David, Ceiling beams are perpendicular to the wall on which the map hangs. Walls are open to the studs, currently. We can easily add a nailer prior to drywall going up. With respect to the channel, would this be some sort of trim work, attached to the ceiling, to hide the unit from the rest of the room? (Anywhere I can go look for inspiration?) Thank you so much for your help with this. I'm really excited about how this will turn out! Here is current picture; I will try to remember to post a 'finished' picture once lighting and map are in place. Here is the wall; loop of cable hanging will be what provides power to wall wash lights. From Drop Box

Lavendar, hope your tooth gets better. I've got one that beginning to make itself feel unwelcome--had forgotten how crummy teeth can make you feel. I suspect that you have seen sufficient images to help you clarify what options are available to you. There is a pursuit of the Ultimate that sometimes blinds us. Your lists show that you know a lot about what you want, including more color than you had originally anticipated. That plants are a part of the design is one of the most innovative parts of your list. It may become even more important if you include plant shelves, light, etc in the permanent physical design. (Aren't you redoing a former porch space? Can you plan good spots for plants within it?) I think that a general yellow-dominant pastel palette is a good thing for you and cream-colored or light gold wood trimming. Add the blues, violets, pinks, greens to broaden things. If this were a piece of music, it would be a melody by sopranos and altos, with occasional lower voices dropping down to make a harmonic chord in a major key. One of the exciting things that happens in this design and installation process is that stuff happens along the way. If you make some major basic decisions, including best floor plan and what the budget is, many other things will fall into place, sometimes because other options fall by the wayside. Once you know what you can in good conscience even consider, the outliers become noise in the background and you can cover your ears if you have spine enough. Room and lighting layout and plumbing and electrical installation are such biggies. Consider these things first before color schemes. Redoing them is almost cost-prohibitive. Paint, fabric, rugs, and small items are add-ins and easily changeable. Light fixtures and non-curtain window coverings are semi-permanent, requiring a force of will and some budget if they are changed. Furniture pieces put you at the mercy of fashion, budget, and availability--they may be easy or hard. Cabs, appliances, floors, and wall tiles are expensive and lock you in or out of other options. Is that layout pretty much done or are you still incubating? Make decisions in wise order--layout first--but keep an eye out for an item or two that can be the "killer piece" or "killer feature" that will define your room in the minds of those who have been there. I urge you to try to forget the descriptive labels--DH says the only ones who love pigeonholes are pigeons. Remember it's only a kitchen. You noted that curved things attract you. This is an important realization and one that can help you make a distinctive personal space unlike any other out there. I recall your question about round topped windows. I suggest regular angular windows in a dramatic round-topped niche with fabric or custom finish along the curve. You clearly know other ways to include curves--go for it! I think it's time for you to venture outside and engage the other side of your brain. Go touch, feel, think in kitchen displays. And go to a florist, a fabric store (the drapery dept), the best tile shop in town, a high-end antique shop, a furniture store, a lighting store, and a cabinet shop. Then go to the builder supply stores and see what they charge for similar stuff. If open house season or Parade of Homes is starting, head out. Keep tabs on your reactions: Where do you find yourself in these places? Are your design declarations (above) still in place? THEN you can go find appliances and cabs. Faucets and sinks are a distraction--ignore them until you hone that layout and mark where the permanent stuff goes and where the variable stuff goes. Whether it's light fixtures or kitchen tables and tablecloths, it's not helpful to mentally buy them until you know how much money and space you've got and until you've made/seen a drawing so you can imagine being in the space. And as they say, chance favors the prepared mind, so knowing the plan tells you whether a serendipitous "find" is your best choice. We're all looking forward to watching you progress down the kitchen road, but you can only solicit so much advice. Experience is the next step.

The jars are from Hobby Lobby. They are available in many sizes up to a gallon. It appears to me that all of the ones googled are hand made with wood pieces. Hobby Lobby also has a wide selection of orb/iron offerings. It would be easy to buy a similar orb candle holder and add the finial. If you have a HL nearby, take a walk through all. A little glue on the top is all you would need. Even the letters shown are from there. Orb is getting harder to find. Even the spray paint, I always grab a can when one is found.

beekeeperswife, I'd recommend that you go to a high end tile store to "see" mounted tiles. You can bring a sample board back to your house to view it in your home with your cabinets/countertop. ( They sound like a gorgeous combination!) The backsplash could be any number of blends. While I think it is Veil, the squares look pretty tiny compared to mine. Oceanside has a smaller mosaic field called "Facets" = For some reason, I can't copy the page info. Go to the link below, then click on products/by collection/facets/blends and you can see "Veil" in half inch tile. I am fairly certain that it will be very pricey, quite a bit more than the Veil in the one inch tile. Other ideas: "Susan Jablon Mosaics" has "White Out!" in her "Ice is Nice" collection that it may be. http://www.susanjablonmosaics.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1205 Or, look at Hakatai "Cloud White Irridescent" http://www.hakatai.com/Cloud-White-Iridescent-P628C24.aspx I'm not sure if the reason for my choice of backsplash will help you. We did it sort of backwards - I have purchased what I like that is high quality over long periods of time at a very low price - most of it works, however while I love the price, practicality and lay out of of my well built (albeit second hand) QuakerMaid cabinets we installed, I am now trying to convince my dh to let me paint them. And while I really love my butcher block countertops in most of my kitchen, I really want Danby Marble in my baking area. We are somewhat stalled at the moment, and hope to be able to continue in a few weeks. Life is rich. I wish that I could show you a picture of the backsplash installed. I can't even show you a picture of the fronts of the tiles, as they are paper faced. Sorry. I purchased the Oceanside Veil Glass Tile on Craigslist (leftover from a job). FYI, is usually about $35 a square foot for that one inch tile blend. I paid a lot less. (Some of their more complicated patterns run upwards of $65 a square foot - it wouldn't surprise me if the Facets run close to $50, as the tile is hand crafted - the smaller the tile, the more tile that needs to be handled per square foot = an increase in cost.) Hope this helps. Hestia Here is a link that might be useful: Oceanside