amberm145, that would be one of my most thrilling points! Traditional, flesh eating strippers don't do anything with stain. However.... [insert drum roll] If you put a coat of Citristrip on your stripped wood, it will such the stain right out of the grain. See my pictures above. And we're talking a very dark, 1920s door with tons of paint and clear coats on it. and I have not sanded a speck on the 15 doors I've worked on, nor the kitchen cabinets I've done, other than to brush off the dried Citristrip as I mentioned above. The golden oak cabs I did got very light natural wood, too. I was able to ceruse them with a vinegar (I choose ume plum vinegar, just because I had it) and then a very thinned wash of Varathane 'Sunbleached'. I wanted them to stay light. I love that I don't have to sand.

OK, I came up with two layouts for a first try plus 2 alternate oven/cooktop options. Layout #1 leaves the full-height wall b/w the FR and Kitchen intact. Layout #2 removes that wall. The knee wall is removed in both layouts - unless there's a crucial need for it, it's wasted space. Layout #1 has two seats at the peninsula; #2 has three seats. With at least two seats, there will be one for each child for snacks after school, for homework while you're prepping/cooking, or for helping out. Layout #1 has double wall ovens + MW Drawer. The two alternate cooktop wall layouts for #1 have a single wall oven with a MW in the oven stack. (The MW can be a countertop model placed in an alcove built into the oven stack.) Layout #2 has a single wall oven (from alternate 1a). Both layouts... Both counter runs along the wall are 3" deeper than standard (28.5" vs 25.5") with 27" deep base cabinets and 15" deep upper cabinets. Those extra 3" provide extra workspace, deeper cabinets for more storage, and help narrow the aisle b/w the two walls a little bit. I don't recommend deepening them anymore, though, b/c you then have to shorten the peninsula to compensate so you have usable aisles b/w the peninsula and refrigerator as well as b/w the peninsula and wall above. Note: I appear to have mislabeled the counter depths - the counters are 28.5", not the 29.5" that the labels say in the layouts. The Cleanup Zone is separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This makes it easy for multiple cooks prepping as well as allows someone to be cleaning up and loading/unloading the DW without getting in the way of the cooks. (As a family with both parents working full-time, we found that cleanup and prepping/cooking often happened at the same time.) If the DW is running, you won't have to prep over a running DW (steam venting on you while working is not fun - nor is the heat that often accompanies a running DW) There is both a cleanup sink and prep sink (you'll see why when you look at the layouts - the cleanup sink is across a 90" aisle from the Prep & Cooking Zones). The aisle b/w the Kitchen and FR at the peninsula is 43" wide. The peninsula has a nice expanse of space for school & science fair projects, baking projects, staging food for parties, wrapping gifts, other crafts and/or sewing projects. With the prep sink in the corner, two things are accomplished: keeping the main/most accessible part of the peninsula free of "obstacles" and utilizing the corner area with a sink base (both corners and sink bases are notoriously poor for storage - so combine them into one and minimize their impact!) There is at least 45" of space b/w the cooktop and prep sink (45" with DOs, 51" possible with Single Oven) The refrigerator is located so that it's easily accessible from both inside the kitchen (for cooks) and outside the kitchen (for snackers) without cooks...

What a gem! I think the bricks are an original feature and would not paint them. I don't think they are painted - it is a finish integral to the brick. They may be hand fired or made with a glaze. For the flooring what about terrazzo? Gorgous and easy to take care of and mid century mod appropriate. The ceilings look like they have been pickeled in the 80s. They probably started out like this. I would definitely change out the light fixtures.

I think you need a kitchen designer before you regret choices you make .If you want help here you need to post a to scale drawing of the whole space of the kitchen plus the eating space. all windows doorways marked with all measurements clearly marked. If the plumbing can’t be moved the mark that same with gas lines. If you are keeping your appliances we need those measurements too. That is the only way to even get any info from us.BTW the white cabinet wall you posted i great for a mud room but is that what you want in the eating space you have now. Are the patio doors really your main entry into the house ?