Search for CPartists finished house. She did her house in craftsman style and it is stunning.

So, we are buying this home and will close on it at the end of March. The kitchen is the main area we will be focusing on first.

There are hardwood floors throughout the house, except in the kitchen area. I wish they would have carried the hardwood through there, but instead, they had this vinyl put down instead. We assume that we will never be able to match the existing hardwood, so trying to figure out what we can do there instead.

hardwood can be matched quite successfully. but wait anyway..the wrap around bar? may be subect to some surgery / modification I would not be surprised. that would affect the footprint for flooring. you usually wait 6 mo before doing things. what is the backsplash?

That horrid backsplash is going. It is some kind of coppery looking sheet metal they just stuck up there. Previous owners were elderly. The floors and wood trim are beautiful. They spent quite a bit on those when the house was built in 2007. But then it feel like they just stopped and tried to do things themselves. Countertops are a laminate and are in horrible condition, so we will get those replaced and updated. The sink obviously needs to go. They never used their water softener, which would have prevented the iron staining the sink. The weird overhang/moulding thing over the sink will be removed.