desert, I plan to get out to some showrooms this week to see what's there and I'm really hoping that will help move me forward a lot more. When we built this house, we hooked up a trailer and drove to Dalton GA and came back with all the flooring needed to do the entire house. It was easier to make choices when we were looking at the entire roll and not just small samples. We got terrific deals and then just paid the labor to have everything installed by a friend of DH. For the majority of other items we spent hours at Lowes. lanval, I plan to give the island a new top along with whatever we choose for the countertops and I know that will help spruce it up more. Originally we were told there was no room for an island at all, but our cabinet guy designed the funky shape to fit one in. I wish we had space to redesign it to allow more of a rectangle shape with an overhang to fit a couple of stools, but there is just not enough space around the u-design of my current layout. Anne, DH is assigned the reno to his brother. He doesn't have time to get involved in the work itself. That's probably a good thing since we end up disagreeing on details most of the time. I've learned we just see things from different perspectives because I'm considering details he thinks are not important. And since the kitchen is not really his domain, I don't want to get into a power struggle over the choices I make. I tried to discuss the timing with him yesterday and he sees no problem moving ahead with the April schedule. I pointed out the events coming up that will coincide with the time the kitchen is torn apart, and his basic outlook/comment is "it's no big deal"...he's just a 'get'r done' kinda guy. I tried to remind him this is not one of his empty houses that is unoccupied and the fact there is more involved than just slapping on a countertop and being done. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard, but I can see the entire kitchen torn apart and me being stressed enough over that while trying to juggle our spring busy season and my DD's precious time left living at home knowing the activities associated with that. Plus the responsibilities of finishing up our eoy business details is difficult enough alone, and now I'm sposed to be doing research/legwork to plan a kitchen reno. I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but when I say 'overwhelmed' I'm not exaggerating. If I could just put everything else in my life on hold right now, it might be no problem, but everything else is not going to just stop. I'm glad you see what I'm feeling about the timing of my DD last days at home. Just last year when she wanted to have her after-prom party here, I had some mini meltdowns feeling overwhelmed with my regular daily workload and then adding more to it. This year isn't looking much better... Anyway, to clarify some of the questions you asked: I broke the measurements into 2 sections since the bar seems to separate it into 2 areas. The nook area is 13'x9'8". The kitchen area is 9'5"x13'2" but that is only the actual floor space. The cabinets are 25" deep so you could add that to the width of 9.5 for a size of the actual room. The garage is on the other end of the house. There is door to the backyard patio in the nook area. The original plan called for columns and a more open floorplan. DH chose to change it to large c.o. I posted pics from different angles to try to show this. I measured everything you asked to help clarify; fridge is 35"Dx35"W - cab depth is 25" - MW cab is 29"D - raised bar is 12"D. I checked the face frame of cabs and it appears the only ones sharing is the section to the right of the sink where the raised bar is. The rest are chopped up due to the DW, stove, and corner that leads to the MW cab. I'm trying to visualize the changes you suggested...I guess I need to sketch it out to understand it completely. Since his brother is doing the reno, it actually gives me more comfort b/c I know is fully capable of any little details I bring up. At this point...right now...I'm in panic mode after talking with DH last night and he totally doesn't get my lack of enthusiasm about the schedule. He makes it sound so easy. The ct can be done in one day, the floor can be done in one day... what's the problem??? Arrggh!! happy, Glad to hear of your wp sucess, painted and stripped. I hung every bit of the paper in this house and have 3 baths of wp also facing stripping.

Nice kitchen. If I could, I would really redo the island....get rid of it entirely and replace it with something that is even beefier. You have room for a larger one. I'd put a granite top on it with an overhang and legs to really make it the important statement piece it could be for your kitchen, and put all the chairs on the same side. Make it one height, counter height. I agree about getting the ceiling fixed and I'd replace the fixtures with 2 over the new island...I love art glass to add sparkle, and coordinate with the glass-fronted corner cab. Make sure they are hung at the right height (the one that's there is too high). Get something more contemporary... I think localeater was thinking of rub 'n' buff to change the color of the brass caming on the corner cabinet. If you decide to paint the wall, then you might want to paint out the window trim as well...otherwise it will really stand out...right now it blends in with the wall color. I agree about area rugs as well to add more color to the floor...maybe pick a color from the rug to put on the wall. Rug from overstock.com (polypropylene for cleanability) Green Ushak Paint color: BM Central Park Teapots should just go, especially the chickens as they scream country.

My house is dated, very 90s with the original oak cabinets and cream carpet. Hard to tell in the pictures but the original yellowish tan has faded to a green olive and the wall paper is a good 20 years old. Need to update this space. Considering replacing the carpet with wood floor, and repainting the walls a different color. Will be getting new stainless steel appliances in the next year. Any suggestions on how to update this space and what colors you would go with?

First things first: find out the species of your wood floor. We don't have very many room shots of the floors...which makes figuring out the COLOUR they will become once sanded/finished in a CLEAR COAT finish. What you are seeing right now is not a 'stain'. It is oil based polyurethane that has ambered (turned orange) just by aging. I would say there is NO stain on the floors. They are a birch (maybe maple....TOO HARD to tell from these slices in the photos) with a finish over top...no stain. The floor colour will drive the rest of the house. And yes...those floors in the kitchen are the very reason why we tell people NOT to put fake wood next to real wood. And the person who did it is probably colour blind. The clash of colours is enough for me to scratch my eyes out! But I digress. Personally I would find out the floor species FIRST. Then I would get a hardwood flooring professional to come in and offer a quote for the purchase of 'more' of the same wood (in the same cut, width and grade) and the cost to lace in the two floors and refinish them. That's going to be your 'big budget' ticket item. That will tell you what's left in the bank account. Painting out the trim is going to be a pain. The HEAVY graining of the red oak = doesn't look good when painted. I would assume you will need to remove/replace the wood trim unless otherwise convinced that something awesome could be done with them. I doubt it. Much of the trim looks like a patch-work-quilt that has been done a different times with different species of wood and different finish at different times with different skill levels. The doors on the other hand are a different story. If they are solid core, then they are worth a bundle. I would keep them and try to find a shade of stain or paint that would look handsome with the FINAL look of my floors. If you find out you have a VERY PALE wood underneath the orange oil based finish you might discover how pale they are when finished in a high-end two part water based finish (ahem...do NOT go with oil based finish or else you will simply end up with the same colour of floor = bright yellow/orange). I've seen Birch and Maple as well as red and white oak look as pale as wheat or dry sand. It is a markedly different tone compared to what you have now.