I think your bamboo cabinets look great. If I needed new cabinets I would try to go with bamboo, too.

For my kitchen, the big work will be replacing the circa-1970s dropped ceiling and flourescent lights with drywall and canister lights. Lots of folks in this neighborhood have done the same thing, and the contractor I plan to hire has done a lot of them. I'm hoping to use LCD lights, which are expensive but use teeny amounts of electricity and will last for something like 20 years.

I'll keep the kitchen cabinets (real wood) and paint them. I started to paint them when I moved in, but realized it made sense to replace the ceiling before going any further with it. Also there are some cheap moldings on them which I want to replace. I'll also paint the walls, and will put down a new floor to cover the ugly vinyl that's there now. I will probably go with cork or marmoleum. Lastly I want to replace the counters and tile backsplash. That will probably be the last thing I do because I want to use Icestone for the counters, which is not cheap.

For colors in the kitchen, I want white cabinets and trim, blue for the walls (not sure what shade yet), and black/gray for the counters. I think the tiles will be white. I figure they and the counters should be neutral so they'll work with other color schemes if needed. No idea what color the floor should be.

The living room/dining room mostly need to be painted, and some cracks in the plaster need to be fixed. If I can afford it, I'd like to put up crown molding and hide the tv/modem cable underneath it. The walls will be green (kinda sage but not really) and the trim will be white. (I have a dark red love seat and chair in the LR, and the DR furniture is black.)

As for the floors, when I pull up a corner of the carpet I see wood (painted white for some reason). But I have heard from others in the neighborhood that some people find sections of plywood in the middle of the room instead of regular wood flooring. So I don't know yet what I have.

The bedroom is like the LR/DR - just fix some cracks in the plaster and paint. I'm thinking a pale peaceful blue for the walls, and again white for the trim. New carpet for that room, hopefully something recycled.

The bathroom is a mess. I started to remove the ugly wallpaper but apparently whoever put it up did a bad job, and on some parts of the wall it took the top layer of drywall off when I removed it. So I'm thinking about putting up white wainscoting on the bottom half of the walls, and then painting the rest a dark red or maybe cranberry. The tub needs to be replaced (enamel in bad shape) and I'll replace the tile walls in the tub/shower area also. But that area will remain white. I will keep the tile floor that's already there -- it's 4-inch square white tiles, kind of cool looking. I'll also put in a new dual flush toilet (and if anyone can recommend a good brand/model, I'm all ears, because I plan to do this soon), and get rid of the hideous beige clam-shell sink and vanity that never look clean no matter how much you clean them.

I have some ideas about what I where to start with all this work, but I figure I will show the list to the contractor and ask him where he recommends we start. I'm planning to hire a guy who has done work for several people I know, and has worked in this neighborhood for many years, so he knows all the eccentricities already. The people who have recommended him told me that the final cost was the same as his estimate.

I wish I could do the work myself, but I really have no DIY ability. You should have seen me try to put up a curtain rod over the bathroom window. Pretty pathetic. Even when it comes to painting, I manage to mess things up. Assembling Ikea furniture is the limit of my ability. Luckily, I'm getting a bigger tax refund than I expected, which will give me a little more money to spend on phase 1.

p.s. I am a bit concerned that all the blue and green walls will make it feel like I'm under water, but I really want a cool, peaceful environment. I think the red furniture, as well as accessories in colors like red and yellow, will break things up enough so I don't feel like I'm trapped in an aquarium.