Here's my own perspective from an entirely different climate - fwiw. I love Young Lycidas! I'd read some bad reviews but really wanted the color, and it was my surprise favorite of the year. Yes it's lax, but I find that can be graceful. It has personality. Some have suggested Darcey as an alternative and I'll agree she's an absolutely wonderful rose, tidier and more compact if that suits your garden design better. I'm discovering that my favorite DAs are those which do not have thick canes and vey upright growth. I don't want my English roses to look like Grandifloras. Not that I hate modern roses... For those with similar tastes, I will offer that so far I'm not pleased with the growth of the Lady Gardener. Too erect. Maybe maturity will round it out. Concerning the "modern" character of Sir John B, I haven't figured out yet. Mine have begun as low, broad, sturdy branching plants. The foliage is a bit shiny, but not the shiny plastic look of some Kordes roses, for example. The color is bright, but not garish. Deeper than bright. Medium pompon blooms with good substance. They're both rain and heat tolerant and last a long while without fading. I think it's a rose that could make a nice bridge between modern and old style roses. I grew a Hyde Hall hedge that didn't work out. It had dramatically uneven growth, much winter die back, and terrible back spot. It might like a drier or more temperate climate. Beautiful, plentiful blooms, very little fragrance. Sorry for no pics, my hard drive crashed recently :(

Your kitchen is wonderful. Is your table chrome? If it is, would you consider a brass and chrome mixture in your lights? Is that one pendant light where the table chandelier will hang? If you have sufficient lighting from the pot lights, I think I'd skip the island light and just do something wonderful over your table.

I know there's tons of them. The ones I tried are Behr Stone Mason Gray, which on the sample boards looked good. Also, S.W. Gray Matters, Behr Coblestone Gray. All are way way too blue. B.M. Chelsea Gray, which actually does look gray, but is pretty dark, which makes me about leery.

I noticed you have some arched doorways. Does your home have any particular style of architecture, like Spanish or mediterrean? If so, it would be nice to keep the style consistent throughout the house. If you’re game, I’ve love to see the front of the house to get a sense of what it looks like, and that could help direct our suggestions. Also, is this part of a larger room, like the bar end of the living room? If so, you might want to coordinate the fixture with that other part of the room so it feels like...one big room (which it is.) FWIW, the company Rejuvanation Hardware has a lot of nice light fixtures. I agree with the other person that you might want a semi-flush light fixture. (vs. a full-on chandelier). And...you may want to consider keeping all the finish materials consistent throughout the house. i.e. I have a 1940 bungalow and so I choose oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) for the the metal parts of lamp, door knobs, drawer pulls etc. This helps make the home feel more consistent compared to have antique gold in one room and ORB in another (and bonus: you can decide this once and it makes shopping easier in the future).