Oh thanks you guys, you are soooo nice to come and comment. Holligator! I can't believe I forgot you- you were instrumental in the original plans, for sure :) The island has a cherry top and we LOVE it. The mudroom is so fabulous- every day I think to myself, or even say out loud, "I love my mudroom!" Especially now since I have been spreading compost and cow manure all over the yard and I actually have a place to come in and sit down and take my muddy boots off :) But the mudroom and pantry are not ready for pics yet. They need doors, trim, and pantry counter/sink installed. The *&^%$ bathroom mold debacle really derailed us :( The mold is gone, now, our insurance paid for professionals to come and abate it. They also gave us rebuild money, so we designed decided to take the opportunity to renovate the master bath area. Gorgeous walk-in shower with frameless doors, soaking tub, custom mahogany vanity, mmmmmmm..... We even hired Bill Vincent to do the tile work! But there was a problem with the marble shower floor, the tile discolored right away, so he's having to rebuild it. It has been a real struggle. We've been without that bathroom since last April/May. I got to take about 8 showers in it before we had to stop due to the tile problem. So we're all sharing the tiny bath that was our "kitchen" during the kitchen reno. So not fun. danielle- We havea pretty standard 25.75" countertop from wall to front edge. I did insist that the sink be mounted as far forward as possible... they had to notch the sink base cabinet's top support stringer to accomodate that. I promise I will come back and post more pics as we get more finished!

here is a couple of things that come to mind and are all my opinion 1- keep the oak. I replaced my fake oak with maple and it dings/dents like crazy. I am less than thrilled! in my defense my cabinets were not in great shape so replacing was my goal. I now wish I had gone with oak again 2- before you attempt to gel stain, use a bathroom cabinet as a trial. I stain a lot as we do tons of unfinished wood furniture and I find gel stain miserable to work with. I stick with minwax or another liquid stain. if your are a novice at staining wood, painting may be easier. also if your doors have a center veneer panel vs solid wood, I doubt it will take the stain well if at all. 3- I like your layout(kind of) the L shape gives you lots of prep between stove and sink so that's great. the fridge is a little awkward but not terrible. so getting new appliance would make a huge difference to the cook. 4- if you are concerned about budget, an expensive range hood may be too much especially if someone has to come in to create a vent to the outside. it is not popular here but I kept my otr micro that does not vent outside (for budget and convenience) and I like it just fine. I will say that I do not cook meat on the stove top so that can make a difference. 5- I love the orb/dark granite someone posted and it would give the oak a whole new look. plus you can always paint/stain them later so just chaining faucet,hardware and counter can be done first good luck!

WOW! Thank you all soooo much! You all have made me so much more zen about everything. And you're all 100% right--it's not as dire as I thought when I first got the photos. There IS room and I know I can make it work, with lots of help, of course! Desertsteph, yes, I understand about not being able to get down and get to stuff in the back of base cabinets! So much space is wasted because I never want to use anything beyond about the first foot or so. Apartment base cabs are the worst! You have to use them because usually you don't get enough uppers, depending on the apartment, of course. I like the two big windows too! One thing I will say about this little place is that it has a LOT of windows. The previous owners have replaced the LR window, the LR bay window, and both kitchen windows with the good double pane ones. I will need to do the bedroom and bathroom windows. Historian, thanks for the recommendations; I'll be sure to check them out! Omelet, thanks for the kind words. I'll get out there ASAP to take measurements, photos, video, the whole works. Scone911, so true! NYC is maybe the worst, but if you don't have a lot of money, renting in any large urban area can be challenging. There are still some good deals in the Seattle area if you know where to look or have connections. I'm lucky to have those big windows! I remember the first little apartment my husband and I had in 1980...full of huge jumping spiders, no natural light...but I guess when you're 20 and in love you make anything work. ;-) bpathome, smiling, practigal, I think an induction cook top is a good idea. Also, I saw an oven hood/microwave that also can be used as a convection oven. That might be worth considering. Dhygarden, indeed! People in much of the rest of the world work with much smaller kitchens than we do here in the U.S. Haha, that often seems to come up on "House Hunters International"--Americans can't fathom the tiny kitchen. And you're also right about not having an electric appliance for everything. I can't wait to tell my best friends in Zambia the phrase "appliance garage." (They both work for American diplomats, so they'll just shake their heads and laugh.) I recently bought this really cute Jamie Oliver knife set; it's just three knives, but really you can do everything with them. I've always sort of dreamt of the European way of walking to the market every day or every other day to buy everything fresh. Though there are reasons I like the location of my new house, one disadvantage is that the closest grocery store (or anything, really) is about 10 miles away. Believe me, I never pictured myself living in the tulies...I always thought I'd end up in some downtown flat in a big city, but life is funny. I really do want to get a freezer if I can figure out where to put it...we can get snowed, or iced, in out there and it would be good to be stocked up on a couple weeks' worth of meals. I'm still holding out hope of getting a year long visiting professor gig in either in France or the UK, because I'd love to live in Europe for a year. Writersblock, first of all, let me just say I loooooove that cat!! What breed? Is he (she?) named Batman? If not, why not? ;-) Thanks for the advice on staying away from the 20" ovens! I haven't purchased my own appliances in a couple of decades, and I'm really not familiar with what's what out there. I like your under cabinet lighting too, very nice! My daughter and I are long overdue for a trip to Seattle, so we'll have to head over the mountains this spring--I'm a wuss when it comes to driving over the pass in the winter, haha! I kind of thought the same thing about the IKEA cart; I'm glad you've seen it and could tell me about it. I can't shop at the Evil Empire (Walmart) for political reasons, but I do know there are options--I can check out Fred Meyer, Lowes, Home Depot, BB&B, etc. Also, thanks to you and everyone for tipping me off to the "Little Paris" show! YouTube is completely awesome. Crl, ah to be tall! :-) I'm barely 5'1", and can't stand up straight because of my arthritis, so although I really love the hanging pot racks, they probably aren't the best for me. I think a microwave with oven or convection oven would be OK, at least for now because it's pretty much just one quick move to put something in and then take it out. Crl, also thanks for the suggestion of the toe kick drawers, and thanks to Chicagoans for the illustrated version! Very, very clever! Amazing how much space we have in houses that we don't think to use, like whomever came up with the brilliant notion of recessing things back between the studs. Chicagoans, I'm assuming you're from or live in Chicago, I have enjoyed visiting Chicago twice in the past few years for an academic conference. It's a beautiful city. Although I must say I've never truly known what cold was until I walked around in Chicago! :-) lferg92, I was looking at a super susan the other day; I think it was on the KitchenAid site. They look really wonderful. I'm glad you're enjoying yours, and thanks for the recommendations! Funkycamper and everyone else who mentioned the dishwasher issue, thanks for your honest assessment! You're probably right. Our first dishwasher when I was a kid was a portable--we lived in a tiny little house and it was a tiny kitchen. When we finally moved to Seattle from California we thought our built in dishwasher was the coolest thing ever, lol! I will seriously reconsider a smaller built in. And cpartist, point well taken about the stackables. The w/d that are there now are about 7 years old, I think, still in perfect working condition. But they are monsters; I've never seen such big machines, and both top loaders, ugh. LOL when I was staying there with my friends I practically fell head first into the dryer one afternoon trying to get stuff out. I have to use my little grabber/reacher tool, but that's OK. But as soon as I can afford new ones, they'll definitely be front loaders! Cawaps, "truly awful clutter management," haha! If you knew the half of it, but I'm going to remember that phrase! I'm very anti-clutter and kind of a minimalist. I really like the clean counter look, nothing sitting out. And you're right. When everything is moved out of the house, a feat I still don't know how will be pulled off, except they're getting another storage unit (in addition to the two they have now), and when the extreme cleaners have worked their magic, and when the ghastly china cabinet is knocked out, I know the space will look much bigger. Thanks for the encouragement! There was recently a huge debate, but I can't remember if it was this forum or something else, about pull-out bread boards. I'm pro-bread board, for the record. :-) buehl, thanks for the link. I'll be sure to study the instructions! Desertsteph, that makes a lot of sense, sitting at the table to do prep work. I have a wooden stool that I have used in my last couple of kitchens and that has worked pretty well. Sounds like you got a great deal on the bisque appliances! Ilovered and practigal, you've pretty much talked me into an 18" dishwasher! :-) Thank you all again so much! I'll get a floor plan up as soon as I can! I hope I can overhaul the whole house, roof to subfloor. The yard is also a mess; it's not actually a yard, it's more dirt with weeds. Since I'd like to be a good neighbor, something's going to have to be done next summer on that too. Luckily, the bones of the house are good. No leaks, siding and skirting in excellent condition, etc. The eat-in kitchen and living room will be my biggest and most expensive projects, and I want to do them first because that's where life is lived. I'm very much looking forward to getting your community wisdom! :-)

Thanks! It is fun to change out for the holidays :) We have to stock up on a few more valentine's things still though. We especially enjoyed this room during the recent snow storm. You can lay on the sofa and just watch the snow fall in the woods and it is so pretty!