thanks for the feedback. funkycamper, thanks, very helpful to have the clearance info. We need to select our dining table and chairs to figure out how much space we'll have between. I think the sink will be around 32-35 inches -- still not sure as we're investigating having an integrated sink. We're re-purposing the original birch cabinets in a friend's home, so they will get new life after being refinished. We're re-purposing everything we can in this home -- as much as we have a love/hate relationship with The Cabinets That Will Not Open, we would not allow them to see the inside of a dumpster. oldbat2be, camelot years, love it! Thanks for your suggestions. We're excited to make this space more functional for our family. I like your idea for eliminating the low wall for plumbing -- I need to talk to our architect about what the plumbing requirements are and whether we can do that. It would be great to gain more storage. Along those lines, I drew up a very rough cabinet design. The current layout would have no upper cabinets on the wall with the range/hood -- just open shelving, which would be high and likely only for decorative items: Side view Obviously with this design we are sacrificing storage in order to achieve a minimalist look. But we'll have plenty of food storage with the 48 in pantry and a larger fridge, which is the main issue we have now. We would have to be very economical with what we have in our kitchen, which is fine because we don't have a lot of stuff. Our dishware would be in a lower drawer, next to the fridge. Glassware would be on the open shelf near the fridge. Cookware can go in the drawers under the cook top. I think we'd be ok with storage, but would welcome input from others to hear if we're too light on storage.

This is often the case for my area so for the ones in the ground I use poles to hold up old sheets or blankets to cover the plant overnight. Clothes pins are used to attach sheets to each other. For windy nights I put rocks or bricks along the bottom to keep the covering from blowing off. It would be a shame to miss those blossoms. I have also dug up the plant and moved it into the garage. Some buds may drop but others will bloom. If you are in an area where the plants need to be cut or moved into the house each fall I suggest that next year you put the plant in a pot and put the pot and all in the ground. In the fall the roots that have grown out of the pot can be cut off with a spade and the pot and plant dug up and moved to a frost free area.

I don't think you can fit two sofas in the room with the TV. Place the TV and console in the same place the current owners had it. Then look for a sectional or one long sofa with floating chairs to use at either end. Make sure the seating stays in the main area of the room and not in the walkways (no chair by the stairs). I think painting before they move in makes a lot of sense as long as they choose neutral light colors. Narrow down your options though - you don't need 11 whites to choose from. I would look for a neutral warm white with the floors and fireplace and possible antiques, and paint the ceiling white like the trim.

The first thing I would do is get a counter depth fridge in that small space and since the space is tiny I think the same as the walls could be a good idea. I certainly would not have done black appliances and with the new cabinet color they will even be more of an issue so think a lot about this change.