I agree with fun colours and palimpsest. Dark trim works with dark colours. We have dark wood trim and I used to try to paint the walls a light colour, but it always looked choppy. When I finally took the plunge to a dark colour it created a wonderful flow. We don't get much natural light and our old house has no where to put lighting except one chandelier at a far end. But still it works. We did do lighter furnishings, but one of my favourite blue rooms was the cover of House Beautiful and, if I recall correctly, it was dark blue everywhere - walls and furnishings. I also remember being struck by a gorgeous blue room in a the French movie, "la lectrice" where the bed, window covering, floor and walls were all blue with a hint of gold (altho I may be mis remembering since it has been years since I've seen this fhis film - and quite frankly with my memory, it could have been another film altogether :) Here is a link that might be useful: blue room house beautiful

Update of sorts. I painted the entire corner today, and I think I'm definitely going to go through with it (if my gf doesn't disapprove). It really isn't dark at night at all, and I find it relaxing in a cozy way. (It's not this yellow in real life, and I'm not even using the flash, but you can get an idea.)

Thank you everyone for your comments. Dilly--thanks. The color now looks a bit lighter in the pictures but is a little too dark. I like that sign and will keep it in mind once I get to the accessory phase:o) The adjacent room is actually a mustardy yellow color on bottom and a faux finish on top. The previous owners didn't put the faux finish behind any of their pictures so it definitely needs to be repainted so that color is going. We have been handed down a dark dining table and chairs so I'd like to go with a real light neutral in that room. kmmh--thanks and yes they are soapstone. lazydaisy---I have a swatch of the silver sage that I picked up at one point so I think I will get a sample and try that. I used the coupon already on the other samples:o) brickton---Thanks. The island is working out great so far. The apron is great and the only issue I have had so far is that I designed it using the current stools we have with my husband sitting to give him some room. The current stools are 24" to seat which seems to be pretty standard but for some reason the stools I love are 26". Wishing now I had found those first:O). I will check out Grey Wisp tomorrow. I don't have it in my color deck (they gave me a deck to keep because I was in the store so much with my crazy 2 yo. Think they were trying to get rid of me:o)?. I like the stools from ikea. I will check them out to see colors. senator13--I like the Sea Haze and will look at it tomorrow in the sunlight. The blog is great and very helpful. marcolo--Heavenly Blue isn't in my deck either but I will pick that up tomorrow. Thanks! My original plan for the soffit after getting rid of it was not an option was to do exactly what you said. But when I looked at it and started planning it out I realized that in the corner on the breakfast nook side and fridge side, there is no great place to stop the paint/trim. You can see it in the 3rd picture I posted on the fridge side and I will post a picture tomorrow of the breakfast side. Any ideas?

I'm delighted you will track down Alexander's book (A Pattern Language). You will find it has much useful to say about designing inter-generational living within the same spaces. It starts (at the outset of the book) to describe principles that apply to community and even regional planning design. It progresses steadily down to individual site and building principles, while relating them back to larger ones where necessary. I always suggest people read a few of the earlier ones, then skip backwards toward the level of detail that fits their stage in the process. The book takes a bit of mental effort to work out how it's organized, but it richly repays that effort. If I might suggest this: Get a copy of the book, and spend some time reading it before you go ahead with your current plans. .Just set aside a weekend to study it. If there are two of you making these design decisions, then get two copies so each of you can wander about in it simultaneously, if time is short. Many of Alexander's ideas are quite revolutionary - and hard to retrofit in a standard iteration of the city (or suburban) family-moves-to-the- country farmhouse design like you have posted. It's not that you won't wind-up with a farmhouse in the end, but it will be palpably different, and I think much more satisfactory to live in. Regarding sustainability: while I applaud anyone who is interested in producing some of their own food, don't confuse interest in your own flock and gardens with actual sustainability. It far too easily becomes a bunker mentality of we will have food, never mind if our actions have contributed to others' lack of options. Growing enough food for your own family is not the sustainable path. A sustainable life is more about making sure (in so far as humanly possible) that each of your personal choices does not over-consume the scarce - and growing scarcer - resources we have. It's a different set of choices for different people, in different stages of life and regions and circumstances. But it never is a unitary focus on making sure your family will prosper separately from the other families in this world. Sustainability is always about community. If you are nagged by your conscience about the size of your house, then shrink it. Or design it so it can be enlarged down the road if the initial footprint is too small. Starting too big is much more likely to curtail your choices in the future, than starting smaller and growing the house as (or if) needed. Your options will be more flexible, and more sustainable, with a smaller building. L .