Okay, bad news - talked to DH last night and it's a no go on adding recessed lights. :( Now we do have 6 recessed lights in the den which connects to the kitchen on the breakfast nook side. When those lights are on, that side of the kitchen is nicely lit - but, it would probably be silly to rely on those for kitchen lighting... farmhousebound - So glad you like the lighting choices (especially the stairwell light)! I'll stop stressing about the stairwell light now. :) I am still stressing about the nook light though. I agree with you and really do Love the look of "C" - but I'm so worried that the opaque shade just won't provide enough light. I'm afraid I'm still undecided on it. If someone else wants to buy it from you, please feel free - I don't want to hold you up. But I will definitely keep you posted! (We're in Long Island in NY.) That is an Amazing price on your fixtures. Wow! I talked to DH about making our own fixtures, but he's overwhelmed with all of the house renovations and doesn't want to add more to the to-do list. He just wants me to pick one fixture for the nook and be done with it. =/ Sigh. It would have been SO nice to have had a matching light and fan (and save money too!) I spent too much time yesterday looking at lights - I stumbled upon a school house shade that is Way out of budget, but soooo pretty. I probably shouldn't be considering it b/c of the price, it's not an exact match to the fan (sort of similar shape), and the concern of light output - but, since you're a fellow schoolhouse lover, I wanted to share it - http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/product/3169 - Pretty, huh? I think I'm drawn to the blue stripe that would go with the color scheme. lascatx - I really love the look of the pulley light - but, without adding recessed lights - would it be too dark? Should I keep looking? I'm wondering if we should do something completely different to ensure that we get enough light - like maybe a small, multi light chandelier (with lighting towards the bottom to avoid the soffit issue)? I'm open to suggestions. Thank you both for your help! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!! Here is a link that might be useful: Please tell me I'm crazy to consider this since it's out of budget, not a perfect match to the fan, probably won't provide enough light, etc., etc.

>> Are you thinking I should go with a solid and tuft it? No. I think a beautiful striped or vivid pattern would work great in your kitchen on the back. Vivid patterns also help hide stains. However, if you pick a striped pattern and then you diamond tuft it, the direction of the stripes will be all cattywampus. I saw a Houzz picture like that. It just didn't look right. One thing to consider for the bottom part of your banquette especially: very smooth wood with a stain to match your counters It's especially important with your banquette geometry to have a very very smooth seating surface for ease of entry and exit without creating a ton of static sparks from fabric or stress on knees. Smooth wood finish would look like this: https://www.houzz.com/photos/country-meets-city-traditional-kitchen-toronto-phvw-vp~70536-meets-city-traditional-kitchen-toronto I put this banquette in our kitchen 15 years ago. Everyone still loves it. People enter the house and gravitate towards sitting there. The mistake I made was with the measurements - I specified seat depth without making it clear that the seat back depth did NOT overlap this seat depth. Therefore, the seat is ~ 2" not deep enough for taller adults because of the back cushion overlap. Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz banquette with smooth wood on bottom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/country-meets-city-traditional-kitchen-toronto-phvw-vp~70536)

I agree, and I'm glad you too, with the above suggestion to chill out for a moment and wait till the remodeling project is completely done. I'd even go a little further than that and live with your current dinning set in the new space for a little bit so you can have a better sense of the space and it's flow. You don't wan't to buy a set that's too big for you to comfortably move around. This I discovered when I had a 4 person table living in tiny 1 bedroom condos with tiny dinning areas and my guests had to squeeze into their chair. However I moved into a recently refurbished (but preservationly minded) 100 year old home with a large dining area with plenty of room for my 4 person table, with a lot light, next to the kitchen where the wall was torn down and kitchen redone with a peninsula. And I find it turns out to be the center of my activities having so much space around my table and moving back and forth to the kitchen or other areas of my home. I'ts about the flow. That is why I recommend you wait till you live in your new area a little to know what size table you want to buy. I also see you have a 4 person table, assuming it's sufficient for the number of people in your household. You might consider instead of buying a big table, buy one that is expandable, like the one with leafs for when you need more room for dinner parties. Just an idea. How exciting it is. You will love your new place.

If you really want privacy the shade that is currently there seems like it might work. However you can always dress up your windows by adding window treatments on top of that. If you think that what you have is too sheer that try the roman shades.