So, do you like blue and white, or does another color combination read as cozy to you? Any pictures to share?

Around here, they're building big new homes with 12x11 dining rooms, so if we ever move to a bigger house, I'll have to downsize my dining space. Strange!

Not saying I would not love it in your house at all. It was my very favorite all my life. Now I am turning to greens and purples. Go figure. Must be the old lady thing happening. LOL

Your inspiration pictures are really pretty.

However, the Delft tiles are fantastic, and I think the blue as an accent color to a yellow/white scheme is great. I also think a white floor tile with small blue diamonds is another feature that is suitable for a yellow/white scheme as well as one which is blue/white.

What concerns me is the use of color in features which CANNOT BE EASILY CHANGED. Like the tile, or the appliances.
I know in my old MoccasinLanding cottage, the bathroom was a solid chunk of pink....pink sink/tub/toilet, solid pink wall tiles, and various shades of pink floor tiles. I went bonkers, but I know there are folks who dearly LOVE MCM houses with the original bath. It was all of that!

Maybe if I had not grown up MCM, it would be something special to me too, but I prefer either super modern, or turn of the century cozy. I'm almost over the shabby chic stage of my life, and trying the KISS formula of home decorating....you know, KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!!!! :):)

There's something about a blue and white kitchen that I absolutely LOVE, but I know it would feel too cold without all the other colors. That's why I want a big kitchen, open to a dining area and seating area....and lots of light/windows...but I do want a cobalt blue wood stove!

If I did a blue counter, it would be formica, because I would never buy blue stone. I don't care much for stone countertops, anyway, but blue stone would be a lifetime commitment! LOL

Shades- Green and purple is one of my favorite combinations! It's everywhere in my garden (with a little pink) and it's so warm and cheerful. I'm thinking of using that color combination in the living room.

Sunnie- I think I did something wrong...I didn't see your blue cabinets. Do I need to look through more pictures?

Young- I really like your dining room! I've started with curtains, plenty of times. My mom will find a fabric she loves and we design the whole room around it. You know, Sarah Richardson does that on HGTV. Did you see the bathroom, she designed around the drape material? Gorgeous!

Marti- An Aga would be wonderful, but I think our summers are too hot. If we lived on the west side of the state (Seattle) it might be a better choice! Aren't they pretty?

Marti8a, that silver chair was a throne I created for my daughters bridal shower. Theres a gold one too that I made for a theather prop. Fun trash to treasure projects.

Here's a few pictures of the finished home. There are a lot more and even episodes, on HGTV :)

There is also a Scandinavian artist who paints such gorgeous scenes, Larssen? I'll have to look it up. The floors are scrubbed so clean, and the walls are white washed, I think the colors are so light and airy because they have such long and cold winters, it helps keep the spirits up.

We have really long, cold winters, too, so maybe that's one reason I like such a light and bright kitchen...and want the woodstove :)

And then this next photo came from the New England Home magazine. I like it because of the low window sill over the sink, the beadboard base cab doors, and the wide pine floor boards. Note about pine floorboards like those....they have to be SEASONED A LONG TIME, because they do shrink as they dry out. Recommend that the homeowner have a strict REMOVE SHOES policy when the floors are such a soft wood. Note that the walls in this kitchen appear to be a faint soft blue.

I know several folks on the Smaller Homes Forum who can agree with that. We are (most of us, I think) in the process all the time, doing a step at a time, toward the objective. I could not have said it better.

And Rafor, I'm glad you like Larsson too. If I recall, he also designed built-in Scandinavian furniture, and in one of his paintings had the built-in beds with chests below and curtains to enclose.

I also recall a stone shed up in Iceland or someplace very cold, which had no roof, until they stopped going to sea and brought home the deep vee plank-hulled fishing boat. Then they turned it upside down to fit perfectly as the winter roof for their shed. Great storage place for the boat, and great protection from the elements for the contents of the shed.

ML- Beautiful photos! The soft blues and yellows looks so pretty with the creamy/white cabinets.

I love the look of wood floors, but living on a farm, vinyl that looks like wood will be much more practical. There's not always time to take off shoes or worry about tracking things in, when you have horses.

When our mare got sick a few weeks ago (but she's all better now) we were running in and out of the house to grab things, call the vet, etc. Our current vinyl floors were a mess! That day really convinced me that vinyl would be the best way to go in the farmhouse, too :)

I'm too old to know the Trixie Beldon series of books. Were they all written by the same author, or, like Nancy Drew, written on assignment by several writers?

I just gave my whole collection (about 34 books) to my 11 year-old niece and her friend, Beatrice. This seemed appropriate since Trixie's real name was Beatrix. I hope they have fun with them...and pass them on to other young girls as they get older :)

I bought some of the books for my dd's and they wouldn't read them. Made me so sad. lol

ML, I don't know when they were written. I started reading them in the '60's. Oh, I just looked it up. Says they were written between 1948 & 1986.

LOL I never knew where that came from but it is my mantra every cleaning day.And then once in awhile I get serious about cleaning.

Now that is something I never associated with the nickname Trixie. But of course, you have to know that BEATRIX is pronounced differently for some of us. Spelled differently too. Like Beatrice we say "Bee AT riss" and I bet some of you say "BEE Tricks".....which leads easily to TRIXIE as a nick name. So I just learned something.

Thanks, folks. :)

To keep it ON topic, she had a blue/white kitchen you say?

My wife and I have always like blue and white- it's timeless. I also like some of the greens, yellows, reds, and even black accents in kitchens from the 30's and 40's. My wife collects kitchen tools from that era with the cream and green handles. I could see a kitchen in those colors, too.

Here's a few more blue and white kitchens...

And this one is white and yellow, with blue accents...

Notice the "island" here would be similar to what you want with butcherblock on top. Nice!