I would suggest you take out the cabinet that is to the right of the stove and use it elsewhere in the house -- perhaps in the bathroom or dining room with a hutch above it. Then, I would suggest you have someone install a lazy susan cabinet in the corner between the sink counter and the stove, meaning you would move the stove down a bit and have a small cabinet/counter top to the right of the stove. I would suggest you have the cabinets refinished in white and then paint the walls a pastel you like. If you would prefer white walls, then add white-painted crown molding and paint the ceiling a light neutral blue, such as Sherwin Williams Niagara Falls Blue. Then, I would suggest you choose a favorite accent color and use this sparingly in accessories like towels, pot holders, small vases or floral arrangements, and a valence above the triple windows. For a genuine 1940s look, you might have white ceramic square tiles with a rectangular red border installed as a back splash behind and above the stove. If you are replacing counter tops, I would suggest a light color such as white with a beige or light grey vein or striation for some sort of pattern. You might be able to find the same color and design in floor tile OR opt for a wood floor as another poster suggested.

I won't bother with lattice, barrels are partially obscured from the street by fencing and if I put it up I would have to work around the lattice in order to turn the valves for water. If I can just make better use of collected water I'll be happy. We are at the end of our growing season so I should be cleaning up the garden and putting it to bed for the winter, just can't seem to get motivated. We had our first frost last week. Usually, our average early frost date is 1 November. I got almost no produce from garden this year, but there is always next year. Chookchook2 I've seen some of those decorative metal panels and they are gorgeous, sure hope your budget will allow you to get some before too long. Most of our state has been on fire for a good part of the summer. The closest is across the river from us and they have been battling it for almost a month. Some friends have had to evacuate repeatedly. We've only been concerned once, a small grass fire on our side of the river on a day we had wind gusts up to 65mph. Fortunately, it was put out quickly. Australia and New Zealand have both sent firefighters to help with the blazes. I can't begin to tell you how appreciative we are. The closest fire was fought for almost a week by local volunteers only as there were no other resources available. They were all on other fires. The Army National Guard (reserve troops) were called out to help with support duties and for the first time ever the federal Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asked for civilian volunteers to help with non firefighting tasks, cutting fire breaks, moving supplies etc.

A very simple layout keeping the floor space within the kitchen, the WIP takes up a lot of space with not much gain, The broom cupboard could be moved to the Laundry/entrance, narrow. If the wall has been bumped out to the eaves on the deck side giving an extra 300 depth to the kitchen you could make the island 2700 x 1200 and all drawers. The wall of narrow pantry will hold all pantry needs and more, no deep cupboards to dig into. cheers

Hi , I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this , or whether it's even allowed , but a question here on Houzz today got me thinking about a house my parents built . I spent my childhood living there , so it is probably the most 'special' memory for me . The moderators can delete this if its not suitable , and anyone and everyone can add to it . . . . . . . . . . So it was 1973 in rural New Zealand , my parents were farmers and ambitious , they had bought their first farm about 5 years earlier , and had just bought the neighbouring property . They wanted to take on staff , and it was either build them a new house , or one for 'us' . I was just starting at school , and the old wooden farmhouse was nice -- the old slide up windows , wooden floors , nice verandas -- it was fun . They decided we would get the new house , and unbeknown to me then , they must have been mortgaged up to the eyeballs , but they got an architect , chose a nice slightly sloping spot ( the joys of many hectares to choose from -- or maybe the few facing the road with a view too ! ) , and a plan was put in place haha ! Being a sloping section , it was built on 3 split levels . I think that was fairly common then , but this was slightly different -- the top 3 bedrooms , one bathroom , one toilet , and office , had an 8ft ceiling height . The next 2 bedrooms and another bathroom and toilet , and the garages and storage ( which was basically a wing out the back ) had a 9ft stud . Then down 3 or 4 steps , and the lounge , kitchen , dining , washhouse , and family room had an 11 foot stud ! The lounge had a huge ( for the period ) glass window , from memory 9 ft tall and something like 14 ft wide . One piece of glass . Hopefully strenthened glass -- we never broke it in 20 odd years luckily ! With 4 opening windows down one side . Aluminium framed , like every window in the house . So we are talking 1973 , very high ceiling , large glass window . The entire house was in a weird ( but trendy at the time ) chocolate brown brick , but roughcast on the outside with these charcoal big flecks sticking out half an inch or so . And here was where it got more unusual -- the opposite side of the lounge ( opposite the huge window ) was done as a feature wall , in the same brick , inside ! So this huge 11 foot tall brick wall as a feature wall in the lounge ! Strange ? Well -- about 2ft 6" in front of that was another wall , in the same brick , about 2ft 6 tall -- yes , a planter ! The middle 3 foot or so of this planter had a 'ledge' , and our huge 25" TV ( or whatever was huge at the time ) was on this ledge , almost hiding amongst all the leafy plants , in pots , in this planter box ! I guess iconic 70's , just seems a bit naff now . And one weird thing ( knowing what I know now , it makes sense ) -- a long house on a sloping section , built on 3 split levels , but with a flat ceiling , would look weird wouldn't it ? Even with a large feature window , it'd look quite boring ? Umm , no . I didn't know it at the time , but this must be where architects come into their own . The 'rumpus room' ( it would be called a family room these days ) on the left hand end had a ranch slider , with a terrace out the front , and the ( tiled ) roof came 4 or 5 feet out from the front , to cover this terrace . And this room was maybe 20 foot deep , most of the rest of the house 30-35 feet . So this roofline was a foot or so lower , and 3 foot lower at the peak , than the rest . Then was the dining room , with the kitchen behind it . Set back 5 or 6 feet , so quite a deep terrace , with a 6foot square fixed window and the main entrance door . You could just about hold a conference of 30 people on that terrace , out of the rain haha . The kitchen was at the rear , and had windows on the side wall ( as it was quite a bit deeper than the 'rumpus room' ) and one of those glass things with angled glass on top and sides ( bay window ? ) at the rear . This 'section' , and the lounge ( with laundry and a seperate toilet and a sewing room and a hallway , all behind the brick feature wall ) , all had the same roof profile . Then the whole house 'stepped back' 3 foot , as well as 'stepping up' 2 foot , so it had a whole new roof profile . And then the 'top' part stepped up another foot , but slightly strangely , also forward 1 foot . So outside was 4 completely seperate roof profiles -- inside were 3 split levels , but the ceiling was completely flat ! From memory , it was about 2200 square foot ( which was big back then ) , and another 1000 or so garage and storage . I'm not sure if they were joking or not , but Mum and Dad used to say that the garage was put around the back , because if it had been added on the end , people would think we were rich haha ! I think the house was about 90 foot long , the garage would have added another 40 ! And for anyone wanting modern measurements , work it out yourself haha . Whats your story ?