Not a Pro. I would make it a gallery wall. Find some of your favorite pics and get them developed in black and white. Make your pictures all different sizes and framed in different or the same frames.

I'd do the opposite of what everyone is suggesting here. I'd put the sink under the beam and move the dishwasher to the left side. Then above the sink I'd do no cabinets at all. Then I'd extend all cabinets to the height above the fridge(42 or 36 or whatever it is you want). This has a few advantages. One, you get a much longer run of useful counter to the left of your sink. It also moves your utilitarian appliance away from the door. Even the prettiest dishwashers are.....dishwashers. You also can add some nice lighting above the sink, and it leaves some open wall space to do something flashy with backsplash tile. You also end up with no cabinets anywhere near the beam, keeping it from looking like any sort of interruption to the eye.

I don't care for the tan either. I like the naturalness of it in the rest of my house (but maybe wouldn't reselect the same shade when we repaint). The whole room needs to be repainted- so I was going to pick another neutral for where the tan is. If I do paint the entire room-- do I paint the ceilings the same color? Or do I do a traditional white ceiling? I wouldn't mind the entire room being a color instead of an accent wall- but the colors I really like are dark or at the very least saturated. Which doesn't play well for the entire room. My favorite color is green - and all the inspiration I see online is minty or pastel. I agree a kids room can be fun - and I would like to have her room be beautiful and special-- but not like a unicorn puked on it :D Thanks. My "design" definitely doesn't scream child- and I'm not a huge decorator- I know what I like but have trouble putting things together. For the chest- it's a family chest. right now it's lid is very heavy and is just hinged. My husband recalls many times smashing his fingers. We are going to be fixing a leg on it, and adding easy open / soft close hinges before shes able to open it. We are planning on using it as a low shelf instead of a chest she will regularly access. Bummer for the table. I just love it and think it's the sweetest. My mom also mentioned it may be a hazard as there is no way to secure it, so it may just have to wait until she is older. Her sheets are white, and once she is in her crib (still in bassinet for another few weeks) she has a very light pink sleep sack. So no "bedding" just yet. Here is an example of a color I really adore. But my home has no detail like this and it reads a little stuffy even for me. I'm definitely Transitional leaning traditional. Appreciate the guidance! You have me thinking!

I am wondering if I could bump just my wall cabinets up 2-3" while leaving the pantry and fridge cabinets the same? I don't see how I could extend the pantry and fridge cabinets up easily. Bump them up if the bottom two shelves are still easily accessible. Don't worry about the space over the fridge. Either leave it open, conceal with filler or install an open shelf beneath the cabinet and use it for trays & cookie sheet storage. I don't see a photo of the pantry cabinet. One possibility is to increase the toe kick area of just the pantry? Not a perfect solution but better than having staggered height up top where it will be very noticeable. Much less noticed at floor level. (Possibly add filler here to conceal the taller toe kick space?) Depending on how tall your current fridge is, mounting the above fridge cabinet higher may be a good idea. Fridges have grown taller as time has gone by so you may be glad for the extra space should you need to replace it in the future. **ETA...looks like you will need to replace the fridge & pantry side panels with taller ones. Or raise them somehow & fill at the bottom, possibly? And, do I see a dryer hose connection there for an exhaust hood? Left side, first photo? If so, dryer vent hose is a no-no there.