Wow, some nice stuff. Photography is art and art is subjective ("eye of the beholder")so what's "best" is dependant upon the judge. Top ones photographically in my mind are, in numerical order, #2, 3, 6, 8 & 9 and I have some comments on them if you don't mind. I should say I was attracted to these since I have a thing for lighthouses and for farm scenes so it impacted a bit but those are good shots. Are you allowed to crop or manipulate? Mind if I make some comments? If I were judging these I'd feel this way: (Photo #) 1) This is a cute vacation snapshot of someone taking a picture of someone taking a picture. However photographically, you have about 4-5 different major subjects jumping at you so the eye jumps around and doesn't give the overall impact until you stop and concentrate. I'd crop the top half and drop a ship in there! :) 2) This one GRABBED me! Look at the clarity of the lens in the lighthouse! Again, as a lighthouse fan it had increased impact to me but the lens really made a statement. The problem photographically is the water cutting the picture in half. I'd crop this to about the top of the bottom window and it'll move the waterline down and still have the impact I mentioned. Then I'd hang it on my wall! 3) Probably the best of the bunch as they sit. The fence leads your eye to the water which brings you back in. Photographically, this is textbook. The fogline essentially ends on the rule of thirds, the major set of "bushes" is pretty much on thirds, the fog gives mystery and a peacefulness. I'd put this on my wall as it is. 4) Nice, but again, the water cuts the shot in half. Photographically that's bad. If you crop about the bottom third off you set the berg at thirds, it's slightly framed on the bottom right and it seems like the clouds lend more impact. With the cropping, I'd hang this on my wall too. 5) I loved the potential of this, but went ARGH when I first looked at it. So many great elements but the killer (in a bad way) is cutting off the building. It's like a portrait where the top of a person's head or an arm is cut off. What felt like a knife in my guts was the building "spoke" of a history, but it's only part. Look at the weathering of the paint, how those hinges on the door stand out and talk about history! No offense but this one is not your best work. BTW, what this a lean-to on a barn or a free-standing building? Just curious 6) When I first looked at this I literally said to myself this is STRANGE....ly interesting. It has almost a shock value and this is a fantastic use of black and white for impact. Rule of thirds vertically and horizontally and a leading line too. This would go on my wall or in a gallery. It really probably ties with #3 for me as your best... at least so far! 7) First off, I like this but it's difficult on which to comment. It grabs you a bit and it stands out in several ways. The table is a nice addition. Problems for me: A) The waterline merging with the roofline. B) A little too "flat" a shot. The building is only two dimentional. Shooting from a bit more of an angle and maybe a little lower down - from ground level maybe, and show two sides of the building might have added impact and eliminated the cut. Again, this is difficult because I like it. I like the colors and it does say something (I mean something good) but in a way it almost looks like a real estate listing photo too. And I also like the cloud pattern. Leads your eye in nicely. This has eye-appeal, but it also violates standards so it would depend on how it's being judged. 8) When I saw the thumbnail I went HERE WE GO!!! Sigh. But there's been good and it almost minimizes it! LOL I like this a lot and I'd put it on my wall. This shows how shooting from different levels adds dramatically. You're shooting upward, the foreground leads to it, it almost has a halo around the top. If only the lens were so clear in this shot. (See what an impact that had on me? LOL) Also this shows one of the exceptions to the rule on centering or non-centering. But it's still off just enough to add. Not sure if that was intentional or not but it's great. 9) OK I like lighthouses but I'm a bit of a snob. I like "traditional" looking lighthouses. But this is truly spectacular. I'd hang this on the wall definitely. To me the clouds give almost a stormy look and that goes with the function of a lighthouse. So out of them, if *I* judged these 9 pictures, uncropped or manipulated and by judging photographically, 1st prize would go, to #6, a close 2nd is #3 and 3rd place would be #9 (by a sliver of a whisker over #8, and in an hour it might be reversed!). But as you see from other posters, people judge things differently. That said, one caution, some will judge with bias on whether they like B&W or don't like B&W so it could be a risk. You might know your judges better. These are comments from me and hope there's no offense taken. I did say more than requested! Just thought you could take it or skip over. Good luck to you. Let us know which you submit and how things turn out. Again, GOOD LUCK!

Have you checked Craigslist in your area? WouldnâÂÂt be hard to paint a couple of nightstands. Could even change out the hardware if you got them cheaply on CL. You might also consider adding a piece of dark granite or marble on the top, to give them more visual heft and balance for the massive look of the other pieces. Honestly, tho, I would hesitate to have matching nightstands in white, and the rest of the furniture in the wood tones. I think having two of them that match will make it seem like you are using a set of nightstands from an old bedroom set, rather than buying new ones. Have you considered doing two different nightstands? Perhaps a white painted cabinet on one side, and a mirrored piece on the other, or a round skirted table. or a small secretary desk.

We swapped the rugs, Gold went to the living room and my DH is happy. He likes it better there and so do I. The color looks less orangey. And the size is good for that room. The silver rug looks 'OK' in the DR but is really a bit too blue for the DR and the fabric I've had for windows. It will be perfect upstairs in my snore room however when I get to that project so both are keepers and will work fine as place holders. Busybee3 - I would keep the table at the round 54" as I only do larger 10+ sit downs a few times a year. I guess I really think of the DR divided into two sections a 6 X 16 hallway and a 10 X 16; as that side is where the table lives, and the light fixture is placed accordingly. I do not want to center the table to the room as that would be trickly for walking to the kitchen. What I consider the hall is really part of the room and will have the buffet placed there. The other walls will have a china cab and server. For now I will have the silver rug placed where the large gold rug is in the first picture, but I will try with out a runner for awhile. Not ideal but will get us by to move in - While I keep my eyes peeled for the perfect rug.

I hate it when people don't listen to me. I just hate it. ;-) But actually, the mirror looks fine there. It's oversized in a way that looks deliberate rather than just too big. And I really, really like the wainscoting. That's wonderful. Nice job.