threeapples, I would think you could put a dentil molding beneath the plaster ceiling decoration. It's hard to exactly determine what it would look like without seeing pictures of your ceiling, but I have intricate moldings with a mural in my great room ceiling and I think that looks fine and it is sort of the same general idea as using a ceiling decoration and molding: I don't know where they got the trim for my house. I told them what I wanted and they acquired the lumber/trim pieces from somewhere. I know some of it came from someone in PA Amish country (all trim done by the mennonite cabinet maker came from that source). A lot of it is built-up molding (like they took a piece of lumber and put it behind a chair rail piece to make it more substantial; and the molding in the dining room I think is four piece molding) aries61, there isn't a lot being done to photograph right now. I had posted the granite, which was the last big thing we had done. Now they are doing grading, installing the septic, etc.- nothing picture worthy :( Next week, we have a concrete sink going in, more granite coming and hopefully more lights being hung so when that happens, I'll post pictures. We are possibly thinking completion some time in January, but that's not set in stone. Here's a blog that shows the most up-to-date pictures of the rooms: http://stonepondhouse.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone. Funny, the flooring contractor suggested the same thing - continue through the hallway. I will get an estimate for the hallway - although as you can see in the floor plan, there are two hallways and given the way the second hallway leads to the master bed (it's almost a part of the master bed) I would likely just have them refinish straight down the main hall only. It is the only part you would see anyway if you are standing in the new part of the house and the pocket door is open. I think the problem with refinishing the short hall to the master bed is that if the master bed is open then you will really notice the difference because it is one large open space that feels very connected to the hallway. (I highlighted in blue the extra sanding). Everything to the right of the pocket door is new. The bedrooms are older style - different base, casings, etc. What do you think? Hmm... now I'm thinking that if we sand and stain the floors to match, then we should change the baseboard to match too. Given that, I guess I have to refinish and replace the base boards in the short master hallway as it would look really odd not to do that. OK, now I'm thinking leave it alone and wait until major project is completed (everything to the right of the pocket door) and then sand, refinish and change base and trim in the old part of the house at a later date. At least we have the pocket door to close it off for now....Ugh.

Thanks everyone. Though it would have been simpler (much) to have chosen a "theme" and followed it throughout the house, I did not. I hope my home won't end up looking schizophrenic! My kitchen is quite "country," with Shaker-style pine cabinets in a medium stain. The powder room has a freestanding vanity with built-in countertop and sink and has more of a traditional, furniture-style design. The kids' bath has beveled doors (I still don't know what you call the detail on the cabinet) that are painted white. The guest room bath has a pedestal sink--no cabinets at all. The master has more of a "spa" like feel to it, so I went with a very elaborate, detailed, elegant "beveled" cabinet. They will be stained a deep mahogany brown. Oh, and the laundry room has cheapo Home Depot stock white cabinets. No matchey matchey in my house! I think my builder thought I was nuts, but each room sort of developed a personality as we moved along the design process. FYI our construction is a MAJOR remodel in which we tore the existing house down to the studs, added a second story, and expanded and reconfigured virtually all existing dowstairs rooms. The end result will basically be a custom home in a high-end community, so we definitely did not want a "track home" feel.

Much depends on the style of your house. In an open, contemporary house, I'd prefer seeing more continuity between cabinets in different rooms. They don't have to all be exactly the same, but there should be some elements to tie it all together. When done well (see CPartist's thread), different cabinetry is absolutely breathtaking. I actually had to consider for a few moments how many different cabs CP had; the only reason I even remembered that she had different ones is because her powder room has the cutest little antique vanity... Then I thought of her white kitchen... And then remembered her master bath was dark.... If your house is more traditional, or eclectic, you have a bit more "freedom" to play, but there still needs to be some overall elements to tie it all together. Since ODD referenced my house (thank you ODD), I'll use mine as the example. First there's an overall "feel" and "theme" to my house. The feel is craftsman and the theme is roses. There are lots of elements but they all help tie it together and it not only relates to the cabinets. The first is the overall colors in the house. I used 3 basic colors (BM Wilmington Tan, BM Fernwood Green and BM Cotton Balls) and with the exception of the BM Caliente and SW Rose Embroidery, my 2 other colors are variations in shade of the three main colors. However even my secondary colors have been repeated throughout the house. The caliente on the interior front and friends' entry door and on the walls of the guest bathroom, and the Rose Embroidery in the powder room and the guest bedroom. Secondly, my trim throughout the house is the same. I have a hatband that continues around every room and hallway with the exception of the upstairs guest bathroom and my baseboard is the same everywhere. All my trim and woodwork throughout the house, with the exception of the kitchen cabinets are painted Cotton Balls. I only used painted cabinets and trim or dark stained quarter sawn oak in the "main" rooms. And with the exception of DH's office I kept the stain color the same. My studio and my closet have slab doors in a white stained oak. However both rooms are not main rooms and being separated a bit there is room to "play" a bit. All cabinet doors (with the exception noted above) are either shaker plain, or shaker with a detail that mimics the grid on my windows. Some doors are full overlay and some are inset, but again it's the same two styles throughout. And yes, in bathrooms, there is room to play a bit more and be a bit more daring. Hence the vanity in my powder room or using a pedestal sink in my guest bathroom. Now having said that, picking cabinets can't be done in a vacuum anymore than picking colors, flooring, etc. It all has to work as a whole and it all needs to be thought out in advance. What is the feel and style of your house? What feeling do you want to evoke when you and friends walk in?