Yes, I love the painting, too, that's why I was so taken with the museum banner from Los Angeles that advertised the traveling impressionist exhibit. The size fits nicely on the back of the bump out (fireplace on the other side of the wall). I have not heard back from the distributor yet, eg3, so I don't know what the shipping will be. I love the woven bistro chairs and the price is not really a deterrent, I am just afraid they will make everything too busy. If the clearance chairs don't work I can always use them as extra outdoor chairs for parties, so I don't mind ordering them without seeing or sitting in them. mtnredux, that diagonal gives off such a 70's vibe... I don't understand why it was installed that way!

We were going to repaint our perimeter cabinets and add new cabinets in other parts of the kitchen. I planned to have the new cabinets contrast the perimeter. I went back and forth between dark cabinets or white cabinets for the perimeter (existing dark oak cabinets). Finally the thing that made me go white perimeter and dark island was one simple thing. I like to use dark rich colors on the walls. When the cabinets were dark oak, I never could use browns or taupes. Plus, my adjacent dining room is chocolate brown, and to have the dark color continue through the kitchen on the cabinets, might be too much, I felt. So, after much staring at my space and imagining how each option would work, I went with the white perimeter and peppercorn island. I love the fact that I can paint my kitchen walls any color and it will work. I just hated the fact that my kitchen cabinets in my "old" kitchen dictated my color choices. I like to change my colors every now and then. So take into account how the other rooms nearby are decorated/painted. Think about what color you might want to paint that room. See what works with your choices. Good luck, and like so many others have said, keep looking at photos and real kitchens...see what speaks to your heart.

What a charming house! You've done great. I had somehow missed this thread up to this point, and I did not read all (or even a significant fraction) of the previous responses. I have a 1910 house and also don't like subway tile. But I wanted something that fit the era of the house. I ended up going with a simple (and extremely cheap) 4x4 white field tile capped with a contoured molding tile (that almost but doesn't quite match the field tile because I couldn't find a molding I like from the a manufacturer that did a 4x4 field tile that was 4x4 rather than 4.25 x 4.25. Adds to the charm). I have very few uppers, though. I think a 4x4 white (or gray, since you seem to think white is too stark) field tile with black or charcoal pencil liner would be cool. These all show a pencil liner with subway because that's what the popular kids are doing, but it would work as well with a 4x4 or other basic field tile.

@marilu. That sounds wonderful. I wouldn't mind leaving the cold weather here north of Boston for some SC sun in about February. Trouble is my husband was born and raised here and I don't think I can get him to leave. Also we did some major renovations a few years ago. Turned our family room into a gorgeous kitchen, our screened in porch became a four season family room, and we brought the laundry up from the basement. The only reason I would leave my house is that my husband has some health issues and I'm worried about stairs in his future. After reading all the comments here, I think I'll just give it another year or so and see how things progress, all the while doing research into reno vs. moving. @Rachel my daughter lives in Pittsburgh and loves it. Went to college there and never came back. I love to visit there, too. We try to convince her and her husband to move here, but they could never afford to buy a house here like the one they have there, and they have a great life there. Thanks for all the help and the update. Maybe I'll be back in a year or so updating!!