The space the kitchen is in is nice and big about 10 x 12 feet square with 8 foot ceilings and two nice windows along 12 foot sink wall, one over sink and one 48" to right of that over counter. The refrigerator anchors the end of the wall down the long counter past the sink. I have a sliding glass door to deck taking up middle 6 feet of that 10 foot wall. So nice and bright natural light luckily. I was just going to do high hats, no pendant. Maybe a chandelier over dining nook. The stove wall is nice and long, but has a 30" archway to dining room on the end. I was going to put a banquette with round table and chair at the end, right in front of sliding glass door to deck. The other 10 foot wall has a 30" doorway to basement. I was going to put a 96" high cherry pantry wall on that wall. I would be too embarrassed to post before pictures. Kitchen is from 1939. Bathroom which I just did, was peach and black tile

I am a little concerned that any attempt to just paint or cover the flower tiles may just look like a cover up fix it sort of thing. There is a video tutorial on This Old House Website about painting tile - but they painted the entire backsplash and I am not sure how that would look with your counters. The shape of the flower tiles show that they are a border and I think it may look unusual with the border painted out. I think they are rather sweet - I see all sorts of "outdated" tile in little European cottage kitchens. My refrigerator showed signs that it was going out in June. Things were a bit tight so I kept putting off buying one and then it really started to crash and we were close to leaving for vacation. I found a new fridge, but because of the timing - I live in a college town and all the students leave at they end of July and landlords refurbish then - I could not get it delivered soon. We have a tiny fridge and a freezer downstairs so I jammed everything I could in those before we left on vacation. It was still running when we got home - but it was stupid and stressful:( I do like it - it is a GE and was $1300. I too only have a certain size I can get due to cabinets etc. Take measurements of your space. I had heard bad things about GE, but this fridge got good reviews and was liked by all the stores I looked at. Apparently GE is trying to do better and renew their reputation. The water dispenser is on the inside of mine. There is no ice dispenser, but there is an automatic ice maker.

What a tough space to work with! To start, the entry way coming from your garage I'm guessing is your drop off station! Hooks and storage bins are a great way to traffic things into the place they need to be! of course this is just an idea for you to take and run with! As for the stair way a fresh coat of paint I think will do it justice! And on to the functioning living room; selves, selves, selves. Being that you have a lot going on in one room, you want things to be easy on the eyes yet also functioning! Selves can house books and organize after school work/activities. You can also add storage bins/baskets into the selves hiding away the kiddos toy yet they are still accessible when needed! Here is an idea: I know that this is a lot, but I hope it helps! Remember, rugs are great for defining the space and transitioning in open floor plans! Best of luck, -HedgeApple

We were in a similiar situation when we bought our house a couple years ago. The entire house was painted a horrible shade of yellow (including all the ceilings) with hunter green trim. We painted the entire inside of our six bedroom house. Our foyer is about the same height as yours - that was not fun. The vast majority of your house looks totally doable. Just have a painter do the high area of the foyer. Tile work is not hard if you take your time snd educate yourself and a backsplash is the easiest way to learn. Try to DIY it and you will save a bundle as paint is not that expensive. Congratulations on your new house. I would definitely remove all the backsplash including the stone. It does not go with your granite and it will be virtually impossible to keep clean if you cook at all.