That is a lot of leaves. But, to look at it another way: where did the leaves come from? did they all come off the trees in the woodland you just transferred the leaves to? If so then it's not too many leaves, it's how much leaf material the woodland produces and you can expect it to process them all itself. But if on the other hand the leaves came from trees not growing in the woodland, and the woodland is already producing as many leaves as it can process, then piling on way more leaves is going to depress the herbaceous understory. If they were soft leaves I'd be inclined to not worry about it, but oak leaves do take a bit longer to decompose than average. So they're still going to be around in spring when things are trying to come up.

Pinktoes, yes it IS possible to have a contractor who respects all of one's obsessions. :) My builder made sure all his subs walked the house with me, so I could stipulate exactly where every light switch, electric plug, wall fixture, ceiling fixture, and yes, all three floor drains, were exactly where I wanted them. And when somebody on his crew made an assumption about where to put something (like happened with the electric plug in the mantel)and got it wrong, there were no problems with re-doing it. Poigirl, even if you decide this isn't one of those battles you feel like fighting, I'd make sure your builder is aware that it is his screw up, not yours. That way, the next problem that comes up, you can remind him that you let this one slide, so he owes you the next time. It's like a little bargaining chip for the future. lol I had three rooms with floor drains (my daughter's ADA bathroom, the puppy nursery and my steam shower room). They put all three drains exactly where I wanted them, including the one in my shower which is in the middle. Summer

I'm stunned at the ignorance displayed in this forum. I've been installing ceramic/stone/porcelain, as a private contractor for over 25 years (i.e. since there were only 4x4, nominal of course, tiles available on walls and only porcelain mosaics or kiln baked ceramics for floors. You know, the ones with the knobs on the bottom side. Think I know what I'm talking about? I am recognized as a superior installer in Bergen County NJ as evidenced by staying in business for over 25 years and never spent a nickel on advertising. I work 6 and sometimes 7 long days a week at a moderately competitive price all by word of mouth. Anyway, on the subject of rectified tiles and how wonderful Porcelanosa tiles are. I very recently installed 500 plus square feet of rectified tiles of which the dimensions were 26 inches by 17.5 inches. BTW no one in this forum has mentioned a tile of that size yet. The degree of difficulty is extreme at that size. I was also asked to space the tile BUTT, not even 1/16 inch joint over an extremely well poured and "flat" slab of concrete.The area to be tiled has a straight run of over 60 feet long by 9 feet wide in a printing factory. Even though I am a very careful and conscientious worker I was given a D minus on the job and was not paid. I might even get sued.The bottom line is, if the floor is PERFECTLY FLAT (which NO floor is : repeat NO floor)you will still get a degree of lippage, no matter how minimal it is. Which leads the the almighty question of how tolerant the homeowner or building owner is when they look at your job. People in this forum have used the word good job. No one has said great job. Job quality is in the eye of the beholder, but rest assured no one can EVER expect a perfect install, with rectified tile. Go to any Porcelanosa showroom or for that matter, anywhere in the continental United States and examine the sample installations for yourself. Learn what to expect before you get your hopes too high. Going from a 1/16 joint to a 1/8 joint will greatly increase your satisfaction. Don.t be fooled by someone who says he can do what YOU want to make him do. We are all trying to make a living. In ending I would love some feedback from anyone who claims to put in a perfect floor (rectified w/1/16 joint, and I am willing to travel anywhere to see this work.

I have something similar planned for my kitchen, combining antique brass and wrought iron, rather than ORB, but with a similar effect. I'm not doing stainless steel appliances, but the white appliances often have stainless accents. Since most of your antique brass is not right in the kitchen work area and it sounds like you may be using ORB for a transition between the two...I think it will look very nice. White would be fine, too and would probably go very well with any of the other finishes you mentioned, since it's such a great neutral :)