Thank you for all of your comments and compliments... You have reminded me not to rush into changing things. The house has alot of trim work throughout, including on the dining room ceiling, dining room walls, living room, windows, entry/foyer, doorways, etc...In those areas, all the trim has been painted white, but it appears to be the same style and type as what's in the kitchen/family room. I guess I was thinking that the rest of the trim work should be white too. But, I see now that it doesn't have to match and will leave a bit of character to the family room! The wood for the built-ins do appear to be an upgrade over the kitchen cabinets. As much as I love the look of all white trim, the family room has such a warm feeling, as is, so I will probably just keep any furniture in the room light for contrast and accent with color. I will definitely not rush to change to quickly! Some of our main reasons for choosing the new home is because it was custom built, is loaded with trim work and moldings and is in an older neighborhood with lots of large trees and yards. Of course, there is also plenty of shiny brass in all of the bathrooms, door handles and foyer lighting that we will be busy replacing. And, the landscaping needs some updating from the overly manicured large bushes surrounding the front entryway of the home. I may have trouble with interior design/decor, but I am in my element with landscaping and yard work! I appreciate all the comments about the kitchen...My husband and I have done a lot of work ourselves in our current home. He does most of our home repairs too; he hates hiring out! Life has gotten extremely hectic these days, so we have less time for DIY work like the time it would take to do paint the cabinets. But, I think we can easily handle the backsplash and modifying the cabinets with beadboard on the sides, but will find someone for counters/sink and help with whatever we do to the cabinets. It sounds like if we have to hire someone to paint the cabinets, it might put us way over our current budget. While I still love my inspiration kitchen photo, I may entertain the idea of darkening the stain/refacing the existing cabinets, possibly painting the center island as one of you mentioned and updating the counters, sink and adding backsplash and other details. This would buy us time (and save us money), until we can afford to get the wood floors we want and the painting of the cabinets the way GreenDay detailed. I appreciate all the advice.

Since noise travels upwards, I like option 2 with the television in the back away from the stairs. I also love the round table in the middle that can act as an activities table, but also for more formal dining or as a place for serving if you are having a party. I would consider building some custom cabinetry on the long wall behind the round table to give you a place to store your craft supplies, etc. The cabinetry would also act as a nice delineation between the two seating areas. I would probably use a sectional in the TV space rather than a sofa and daybed. It would seat more people and be more comfortable. Daybeds aren't too fun to sit on. Rather than four chairs in the front area, I would use two comfortable chairs in the window, then choose chairs for the round table that could be pulled over to either of the seating areas if needed.

When the bigger nicer woodwork began I really liked it - having lived in a 60's and 70's home with skimpy trim work. I also liked the use of antiques - remember when you were not supposed to paint anything and ruin the old patina? Now people chalk paint everything. I liked decorative painting - because I can do it, and it was easier to change out than wallpaper. Something I still see today - glass front cabinets and plate rails - pulled from the past and worked into modern kitchens. I liked the natural materials - started in the 80's, but the 70's had so much faux plastic stuff - like faux wood paneling. I remember going up to a wall in a living room and it had plastic "rock" added in the 70's - so getting back to natural materials was something I appreciated. That is one reason I don't like it when people paint nicer fireplaces brick or stone gray - things from the earth - got to be pretty and a little more timeless then gray. I looked at some 90's This Old House yesterday and found many of the things we like today got started in that decade - like a kitchen with under cabinet lighting. There were two kitchens with blond oak cabinets - oh dear. Next time a poster wants to now the wall color to go with blond oak, the answer is dusty rose or hunter green:) The 1999 season had a lovely kitchen with what looked like soapstone counters (could have been leathered granite) and white subway tile backsplash. That home also featured a TV over the fireplace - and here I've been blaming the Property Brothers for that one:) 1993 - the London house - notice the apron front sink - and people say they are a fad - been popular in Europe for a few hundred years: 1999 Billerica House: Stone counters with subway tile backsplash. These shelves and stove vent look like similar to what people are doing now. The chickens over the stove are a little bit old fashion: I like the floor detail - cut into the flooring: The TV over the fireplace - with a system to hide it behind panels. How about those swag curtains? Notice the woodwork is white:

We have now looked at this property several times, and we have decided not to purchase it. We are looking at other options. We just decided that it was not to our liking. It was going to cost too much to update relative to the owner's price demands and there are better options in this range. One of us is currently very taken with a home built in the 50s that was gutted and added onto in the '90s and '00s. The finishes on it are much nicer.