Thanks guys! Breezy: I cannot remember the paint color but my painter is still working in the basement so I'll ask him tomorrow. I wanted a warm grey for that room. Neutral but not a cold feeling. Enduring: the kids' bath is black slate. I love slate but did not want as much variation in size of the tiles as most multicolor slate tends to have lots of variation...easy to stub toes. Black slate does not and I loved the black/white theme so it is easy to change accessories as the kids grow up. The guest bath is slate but not black. It is actually mostly navy with some gold tones. Very interesting and again less variation in size. Still waters: we had the heating system reworked (boiler in basement so its radiant heat) so we adjusted some of the baseboard heaters and took that one out and kept the one on the back wall. Worked out well to add the extra storage.

Wow, such a bright, happy, cheerful room that says "hello come on in and let's chat before I sit at my desk and get to work" and I love your doggie in the picture and am so sorry that she is no longer able to enjoy this room. If there was a Murphy bed in there, I'd invite myself to visit!

Thanks AnnKH. Well I would never post a before without having an after to go with it. But I don't think people can appreciate the sheer magnitude of my effort without seeing the before picture. And I want all the accolades I can get! :D LOL ROFL

thanks everyone! I love and appreciate all your feedback. I learned so much from Houzzers over the years, and it felt vulnerable to post my own project but wanted to give back and potentially help anyone! Thanks @HU-918119203! They aren't actually different ceiling heights, but there's a soffit between the bookshelf room and kitchen that contains a LVL, HVAC, and plumbing, so it looks different. We got new stools so I'm adding a photo of what they look like from the sink wall facing the shelves - love them so much - same walnut as shelves and back of cabinet with glass doors .