It's one of those 'you have to be there in person' jobs to really know for sure. I have seen so much modern tole work done on furniture to duplicate an aged item, not necessarily done as an imposter, just modern made items with a theme so that they fit into primitive decorating. I also don't put stock into whether something has 'feet' or not, because heavy items like that often just had a small block as a foot, and those are easily removed. You have to admit with the modern open-look homes with the extremely high ceilings, there is a need for gigantuan and tall furniture to balance the look. Nobody has even asked if the pieces were sold as "old". They may not have been. Brazil has its quaint places, of course, but it's a modern and sophisticated country in other areas with a good export market. They're neat pieces old or newer. Might check the height of the rods in the armoire section and shelf heights. Are they at the proper level off the base? Would they uncomfortably high if it were on the base?

Here's the situation: (First-- I can't supply any photos-- I did say in my posting that I can't put my hands on the cord I need to link the camera and the laptop. Hopefully there are some folks here who can visualize and help.) The 11x14 photos are in frames. But they are proving to be a bear to hang. They are acrylic frames with 4 tiny super-strong magnets embedded in the acrylic, in the corners, that are held in place by 4 more super-tiny magnets in the backing board. (Crate & Barrel has larger versions on its website--I had actually purchased 2 of those but then realized they had sawtooth hangers, and I really didn't think those were proper for the weight of the acrylic). My goal was to align them horizontally, with three 5x7s in between them. BUT: The frames have sawtooth hangers on the back. And I've realized that not only are the frames themselves not all the exact same size (by the tiniest of measurements, but still), but also, the positioning of the sawtooth hangers is not consistent. I have tried measuring and remeasuring. I have tried the method in which you lay it out with paper templates, mark on the paper where the hanger is, tape them up and hammer the nail on the mark. I've even tried that "Hang and Level" plastic tool -- which is terrible for aligning multiple items, because the picture hangs too far out the wall when you attach it to the tool. I bought the frames several years ago when Aaron Brothers was in my area, and it never occurred to me to make sure they were the exact same size! Also, I think that I've discovered that the ceiling line and the corner wall line themselves are not completely straight (at least, when you put a bubble level up). What looks OK close up looks "off" from 10 feet away. It's incredibly frustrating, but I still love the frames and want the photos up! That's why I thought the ledge(s) or glass shelves would work better for me. And they'd allow me to put a few other smaller framed photos on them, too. I'm going to take a deep breath and measure again and give it another try. In the meantime, what's your opinion on the ledges or shelves?

i've read the OP. That's all. I've not read the response posts after the OP. (I've seen a few key words in the responses.) icannotwait, here are my initial reactions. Three entrances with no corner counter space is actually a nice thing, not all bad. It enables you to install all-drawers everywhere and use them completely. All-drawers or high pullout pantry cabinets. I think you have a huge space overall, and if you make good use of your space you will be happy. Some compromises will be necessary. Your countertop that now has the cooktop and sink can be salvaged and reworked. It will keep the cooktop and sink. Keep reading. Within five minutes I will show you. The best place in the big wall to put a ... a.) French door fridge, is so that it opens right in the center of the main aisle. b.) single door fridge that opens right, is so that it opens towards the island. c.) single door fridge that opens left, is so that it opens towards the cooktop counter. (it's better to reverse the door swing.) Show the door hinge side and place the fridge so that the door opening makes sense. About point #12: If the pantry is 24" deep, it can be fitted with the Ikea-style pullout pantry units. large Ikea-style pullout pantry units can be great. You can have as many shelves in them as you wish. You can add more pullout shelves in them. Do not limit yourself to the images shown at ikea.com; you just buy 1 more drawer, and screw it on. ($30). Btw, I find it hard to picture your "ineffective" existing shelves or your new shelves you are dreaming of. (But, it may be irrelevant.) The fridge+oven+pantry wall is a big advantage you have. Use it. You could have a countertop section in that wall and use it like an appliance garage. Most kitchens cannot have appliance garages because garages are hard to access and they ruin the counter surface usage. Your countertop / appliance garage could come with a rolltop to shut it when you want to shut it. This makes it a floor-to-ceiling wall with a rolltop garage somewhere in the middle. You can safely drop the desk idea and get more of everything you need instead. point #9 a huge oval shape table would work well too About point #8 the "attached" dining room seems in a weird place. You could consider turning that door into a pass-through. Closed off. The corner would be the passthrough. Or the garage with rolltop. Your point #1 is a "very limited counter space" feeling. This feeling you have is primarily due to the sink+oven being so close to each other, and 2ndly due to the fridge having no plunk spot _near_ a sink. -- (fair warning: this next section is difficult). Reshape and reposition your island. It might end up being a rectangle with a corner cut off or rounded. It will be larger, wider and in a different spot. Extend the island. Extend it a lot, not just a few inches. To give your fridge+oven+pantry wall more breathing room, you may have to slide it down also. Or reshape it. If you beef up the big wall to make it a full floor-to-ceiling wall, you must slide the island down towards the table. Widen the island. This narrows the main aisle. This is good. Nobody "needs" an aisle more than 45" wide. That will be 48" from cabinet front to cabinet front, with an overhang, leaving 45" net width. Some will say 42" to 43" net width is fine. Especially because there is no dead-end corner to turn. It's open space. Some will say a smaller distance than 42" is fine, but they might be stretching it. Your points 3,4,5, seem to make sense. They say that nobody "sits" there. I'll guess it's because "nobody" would ever want to sit in a _narrower_ aisle when given a choice. And it's both narrower AND FARther away from the action zone than the big fat main aisle. In my statement of aisle width I have not written that it is a good idea to have stools in an aisle 42" or 43" wide. But, your image as posted shows stools in a 43" narrow aisle. No wonder why nobody sits there. It's narrow. And, on top of that, it's far from the action. Do not pay attention to my distances if you want more width in your "main" aisle. Make the main aisle ANY size you want. It's your kitchen. Make it 48"w if you want it to be wide. Are you sure it is 53" wide today? Is this right? No wonder you feel you have little counter surface. It's far away from the "main action" counter. It's so far, that one cannot pivot over to the nearest free counter surface. You have not written that it is a problem to have socialization occurring in the same space as cooking. Executive Summary: The working aisle is a "main" aisle. It is for prep, cleanup and socializing. So this aisle has to be just right and not too attractive to socializers. Perhaps the island will be shaped differently at the end near the table. And, there has to be an attractive force to get people to go perch themselves in the other aisle that is far away. Thus, this aisle has to be "good", in whatever way we shall figure out later: wide enough, with an overhang, with a curved countertop, whatever. -- About point #10 a 30" induction cooktop is better than a 36" induction cooktop, so here is where modest ambition pays off. But no to the double oven. It's all a matter of compromises; you cannot have everything. One Advantium or Miele Combi-Oven is a fine "compromise"; here is where a BIG budget pays off. A cheapie microwave and one "other" basic oven is not better than a single Combi-Oven appliance. The 2 take more space and don't give you more of anything (except on the occasion when you will use both simultaneously). So, spend more on a highly combinatoric oven (or 2) instead of getting double ovens plus a microwave. -- (fair warning: this next section is very difficult). In the island, have a sink and a faucet. In the "main" countertop, place the sink farther from the cooktop than it is today. Leave a small piece of countertop on the left. point #6 has two ideas in it. Implement neither of them. Also nix point # 7. point #2 is joint cleanup, joint cooking, and large group meals. Executive Summary: Keep the cooking and exhaust hood on the wall where they are today. Keep a sink there too. This is the compromise suggested. Keep what you have, and add a sink in the island so that fridge outgoing stuff has a destination within five feet. Where you put keys+mail is not a big deal, and you will figure that out at a later stage in this planning process. First, the aisle, the island, the fridge placement in the wall, the rest of that wall, scootching the sink away from the cooktop and adding a new sink near the fridge. Then, the storage details like whether to go rolltop or all open garage, or no garage at all, and where to toss unopened mail. -- My not reading responses from other people allows me to write a response without rebutting anyone. Hth.

Wow, decoenthusiaste many thanks for the tips!! The window coverings - didn't really think of this earlier - but yes - matching color for the walls and curtains does make sense! The see-through window we think more of - matte/frosted windows - to increase the privacy, although this would certainly lower the light passing through :( I've just received news, that the windows on the very bottom of the drawing will be covered in a special 4 season layer to prevent heat from getting out in the winter and heat from entering in the summer. Apparently some specific silver nano-coating will be applied, which however will reduce the light passing to about 70%. Flooring: we will go for laminated tiles except for kitchen, bathroom and hallway as a cheaper and more versatile option. Colors we also thought of wooden accents which should be rather light. I am thinking how it will look like if we focus on a tad darker floor with more white-ish for the walls and furniture? Would this look nice or would it make the room darker? Rug/Carpet: what combination should work if we go for a light wooden floor, with presumably brown/blue sofa and a xxxxxx colored rug :? :) Walls: in all honesty we will be using wallpapers (including one colored wallpapers with some elements maybe). This will give us more versatility + some materials/textuers also offer additional soundproofing as opposed to pure walls with paint coating. I was thinking a blue-ish tint would work good - exactly like in the examples that you provide? Is there some general guide as to what tints we should opt for to make the room feel bigger without going into sterile mode - we would want to make the room feel cozy. We originally wanted to go white with brown furniture, but now that you mention brown being a depressing color we might have to rethink. Maybe brown for furniture (dining table and sofa), white-ish wooden floors (maybe a few nuances darker than white), and white-ish walls. Also white or whiteish for cabinets, chairs and the kitchen sets. Furniture sizes ... 1 meter = 3.28 feet. I guess once the rooms are built we can use tape prior to purchasing to get a better feel of the volume of the furniture. This + 3d visualizations ... :) Dining: is there some general guidance as to how much space should be left - or we better just test ... :? Master Bedroom: built in closet ... this could be an option and could go all the way to the ceiling (being a wall with shelves and the same sliding doors we are thinking of). With reflective white-ish surfaces for the doors to imply more space. Is it cheaper/easier to create as opposed to a regular 2.40m(tall) wardrobe? Lights: really great advice here. Will surely think of how to incorporate those. We will do the wires after the apt is ready as there will be a hanging ceiling for insulation put in place and just then shall we cover the cables etc. This being said - we should add loads of those. The LED panels are something we are thinking of and actrually saw a really nice artificial window in IKEA (lead panel + curtains). However the DIY won't cut it and we might go for store bought 60x60cm panels (around 50$ each - which is fair @3600lumen for example). If we add 2 or 4 for an artificial window this would mean a lot of light ... I've read that the calculation should be approx 200lumen for each sqm of surface and this should be 2x or 4x. Again many thanks for the tips and links. We are discussing everything - as we have not yet finalized our selection (but we have time) :)