I know exactly what you mean! I hate those things! I'm redoing my mothers kitchen and she hated those too so originally wanted to replace 2 of the 3 existing ceiling fixtures with a ceiling hugging pendant type with a longer pendant over the table. I explained that all those hanging in her small kitchen would be too busy and the other 2 would be competing with the pendant that will go over the table so talked her into letting me install 2 recessed potlights for the other 2. One over the back door entry and one in the work area...That left a clean ceiling so the only thing that will catch the eye is the pendant over the table and the one over the sink! I'm going to start a post of the kitchen update since the potlights are only thing installed so far...if I can figure out how! (kinda new here)

I went to see a house last night- its not even on the MLS yet. My aunt lives on the street and saw the sign in the yard. I called the realtor for information and she told me that the house was 4 bedrooms 2.5 baths and had a huge living room. Said the house was 1600 sq feet with an updated kitchen. I asked if there was off street parking (there is no garage) and she said yes. She told me she'd toured the home personally and it was beautiful inside. I was very interested in seeing it and my expectations were pretty high (thanks to the realtor and all her gushing about how beautiful the inside of the home was) After seeing the house I seriously wonder if the realtor had it confused with another (but I doubt it since she tried to point out how "beautiful" everything was inside. First the house is only 3 bedrooms (very small bedrooms at that, one of which was painted hot pink, purple and lime green with the daughter's name stenciled all over the walls (ok not a big deal, a few coats of paint would cover it). The "huge" living room was about 10X13, I certainly wouldn't describe anything that size as large. The kitchen was NOT updated in the last 20 years and the wood floors in the living room needed refinished badly. The carpet was stained everywhere (owner had two large dogs and a 3 yr old) and the owner admitted the furnance wasn't working and they hadn't had it fixed yet. The realtor had never mentioned this. The basement must have been included in the 1600 sq ft measurement because the rest of the house was no where near that. The basement floor was covered in about 6 inches of mud. I asked the owner if it had flooded recently and she said she didn't know as she never goes down there. Oh and the walls had soft ball sized holes in them (owner said her kids did that) ANd the house did not have 2.5 baths. There was a full bath on the 2nd floor and a toilet in the laundry room stuck beside the washer. I don't think I'd even call that a half bath. And the off street parking was a lot next to the house (that belonged to an apartment complex next door. So legally, you are not allowed to park there. It was horrible. We almost fell through the porch when we were walking to the front door (loose rotted boards). It was a huge waste of time and if the realtor had just been up front and said this place has a lot of potential but it does need some work I would have walked into the house expecting the dirty carpet, holes in the walls, and I wouldn't have viewed everything as negatively as I did (after expecting so much).

I appreciate everyone’s feedback. Beverly, especially the time you took to drop the color onto my pic. Wondering why it didn’t occur to me earlier to post a photo and ask for paint color suggestions. As it turns out, the paint has been purchased and painters began work today, so the color is Camelback. A few years ago, a friend mocked-up a design of our home with shutters. While I remain open to everyone’s honest feedback, I was thinking the shutters might add character to an otherwise plain facade. Your thoughts?

About 95% of your concern sounds like coatings rather than wood. Products today are simply a little more plasticky looking. Generally, as coatings get a little more durable they get a lot more plasticky. There are ways to achieve solid durability while minimizing the plastic look. The easiest being adapting color coats and protecting with lower sheen topcoats. Another option is to brush on the color coat with a thicker product. This will leave the classic brushmarks in the paint. You could also pick woods with grains known to show through such as oaks, and use a clear sealer rather than pigmented sealer. There are many ways a good coatings person can achieve a good durable finish like you are asking for on most any wood. The problem will be finding that good coatings person. Cabinetmaking, even custom cabinetmaking, is a production type activity. You may find people who have incredible knowledge of coatings, but you may also find great cabinetmakers with little knowledge of coatings.