I have a big old stone Victorian (1891) in a poor city neighborhood, designed by Cope and Stewardson. It has some lovely features like large leaded bay windows, as well as some.....serious constraints. One third of the house was divided off into an apartment about thirty years ago. (Who needs seven bedrooms these days?) This left a 20 foot wide living room, next to a narrow dead end icky green galley kitchen. As soon as i could, i pushed the kitchen wall back by 'stealing" from the attached tiny rental unit's kitchen. Space now about 11X 14 with a door on two sides and two windows on third side. I have been designing my kitchen in my head for years, and am finally doing it in stages. (Somewhere on an old computer there are at least thirty different Autocad plans; I swear thinking about it that long makes process more complicated not less.) Many details are fairly set in my head, but some details aren't completely worked out yet. (All corner cabinets diagonal, i don't like squared off spaces: if i could, i'd have rounded cabinets....instead, some counters will probably be.)

I figured shaker style cabinets would have the simplest look possible without going to expensive straight slab fronts. They pass for almost modern OR quasi-historical. Anything ultra modern would look silly in the house. But I still need help to keep thinking "simple" at every point. it's clear to me that any busyness will make the room feel smaller and more crowded.

I've been doing what i can a little bit at a time. It's a great thrill to get five large cabinets up by ourselves recently, though then we had to remove several on other wall to fit a larger fridge! (RTA autumn shaker line medium stained warm, but not dark, maple.). I already have very simple copper pulls.

Appliances are or will be stainless, unless i attempt to cover some with copper appliance foil? I already have an IKEA stainless double sink with integrated board for main sink (and colanders which fit over it; think Elkay on a drastic budget). i don't like stainless exactly, but I hate white. Unfortunately, Moen no longer makes the faucet in copper i bought one of ages ago. Second little vessel sink will probably be copper, with a wall-mounted faucet. Having a problem finding bright copper in an affordable line......(I find the Danze fussy, and don't like their aged copper.) I was very glad to see an article on mixing metals here, but it does make me nervous.

What i need help with most is things like what kind of preferably copper backsplash would be great but not create too much visual clutter; what kind of countertop ideally, and can the peninsula have a different counter?