I think the tiling choice (same through all spaces or different) is a personal preference. If you use the same all through, you'll have a nice visual flow. If the 12x12 is a compelling cost savings in the laundry room and mudroom, I would consider doing some kind of transition in the pantry. It could be something as simple as the same tile style but in different sizes, set up to look like a 'rug'. (See examples below.) Or you could use some of the same type of tile but add new colors for some pattern and interest. Or of course you could go nuts with some gorgeous mosaic tile rug (I think it was Igloochick who found one on eBay) but you have to balance that tile and install cost with the savings on the 12x12. Stuff like interesting tile makes me stupidly happy, so I would do some kind of transition pattern in the pantry, whether simple or fancy. I'd start by looking at what other sizes and shapes your tile choice comes in, and what other colors are in that line that you like. But that's just me and you might have something else that makes you happy! simple tile rug: transition with a simple border - this is probably the easiest (and I think it's good looking) if your tile has some kind of coordinating 2x2s; then the inside of the border could be the 12x12s, set on an angle if you like: two colors:

I don't know, I think people can be into math and numbers and also into words and reading and also into design and art. One can be an athlete as well as any of the above. I guess the questions try to put people in one camp or the other, but most people don't fit fully on either side, unless they have extreme personalities. I'd hate to be so predictable as to stick with one label. I pay attention to a lot of different areas, but also know I have a lot of blind spots. I can't fix a car, never got the complexities of chess and and not good at any games with ball throwing or worse, being thrown at. Ask me about world events and I do pretty well. Ask me about pro basketball/hockey/soccer/tennis and I am lost. Challenge me to a game of cards (canasta, pinochle or spades) and I will kick booty. No once can be great at everything, but one can be interested in a bunch of things. As much as I like numbers and have a talent for doing math in my head, I don't think of myself as a numbers person, per se. I can be analytical and I can also be emotional. Some decisions are driven by one and some the other. Hopefully, most include both areas. In any case, I like quirky and unexpected with design, so you won't see my kitchen in anyone else's house. I may have copied bits and pieces, but the total will be our own design (for better or worse, lol). Most of the design is from my imagination, but dh has had some input too and so it is a collaboration overall. I think our kitchen reflects our sensibilities a bit, so it can be a clue to our personalities in a way. I bet a profiler could deduce a lot from how people design their kitchens. Math has nothing to do with it....

Thanks, mcmjilly -- The rest of the house (actually, just the dining room and front foyer) is 20 yr old builder grade red oak strip. We'll be refinishing that, and maybe ultimately replacing it when we do the rest of the first floor. (The living room and family room are wall-to-wall carpet right now.) Actually, you raise a good point -- we'd probably be more likely to want a whole house of the honey ash rather than the maple. I think I'm getting sold on the Honey Ash. By the way, have you told you all lately how much I appreciate your taking the time out of your own lives to chime in on my kitchen? You folks are great. And my friends and family appreciate being spared yet one more discussion of kitchen choices. :)

Words cannot express how much I hate math and numbers! I actually think I am learning disabled in math but was never tested b/c it wasn't done at that time in my area. My son is actuallly diagnosed LD in math. I have never been good in math though I was always placed in and suffered through advanced math courses b/c I am generally smart overall. However, I was okay in geometry and trig. and did really well when studying mathmatical logic and also statistics. My clearest memories about third and fourth grades are the timed tests on multiplication in third grade and also having to stand in front of the room doing times tables while being timed. In fourth grade, it was the fractions! Why did we have to learn those stupid fractions!! These are actually not memories but nightmares that haunt me still. I remember being fascinated when I was young by my mom who could take the percentage off of something on sale in the store then calculate and add the tax back all in her head. I am very visual. To this day when I am adding fractions, even for recipes, I have to visualize a pie in my head broken into sections then add or subtract those sections. I don't remember numbers though my mom and sister can remember phone numbers from years ago. My mom said I actually learned subtraction before addition and division before multiplication. Backwards! I think it took me four tries to get out of remedial math in college. Anywho, my whole life I wanted to be an architect. My grandfather even built me a drafting table when I was 8 or 9. I could read floorplans and draw basic ones at that age. My favorite hobby was driving around looking at houses. I also bought floorplan magazines from around the age of 10. When I got to high school, I started realizing that b/c of the math that might not be the right career choice for me and being a chicken backed out. I entered college majoring in Interior Design. After some different life altering changes, I ended up with a Bachelor of Science in off all things....Agribusiness (don't ask!), but I still have a minor in interior design, family and consumer sciences, Ag Econ, etc., etc. I am also one course shy of being certified to teach biology and special education. However, I currently worked in public health in vector borne related diseases and have to use math most everyday. I am good as long as I have all of my formulas handy otherwise, I am in trouble. My dream is go to back to school and get an advanced degree either in religious history, middle eastern studies, public policy, or a few other options, I can't decide. This is my true passion and what I read about and study every minute that I am not on GW or working or being with my family. I still loves houses and design but only for myself. I still do some decorating (not design) on the side for friends, but I don't enjoy it anymore when doing it for others. Shannon