I have a 1960's Pennsylvania house solid cherry dropleaf dining table with 8 chairs in really good shape, with hutch. Does anyone know what it might be worth? My parents bought it new in the early to mid 60's, it is in a colonial style. Any help would be appreciated, as there is limited information that I can find. thanks so much.

Political correctness is fine. Foolish purchasing decisions are not fine. There's nothing wrong in deciding not to buy furniture made in China, especially so-called high-end furniture, since it's crystal clear that the Chinese furniture manufacturers can't hold a candle to American craftspeople. I speak from experience --- We bought a PA House Hallmark Cherry Hutch in about 1983; I presume it was made in PA, or at least in the US, it's lasted wonderfully. In 1999 we moved into a house and finally had room for a dining set. Since PA House was still making the same collection, we bought a matching table, 6 side chairs, 2 arm chairs and a mobile server. I wish we had known La-Z-Boy had outsourced this wonderful product to China. It took almost 3/4 of a year for delivery. Within 3 weeks, the woods in the table swelled so that with leaves in the table, there are very noticeable gaps on the table surface. Within two months, every chair had mild to severe splits in the wood backs. And the surface of the mobile server (which open up like a book to provide a large serving surface) warped so that one "leaf" stands up at the back while the other stands up at the front. Charming crap, they make in China. My months of complaints to PA House/La-Z-Boy went unanswered. I had to file a complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General's Office - only then did the company respond, and then only to the AG's Office. The letter signed by Yvette Nixon of PA House, was dated 9/27/06. Ms. Nixon said PA House would repair the furniture and would contact me. It's now 10/5/06. I still haven't heard from Ms. Nixon, have you? STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THE PURE UNADULTERATED CRAP, CRAP, CRAP MARKETED BY LA-Z-BOY UNDER THE PA HOUSE LABEL, BUT MADE BY UNDERPAID DRONES IN CHINA!!!! BUY AMERICAN !!!! FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS INFORMATION !!!! DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE BUY FROM PA HOUSE !!!!

When I moved to New England from Texas, I was surprised to see "Amityville Horror" style windows on so many houses. In Houston, you almost never see gable windows like those, so in my mind, I'd really identified that style with haunting, since that was the main context I'd seen it in as a kid. Happily, I was very wrong about the association. I don't think ghosts are very particular about the style of the gable windows when they're cruising around looking for houses to haunt. :-) So, now when I see the quarter circle gable windows, amityville is not the first thing that pops into my mind. If it were, it would almost never be out of my mind, since that style is all over New England. Enjoy your lovely house, and welcome to the forum! Can't wait to see more photos after your closing.

I agree with Ranton, assuming I understand that you've already decided on the cabinet choice? If you have and you've got the style and stain/paint picked out, I'd do the counters 2nd. I'd do the floors 3rd. Flooring, unless "it's in your face" attention grabbing, tends to just be the anchor and gets relegated to almost being overlooked. If you only want the blaring floor to take center stage,(that's your main objective) then highlight that and let everything else just be a supporting role for the floor. That being said, if you have a lot of movement in the graining of the wood (cabinet), you don't want to fight "movement with movement". So let's say you have a really intense movement in the wood grain that will show through the stain, I'd quiet it down on the granite and/or pick a quartz that is quieter to the degree that the cabinets are already "speaking". ** One thing, are you looking for a certain look or style? Can you tell us that if you know? The reason I ask is that depending on what look you want to achieve be it for example, sleek/modern/minimalist, Tuscan/Mediterranean, French country, Craftsman/earthy colors etc., you get the idea. So write down some basic words that you think of when people say (your) XYZ style. From that, when you are looking at each material or pattern, what is the first word that comes to mind when you see that pattern/color/style in the granite yard or flooring? If what comes to mind belongs to another style/look, you may be about to combine things that don't belong in the same "box". Something to think about...... Oh, definitely choose the granite then choose the backsplash color/pattern/material after that. Regarding flooring, ask your DH the one thing that he wants to first be noticed in your kitchen. I.E. if someone where to come for a visit after it's completed and says they love XYZ about it. What element would be choose as the strongest thing that stands out when you walk into your kitchen? I know on some of these design shows when it comes to pattern be it fabric, upholstery, wallpaper, whatever, they suggest that the "scale" of each element not be the same. Like if you had a large print on a fabric in whatever color you'd want to choose a smaller scale on the other elements in the room so they don't compete. If you've got several large (busy) 'in your face' patterns in the room, they compete with each other. The result is that the eye bounces around constantly from large pattern (i.e. movement) to the next large/busy/heavy movement pattern. What happens is a feeling of vibration and competition between all the elements that is not restful to the eye or mind. I know I'm jumping around here. All these things are coming to mind that might help you so I'm just throwing it out there before I think of something else. Question: Are your and DH's style the same or different? If they are different, there was an HGTV show that integrated the two (sorry, can't think of it or the host's name) but there were some good points in how the host did it. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I don't know if I've helped here or not, but hopefully it will spark some thought processes that might help you.