It's hard to believeÂeven for meÂbut I lived in this house for years without knowing about this mess. The basement is a dungeon...dirt floor, rocks, damp, etc. I would go down focused on my missionÂto rummage in the freezer or whateverÂand deliberately not look around much. Then recently I had work done down there (oil burner, water tank), and in preparation for workers arriving (and banging their heads on the 6-foot ceiling) I bit the bullet, wrapped a broom in flannel rags, grabbed a flashlight, and went down to rid the place of cobwebs. I found plenty, but to my horror I also found this... um...depository behind the basement stairs. I remember when we moved in I was pregnant, and we discovered lots of cat turds in the basement at that point. My husband cleaned it out (or so we thought) because of the toxoplasmosis risk. I guess there were plenty more we didn't know about until now. I think my own cats have added to it. I have their litter boxes in the basement, but two years ago, after my daughter died, I forgot to change the litter for about three weeks. When I finally got to it, the boxes were full and they had started using the dirt floor surrounding the boxes. They may have branched out to that area behind the stairs. Anyway, I've got to take some action. I so appreciate your advice and support. I didn't expect so many responses to my dirty little question. :-) Thanks, Susan

Peke, you will get a beautiful look with just one color of the crackle. My silver has about 4-5 different tiles within the mix of them, having plenty enough interest. If you start mixing more than one color together (unless it's a mosaic), it's going to be crazy. I know cuz I wanted to mix some blues in with the silver & both my KD & the tile sales girl said NO. I can see now that it would have ruined the mix. It ends up all blending together & creating a beautiful, interesting look with depth (and sparkle when you get close). Not a busy look. It all blends. I like the Riviera better than the Bali. Sounds like you do too. That's one eliminated. You don't like the celery (the description has yellow sage in it). Two gone. The Moonlight isn't doing much for the Sea Pearl & I'm guessing the Ice isn't either? The Storm is going to give you the most variation, the 5th on the left side of the tile board. My tiles sat on my counter for 6 weeks because I thought they were too taupey & I wanted some blue. Once they were up & grouted, a totally different look. Like Bookworm said, you just have to pick. I think you now have the largest collection of Encore samples on Gardenweb. I love crackle tiles. If Seapearl's tile isn't in this bunch, there are more manufacturers of beautiful crackle. Here the level of variation in your samples: Ice -minimum variation Moonlight-moderate Sky- minimum to moderate Bali - moderate Riviera - moderate Mint - moderate Celery- minimum to moderate Cashmere- moderate to high Lagoon-moderate Slate-moderate to high Storm-high Stream- high Cameo (bookworm's) - moderate Silver- (mine) - moderate This post was edited by romy718 on Sun, Mar 16, 14 at 13:35

Oh you guys!!!!!!! I love it all! The pillows - I wish I could pile every one of them on my sofa. As for the rugs, I like them all but I think I could marry that purple rug -- but first I'll have to convince my husband that our old rug simply will not do. And I can't do that until I find the thing. I think it is in the far hinterlands, at the back of the last stack of boxes still waiting to be unpacked. We bought some faux silk drapes a couple of weeks ago; they are very close in color to the wall. I'll try to get them hung this weekend to see how they do ... but not until I shop for pillows ;) Unfortunately our the Homegoods store that was just a half an hour away has closed. Any other likely store suggestions? And THANKS again!

It's very tough to give any advice without knowing the slope. I'd expect you could create a patio area like your neighbors', except wider. I'd plant some shrubs to the left for a start. I had a townhouse with a narrow backyard. I had a narrow garden and used my little yard to sit and eat at all the time. My neighbors didn't use theirs, so it felt private. So, my advice would be to make inviting spaces and to concentrate on access and flowers. I'd be tempted to put in a circular patio with a path from the door and shrubs and perennials behind. It looks like Pgh, so my bet is the hill is very steep. However, you can see what other people have done. If nothing else, go to the Station Square parking lot with binoculars and see if anyone has managed to use their slope better.