I'm assuming when you say lacquer you mean an actual painted finish over wood. When I was researching this as I also have toddlers the main issue I saw was not fingerprints but chipping and difficultly in repairing or touching up in the event of chipping.

Hello Marcelle, I am an interior designer . I can tell you a simple inexpensive way to change the look of your kitchen. Looking at the photo you sent the different cabinet heights , and all the objects on the stove wall are very busy . Your modern house is wanting a cleaner , simple look. I would lower the small cabinets so that the top is at the same height as the others in the room. And put doors on , that will hide the clutter. Next I would do a tile backsplash above the stove , up to the same height. The whole kitchen will be pulled together by the continuous top line. There is a small light wood cabinet with baskets in the foreground . I would paint it white , or the same dark accent color of the cabinets you have. I don't think you would need to change the beams then , they would add interest and drama once everything else was subdued. Lisa

OK - I'm a beginner here on Houzz so my opinion isn't worth a lot but here it is: the room is a bit bland and lacking in character. I think you have to find some pieces you really love to bring it alive. All the suggestions are good for widening your horizons, but ultimately, you need to find things that matter to you, because it's your home and not a magazine photoshoot. That said, if it were me, I'd throw a couple of small, colorful rugs down, and put either one large painting or three smaller ones over the bed - not in a line but at different heights - to break up the binary look. I'd also put something on the wall above the heater. Then, play around with a few cushions and maybe a quilt that picks up some of the colours in your artwork.

I am blown away from down under by the help that you all have freely given .... thank you sooo much indeed. who would have thought after a year of anguish that I would be put out of my misery! If I do go for the atlantic for chairs I will bring in plum touches and vice versa. Will now need to go and find some plum that closely aligns with your suggestions. Thanks for saying we can keep table! It is a good solid NZ made oak one ... chairs were all the rage back about 18 years ago! Now need to go! I will put up a pic of a rug that was quite nice but rather expensive so ... might be in an hour or so. Thank you so much again.