What about a piece of granite that has a lot of movement, and some burgundy tones in it? Honed finish, not polished. I know nothing about granites, but I looked under "burgundy granite" and found several that seemed interesting. Lambada was one, Maracana was another. Another alternative would be some kind of mosaic in a matte finish. Or, you could do a wood countertop. I am a big fan of zebrawood, so I could see something like that as a great accent on your pantry cabinet. Matte finish, very hard wood. Plus that is considered sustainable wood for harvesting, so eco-friendly. zebrawood counter

Hey Everyone, thanks for the input! ajsmama - Good question. Yes, I do have enough of each slab to do the whole kitchen I have on the drawing. If you look at the photo and the drawing you will see that none of the existing cabinets will fit anywhere on the new design. The existing cabinets are all made out of brazilian cherry - I mean solid pieces of 3/4 hard wood. Pretty crazy, I know, they were there when the previous owner remodeled the kitchen. The reason I am even doing a remodel is because the kitchen is really tiny and the the space is not used very well. It has a 11 cu. ft. fridge and no oven at all. Instead of a range it has a convection MW and a cooktop. It also has a full size dishwasher??? It looks like the previous ownner sacrificed a stove for a dishwasher. Just plain wacky if you ask me. The cabinets match the brazillian cherry countertop on the pass through. It is too bad there is not any room for a full size fridge and stove, cause I would just leave it like it is. I am going to scavenge them to make my self some nice book shelves or something. I will just sand and refinish the wood passsthrough, in case you were wondering. I am having a custom cabinet shop make the cabinet doors and drawer fronts. I am going to make the boxes and toe kicks myself and am supplying all of the hardware. This is going to save a bunch of money and I will still be getting new cabinets for less than I could get them from a big box home improvement store. The cabinet shop is going to make the fronts and doors out of poplar and just stain it a dark color. It will look like a cherry or similar hardwood.

I have viewed that blog before - can't remember where I linked to it from. Maybe Nesting Place. I LOVE the color of her cabinets, but that is just too much *stuff* on the countertops (and elsewhere in the room). IMO. Clutter. One thing she does and I have one too - but forgot to mention - is a lamp. I love a lamp somewhere on the kitchen counters. Oakley - re: utensils in drawers - I have different drawer organizers and dividers. It works GREAT. The knife block thingy (piece of wood with grooves for knives) is another great item. It lays in the drawer. I have a big crock with utensils on one counter, but most are antique pieces that I've collected and not so many pieces I actually use. The items are easy to get to, but they also get dusty. tina

Counter-height windows are actually not that unusual - at least not on this site! When we remodeled, we replaced our bay window that was 22" off the floor for one that's 36" off the floor with the counter all the way into the well - and we love it! I will say that our bay is 18" deep, so that makes our counters pretty deep behind the sink. We do have wood on the bottom b/c of a measuring error (long story), but it's only a short piece. We have had no issues with it - it's been almost 9 years now. One thing to keep in mind is that if the bay area is too deep, it may be difficult for you to open windows (casement are best in this situation) or clean the windows. We're a tall family and it's a bit deep even for us. [I have my DH and DS clean the windows b/c they're well over 6' tall (6'5" & 6'7", respectively).] Being able to reach all the way to back for cleaning the counters is also a consideration. (I have no problems with that, I can reach the windows, I just can't reach the tops of the windows for cleaning!) Measure your arm reach b/f you finalize your plans to be sure you can reach what you need to reach. I suspect a bumpout 9" to 12" is the limit for most people. Here's a thread that has pictures of counter-height windows. Mine is in it - as I recall, it's from b/f our remodel was done, but it will show you what we did. I particularly like MamaDadaPaige's (8" bumpout) and ErickaNH's (6" bumpout) windows - MamaDadaPaige's is close to the top of the thread and ErikaNH's is half-way down the thread. They posted both interior and exterior pictures. counter height window pictures please http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2484108/counter-height-window-pictures-please . The above thread also contains instructions for determining the correct height to install the window(s) - based on your finished floor height.