Your kitchen is beautiful! Very inspirational to me :) Are you familiar with Ballard Designs? They have a huge selection of "outdoor rugs" (although I can't imagine using one outdoors where I live!) But we have a few as door mats and one in our Dining Room, and they are perfect! Easy to wipe down to clean. But they look really, really nice! Take a look--they are all on sale right now. And maybe one or two will inspire you? Just a few examples... OR Now, under your eating area, I am going to just caution that it will get MESSY under there one your little eater is eating independently. But you can enjoy the rug until then, and then see how you feel. It's just hard to get under there and clean, with the built-in there. Also, I had wooden fabric seated chairs, and they will be getting re-upholstered in a few more years--they are trashed! Even the wood backs are "gunky" from so much wet hands/jelly/cereal/yogurt/etc. I switched to industrial style metal chairs from World Market (so not very expensive!) and I love them. Sooooo easy to wipe down--even easier than wood! And I have the coordinating wood table, so it does look good with wood tones, too. And my kitchen is white, Here they are: Finally, go into stores, like World Market or Pier One or anything that floats your boat. Find some napkins or placemats that inspire you. They are a good way to bring in some color in an inexpensive way, test it out in the room, and use it as inspiration for your room. Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor rugs

Meg Congrats on a lovely kit remodel - Great job - My personal op would be to add some warm tones - since I sew and love fabric I am making some nice window treatments for kit & dinning area - all matching to help bring the rooms together - Like this fabric http://thibautdesign.com/Collection/patternDetailFab.aspx?pid=682&prdId=3971 Bamboo would work - but I prefer the lighter one - maybe it's for the warmer tone, not sure. Have you considered pewter type or brushed nickel hardware - you get the bling but it's not too shiny & picks up on the other stainless in the kitchen - Here's a great site - http://www.carpediemknobs.com/ Backsplash is another personal choice - white may just blend in too much & your inspirational pic may just be... well too much - I prefer a backsplash that is quiet, does not make a statement, but adds a sense of balance to things in the kitchen. I find ones that are too flashy, that the eye sits there & the rest of the kitchen is lost. have you searched the finished backsplash slide show This will give you plenty of ideas http://finishedbacksplashesslideshow.blogspot.com/ While viewing it is helpful to make note of what you like about a particular one - size, color scheme, blends, stands out etc... Also helpful to make notes of ones you don't like - stop and determine what it is you don't like. You really have many options given your current palette - When you have narrowed down what you are after - get LOTS of samples put them by your backsplash take pics, live with it for awhile before deciding. When I search the slideshow - *yes us TKO's still search this stuff yrs after completing our own kit* - I always stop @ Karenmaraj's kit - I just love that backsplash - Polished crema marfil - it is stunning - it's quiet, it doesn't overpower http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2005/09/karenmarajs-kitchen.html If you choose to do fabric window treatments - you may get a backsplash inspiration from your fabric - or vice versa - then some nice wool runners by the sink & door Another link http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Runner-Rugs/Wool,/material,/605/subcat.html?cid=128510&kid=63567246&fp=f I would not rush your final details as it will be costly in many ways - the details need to unfold with time, and will - but you have a fully functional kitchen now - the rest is aesthetics - A lovely pottery bowl may inspire you http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=all&includes[0]=tags_exact&search_query=pottery+bowls&page=1&ref=related One decision will follow another - too difficult to pull all those elements at one time - let the process have a natural evolution - I'll stop b4 you end up spending a fortune on your "finished kitchen" Good luck

I like all your pull choices, but I have to admit the first stands out to me. My island, which is not built in so technically a piece of furniture, has different knobs than my perimeter. If some pulls are more expensive, you could use those on the island, and simpler on the perimeter - if budget is a factor. Love the countertops. For cottage, think about subway tile (which I have) or you also might want to consider beadboard. Some say beadboard is harder to keep clean, but I honestly have never found my backsplash to get all that dirty - but I do not have a slide in range and it looks like you don't either - otherwise you would need to consider making sure there is something fire proof behind the range. I don't know what the floral mosaics are - could you post a pic? I love floral anything:) Just something to consider - being short, I am not overly fond of microwaves over the range. I moved my microwave down from a micro shelf that was equally high a few years ago. If you can conceive of ever doing the same, save enough leftover tile to fill in the space if you ever change over to a dedicated vent, or take the micro down, tile behind and then put it back up so the tile is there just in case. Beadboard would not be too hard to patch in if ever needed. For down the road - two decor items that I have used in my cottage kitchen decor are vintage china and floral / botanical art. My kitchen is not like yours - it is older cabinets, but there are pics in my "my pics" idea book.

What a lovely outdoor area! And random request- can we get a night pic or two? I see you have lights strung overhead, it would be great to see what it looks like lit up at night as well. A couple questions... Do the double doors in the first pic open, or decorative? If they open, do you often use them or are they usually left closed? I'm assuming a bit that perhaps they work and you use them since the walkway area is open. In the third pic, what is the rounded wall part? It looks like there's a hose running into it, so I assume it's a pool/fountain of some sort? What does the rest of your yard open up to outside of the niche? I agree with others that the round pot needs to go somewhere else. It really squishes in the area. The big tray off stuff on the middle table too. Since the area is already very square and you might be removing the only rounding elements, replace the two tables with round or oval ones to soften the flow lines around your seating. Not sure if you need to move planters or seating just yet. But you might want to consider pulling some of the eye-attention of the center of the area up and out.... perhaps utilize those planters to put in something like shepherds crooks or something to hang additional lighting or something on or perhaps some additional pendant style lighting (soft Chinese lanterns or such?) hanging down. Maybe small trellises with something growing up them. Something vertical rather than just the very low growth habit stuff you currently have going on. Help draw the eyes away from just the center and up into the corners and walls as well.