When I first took on this project I told Mr. and Mrs. F it may take me awhile to sort it all out, but as soon as I found my inspiration I was able to see the whole picture ever so clearly. So here's to my inspiration...

Photo via Phoebe Howard

I remembered seeing this photo in a past issue of House Beautiful. I loved it then as much as I love it now. Mr. and Mrs. F have cabinets very similar to this in color. They considered painting them, but they are new and look good. They just need to be jazzed up a bit.

I would love to see a brushed nickle knob like this. It would easily make ho-hum cabinetry really stand out.

Over the kitchen sink is a window and to the right is cabinetry and to the left is one smaller lone cabinet. To make the cabinet seem less lonely I like the idea of adding two shelves across the window to connect the two. I would need to measure to see if these would work or not.

You can easily keep the existing counter tops, but I also know how much Mr. F dislikes them. If you choose to go with another I like the idea of something in the white/beige family. I know I already said that I am not a huge fan of tile counters, but a large tile done closely together would work and be much cheaper than a stone slab. It would need to be a granite or something equivalent in order for it to look done right though. I think I hear Southeastern Salvage calling your name.

Sorry for the ridiculously small photo, ugh. Anyway, I like the idea of hanging a pendant lamp over the table. Mr. F was brilliant and made banquet seating with storage and a table! It maximized the space beautifully and did I mention how good it looks.

The above fixture could easily be left white, but covering it with a pattern would add another fun element. This same pattern, but in green or blue would be lovely too. By the way this would be easy and cheap to make with a hanging light kit and a simple and cheap drum shade.

Mrs. F I do love the idea of a gallery wall behind the seating, I would stick with similar color frames to keep it from looking too chaotic. You could also do one huge photo of someplace you love, my hubby could help with this. I hope you do like my ideas thus far. I have more to share, but this post would become terribly long. Of course we can tweak here and there or even start anew. I want it to be perfect for you two.