Hi Ramses, You are right, I should have said "rarely" or overpriced rather than never! I know there was money in the US at the time (several branches of my family are counted in Burkes Peerage and well documented in American history ... on a minor scale!). I have a library full of art and architecture books on Newport (toured some of the houses as well), Philly Main Line, Long Island, McKim Meade & White (architects), and even one book dedicated specifically to the Vanderbilts. If one looks at Vizcaya in Miami, Deering and Chafin shopped endlessly in Europe while the house was being built. And let's not forgot Fifth Avenue! The difference is that for those houses there is a big financial gap in the purchasing power and "scale" of the antiques of those home owners from the "average" wealthy American. A lot of the really great stuff is either still in private hands or in museums. Still, the stuff is fab. Yes, great "Grande Tour" items can still be found in the US! I think what Igloochic is probably going to do is take advantage of the fact that antique furniture is not "hot" here like it is in the US. Better prices here (dirt cheap) if you can fill a container of one's own and ship it home. I think she is going about it the right way. And NOBODY has ANY right to guilt her as Mother for taking this trip. I AM DISGUSTED and APPALLED!!!!!!!!!! This is not a diaper forum (although the amount of S**T comments I often read on here makes me think otherwise). Igloochic asked for antiques recommendations, NOT MOTHERING ADVICE! GOOD GOD LINDA, LET IT GO and mind your own family!!! Before Igloochic's question I had stopped coming on here because I was tired of the all-knowing, judgemental comments (yes, NOW I'M MAD!!!) And Angeldog! I, like you, enjoy new people piping in (just sorry for so much defensive piping on this one)! I will try to post a couple of pics of my Swiss flat (be warned, I am not a very good photographer, lol!) I will include some pics of my NYC flat before I moved all of that to this place. Like Igloochic I am working on filling my filling my Victorian house (I have a container in Connecticut waiting for me) so my "work in progress" will be awhile. And the farmhouse! AH! My beloved farmhouse! It is a 1790's house built from the remains of an even older barn. The interior beam framing in the attic is SPECTACULAR! It is an "ancestral"/family home I am grateful to have ... except I haven't gone in about two years, lol. The Victorian porches were just removed last year and I'll see if I can find the pics that were sent to me. I will do a separate post. Igloochic, GO FOR IT! I cannot wait to see how you progress along. You are inspiring. Tschüss, Baer

I love the look of oak. When I bought my refacing supplies 2 years ago, I went with oak. Of course it took me 2 years to get started on the project, and by then my distributor had all kinds of woods, but I'm still happy with oak. I like the graining, and it has a kind of "Craftsman" look that I like. I have the plain flat-panel doors so they're kind of Craftsman-looking and I think that makes them more "classic" instead of "dated." Or maybe I'm just delusional. I do think, however, that those oak doors with the arched panels look a bit dated. But today's dated is tomorrow's retro. Don't you think that in a few years all those maple and cherry cabinets with the dark granite counters will look dated?

Sidney, Thanks so much for posting that picture as a creative solution. I think we should have the space to do something similar to what your posted, but would need to go down to displaying plates on one side with TV on the other. I certainly like the fireplace with built ins that you chose to do in your home as it achieves what I am trying to do as well - fireplace as the real focus, and TV hidden or down played. Do you find having your TV on a swing out arm convient? In real life do you have the TV swung out most of the time, and only hidden on the occasion? Do you have any issues with glare from windows on your set-up? Thanks again Sidney for your help. Hopefully, at some point I will have a nice fireplace with built-ins like you do. Carol

We moved into our forever home last year. The kitchen and bath cabinets and layouts were the one of the things that didn't really work for us. the first thing we did was change the cabinet hardware and wall colors in the whole house. First step in making it better. We now like the kitchen layout and cabinets, they grew on us. The added expense of changing everything wasn't worth it to us. And we are okay with that. Just saying this to be another voice to live with it for awhile. Put the color you love on the wall instead of the cabinets and decorate with it. If you decide in a while you need to change the expensive things, you will have had time to figure out what works and what doesn't in its current layout. And already have the things to coordonate with it. I think the flooring and countertop would look nice with navy walls and copper accents. I would forget the sink. but it is your house. do what will make you happy. We still plan on changing the master bath/closet/laundry area of our home. But adding a garage comes before that. Priorities. Have fun making your new house your home.