It took us awhile to figure out the style that resonates with us, which is mostly centered on clean lines, without a lot of knick-knacks or decorative froufrous. Gilded baroque is probably our worst nightmare. Our home is sort of a cross between Frank Lloyd Wright and ultra-modern. We also have a few family pieces that have to be fit in because of the sentimental attachment. I do think that any style or look can be done very well, which is how decorating magazines can be a bit confusing. It's easy to go from "I want a nice looking room" to "this room looks great" to "I want this room" In reality a great looking room may still not be the one you want to look at everyday, or appropriate for your lifestyle. It probably took us 20 years to hone in on just what was our preferred taste, as opposed to just what we'd grown up with or saw in stores and magazines. I think that more awareness and consideration on our part might have hurried the process along. At any rate, once we figured out what we really like, and took the time and effort to find it, we've remained quite satisfied with it. It is definitely an ongoing thing. I've never had a house that I consider "done", but I have had rooms that way. A lot of that is budget. I will no longer buy something based just on price and availability. If I don't like it a lot, or have a dire need, it's not worth any price. ----------------- ps.. I bet our feelings on home decor carry over to other areas as well. I would rather have a few nice clothes than a huge wardrobe of mediocre ones. Other people want to be able to wear a different outfit each day for several weeks. I don't think either approach is right or wrong, just right for the individual.

I think that you have already been convinced, but all I could think about with all of the textured/baskety choices ones was "impossible to clean". I like to clean my fixtures. I think that #4 is the prettiest, but would have to see the light quality in person. I also am sensitive to glare. #2 seems the most practical, and classic yet attractive (and similar to what I chose, although mine doesn't have a diffuser. I had to try 2-3 different bulbs before I found one that didn't bother my eyes because there is no diffuser). #9 I do like too and don't think the cutouts would bother me (although I think the height of hang would be critical to that)-- but again, the bulb is exposed. Proportions really are critical too, both in giving adequate light, fitting the space and also in coordinating with other fixtures. My pendant over the sink's down rod seems just a bit too skimpy over the beefier pulldown faucet. And, after I was all finished with my reno, I saw a pendent that was similar to mine but with a much prettier shade. So, take your time and browse a bit more!

rhome, that sure is true. We all have our desire to share and help others get the most out of their new kitchens . It doesn't matter at all what the skill level, we can all learn and grow and enjoy. I see tons of talent everywhere I look and I keep looking even though I know I can't begin to make or don't want to make what others are able to do. I still love to look. I hope that everyone realizes that it is out of a sense of community spirit that we all post here long after our kitchens are "done", also I am not sure we are EVER done :) Here is part of what we did this afternoon. DH's fingers were still sore but he wanted cookies ! He has perfected his Italian Seed Cookies and wanted to make them. So here are some of the steps and the finished product. shaping the dough: place in water/toasted sesame seeds /parchment finished : These are almost exactly like the cookies from Brocato's bakery in NOLA. We just had 4 bags of them from SIL's visit and it sure was hard to tell the difference. The Brocato cookies are a tad sweeter but I like DH's best :) It has taken him years to get them perfect. He purchased ammonium carbonate as the rising agent and also twice bakes them. It makes all the difference. I wanted to show you Alto and Sax ! They are my starters. They are now about 2 yrs old. WOW do they love me LOL. Here are pics of them before and after feeding and then of the 2 breads I am in the process of making. It is a couple day thing to make bread with wild yeast starter so stay tuned to tomorrow . before feeding - fresh from fridge: after just 3 hrs: San Joaquin Sourdough auto lyse ( I let it set about 30 min) Polish Country Bread ( a light rye) auto lyse - Polish Dough is beaten in the KA mixer for 4 min on speed 2 and then let to rest 40 min. Then you do 2 stretch and folds. Rest 40 min and again. Then rise 2 hrs or so and bake. in KA: First way to do stretch and fold - pat flat : fold like a letter: Here is another way to do S and F. In the bowl with a spatula. Do 30 turns with the spatula around and around quickly bringing the dough up and over a little each turn. Do this every 30 min X 3 times. You will be amazed at the strength the dough acquires with a small amount of work. Here are pics DH took :) Tomorrow I will show the finishing touches and the final product. Hope everyone has a lovely Summer Friday night. c

LOL @ Missouri Bound! (In a kind way). There are tens of thousands of acers of farmland all around us being harvested right now. We've recently had several 20-30 mph winds so "dirty" doesn't begin to describe my screens and outer frames. It blew fast and furious all day today, too. If I ever live where I only have to worry about "dusty" screens, I'll keep the Pledge hint in my mental file! I like to "spring clean" the windows later in the year, after the bulk of the harvesting is finished, but by then we're getting freezing temps and even higher winds. There is a woman who said she'd help me (hired) do them for the past two years, and then she couldn't come. Now the poor soul has shingles, so rather than risk another year of filth upon filth, I decided to start with the dirtiest and hardest to reach window and then work my way around the house as best as I could. I'll do what I can and the rest can wait. The windows are by Marvin. They are nice (no more 1/2" thick layers of winter ice on the insides of my windows! ) I unlock and tilt-in the bottom sash, then pull the top sash down, unlatch it, and tilt it in. I clean both sides of the top sash, raise it back into the locked position, and then clean the bottom sash, front and back. Lock it back in and it's all finished. The only improvement I can think of would be if they were to have half-screens that would slide up and down without having to be removed. These are full-coverage screens (which does help prevent bird strikes). When the sills between the window sash and screen gets too caked up with blown-in dirt, I have to remove the entire screen to brush out the sill. When I lived on base the windows there had half screens. When dirt/bugs got trapped between the screen and window, I could raise the screen a few inches, dust out the stuff, wipe it with rag spritzed with Windex, and shut the screen. Shades - The x-ray tech and the PT tech both did that "wrench the hip out of joint" trick on me. I think they like to hear us holler! "Scolded" does not begin to describe my reaction! LOL Steph - You have your priorities in the right place! As long as the puppies can see out, does anything else really matter? Murray's Mom - I spoke too soon. My TV signal did come in on "Video 2" with a clear, sharp image. I hooked something into the wrong slot so now it comes in on "Video 3" and everything looks greenish. I'll call my techie neighbor tomorrow and she'll set it straight. Have I mentioned I have great neighbors? The DVD hook-ups are correct, and since I mostly watch a large library of DVDs, that's what really matters to me.