drystonemason - thanks for the offer! I wish you lived in Colorado. My husband and I have a 70's wall o' brick. Really, the entire back wall of our den is covered in blond brick and the sides have custom built (70's style) cabinetry over the brick. We are planning to rip the cabinets out but our question is, what is the best way to reface this much brick? We plan to put travertine tile below the mantel to break up the look but on the rest of the wall, from what we have read, we have a few options. 1) Use a lime based plaster (not drywall compound) to fill in grout lines and eventually build up and smooth out to a rough, toweled on surface 2) Use mortar and stucco to achieve the same look. 3) Using drywall we can either frame out the whole wall and start over or use liquid nails (a lot of it) to put sheetrock on the areas that are not tiled. Hoping you might have some suggestions on what the easiest route would be considering it IS a whole wall. I will see if I can get a picture to insert which might be helpful.

Lyfia, I hear you, but if the front "LR" was a dining room, in our family, it wouldn't get used. My entire life, I've always had an eat-in kitchen--grandparents have eat in kitchens, etc. When I lived in the midwest, everyone had a dining room in addition to the eat-in space, the the dining room was just really a craft area that got cleared 2x a year for large family gatherings. Both sets of grandparents live about 3 hours away, where the family farm also is. So, for larger family gatherings, we are much more likely to be at the farm (either at the grandparents' house, or the cousins) than here. 8 adults is probably the most I'll need to accommodate; a few more if you count kids, but kids are also happy to eat in a different spot than the adults. I think it most likely that if I had a really large gathering (once in 3 years that it might occur), I'd set up a separate table either in the LR or the FR to accommodate the extras. I like to use my peninsula now, as a "bar"/buffet area for those large type gatherings. Which brings me to Peke's long comments (thank you!)-- I would like to be able to have multiple areas in the kitchen where a couple people could work simultaneously without needing to occupy the same space. I think I prep like you--I'd be fine with a 32" counter space. But, I would also like the flexibility, that while I'm working in the 32" counterspace, someone could pour themselves a glass of milk without having to be in my space. Or, someone could be mixing brownies, say, and I could be prepping the next ingredient, without having to reach over them (that is getting more and more difficult as my older daughter is about armpit height now)... A lot of the time now, that mixing is done on the kitchen table (which means I'm carting water from sink to mixing bowl at the table, etc). Or, I just kick everyone out of the kitchen and do it myself. So, I envision the peninsula/island/extra counter to be another spot for someone to be able to work, without clogging up the whole kitchen function. I still want to keep a dining table (as opposed to a counter) because we do make an effort to eat, nightly, as a family, facing each other, etc. There is no TV in the same room or on during dinner. So, our dinner times really are the family conversation time. We've been lucky enough to make that choice and have it work well for our family. Our girls also really, really love that time. Bedtime is smoother when we've had that too. If I understand an eating counter correctly, they are more likely to sit everyone in a line (like what you'd see in most island bar seating arrangements). We prefer to sit in an L or C shape. My primary grocery is Costco (it also happens to be the closest one to my house). So, when I shop, things come home in bulk sizes. The walk-in pantry allows me to put too large items on the floor (and I can close the door). It really does function very well for me while still being fairly compact (since the door is an outswing, and on an angle. The inside is really shelves on 2 sides with a little extra floor space (and crawlspace access door)). The Family Room is games and toys. I really like Lisa's plan E, but also plan D. I think I can use the shape of the pantry in sena's recent post (21:23)--I also like the plan. And, YES! I DO LOVE GW for the amazing creativity, experiences shared, as well as eye to function that everyone has. In a few short days, we've covered many more iterations/variations of kitchen for my space than I've thought about for over a year! And, that is truly wonderful. My next Q to all you who are still reading: DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A DW/SINK relationship such as the one drawn in Sena's 21:23? (With the sink 90* to the DW)? I've never had this (which is why I've been stuck on a corner something). How does it work, as an efficiency thing?

Sar- what a delight for us to read "they had a blast" and hope you did too. The fireplace will bring you peace of mind soon, knowing it will be inspected and safe to enjoy. Sounds like you and your family are on your way to - your home your way! Valinsv- I am sorry, I don't have any pictures, but I'm not sure a photograph would look like anything different from paint or wallpaper, but it so much easier to apply and remove. I just smooth the starch wet fabric where I want it, even on glass windows for privacy still allowing light glow, pushing out from the center so no air bubbles. For the finished edges, Tack on wood, fabric , ribbon, what ever again wet with starch. You do need to watch it dry to be sure it stays in place til stuck. For no trim I smooth on, let dry very dry and cut with razorblade and straight edge, touch up with starch if needed. Childs room, smooth background in place, cut out trees, animals, toys, anything you like and just wet starch over background layer as much as you like. I've used push pin to hold til dry with a cut of plastic between so removing the pin won't pull layers off the wall. Tired of? Just peel off and vac any starch dust. Your wall will have been protected underneath. For 3D effect, Make cutouts like flowers for example, and decopoge edges to curl or shape, let dry, assemble, let dry, then starch in place on the wall.......... ok,ok,ok.....I'm getting carried away, and I'll stop now

I really don't want to do the whole wall, I like being able to change paint, and the material cost would be much more. We're spending all out money on the kitchen and bathrooms! The brick looks nice but maybe not suitable for this more modern condo - it's a 1980s "no style mixed bag" so we are going with Ikea kitchen and more modern/transitional bathrooms... so the fireplace should probably be in tune with that. We could change the mantel as well, I don't want a full wood surround though, I'd prefer it to look "lighter" than heavier. Another thought - the hearth, should we eliminate the raised hearth and make that tile flush with the flooring with some kind of edging? We are expecting to have a baby in future so I was thinking it might be safer not to have a raised edge there. This is similar to what I had in mind, but not so much fancy moulding as our house has simple 4" baseboards and no paneling or moulding.