romy718, Yes, sister's concern is about the durability or upkeep of a wood top. I live alone and really don't have much company, so I'm not worried about that. I really haven't decided on perimeter counter tops yet. I doing one thing at a time. Anytime I've planned anything to the smallest detail it usually doesn't work for me. So I start with one piece and add to it. I really don't have anything on my must have list for the kitchen. What is your ceiling height in your kitchen? Majra, thanks for your advice. I have an idea for my floors, but not the exact shade except it's going to be on the darker side. Currently the kitchen has a wood floor and my entry which is directly opposite the kitchen has a tile floor. I'm going to do hardwood in both this time. I'm also re staining my oak staircase and changing out the handrail and balusters in an antique nickel to something similar to the attached picture.

Thanks for all the great tips, everyone. My kitchen space is probably too small to carry off a black & white floor. Although, I do love the retro look. Another inspiration kitchen is oldhouse1's...I love the colors and this goes with my original intent of some kind of wood flooring. The yellow is BM's Windham Cream. I'd love to know what she used for the cabs. My dining & living area is adjacent so I'm wondering what colors would look good transitioning into the living area. How do you separate the colors?

Regrettably, that is not my kitchen. It is one whose colors I tried to replicate, with results so bad (this is how I know how wrong colored stains can turn out) that I had to go another direction completely . The kitchen is by Timeless Kitchen Design. They have a web site and a blog, and even a proprietor -- Kevin Ritter -- who may be able to identify the hardware. For anyone who might yearn to have one of his wonderful kitchens, forum member honeychurch has posted here and on a blog about her experience. The irony is that the photo that so won my heart is actually somewhat distorted from the original, which is slightly warmer in its coloring. Here is a link that might be useful: Timeless Kitchen Design

I would suggest carrying the vinyl planks into the kitchen. That looks like colonial white granite, so I would go with white subway tile backsplash. Make sure to get samples of the backsplash to compare to your cabinet color and countertops (you wouldn't want a bright white backsplash with off-white cabinets). Also, depending on the variation in the actual slab of granite you chose, colonial white should work with most off-whites (BM Simply White, Cloud White, White Dove; SW Pure White, Alabaster, Snowbound are good examples of off-white). If you are set on tile, it should be from one of the colors in your granite and should not have a pattern. It's a good rule of thumb to have only one pattern in hard finishes (most tiles are blotchy in color which means they have a pattern). ETA: I don't see any reason why the island needs to have a contrasting finish. I will borrow this from Maria "boring now equals timeless later" :). You don't want each finish to be the star. In this case, the countertops have the pattern and will be the star and everything else will nicely support them. Then, your styling, décor, artwork, etc will bring the kitchen to life from there.