Hi Plllog! "That is, I know it's possible, but might not be in your budget." See, there's the crux of it. This little beverage center idea of mine was not in the original budget. (Nor, alas, were new drywall in the livingroom and halls, the gorgeous walnut top on my used cabinet island, the matching gorgeous top that will soon be on the new media cabinet and the near full gut of the bathroom.) And we're still determined to get through remodeling our ugly duckling without taking out a loan or dipping into savings. Conventional wisdom says: Wait until the coffers are full again but that's so hard to do. First off, I'm a cheapskate. Even if the goose who laid the golden egg waddled up onto my deck and built a nest, I'm not sure I would willingly pay someone to mess up the walls I just paid to fix. Second, I'm not quite cheap enough. My new kitchen is starting to look pretty good but, gosh, it would look so much better if the microwave and coffee maker didn't take up so much room on that one counter. I'm willing to spend a little bit more to change that, especially since I'm going to have a piece of countertop leftover that should be just the right size. Still, it's nice to know that it's possible. Maybe when the coffers ARE full again I'll put a tile counter outside on my deck to shade the golden goose should she happen to wander by ;) Thanks for your help!

nwdrip- Thanks for chiming in! I am thankful for any advice and I appreciate you commenting on my thread. I think painting the back of the cabs dark brown would be really cool with some colorful dishes. Suero- I never would have picked a rug like that, but you are right, it works. My only thing is that I am, in general, trying to avoid red. I had red accents all over my last apartment, and I want to go for a different feel. However, I get to see what a teal looks like, and how patterns interact with my curtains, so thank you!!! I have continued to look at other rugs. Hubby has been almost no help. He is very picky on what he wants, but he won't help me look. I have browsed through approximately 4000 rugs by now, and every suggestion I have had, he has shot down. :( Here are some of my favorites right now. Please tell me what you guys think: A B C D E F G Hubby wants a border around the edge, doesn't want flowers, only wants a hint of color, doesn't want stripes, doesn't want beige. Please note that most of *my* faves at least have one of those things. This one that I posted earlier appears to still be hubby's favorite: But he's not sold on it.

You are not talking about a dinner table, but casual seating for mostly kids, so I sure don't believe 24" to be the minimum in those cases you describe. We had 5, and in a pinch, 6 stools, in a 7 ft run of raised counter bar in our last house. It worked just fine for use like you're talking about. I imagine that when the kids got older and larger, it would've decreased to 4, sometimes 5 stools instead. 4 in that 7 ft would've certainly had comfortable room for us. In the house before that, we had a 5 ft bar with 3 stools. That was fine for kids' meals and casual adult seating. It also depends on the width of your stools and if they have backs. We have backless wooden stools in the latter situation and had backless padded stools for the 7 ft bar seating...So about 14-17" wide each.

I don't need much room at all for my makeup. Like enduring, I keep all my daily cosmetics in a plastic bin - take it out, use what I need, put it back. However, I also don't need a 24" sink. I'd personally reduce the size of the sink and increase the size of the counter. And a 40" sink - is he bathing in it LOL?