Thank you, thank you for so many thoughtful posts. This is an international move for us, so I have been travelling to coordinate everything involved - I only had 2 weeks to find something and this house ticks a lot of boxes for us, so I will work with it. I completely agree with many of you on working with what is there and with the Scandi modern look - as I said in my first post "will try to go with a mix of nature (lots of wood), clean lines, bright colors (fern green, orange, yellow, turquoise), and some funky accents". My mom is Danish and I have inherited Danish modern dining table & chairs, buffet, turquoise pottery, floor lamp, etc. so that is our style in general. Our stuff is pretty modern, but not industrial, more nature-oriented mixed with lots of ethnic art and crafts bought on our travels. I'm definitely not trying to recreate a period-perfect kitchen or house - as palimpsest accurately guessed, this is a split entry colonial revival ranch so I'm really not sure there is any period-perfect style anyway. But we do like to respect the period features of our homes (most recently an 1882 Victorian and a 1910 Tudor revival, both 4 stories so we are really looking forward to one main level!) (And I really enjoyed reading all the commentary here on period issues.) Nonetheless, Tuscan-looking or even American traditional just isn't us, or the rest of the house, ergo my desire to create a feel in kitchen more in keeping generally with our eclectic stuff and the period of the house. Even though they are not my taste, there is no way I could take down almost new solid maple (cherry-stained) cabinets, as much as I might love IKEA. Anyone have any experience stripping stain off cabinets like these? I "might" think about that as I would like them better in a lighter wood tone, of course even better with a slab front but too many cabinets to contemplate that. I like the suggestion to take down and store the uppers next to the range and do a big tiled backsplash with a big stainless range hood. I like that idea aesthetically and practically since microwave vents are never powerful enough and uppers near a stovetop always wind up sticky and greasy. Will definitely look for a sleek stainless pull, maybe with a curve. I wonder if it possible to somehow cut off the mullions from the glass-fronted ones?? For the floors, I have loved the look and feel of cork previously so I'm inclined to go with that - it needs something less busy to minimize the busy-ness of the cabinet fronts. I don't know what to do for the counters? Formica or metal-trimmed aren't what I was contemplating. I think stone or tile will look too "Tuscan"/90s - whatever you want to call it - with the cherry cabinets. Already too much wood cabinet for butcher block. That leaves concrete, stainless or that manufactured quartz that looks quite uniform. Any thoughts? Thank you for all the links - I loved some of the tile patterns, but am concerned about busy-ness. I haven't had a chance to look at all the lighting links - thinking something clean lined, Scandi looking, not space-age. I'm also a bit stuck on backsplash and paint color. I love green and will be using it elsewhere in the house, but I have too many memories of dark green with cherry in 90s kitchens. Maybe another shade? I do love yellow and orange, which again will show up elsewhere in the house alot. I guess I am just really hung up on that cherry and what goes with it...

Aesthetically, turning the carport into an entry patio will make the door easier to find. However, living in an area with snow, I can understand perfectly if you would find that solution unacceptable since it would reduce both the size of your parking area and the only covered parking, necessitating snow and ice removal from vehicles after every storm. That can be time you don't want to spend if you are late for work. I think one key would be to have the entry door very well lit, perhaps with an overhead skylight for daytime, but with bright, period appropriate fixtures regardless to signal to visitors that this isn't just vehicle storage. It looks like now you center the vehicles when parking in the carport, and I would start getting in the habit of parking as far over to the right as possible as another signal to visitors that there is a passageway into the house there. Having a dedicated paved path that leads to the house and then jogs over to the right to continue into the carport and door would also be a good signal to visitors which way to go. I would use a consistent paving for the walkway from the street or public sidewalk all the way to the door that is different from what is used for the driveway and carport, which may not be period appropriate, but will be another signal to visitors to distinguish path vs. driveway. If budget is tight, perhaps reuse of the parking pad brick would work for the walkway. Regardless of what you decide, keep in mind snow removal and where it will be placed that isn't on the path or driveway.

Where are you located? There are places that are dry enough to make having a gravel yard practical, but if you live somewhere with a more average amount of rainfall, you will need to use an application of weedkiller at least a couple of times a year or get a flame weeder. A flame weeder could be an issue if it is underlain with weed fabric which might melt. The other issue is that gravel + kids can be an problem (so tempting to throw), depending on your kids. I like the gray tones for the house so much more than the current brown. I would remove the shrub at the base of the stairs and replace it with a low-growing flowering plant. I would want to break up the expanse of the side of the stairs with evergreen shrubs and face them with some lower flowering plants. Choose your shrubs so that the ultimate size can be kept below the level of the stairs. I would want something bright to bring attention to your raised front door, either the door color or if there is space, a large, low flower container planted with bright flowers or foliage. Don't do anything to hide that gorgeous railing! Most houses of this time period have walkways are too narrow, so if there are funds and the walkway isn't at least 4'-5' wide, widen it. A lower cost way to widen it is to add a band of a contrasting color pavers that are 8"-12" wide on each side, and a full replacement would be more expensive. The more generous walkway, along with the more visible bottom of the steps from removing the current shrub, and a generous landing at the base of the steps will make the entry more welcoming. I like the way the fence breaks up the expanse of gravel, but the dissonance between the roof line and the line created by the top of the fence is a bit disconcerting.

If you can remove the popcorn ceiling, it will make the ceilings look cleaner and newer. Since you have children, you need to be careful to not generate dust, to keep them from developing allergies or asthma. https://www.google.com/amp/s/pulse.seattlechildrens.org/the-dangers-of-home-renovation-keep-kids-safe-during-repairs/amp/ Caution: some popcorns ceilings contained asbestos. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.asbestos.com/blog/2018/07/24/asbestos-popcorn-ceiling-safe/amp/ The walls will have a better finish if you remove the wallpaper, scrub the walls to remove the adhesive (a wet roller mop works wonders) and then spray new texture to cover over where the adhesive was removed. Prime the walls and paint them in white flat paint. Then, using the same shade of white in a semi-gloss finish, put an extra coat of white on the woodwork (baseboards and doors). The screen between the dining room and hallway is non-structural. You can remove it but would have to patch the floor, ceiling and connection at the sidewall. Do everything white. If you don’t like the hallway, you can always find a way to rework it later with doors or cabinets. Sherwin Williams has 50 shades of white. You should be able to find a shade of white that is perfect for your home. They have a lightbox in the store that enables you to see the paint colors under different lighting conditions. Right now, they are having a 30% off sale: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/special-offers/digital-media