BEAUTIFUL! You have to enjoy working in your garden, because it is really well tended and planned also. Love it. I see your high chain link fence is like my back fence....7 foot tall and 100 feet long. I've planted Confederate jasmine...or trachelospermum jasminoides....or something sounds like that? It is evergreen here, and makes a gorgeous privacy fence withing a few years. Maybe in 4 years but by 5 it is very effective....they use it in Italy everywhere, including to climb over arbors, up old stairways, and covering fences to create a living privacy fence. Let me recommend it to you for that purpose. If you like, I'll create a Flickr album about the use of this jasmine in Italian gardens (the ones I saw anyway) in Umbria. Etc. Here the cabana was covered in blooming jasmine, the short fence covered in the jasmine is kept trimmed as a short hedge, no hint of the chainlink frame holding it up inside.

I LOVE your counters - I considered a Blue Australe which seems similar to laboradite, but it was almost twice the price, at the time, of what I ended up choosing, Volga Blue. (very hard capturing either of these stones in a picture, isn't it) So I understand your challenge, I spent a long time puzzled over a backsplash for my counters. I went with the Seneca Tile company's Blue Lagoon from the Studio line. My counter reads black and hints of silver at first glance, the blue inclusions are subtle until you are trying to look for them, so it doesn't read too busy in real life. In the same line, they have a gorgeous variegated green called Waterlily, it might work in your kitchen Seneca waterlily- here's some more inspiration, some of these blue/ green mixes that may work- from http://senecatiles.com/senecablends-gallery/nggallery/page/1 Here's a work in progress shot of our Blue Lagoon backsplash going up- I have no regrets going bold and colorful, I feel happy every time I look at it

I’m currently remodeling my kitchen, going with Black Venata soapstone with a 4” matching backsplash. The walls are just painted in a semi gloss - which worked fine with the old Formica counters too. . My house is older (1918) but really lacking in architectural detail, so I’m trying to keep it very simple. But my vote in your case would be to go for the bead board. It sounds like it would be both beautiful and historically appropriate. I guess my advice would be to bear in mind that you may decide to oil your soapstone - or you may not. If you elect to go with tile it should look good with the untreated gray, the color of the veins, and the oiled soapstone as well.

Having managed vacation properties from Vegas to the Jersey Shore for 15 years, I suggest you try to make the property pay for its own upgrades via rentals. If your area has an off season, you can plan for work to be done during that down time. To lessen the impact of the flooring, stain the grout lines to pop less, or take on a bigger project and have the tile re-grouted a darker color. Pick your favorite light shade from the tiles for wall paint, sticking with the warmer shades so they work with the orange tones of the cabinetry and table. Your samples on the wall look too cool for the flooring and cabinetry. Look for seating with some of the newer durable fabrics like Crypton. Without more photos of the space, it is hard to say what type of seating you need. I assume there is TV somewhere in the room. Can you post more pix?