Hi again. Sorry for the delay. Holiday madness struck! I ended up using the clear torpedos for a couple of reasons. The drippy tipped ones won't work with shades when I get them. And they were just the easiest to go with when I had a thousand other things to do to prepare for the parties I was hosting that week. DH installed a dimmer, and we were good to go! I can't explain how luxurious and grown-up I feel now with the light fixtures completed in this room! ( We'll ignore the rest of the bare bulbs hanging out around the house still. One room at a time!) Now all I need to do is get some sort of little backsplash on the bar area and find a couple more antique oak chairs and that room is DONE! Hydrangea--those clear bulbs in the photos above do have a bluish tint to them. They were those clean, bright white kind of bulbs that are tinted blue. Took them back! A2--I did see and posted there last night. Not sure I had much to add other than I'm so glad your ovens were quickly and easily fixed without much fuss! Here's how it looks with the remainder of the bulbs in place. Thanks again everyone for the encouragement and opinions!

Littlebug has a point. We've discussed the powder room/mudroom situation before, but here's another possibility. Mary- I know you DID have a bay window on the back of the house, at one time. So let's say you did it again...with a little banquette. Then you could have a breakfast/game table with built-in storage on the opposite wall. The island/table would give you plenty of seating for entire family (as would the dining room) and the breakfast/bay table would be great for drinks, games, snacks, etc. And a pretty view out the back. I would also add windows back to each side of the range...and maybe a wall oven with microwave over it. Great for a baking area! This also gives you room for a larger mudroom (storage on both sides) and a little hall to the bath, with linen closet. Just a few ideas :) Along with one of my favorite pictures.....

What are you doing about weeds? Have you used a selective weed killer? Are you planning to use glyphosate? Are you doing an overseed or a renovation? What is your seed down date? Move the "mow short and bag everything up" to right before seeding. If this is an overseed, you should gradually reduce your mowing height. You may or may not need to dethatch. The aeration earlier may be enough. You want the aeration holes to fill in before seeding so the seeds don't fall down too deep. It's best to keep lime and fertilizer apart. Also good to do the lime well in advance of seeding (several months ago would have been ideal), so the sooner you can do that, the better. I have used lime before at seeding and nothing terrible happened. But it's better if the pH has been adjusted and is in a good range before putting seed down. Lime takes time to work. I would do it today. The aeration, when you can get that done, will push the lime further down into the ground, having about the same effect as if you applied the lime after aeration. Just get it down.

I would paint before the plumbing fixtures and mirrors are installed. It's a PITB to paint behind a toilet. You can always touch-up the visible areas afterward.