It amazes me that you have time to be here with a new house and new babies! Suggestions will be coming....

hehe..they sleep alot :)

I can only answer to your plant shelf, two little plants from Walmart will do the trick.
One african violet for some color, and a little green ivy.
Not expensive , so if the AF dies you can replace once in awhile.

MK .. the more I see of your home, the more I love it. What a shame that you are disappointed with the backsplash though. It is very interesting.. and I think with the right pieces in your kitchen it could sing! I am thinking something dark and with a little visual weight on the plant shelf will help pull the look together. Maybe black or dark pottery pots for your plants? I also have a pretty strong thread of black in my kitchen (which is humbled next to yours) some of the things I have in my kitchen are an antique coffee grinder on the window sill..an antique potato masher that belonged to my great great great grandmother (basically a dark wood club that stands on its end) and a large granite mortar and pestal (which I use lots in the summer/grilling months). If you are going with herbs on the window sill, the mortar and pestal would be beautiful and functional! Keep it simple but thoughtful and it will look great.

I'd live with the dining room as is for now-- as whatever you do in there will be affected by the table/chairs you choose. I do see a heavier piece of furniture on the wall though. Nice print.

Here is a link that might be useful: granite mortar/pestal for plant shelf

I found an African violet at a high-end gardenshop/decorator store that looks so real, my SIL who grows African violets asked me what I fed it to keep it so healthy. I have had several people say "I just cannot grow them, you are so talented." Yes, I agree, I am talented. I am such a good shopper I can find something that does not require care to look like something that receives the best of care and beside it, I have a small spider plant, a pot of ivy, a small asparagus fern, a small pot of begonia that as long as it is under the fluorescent light seems to do well. Now, that's a whole collection of plants, nothing hard to care for and only one artificial plant (potted just like the others) which makes it look even more real.

omg.. is that a puppy in the corner? Do you have a puppy AND twins? hahahah How many pots of coffee do you drink a day?

lyban- I love African Violets...good idea!

funkyart- Yes...LOTS of coffee! It's a 3 year old Miniature Pinscher and he's more work then the twins put together...heheh,just kidding.

So, after I put the babies to bed, I was digging around in the basement and found a few things and was just wondering if they would work in here? Not sure what to do with these.

This picture is very large...I'd say just over 4ft, I need to measure it.

This one is smaller, probably 3ft tall.
{{!gwi}}

any suggestions for the french door?

Hey, Mkrzy22.. what did you decide about the vintage posters? I like them but they don't feel right for the location-- especially because the walls open up to the family room. I think they may be just a little too bold and draw the attention away from the lovely details elsewhere in the room. Give them a try though--- hang one or both for a few days and see how they strike YOU.

I honestly would leave the french doors as they are since privacy isn't a concern. Otherwise I'd use pull down blinds in a nice pattern. I really wouldn't invest too much though until you decide what style of table you will put in there.

What did you come up with for your plant shelf?

I just wanted to tell you that you have a GREAT kitchen!

funkyart- Hmmm...not sure about the vintage posters...they SO went with our pervious home. I'm with you, I reeally like them but not sure in this home or at least not in this location. I may have to save them for when we re-finish our basement for the bar area...which won't be for a very long time. Anyhoo...still not sure what to do with that big expansive wall. Unfortunetly I think it will be a long time before we get a new table so until then I'll have to think long and hard before I do anything. Dh is the type of guy who won't put holes in the wall unless we are absolutely sure something will be hung there...hehe. Oh, well. I haven't done anything yet with the plant shelf...havven't gotten around to getting to the store to get herbs and I didn't find anything that would work in the garage or the basement :) I'll post pics though when I do soemthing. Thanks for ALL your great suggestions and comments!

amcofar- thank you so much ;)

a couple of questions for the dining space...round, square or rectangular table?

Also, what about this hutch where that console table is now? DH will flip since he doesn't think we need more storage space, therefore he doens't think it's worth spending the money...but I think that wall needs something more substantial as someone else pointed out...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}