Minnesotastan made some fantastic pictures of American lady cats in all their instars, Tiffy - I've given you the link. The mess is their nest with the poop included. I've often wondered how they thrive in that environment, but they do. As the cats grow, they leaves old, small nests and make bigger ones. As you'll see from the pictures, the later instar cats are very beautiful - red, green, black and white! Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: American Lady Caterpillar Thread

Thanks a2gemini for your help. I would like to find a pendant for over the sink, but maybe just that one for the peninsula area. As per the island, we are considering a Modere-aire hood which will have lights (halogen I think). The hood look we are considering is posted below. However, the colour will likely be white and trim will be brushed steel (not the copper in the picture). Given this hood is large, perhaps we should do two pendants over the island? What do you and others think about the switch for the lights in the dining room? In other words when we leave the kitchen and go to the dining room, do you think we could have a switch on the back of the peninsula? How far away should the pots lights be from the wall? The i-joist are quite wide open with no plumbing above so we should not be too limited. Thanks! BTW our ceilings are only 8 feet, so the not at all like the image posted!! [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by New York Architects & Designers Minion Gutierrez Carol

The wall to the right is not structural, it's just a stud wall. There's a big LVL beam in the attic. I like the separation this stud wall provides, between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, and also the wall space (I'm learning that lots of open space and big doorways equals little room for big furniture pieces). bmorepanic - Thanks, you pointed out a lot of things I hadn't thought of. Here is a closeup of the edge of the countertop run, the CT is 1/16"-1/8" shy of the base cabinet. If I add a panel/cabinet, would I put a filler here or caulk this gap? "Be sure to remeasure your opening at floor height - because of the baseboards" -- this is if I add a standalone fridge, right? If I do something integrated, I would remove these, no? Thanks for pointing out the need for a new countertop surface if I did an undercounter ref, hadn't thought of that. My goal is to make this run as lovely as possible. As mentioned above, I will be redoing the trim work around and above the window; perhaps a valance connecting the left cabinet with whatever we end up with on the right. I would like to smile when I look at this wall. Ex: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/award-winning-kitchen-in-massachusetts-farmhouse-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~388162) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Boston Kitchen And Bath Jessica Williamson Or: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchens-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~1541411) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Boston Architect Jan Gleysteen Architects, Inc So lalitha, I don't necessarily want to give up the integrated fridge option if that will give me the best end result. We are heading to an appliance store in Boston this weekend to look at fridges and to check out their outlet section. If I could find the right fridge for the right price.... I will get an education on hinges at the same time. I love the look of the glass door but am trying to picture all my condiments, etc., which I keep in the current door and wondering where they would go... Hi breezygirl. Yes, yes, I'm very much hoping for a stunning deal on a SZ:) I am in no hurry to complete this so with the luxury of time, I may find one. Calling around for the SZ is a great suggestion, I'll post another thread soliciting names of appliance stores in the area to check. I will ditch the undercounter option in this spot (but am still thinking of putting an undercounter freezer in the pantry). And yes I do have plenty of storage. Whatever I put in place above the fridge should add to the look vs. detract. michoumonster/breezy, thanks for input on commercial units. I've wondered about those... rhome410 - good question on the wall shortening. It will mess up the existing floor but I need to get my flooring guy back in for round 2 on the hardwood floors in the rest of the house; I can have him tackle this. (He's terrific; we bumped out the front of the house 5 feet and he wove in new hardwood to match the existing, did a great job). Thanks all, this has been very helpful.

Kiktx, it is not rude to ask that at all. I will probably change my seating orientation around at some point. But the reason I put it that way for now is that wall behind the couch looks really bad as it is still unfinished. That picture I posted above was actually taken before we added the windows. Those were just screens behind the couch! The original house is single wall construction and the only windows were a couple jalousie type in the bathrooms. That's what they call a 'coffee shack' here. Plus, we always hang out on the lanai whenever we want to enjoy the views. Only time we are inside sitting on the couch is after it's dark anyways. :-) Thanks again everyone for all your help. Once I get the sample tiles, I will ask for advice on which looks the best.