I would paint the stairs & the railing matte black. The risers off-white. The stair runner natural sisal.

Will take the wear & tear & easy to keep clean. I love your kitchen. Also adore the stairway into the kitchen. So much better than hitting you in the face as you enter the house in the foyer.

Laura- have you ever seen the Jumping Zebra wall paper on Houzz? Would it be crazy to contemplate installing that paper on the wall going upstairs? I fell in love with the wallpaper. Here are a couple more views of the area, if you have any more ideas! The hallway with the family pictures uses existing nail holes. I am wondering if shoring that space up with black and white pictures with white matts and black frames might look good. I just stumbled upon a fabric covered magnetic board option. Since the mudroom at the end of the hallway is chaos anyway, I thought that the board would be a good place to keep the birthday party invitations and other reminders/lunch menus organized without tacks and a cork board. I would much rather write a note and use a magnet to hang the items, than have a framed chalkboard and chalk pieces floating around the house. I also had the crazy thought that we could then start collecting a little magnet from travels with the kids. I am sure that it will get tacky, but memorable! As we eventually graduate the kids from elementary school, hopefully the paperwork slows down!

I personally love something with a pattern. How about a runner from dash & Albert?

Do you mind me asking the size of your island? I love it!

Thank you Sandra! The kitchen decisions were so stressful, that I'm feeling scared to make any more design decisions! Though the carpet is going to be a new color on it's own soon! The house is really long, instead of square, due to previous owners adding what was probably a living area for the original owner. The layout became choppy and long as they added on. The current opening to the stairs from the kitchen was a wall when we moved into the house and we took that down. That was the best project, because the open area made the kitchen feel less boxy and some additional light came into the kitchen from 3 small windows in the stairwell. The next project is to remove the window (hence the missing trim) and put 2 sets of sliding glass doors to a yet to be constructed deck…… Thank you on the kitchen, I'm so grateful to Houzz for all of the pictures!

Brenna- The granite is 7'8" X 4' and due to reading recommendations on Houzz, we asked to have an overhang on the side of the island that is next to the table. (I think that you can see the shadow in this picture.) The fabricators said that 7" was fine without a support. Our theory was that there could be a stool there for parties or what not.

The cabinetry under the island is 7'3" X 3'10".

What a wonderful space. I like the plans moving forward as well. Two sinks. Think about it. Perfect.

Wow, I thought 7 " isn't enough until I saw the stool area down the length. You got it covered.

Ahhh, your going to love my other surprise! The island is hiding a little itty bitty baby Bosch additional dishwasher! We have a fairly steady run of weekends in the summer BBQ's that are jam packed with feeding a lot of other families and my biggest annoyance was the Monday dishes/platters sitting around and waiting for their well deserved weekend bath……. Problem solved (I think)! Now, I just need to train the guests to load the machines! A friend asked which dishwasher I liked best and I said- "The empty one!"

cinct-Beautiful space. And love your contrasting countertops! We used contrasting countertops in our kitchen, and I have always doubted my decision, but after seeing your kitchen, I feel really good about it! I think your railing painted in black will tie in nicely with the other elements in your home!

Thank you, Karen! I'm sure your contrasting countertops look amazing!