You can fashion a window seat as in photo: IKEA hack. Here's one link there are many to be found: http://chaosinmycasa.blogspot.com/2012/10/diy-window-bench.html

Had a meeting with the builder team. Builder team inspected the granite island with us and we showed them all the pictures we had taken before they filled the chipped areas. Plus today they found more issues including small cracks in the island. Builder verbally agreed on changing the island only. And said they will ask me to approve the slab for granite that is matching with the rest of the counters. My granite is White Spring and it has lot of characters and variations and also color changes with the every new slab. When I went to choose 3 slabs, granite guy suggested me to choose from the same lot otherwise each slab will be different since it is natural stone. I hope builder will agree on changing everything. Since seams of the counter has visible gap and backsplash joint behind the sink and joint in front of the sink is also not aligned. And counter in front of the Pantry is also chipped off at multiple places. Stairway paint : Builder is not ready to take care of it right now. Verbally they are promising in the future (before warranty expires), if the paint starts peeling off, they will paint the whole structure once again. And not ready to put this in writing. I wish this meeting had scheduled earlier. We are now only 24 HOURS away from closing date. And I have to still wait for the concrete solution on the issues we have reported. Thank you everyone for your support.

On the plus side, you will not have to do that again in the near future. I would definitely ask the pool company to show you how to check salt levels etc. We have an automated system. There are both good and bad things about the automated system. The automated system shows us our salt level (provided that the salt cell is working). The system only works between certain salt levels, so maintaining the salt level is important. You still have to test the water or take it to get tested for stuff like pH. You will end up adding acid periodically for example. There is a wide range of prices. We favor a robotic one due to the size, irregular shape, and pebbletec texture of our pool. We have used Dolphin brand, but I hear aqua bots are nice too. The Doheny branded Dolphin Saturn is on sale right now for about $545. They go up in price from there. There are cheaper ones too, but they have a lot less functionality. Doheny sells discounted clearance and return models.

Wowser! That is some white kitchen! It's a great size and a reasonable lay out, for a quick fix it does need little of the "science lab" vibe toned down. Why not start with a big rustic farm table or farm style island in the centre and add the colours you love with accessories? If that feels like you are heading in the right direction, paint a wall or 2. If you take pictures as you go, it will give you a better feel of when to stop. I also think the trim and the closet doors are such a stark white, that toning down to a warm white or ivory might help ( but wait till you paint the walls 1st) here's a couple of inspiration photos from HOUZZ and some inspiration for decor (come is a little corny, but with such a blank slate, I think you could get away with it and it's a inexpensive, replaceable fix) http://www.houzz.com/photos/products/query/country-kitchen-decor/nqrwns