Thanks for the info. LindaC - the metal towel hanger on the washstand is not original. I see holes where a wooden dowel once was but it broke off. Sorry I didn't mention that. I was going to drill those out and refit it with a new wooden dowel stained to match. For the washstand I'll take more pics of the casters. I'm guessing 2 may be original, 1 may be a replacement (it looks different). I didn't know that the caster material was a date indicator too - thanks for the info on that! I did pick up a 4th caster at a salvage store so it balances a little better, but it is always falling off - poor thing! Also there appears to be a metal fitting on the bottom of the legs surrounding the hole for the caster. That's how I was able to guess that the dresser had casters too. I'll take a pic of that too. I'm guessing that the key hole plates are original. There are no other nail holes on the piece by the key holes. I agree that structurally the dressers are in very good shape for their age. That maple is so solid! No veneers here! The bottoms of a couple of the drawers are a little cracked but I can work around that by making a pretty drawer liner that is on the thick side. I'll look into repro backplates but right now I want to get them finished off before it gets too cold to work on them outside - right now the weather is amazing! I'll post more pics later today and will also take pics of the mirror. I appreciate all the info! I adore old furniture and enjoy learning about these things. The history this piece has experienced! Its fun to think about. Thanks!

A good friend of ours has only island seating in her family. They have three boys and entertaining is strained in her home, even her own family around the "table" doesn't fit very well as the boys get older. She seems happy with it, but it's something I would never suggest. In my old house, which had a small but very well laid out kitchen, the open wall had cabinets with a table level counter coming out of it like a T. It wasn't big, but it was big enough for our family of 5 to eat there, the kids sat there for their snacks and it was even really nice for rolling out dough. Maybe something like that could work? Have to laugh at the Olympics mention buehl, I don't usually watch much TV, but I've been glued and seen the very same ad. I've also seen pet food ads with nice kitchens- that bacon strips dog may be pretty uncouth, but he has a stylin' kitchen!

If what you like is a one-wall kitchen with an island, that is possible. You'd have a super long island that is 3' deep and way roomier walkways (4') around the island. If you did that, I'd just make the nook a straight windowseat. Like this: The island has legs on one end for seating like this: The bay window provides extra space needed to walk comfortably behind the island seating. I'd add another doorway into the dining room, since that is now your primary eating area. You want non-cooking traffic to be able to get back and forth without entering your kitchen work zones. And I think you'll generally like the greater visibility and circular flow between rooms. If you orient the island drawer stack closest to the dining room so it opens toward the dining room, you'll be able to unload the dishwasher directly into that. And glasses can go in the pantry, which is just a step or two further. The pantry is floor-to-ceiling cabinets and around 12" deep. That's great pantry storage - stores a ton, and it's easy to see everything with nothing lost in the back. Note that the downsides are: - You lost a hallway closet and deepened the other hallway closet in order to elongate the one-wall part of the kitchen. You wouldn't have to do this if you lose the wall ovens, but I assume you don't want that. - It's going to be complicated to vent the range hood. - You'll need to get a fridge with one door and drawer freezer so they don't bang the open dishwasher. Or make peace with not opening the fridge and dishwasher at the same time.

Thanks everyone for the help! Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures of the bedroom because we haven’t moved in yet. This is a photo of it currently (with the ceiling fan - that will be going). There are wooden floors which I plan on covering with a large grey area rug. Definitely would be open to incorporating more navy into the room. Those table ideas are great. Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately I only have a few of the new dresser because it’s wrapped up and packed to be moved !