Well, it's too bad she's not ready to move on things yet. Even without fori's amazing range. BTW, did you know those sell for 6 to 8K at the specialty shops on this coast, fori? You could have a second career. In just one day I was able to dig up these--wouldn't they make a darling kitchen? You'd have to have a larger companion or two made to the side piece, but how Florida these colors are. Range (considering electric as well as gas, since gas availability varies in those neighborhoods--not worth it if she has to foot the bill to run service, and unfortunately a lot of the area is the kind of neighborhood where people would steal propane). I just lost my heart to the color scheme here, although we could have something else redone in the same buttercream+sea green, I suppose: Hoosier with side (original paint). Small, but with a repro side or two, could work: Reproduction cast iron sink. There are lots of old ones, but there was a problem with getting iron reporcelained recently, so this would be the fallback if we can't find a real one in good condition or a steel one that can be redone. Would love an old one in buttercream yellow, though. Not bad for less than a day's worth of looking around, and the total cost of everything including modern fridge and re-enameling a vintage table to match would be under 5K, even with repairs and shipping.

Hi Lady_West, I frequent other forums normally, but I noticed your post when signing onto gardenweb today. I wanted to tell you that I love your bungalow and, fwiw, add some suggestions/thoughts on choosing dining tables and chairs :-) Of the choices, I like the table in #4 best. It looks like Tell City furniture to me. My Mom has Tell City in a little different style and she always says the wood is called "hard rock" maple. It has mellowed to rich brown tones and I guess it just looks like home to me :-) Also, about the table in choice #4, the long sides look like they are drop leaf. The bench could go along the side with 2 chairs on the other side and one at each end. That is probably the length it will be, I doubt it has leafs. You will want to measure your dining space to be confident of the max size of extended table that will fit in your dining room. Consider getting around with the chairs in place as well as if there is room for a hutch buffet, if that is included. With a "real" wood dining table, the top is not Formica and will stain and ring (over time) from drink glasses and spills that are not immediately wiped up. Heated dishes can mar the finish as well. That is why most ladies of the "dining room" era would have used table pads under the table cloth, to protect the table surface. For daily use, a Formica top table, while not as pretty, is more scratch resistant, durable and practical for young active families. When viewing the chairs in person, test them for joint strength. Put one hand on the back and the other on the seat, using downward pressure wiggle the chair. You can tell very quickly if they are sturdy or worn out. Also, sit in them and if the back "gives" or makes a pop or crack noise, beware. Long tables, like the one in choice #5, tend to sag in the middle without support. Vintage 5 leg kitchen tables had the support for extra length. A 5 leg kitchen table is another style you might consider in your new home. Also, if the leaves of the table are stored in a closet or under a bed, they can become a different color hue from the unprotected everyday used table. Be sure to examine it all together in daylight, so you can see more clearly what you are getting. You might consider waiting to buy wood dining furniture set until you uncover and refinish your wood floors. If the wood furniture matches the floor too closely, they blend in and their beauty is lost. Congrats on beginning a new chapter in your life. Take your time, purchase what you love and it will feel comfortable and look like your home. Have fun, Deb

Your kitchen looks like it may have the same origins as the kitchen in my first home -- and I LOVED that house. And between that kitchen and this kitchen before I redid it, I totally get the need and support the frameless cabinets. Four kitchens later, I have three different door styles in my current kitchen. It was intentional -- to go with three different finishes. One of them is like the San Antonio, one like the San Francisco and the third is similar to the Oregon raised panel. See how each one builds on the one before? I would take a similar approach for your kitchen, but I don't know whether it makes sense to count the swing door as one of those door styles. It would make more sense if you could switch out the louvered door to the dining room and make it like the swing door you are talking about. I think I like the Philadelphia or New York better. The Philadelphia takes an inner line similar to the Hoosier and adds the routing on the outer edge. The New York would be taking the swing door into account and then adding the outer edge. I think I favor the Philadelphia from what we are seeing. Something I would consider -- leave the window width, but replace the window with one large window and lose the inner divide that blocks light. You would get more light and preserve the option of having open shelves or a side cabinet on either side. Put glass in the door and side of those cabinets and let light shine through but still have a place for glassware and dishes. I don't know what your view is like, what kind of siding you have (I had brick), but I like both the possibility of display storage and dish and glass storage near the DW. DH has been rewinding and fast forwarding TV shows behind me -- I hope this makes sense. I get your vision though. I changed to frameless to squeak out every inch of function and I think you'll be happy with that decision.

cp - not sure yet on the color. Do you have any ideas of what color schemes would be nice? We have a lot of 50s suburbia homes on our block that are very neutral shades so we don't want to stand out. We're going with timberline asphalt roof shingles and are debating between hardie and vinyl siding....