If you go into a showroom with the attitude that you want to see all there is to see with the hopes that something will jump out at you, you'll get your wish-- from the first tile to the last. it can be EXTREMELY overwhelming. I never realised just HOW over whelming it can be until about 10 years ago, when my then girlfriend's sister decided she wanted to build a house, and wanted me to tile it, so I brought her down to the showroom I was working for at the time with that exact attitude. We got to the showroom at 7:45, and we were there till about 3:30. her boyfriend was about to wallpaper the FLOOR!! When you go to a showroom, you need to know atleast some basic information. >Do you want natural stone? Conventional ceramic? Porcelain? Do you have any questions as to the recommended uses of each? >You want to have a pretty good idea of what you want for colors. Be open to suggestions, but have an idea in which direction you want to go. >You want to have an idea of what you want for finish. (Do you want something with a high sheen or polish? Honed? More of a rustic look? Contemporary?) >Have an idea of how much you're willing to spend per foot. This DOESN'T mean to tell the salesman. Guaranteed, he'll steer you to a material with the cheapest wholesale price and double the retail just to put it in your price range, and make the most money off of it. >Decide before you walk into the showroom, which of these points are non- negotiable, and which can be comprimised, and stick to your guns. If you can put this information together before you get there, it'll make the trip alot less painless.

Lovely sense of style! Bravo! We investigated porcelain marble look-alike tile but we decided on real marble which we will have to care for without any acidic products. Beware that there is a repeating pattern in marble look-alike porcelain tile like (on wall paper which will give away the secret.) We found great deals on Amazon and at Lowes for Bianco Carrara subways, pencils, chair rails and floor and shower floor hexes (1/3 the price of tile stores). We found a gorgeous remnant for our shower bench at a marble and stone shop at an amazing price. I can't wait until it's done to post photos! But back to your house... it's gorgeous!

I should add that as a guest, I find it a bit tiresome to be confronted with a glass shower and the knowledge that I'm going to have to squeegee once I'm done. I think a curtain is kinder to guests in addition to being cheaper. ETA @cpartist, I've seen plenty of shower curtains in multi-million dollar homes. As a musician I get to see many guest baths in places I would normally never be invited as a guest. (They send me to a guest bath since the powder room is reserved for the real guests at the event.)

ok,,so lets start w/the kitchen. well, paint colors actually. it's ok to do different colors in other rooms,,,if you can see both rooms, slightly, then either do the same or do similar coordinating tones. The rest of the advice is if you plan on keeping what's there. If you're going to rip it out and get a new kitchen in a year, then live w/it if you can. If this is all you can do for many years, then see if the changes, below, are something you can do. if you plan on keeping all of that wood trim (if it was me, I'd prob paint every thing except the beams on the ceiling, and maybe the trim going up the staircase. In the kitchen you have so many dark and heavy elements, I feel you need to lighten it up. I can live w/the black tile, for now, but that brick? hell no. that has to get painted. You can paint the brick on the island, or, I'd cover it up w/panels/trim and paint it a soft charcoal to match the floor (or whatever color you like) Grab some thin wood or mdf panels from HD or lowes and cut to fit the 3 sides. Use construction adhesive to adhere to bricks (or get some masonry screws and screw them in) then get some 1x2 primed trim pieces and secure all around the borders..like so if you want a bit fancy, do the stiles along the back (above,,the vertical pieces) otherwise, just do it like pictured below. see how nice and clean looking it is? More ideas, search "trimming out kitchen island". you could try doing it in this color or if you feel like you want to have a painting party, do all of the cabinets in one, two or all four as they've outlined. This combo would look great w/your flooring. you kitchen ceiling needs to be skim coated and smooth out. or, have it retextured, primed and painted in a flat bright white. if you will be getting some retro fit recessed lights (Costco LED's,,,great price) then wait until the holes are done for those. Minimum of six 6" cans (8 would be better) , and two spots for pendants over the island. BTW, replacing the top on the island is a piece of cake. either check a granite fabricator yard for a remnant piece (you have a slender top so it should be easy to find) or look on craigslist for a remnant or even an entire island, or get an inexpensive butcher block and cut it yourself to fit. Whatever you get, leave an extra couple inches off the back end for an overhang. you could do a few more inches. The brick around your oven? paint it. white, black, gray, pick one. use a satin paint for that. clean and scrub that brick very well before you PRIME it (if using a dark paint, prime it with a gray primer. white for white,,,but don't skip the priming part) as for baseboards, if they're all small and short, pull them and replace w/these. Any questions? and yes, if you have the budget, call in a designer to help you out with what needs to be done, what should be done, etc.