Hi Newbie! I've wondered what happened to you! Haven't seen you over in Kitchens for a long time! First, congrats on expecting a baby! Exciting! You're on the right path trying to tie up all these loose ends before May. Have you thought about posting over in Kitchens also? So many there have heavily researched lights that someone may have seen the perfect fixture for you. Plus, I know everyone would like to see your progress. :) When I saw that first WE fixture, I thought of a Barbara Cosgrove pendant I like. It echoes the shape. I'll link it below. You might look around for other lights on that site, too. Some of them get into the $$$ range though. I don't care for the mod WE glass cluster you just posted. How far apart would the peninsula and banquette fixtures be? I'm thinking that you might want to scrap the peninsula pendant... Here is a link that might be useful: Savannah pendant in polished nickel

Linda LOVE that drapery fabric - things are really looking good in your room. I would agree w/Art that the drapes are too short - I would bring the rod down so they are just hitting the floor or 1/2" above the floor The bay is tricky - due to lack of space btwn the windows & the roman - The valance just isn't working - I realize it was "hastily gathered" but just wrong for the application. The roman is straight & clean lines the valance is curvy ruffly and fighting. If you wanted to incorporate the panel fabric somehow I think it is going to have to be a creative "out of the box" type incorporation. Some thoughts, not knowing that they would work - A cornice board wrapped in the fabric, sew the fabric on the existing roman valance -Here's a real stab - Since the romans are not lined - sewing the panel fabric to the back of the roman - when they are down you would likely see the fabric through the shade - again a real shot in the dark... or as others have pointed out - incorporating with chair pads etc.. Pics of cornices http://www.bellwoodsinteriors.com/images/gallery/window-after.jpg http://www.decor-medley.com/image-files/decorative-window-shades-cuffed-roman-shades.jpg http://www.d-decor.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/mcguirekit.JPG.w300h225.jpg Good luck

Since budget is a big consideration, I think it's great that you can solve some of the issues by trimming. Rather than adding to your budget in the bookshelf corner, I agree that keeping it to the wall mounted shelves and the Boos cart is an excellent idea. Much easier on the budget, and useful for all the reasons you mentioned. You can put some big, nice looking items on the shelves so that it doesn't become visual clutter, and is still useful storage. On a lower shelf like that, a single large roaster can be more visually appealing than a bunch of bowls, for example. You can't plan for everything and things change. For instance, if your rolling needs outgrow your little lowered rolling station, you can, at some point, switch out the cart for a marble topped one at rolling height, and put butcher block on your built-in marble to raise it to counter height. Since you have the lip, you probably wouldn't even need to secure it. Oh! You could actually do that now, get a butcher block to fit there. It would extend your counter space, be convenient to the sink, and protect the marble when you're not using it for pastry. I'm still concerned about that whole end with the fridge but it might just be something you'll have to live with, since you can't move it to the bookshelf area. I really suggest you do a mockup using cardboard boxes and tape to make sure it's going to work for you. It would be a shame to do this whole remodel and then be unhappy. Much better to slow down a little and be sure now. You might find that the corner beside the fridge is just fine and the layout works really well for you! But if it doesn't, better to know now. Or it might be that you can use some of the money you saved on the window seat to put a narrower, built-in fridge in the bookshelf corner. Whatever you can do to make it comfortable, and make it work. BTW, I have a cupboard that opens into a doorway in my currently-being-installed kitchen, and I just love it! Another BTW, if the issues with your hands are soft tissue, I highly recommend Feldenkreis therapy.

We're almost finished w/the kitchen nook we've made for our kitchen remodel. We've tried to restore the kitchen more to 1920-30's era. House is 1918. We took out island from prior owner remodel because there just wasn't space for it w/more than one cook. It was a nice place for visitors to hang out at though even though there was no seating at the island. So, we put in a traditional nook in a corner of the kitchen, but still facing the cooks. My husband built the bench and it has storage underneath for his books and supplies for grading papers. We bough 2 18 inch tall stools for the other side, so they can be slipped underneath the table when not in use. People on the stools would have their backs to the kitchen. Also needed stools because large radiator on that side wouldn't allow another booth bench. We also built becasue we thought it would be easier to clean around than a small table with four chairs. The table we built is just attached to the wall on one side and just had one leg coming down on the other. We kept the bench not-too-deep and not too high off the ground because I'm short and rarely fit most chairs well, but my 5 10 husband is fine in the bench too. We did not want anything upholstered in there, just nice shiny paint for sliding in and out of the bench. Don't need extra things to clean. Was worried about whether anyone would be drawn to the space. So far my husband enjoys reading the morning paper or grading there and my 10 yr old son does better remembering to eat his breakfast when he's sitting at the bench where it is harder to just jump up! So, we did the nook for the era of the house, but also storge, ease of cleaning and a space to hang out while others cook. We also have a large built in window seat original to the house in the dining room. Used to use it as the changing area when my kids were babies. Unfortunately now, it often gets piled w/papers that we're not quite sure where to put, or projects taken off the dining room table. We do use it when we have lots of guests because we can push the dining room table up to it for lots of extra seatingn on that side. We hope to make better use of it after we finish w/kitchen remodel.