The scratch is a brass-color and the entire lamp is magnetic, except for the finial. Thanks for reminding me of the magnet trick! I used to carry one in my wallet for testing "brass" until it wiped out a couple of credit cards. My husband says he thinks it is steel, with brass-plating on the base. (Though why someone would brass-plate the base and not the rest, I don't know.) I've never seen steel used like this in a lamp, but then again, I haven't seen everything ... or maybe I have, now. The man has no soul. He suggested taking it to an auto body shop and having it powdercoated in candy-apple red. I hope his tongue was in his cheek. I think I'll follow LInda's suggestion and spray it with lacquer once it's cleaned up, then take it to the electrician. This is not the kind of thing I would rewire myself. I've ordered a wire candelabra-lamp frame to cover -- just have to pick out fabrics for it. Lazyg, I'll see if I can get a shot of the whole fireplace. It' ll have to wait until tomorrow, when there's more light. The surround and hearth are English handmade tiles with glass tile accents -- not too expensive, since it's a small space, and the tile has a lot of impact. We remodeled this room recently. What? No one noticed the beautiful cat? I couldn't keep him away from the camera.

My Kohler Whitehaven does not always look dirty but I have the grills and make an effort not to let food - especially fruit scraps - sit in the sink. This is much easier now that I don't have a bunch of little ones to watch after - though husband still drops tea bags in the sink - usually right after I cleaned it:) As cast iron sinks get older they get micro abrasions in the finish and stain more easily, but it is very easily cleaned. I will use the same philosophy of those with white cabinets - I can see when cleaning needs to happen. My previous cast iron sink was 20 years old. Almost every night I would give it a spritz of clorox and it would whiten right up. I do't need to clean my Whitehaven that often - maybe twice a week, but as time goes on it may need cleaning more often, but then its a sink and should be cleaned regularly.

I wanted an Old World look, too, and after looking at the medallions at the local tile places I ended up ordering at cast iron fireback to center above my cooktop. I googled 'cast iron firebacks' and came up with many wonderful fireback possibilities at numerous online stores. I can't remember which one I finally ended up buying mine through, but I love it. It was easy for my GC and tile guy to mount on the wall, despite it's weighing about 34 lbs. My tile guy just worked from there outwards. There's a thread on how they did it here, if you want to try searching for it. Anyhoo, here's the link to my kitchen over on the Finished Kitchen blog. There you'll find a link to more pics of it. Lynn Here is a link that might be useful: Lynn's Kitchen Remodel

So helpful. Thank you! springroz - Good point! Instead of "rules", I'll solicit "advice" from this talented body of folks. There are so many beautiful kitchens that seem to have been influenced by this forum that advice from here is really credible in my view. technicolor - Your note alarmed be just a little because our new build is definitely very contemporary! But..., when I went to HOUZZ, I did find lots of contemporary kitchens that mix some metals (mostly stainless/chrome/nickel and ORB?), and I liked the look. I think I am a split personality with respect to design, because I really like contemporary with clean lines, but I also love an eclectic/quirky look. The contemporary will happen because the rest of the house is contemporary, but I want to slide some eclectic/quirky in where I can. Thanks! nineteenoeight - Mish mosh is great! Thanks for sharing how you mixed. a2gemini - We won't have handles or pulls on the doors/drawers other than the paneled appliances. The doors/drawers will have some kind of finger pull thing on the top. NOT my idea, but also not one I will argue over (again). This was a biggie for DH and the architect. The WS antique brass almost glows in its loveliness! What type of sink do you have with this faucet? And, is maintaining the finish on your faucet a concern, or does it maintain somewhat easily? I do split decisions so well all by myself! Never fails, though, that someone here presents an angle that I hadn't thought of to sway my decisions. Thanks again for all of your help! Ott2