Modernhouse, your remarks reinforce my feeling that where the lights are, they won't do much for task lighting and they aren't going to give even ambient lighting. The 50-year-old kitchen right now is about 9' X 10.5,' with all-white walls and cabinets and a light floor, so it reflects light well. We have most of the original light fixtures including a can light over the sink area and a 3-light semi flush opal-glass inverted bowl that has 3 CFL's in it now. There's also a small hood light and one small incandescent under-cabinet light, and taken together there is plenty of ambient and task light now, but the ambient is fairly glarey. The kitchen gets daylight only from adjacent rooms, and with darker surroundings after the remodel, I think we probably will needc more light. Maybe keep a surface-mounted ceiling light in the center, as you suggest, and supplement with can lights to cut down on the glariness problem? Another problem I just noticed is the under-cabinet light above the sink. The wiring will have to come from somewhere, because there won't be a ceiling or soffit to conceal it. (Cab itself was the GC's suggestion as we have limited storage room, even with moving a wall.) Also, the light itself will be visible through the window behind the sink to the sunroom on the other side, which is a few inches lower than the main floor. Should I just forget that particular light, plan on moving those two can lights closer to the countertop, and depend on the under-cabinet lighting on either side of the sink? (If the kitchen were larger, I'd forego the over-sink wall cab, but we think we need the extra storage.) I probably will want some kind of light at least over the stairwell - maybe pulled back some to illuminate the pocket door area and the countertop on "Wall C." More comments welcome... sure wish that refrigerator didnt stick out the way it does, but it doesn't work as well any place else.

I too have golden/honey oak cabinetry & after almost 6 weeks of going to local slab yards & warehouses I decided to go with Madura gold granite for my countertops. But, with that being said, I highly suggest the same thing that others have suggested. Go to as many places as possible to see the actual slab, not just a sample in a showroom or online, because being that granite is a natural stone, one Madura gold (for example) can look very different from another Madura gold, it all depends on the different "bundles" & at which time it arrived at the slab yard. Find out what times & days your local slab yard pulls slabs & don't be afraid to ask them to pull more than one slab, so that you can see more than just the front slab. Some of our other favorites were "golden oak", "tuscan sunset" & "crema bordeaux", the crema bordeaux can vary greatly in it's color though, but is so beautiful. Each of these for me, here in ohio, ran roughly &50-$60 a sq ft, just to give you an idea of cost in my area. I hope this helps a little & good luck.

Thanks again to everyone for the interesting responses! The name of the granite is El Dorado. I believe it is from Brazil but when I try to google the name the only thing I can find is something called Juparana El Dorado that looks nothing like my granite. Guess I need to ask the granite shop for more info on it. I do know that it looks a whole lot like Geriba Beach only without all the swirls of gray. I agree that normally it would make much more sense to wait til the granite is installed before choosing the backsplash. In my case I have a very narrow window of time to get as much done on my remodel as possible. I hired my good friend and neighbor of 18 years to do as much of the remodel as he can. He is a certified electrician, carpenter and all around handyman who has been rehabbing houses in Florida. He is back in my neighborhood for only the month of June. We started the demo of my kitchen June 2. So far we have accomplished alot for the first week. My neighbor will be doing electrical work this week and next, new circuits, canlights, undercabinet lighting, moving switchplates, hang new light fixtures etc. Hopefully we will have granite ready to install the week of the 23rd and then my neighbor will hookup all my sinks, faucets and cooktop. If I have the tile ordered and ready to go, he will install it before he heads back to Florida end of the month so thats the reason for the rush. I will be doing the finish up work (removing old wallpaper, painting, window treatments, etc) whatever I am able to do myself and will have more time for additional decorating decisions then. Regarding the tile, I think some of the responses hit the nail on the head for me. I am looking for a more rustic "Tuscan" feel to the kitchen, rich and warm and traditional. I think the Travertine fits that vision in my mind better than the porcelain. Now to decide on the pattern of tile placement and whether or not I should add an occasional "accent" tile in a few places. I definitely do not want the backsplash to be distracting, but rather a nice complimentary blend to the granite and cabinets. Thanks to all for the wonderful responses! I don't know how I could ever do this remodel without having all the help found here on the forums!

Ooops - I forgot a heartfelt thanks to all of you for help/support/ideas - many of you may not have known you helped or entered my life...but thanks thanks thanks!!! It is a little intimidating to post my "modest" little kitchen compared to these grand masterpieces out there-but hopefully you can see that a big change can be had for a reasonably low budget. My tastes are quite simple (or plain!)and the space was small, so I didn't have tons of options. The "fridge wall" is my favorite look change to the kitchen - it went from really bad use of space to looking great and being more functional. Love the wall oven - DH is 6' 3" and does bake a bit - so he really loves it. Sink with pull-down faucet is a dream - I like to just use it and clean it (for now) for fun!! Pull-out optimizer in the blind corner is growing on me. At first I was disappointed that it wasn't bigger...but I guess it didn't cost all that much (We love the granite - no greens there, pinks and reds and beige. Not so happy with the fabricator - wanted a smaller overhang on the sink reveal, and a few issues with wall bowing and backsplash not being flush to wall that we haven't yet resolved - but all in all, it is the jewelry in the kitchen that does make it sparkle! Soft close on the drawers and doors are wonderful - as are the full extension drawers. All in all, the kitchen feels wonderful and while there were disappointments along the way (wanted to externally vent but budget and time didn't allow)we are very very happy with the end result! Thanks again, sorry for dragging on and on...