We have moisture issues so couldn't do wood (plus, we live on a ranch and hubby works around heavy machinery ALOT...our floors take a real beating!)...so, we went with travertine in most of the downstairs (we put *super* cushy carpet in the side tv room). I LOVE MY TRAVERTINE! It never looks dirty. We laid it in a three size versailles pattern which gives an "old world" style feel to the house. It's indestructible and everything cleans up perfectly...even spilled paint. We carried the travertine up the stairs...only on the riser part of the stairs..used the ultra cushy carpet on the step part. Kitchen was done in a dark porcelain tile with texture...also love it..never looks dirty, isn't slippery, cleans up so easily! Yes, the floors are hard. I just wear good shoes/slippers and no worries.

No Costco here! Darn! I am happy to hear you all like yours though. I guess you have to become a member which may not be feasible for me. Lynn, we have Saltillo floors so they are hard on my feet, but love the durability of them. 3katz, I worry about the bottom of mats also as some rubber products have left marks-so I have to be careful. I like the looks of rugs also but at Thanksgiving this year I spilled gravy all over the one at my stove! And I am picky about rugs-I don't like cheap-looking ones. bossy, thanks for the heads up about the gel pro brand. However, there is an elite gelpro one now and I wonder if those are better than the classic? Do you remember if yours is classic?

Haha, yeah, I've heard that (and even heard that the dishwasher will clean everything better if the dishes are dirtier). Really tough for me to not clean the dishes pretty well though before putting them in (at least getting as much off as running water will do), but I can try to get over it. At the risk of getting incredibly off-topic, if there's a bunch of food stuck to the dishes that won't come off just by scraping, where does it end up in the dishwasher? Doesn't the filter just get constantly clogged?

We have 3” plantation shutters for light and sun control and purely decorative curtains between the sets of windows (six wi Dow’s in three sets of two facing west). We also have a French door on the north aspect of that room that opens onto a careened porch. The door has no shade or covering. Our sunroom is also a regular room, connected To our main living area via three wide arches.