I think the bench and pegs in your inspiration picture looks very charming and inviting and is such a great idea I think I may steal it! When I think about it, I realize that when visiting friends I have NEVER once in my entire life opened the entry closet door to hang up my own coat! Opening a closet door in someone else's house would feel way too much like snooping. So if my host/hostess doesn't take my coat and hang it up for me, it inevitably winds up draped across the back of my chair. And, if a guest arrives with a dish of food or a bottle of wine or flowers or anything like that, then the host/hostess winds up with full hands and can't very well juggle coats and hangers. Even if the host/hostess beat a hasty retreat to take the gift to the kitchen, the guests inevitably follow right behind. So taking coats and hanging them up in the entry closet it just too awkward in such situations. And, if you have several guests all arriving at once, standing there trying to hang up everybody's coat gets in the way of greetings as well. Guess what we all really need is a butler who would ask in a most charming British accent, "Madam, sir, may I take your wraps please?" and then would hand those pesky coats and mittens and muddy boots to the downstairs maid who would take care of storing them away properly (but only after an under-servant had cleaned the mud off our guests boots and properly polished them). Meanwhile Jeeves would usher our now properly unwrapped guests into the best parlor where we would rise from out seat by the fire to greet them and accept their hostess gifts. LOL! But, absent the butler, downstairs maid, and under-servant... visible coat-hooks and shelves where guest would feel comfortable hanging up their own coats and hats seems like a perfect solution! I know I'd would rather hang my jacket there than across the back of my chair - and, as a guest I'd be MUCH more likely to use the pegs than a closet. As for clutter, if your family normally enter and exit your home via the garage door and mud-room, it seems to me like their coats, hats, boots, and mittens would wind up in the mud room. Only your guests' boots stuff should ever wind up in this area so it shouldn't ever get so cluttered that you would feel the need to hide the area behind a closet door. Thanks so much for sharing your inspiration pic!

Caryscott, it's not a matter of them trying to give her more. It's a matter of them trying to give her something she didn't want and then making her feel funny about changing it to what she actually wanted. When three people are telling you it's fine, it makes it more difficult to say that you would like it changed to how you originally ordered it. It's much easier to give in and accept what you don't really want. Don't forget, she is paying them. They are not doing her any favors by giving her some added benefit. It sounds to me like they are trying to make it easier on themselves rather than fix an obvious mistake that she was very clear about when ordering. What would be more costly and time consuming would be to fix it now after the fact (which apparently the cabinet company has offered to do). Maybe they really think it looks fine, but since they know it's a mistake and they know she is not happy with it, they shouldn't make her "feel so alone in all this."

You really do not have the ceiling to put any chandelier in either space. I would put a flush mount or semi flush mount in the foyer and a semi-flush in the kitchen unless that fan falls centered over the island. UMMM I love your entry fixture its pretty MCM amazing are you sure you want to change that? what it needs are bulbs that are round rather than a candle, I think the size would be G-16 1/2 white I dont think the G25 would fit. either way it would completely change the look of the fixture. In your kitchen, you need to take a picture of the actual room so we can see where the fan actually is. Long story short, they need to be cohesive but they do not need to match.

I think it looks fabulous! You need something to tie the gray in though. Maybe a gray and white lattice stair rug or stencil a grey and white pattern on the white front of each stair. Ans some art work on wall that enhances the gray. Get creative when tying the colors together!!!