Okay, 4 days into the painting of the built-ins and there is trouble in paradise! I thought using a pro would save us so much time and trouble - wrong! I was all set to use Semi-Gloss as we discussed above but the painter said he'd prefer Satin since that's what he uses on all his built-in jobs and semi would be too "shiny" for such a large piece. We took his word and purchased Kilz 2 for primer and Behr UPW Satin for paint as he requested. He stated he wanted the Kilz 2 primer and "whatever paint we wanted to use". He has been complaining since the first day he started, first it was "the carpenter should have primed this in his shop and that would have saved me so much time...blah blah blah". Then it was "this is taking much longer than I expected to prep, I forgot that after you prime new wood the grain raises and I've had to do a lot more sanding than I expected". Next it was, "I did not know the bay window (which is in the middle of the 2 built-ins and window seat) was going to be painted - I thought you were staining it yourself. Next, "this Satin is not drying like the Satin finish I'm used to using (supposedly BM brand) maybe we should do Semi-Gloss for the second coat on second thought". At this point we asked him if there was another brand of paint he'd like us to purchase for him instead of the Behr since he was having problems with it. He says he usually uses some certain type of paint for trim - cannot remember the name - he said it's a ceramic type finish. Why he didn't tell us this before he started the job is a mystery. Anyway, he declined our offer to get his preferred brand of paint and it was decided we'd get Semi-gloss. We left the house for an errand and when we returned home he was gone for the day with a note taped to the door saying "forget the semi-gloss; the satin is drying okay now". Okay - that was a surprise? Now today, he is telling my husband the Behr is not covering as expected and this job is taking way longer than he expected so it may need a 3rd coat of paint and he will need more $. We politely told him; if it needs a 3rd coat and you are going to charge us more than the agreed upon price, then just forget the 3rd coat. His eyes lit up and he said, "If you're okay with that." I said, "No, it's not what we want but we cannot afford to pay more than the agreed upon price and you (as the professional - using the term loosely) need to decide if you are going to put the 3rd coat on for the original price or just leave and not finish the project. He saw that I was not happy so I'm not sure what will happen. He will be back Friday as the second coat is not yet complete. I'm so disgusted at this point; I don't know what to think. I feel like he really does not have a clue. He came very highly recommended by our finish carpenter so I'm tempted to get the carpenter involved - not sure if it would do any good? I'm sorry for the LONG rant but I'm really frustrated and fed up with this guy. He acts like he's doing us a favor. I don't want things to turn ugly since he seems like the type that would blow his cork pretty fast. It' like a black cloud has been hanging over our house since he started and part of me just wants him GONE. Thanks for reading and if you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.

Another vote for why is the TV so high when there's not even a fireplace you have to clear? You want it at eye level for seated people. (Well, really, *I* want it over a console to the left of the bump, but you've already ruled that out.) You'll have difficulty building anything in on either side without partially blocking the closet and/or window. I think I'd just do a furniture piece of some sort on each side, with a painting over at least one of them. Or a slim bookcase to the left, since you already have an end table and lamp there, and then something with a little more presence on the right...

Hi jboling, Thanks for your thoughts! It's helpful to get some other opinions since my husband and I are on different sides on this one! The original plan was a built-in, but because of the cherry wood (not stain) on this he suddenly switched to "make an alcove", not a built-in. I generally agree with him that true cherry, walnut, maple, etc. shouldn't be painted if it's in good shape. But I'm looking for nice lines, specific measurements, and inexpensive...... in this case I can probably live with it placed in an untrimmed alcove IF the flooring can be easily solved. The cabinet has 4-5 inch legs, so the flooring would show if it is not done as a built-in. The dining room is small--roughly 9' x 9.5', and our family is large, which is why we've avoided placing furniture other than spare chairs along the walls. We did verify the void behind this wall when the opposite side (back side?) was opened for our kitchen remodel. This is the last step in that project. The kitchen itself was finished in November 2012. In 2015 we did the second stage of the project, which was to enclose an existing back porch as a mudroom, and poured a new concrete porch and stairs. The stairs now access both the backyard and the driveway, whereas before they only went to the back. A venting chimney is what creates the void along the rest of that wall. It was too expensive to remove/rerun vents elsewhere. The void is 42" long, but I don't want the hutch, built in or not, to abutt the adjacent wall, hence the 36 inch max width, which would allow wallboard and trim dimensions to match other near-corner openings in the room.

There are some articles online about removing permanent marker from wood. Try to remove it and do simple things first as you may change your mind about what you want to do as you progress. See what you think after the walls are cleaned up / painted. I would next paint the backsplash. I would look into cladding the island in beadboard - not sure if that can be done - there are some construction adhesives that stick to about anything. I have oak cabinets and am fine with them - but I am not living with all the other surfaces. I might remove all the uppers on the sink wall. My kitchen has about half the cabinets yours does and I get along fine - with 4 kids:) This is my wood kitchens idea book with both new and older refreshed wood kitchens. It might give you some ideas as to paint or working with the older cabinets - especially if a few years turns into 10 years and a new kitchen is still not in the budget. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens Sometimes a new house has unexpected expensive cost - new roof or furnace and the more cosmetic projects have to wait. I live happily with my oak cabinets, but I agree that there are surfaces in your kitchen which would drive me batty, and if nothing else I would attack with paint those areas before the cabinets.