Hi Sharon, I LOVE French Country decorating and there are lots on this board who also love FC. Parma42 is also a huge FC decorating fan. I agree with what the other posters have said about following your own vision. The blue you are describing for your cabinets, along with the SS appliances, and the dark hard wood floor would be sensational, IMO. It does beg the question though of what you would do about your countertops to make everything work together? But that is something that can be determined later. I can't tell you the number of times I've said "I'm going to do X" to my house and my extended family stares back at me as if I'm crazy. Half the time whatever I planned looks fabulous and and a quarter of the time, it's so-so and a quarter of the time it's disastrous. I'm okay with those odds! Not everyone (not even a designer) can get everything 100% right every time. Decorating and designing a home takes practice and a willingness to try things and sometimes make a mistake. It's the best way to learn about what really works for you in your home. I'm dying to see a picture of your room and a picture of the blue finish you are putting on your cabinets! Please post pics if you can!

The window film is a static film and is completely removable. You could buy it this afternoon have it up by this evening and if you decided you did not like it, you could take it down it any point in time. It's the least of your worries. The island is just too small for the space and that's what looks odd and disproportionate. The very visible trash bin is just inappropriate for such a beautiful kitchen. Each of the other elements is quite pretty and I don't think I would mess with them. Since you're planning on redoing the countertop I would add onto the island (and have the add on portion include an enclosed the trash bin and a recycling bin too if you have that in your area). I am not sure why you are saying that the stove is too close to the refrigerator. They look pretty distant to me. What is the issue with their locations when you say "close"? If you are going to move that stove, I recommend that you post a layout of your floor plan and let some of the design mavens on the site offer their suggestions as to how they would rearrange the kitchen. If you start moving the cabinets around, will you have to redo the floor around them or was everything placed on top of the existing floor?

Fabulous minimalist home. I'd remove the short columns with the light fixtures. They detract from the entrance door. I'd place large lighting fixtures on the wall on both sides of the door and down on the wall near the third large column. Remove rounded plants in front planter. Use wispy clumps of decorative grasses. Plant aloe or low clumps of decorative grasses along entrance walk. Remove shrubs in yard. Taller cactus or palms fronted by agave off to the right and left of house. It's not just a low box.

Definitely understand about budget. Replacing the cabinets is going to be the biggest line item, though, so it's something you want to do once and do right. Filling in the pass-through should be a relatively inexpensive task that will give you a much more functional layout. As for the sink, I think you will find that the corner becomes much MORE useful without a sink taking up so much space. The big triangle behind a corner sink is basically dead space with a faucet blocking it, but is useful if you can actually reach it as a regular counter.