I've been trying to pare down my "stuff" - and not just my sewing stuff, for the past 2 years - ever since I retired, I've been looking at everything with a more critical eye - maybe just have more time now to get serious about what I want to keep or need - that first summer I donated 17 boxes of just all kinds of things you accumulate over the years, plus my huge 7-ft artificial Christmas tree (some places didn't want it!) an old computor desk, a chair that was my mothers (my brother unloaded it on me, he was one step ahead of me in decluttering, and amazing how you think you should own stuff that you maybe don't even want or need, because of its sentimental value!) the list goes on and on - I don't want my kids to someday have to dig through our house trying to decide about everything we own, and I know one daughter will want to keep everything "because it was Mom and Dad's" (see sentence about "sentimental value") so I'm doing it for them ahead of time. I had a nice little chrome and vinyl chair, box of nice books, 3-4 boxes of this and that out on the porch Thursday for Salvation Army to come pick up - they sorted through it all, and only took about half!!! - left the chair and the books - ??? My neighbor took the chair for her front porch, and the rest of the stuff I'm dispersing here and there in town to charities - it's NOT coming back into my house. I'm much more picky about what I buy now, and accept as freebies - don't need all that I thought I needed or wanted in order to be happy. As my daughter says - "There's a difference between needs and wants". Boy, didn't mean to ramble on about this! (And I do have a box of fabric pieces to donate to a church charity - of course that was one of the boxes S.A. didn't want).

I realize this post is 8 years old! I am about to paint my whole house semigloss white - walls, ceilings, shutters, doors, trim. And here is why I am choosing semigloss: For the paint I'm using (Dunn Edwards Everest... low VOC) I have a choice between eggshell and semigloss (Satin is not a choice, but I probably could mix the two if I REALLY wanted satin in this paint). I know eggshell is not enough sheen for me because I tried out a bathroom in eggshell white, color "Bohemian Lace" by SW. The thing about white is, the sheen doesn't show as much as in darker colors, because the "glare" is white! :) My eggshell white walls in the bathroom looked sort of like primer. They had some sheen but in white... it looked like primer. Then I painted a bedroom in semigloss white, color Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. I LOVE it. It is NOT too shiny in my kid's bedroom. It feels clean and dependable, not fragile and boring like a more matte color. And the color is a comforting off-white (it's white, but not too bright). The ceilings are painted too. My walls and ceiling are drywall with a nice brush-texture to it and I like to show off that texture. Art work looks nice on it too. So next ... painting my whole house like that bedroom. My tile is dark terra cotta saltillo-look which darkens the house a bit so I'm excited to brighten everything up and highlight my walls :) In the end I think the house will be comforting and cheerful, reminding me of my childhood for reasons I can't explain (something about the simplicity of it), and to the touch the semigloss walls have that "clean" durable feeling when I run my hand along them. I know there will be some glare, and I'll need to soften the surroundings with curtains and fuzzy pillows and plants :) but I look forward to that challenge. NOTE: I would NOT paint all walls/ceilings semi-gloss in a color other than white because the glare would be too noticeable on darker or even even pale colors.

never_ending, yes, upper cabinets are easy to make. There are reasons for this. Several reasons that all combine to make it worthwhile. -- The thing you can have is 1 big box as an upper cabinet (therefore continuous, long, shelves inside the 1 cabinet). The front cover could be *either* 2 or 3 sets of panels that open with Blum Aventos HF hinges, *or* several narrow (vertical) doors that hinge on a front frame. In either case, you have continuous shelves. At first glance it looks like wall "cabinets" but, it's a single entity, not a series of boxes stuck together. So the shelves are uninterrupted by cabinet sides. When you open door 2, you can reach things in sections 1 or 3 as well. Storing things is easier too since your things don't bump up against barriers. -- 1 big box is easy. Here is one of the several reasons why wall cabinets are easier to make than floor cabinets. A wall thingie has to look good (straight and level), and be well screwed to studs. Looking good is less demanding than being truly level to a fine "tolerance". A run of floor-standing boxes has to be far better aligned: it supports a level countertop. So, a 1/8" misalignment becomes a serious problem, even if the floor is perfect, rigid, flat. A floor-standing box has to hold up to max. physical stress AND could have an unstable (squishy, spongy) floor under some of its legs. So, it can be a chore. Or more. But a wall thingie doesn't have to be square or level, to the Nth degree. Executive Summary: wall cabs are a few panels joined at 90 degree angle. They hang on the wall. The cabinetmaker doesn't need to work to the same degree of "perfection" as for the cabinets that stand on the floor and become a base for countertops. I second the notion that "you may be able to go IKEA bottoms and custom uppers without breaking the bank." -- Open shelving is not as easy to make as 1 big box. Because each shelf has to get its entire support from the wall studs. With 1 big box, shelves are supported by the two sides of the big box. (Between the two sides at the ends of the long shelves, the shelves do need some support too) ((and this is "easy" or easier to arrange than for individual open shelves)) -- "They are spacious and operate so smoothly with the soft close feature." sample budget: $1500 Ikea cabs (floor-standing) $2000 any "front" from Scherr's, ikea or anywhere $1000 installation DIY along with a handyman helper who has a level

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but a big part of the appeal of an all-one-height peninsula (the biggest part, in my opinion) is that you then having a deeper counter to work on. I've got one 30" stretch of counter, and it's amaaaazing. I wish I had 30" or deeper counters everywhere in the kitchen. It's just so nice to be able to place something in front of you and still have ample room in front of it to work. I've never heard that a double-height peninsula is dated. And certainly not that what you're considering -- which is probably closer to a pass bar or a half wall -- is dated. It took me four seconds to find a bunch of examples of updated kitchens with that feature: The same search also turned up this shower, which has nothing to do with anything except that now I want it: I also don't think it's been mentioned that a key function of a raised bit behind the counter is containing water/liquids so they don't drip down back of your peninsula. If you don't have a sink on the peninsula, it's less of a concern, but usually you want a 36" deep counter or deeper if you're not going to have any sort of retaining wall behind a work counter. The extra depth makes it less likely something will end up spilling down the back. That said, our peninsula is only 26" deep (all one level), and I'm still very glad to have it even though we do get drips down the back sometimes. (We didn't have a lot of flexibility with our layout, so somewhat-better-yet-still-deeply-imperfect was as good as we were able to get it.)