most part in Podunkville versus your area. You should start taking the time to visit as many kitchen and bath stores as possible - a few hours every weekend so that you get a real sense of what the actual cabinets look like and an approximate cost. When I was first researching my remodel I had a very preliminary sketch and I was able to get pricing from various lines. It might not have been the most accurate but I think it enabled me to get some sense of the comparable price of each line The advantage of a relatively small space (like mine was) is that the cost of materials is not going to be the significant factor - the cost of labor is and for better or worse there is not that much difference in remodeling a small kitchen versus a medium size kitchen. This is even more true for bathrooms. Do not even think of doing this without a good kitchen designer and a really good GC. When you do your rounds of kitchen stores, you will also be talking with actual designers and can get a sense of who might be a good fit - both in terms of the lines they sell and your compatibility - compatability is important because the best kitchens are a true collaboration between the designer, the GC and the homeowner And ignore anyone who advises you to save money by not hiring the best GC you can. Whatever you think you will save you will lose on wasted money; wasted time; less than optimum results and horrible aggravation. When things go wrong - which they inevitably well - your GC and your designer will solve them instead of your having to deal with multple finger pointing and attempts to pass the buck. And if you are reasonable with your GC, they will go the extra mile and do stuff above and beyond what they are "legally" required to do. People will advise you to hire an independent kitchen designer. My experience is that this is almost impossible because for the most part the job is too small to make it worth their while to do. However there are very good designers at kitchen stores - much more likely than at HD or Loewes because a good kitchen designer with experience is going to leave HD for greener pastures. Because of the scope of my project, remodel plus redecorating I was able to hire an independent designer. My personal experience with a relatively small space is that IKEA wouldn't work because I wanted to get exactly what I wanted. I went with a local cabinet maker so everything was exactly as I wanted with no compromises or fillers. And of course the style of doors and cabinet finish was fully custom. The cost was actually less than a good quality semi-custom would have been when all of the "upgrades" would have been added.