Realism, actually the more I look at granite, I prefer the laminate. With some of the laminates and the new effects, I actually had to go over and knock on them to determine if they were real or not. We're going with bull-nosed edging on the laminate so I don't think it'll look cheap when it's finished. Hemera, ha, yeah I asked the builder about the floor…he was polite but basically said "yeah, you can't afford it…" ;) Ppbenn, yay! :) 35ftcabo, I LOVE your kitchen! Do you know the style/name of the handles you chose? That's what I'm looking for and haven't quite found yet. And in your first pic, what is the cabinet behind the peninsula? It almost looks like a hutch…was that a custom piece? It's gorgeous! Phoebesmom, do you have any photos of your finished kitchen? I'd love to see it "in action" rather than just the sample piece I've got. I really love the color, too!

I picked new slabs! Thanks everyone who told me to listen to my inner voice. My inner voice told me I had to lug my sick kids to Bucks County to commune with my slabs. Spend a little time with them to make sure I LOVED them. I didn't. Too wild. Too green. But not too soft. So I picked new slabs that I think I WILL love. [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/jmcknigh/soapstone/newslab2.jpg[/IMG] The funny thing is that I stuck with Santa Rita Venata. I think I can live with the softness. And I still get veining, but with a darker, more consistent background. I'm excited about my long-coveted soapstone now, not anxious about it. Now let's just hope I don't get a 20 inch crack. So my personal advice to those picking soapstone slabs (and this has all probably been said before) is to 1) pay attention to the background of the stone. I was too interested in the veining patterns, and didn't notice that my original slabs had a quartzy, translucent quality that I personally don't care for and 2) If you plan to oil your stone, do not pick a slab without seeing at least part of it oiled. My original slabs were even more dramatic when oiled, and I noticed a lot of things I didn't notice the when they were just wet. I know the stone will calm down a lot (especially the greenness) with subsequent oilings, but that oiling really made me sure I wanted a different stone. 3) If you live close enough to the stoneyard to make this possible, take a picture of the slab, take it home and photoshop the approximate countershapes with it. This really helped me get an idea of what the veining was going to look like on my counters. While I'm really attracted to whole slabs that are geologically interesting, when I photoshopped them onto my counters, they were just too much. Witness what I refer to as the "ganglion". [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/jmcknigh/soapstone/oldslabganglioin.jpg[/IMG] While cool too look at on a slab, not exactly the look I was going for in my kitchen. FYI, those slabs might still be available for anyone who IS going for this look. Just not me. Again, thanks everyone for the sage advice about following my instincts. Now on to picking a backsplash....

I went through the same thing that you're talking about. I was pretty much my own lighting designer, so I depended tremendously on what I could find online. I found this advice helpful: experts123.com says, "For general lighting applications a good rule of thumb is to space recessed fixtures a distance that is equal to about half the ceiling height. For example, if a room has an 8ft ceiling, you should probably space the recessed fixtures about 4ft apart. This rule of thumb should be used only as a base line." I see you will not have wall cabinets around the sink area. With no opportunity to install undercabinet task lighting here, I would want cans positioned over the countertops for task lighting. I am *not* an expert, but I would be tempted to center a can over the sink, and then, using the aforementioned rule-of-thumb as a guide, space the rest of the cans appropriately. I would include undercabinet lighting on either side of the cooktop. I imagine that UCL coupled with your hood lights would be very dramatic. Of course, you need to also adjust that plan for any decorative lighting that you plan to include. Here's a pic of my finished kitchen as an example: I have 9-ft ceilings, so I figured about 4-4 1/2 ft spacing for the cans. Then I adjusted their placements according to where we wanted the ceiling fan (roughly in the middle of the kitchen) and the pendants over the bar. I hope this helps.

I say go full on with the bath...I might even have made it larger with a second entry into it near the back patio door, if the porch is an area of use..... [just make sure the toilet is not on view from any doorway passage]....And put in an area with bench and hooks/etc [almost a drop zone]….Yes...at the expense of cutting back the kitchen a bit, but doubt you will do that......but you DO have to find the "sweet spot" with allocating space how it serves you best. In general a good full bath, with a bit of spaciousness, if permitted, would pay off, I do think. A large Half Bath with space inside to add shower later....might be OKay….Kitchen capacity would increase, but how much? I say work hard at your graph scale drawings and get everything you desire. Doesn't your dining room have space to store things...if nip and tuck must occur in kitchen. Does the rear patio door need to be the slider type. Have you calculated what would happen if you did a full lite glass hinged door...even 34 in wide ...with a screen door.....you can prop the door open in nice weather.....with a full panel screen door...or a 5 ft slider....the point is you have a corner that can become available...so skinnying the island if you have to reduce some drawers to get your overhang or whatever...….and shallow tall storage off in the corner is where you can compensate ….you have places you can adjust things.