Hmmm. I have never had anything mission, so in my head I must have been scaling it down. When I saw the dining room pic, it reads as heavy and substantial, while the hutch is more slight. For me, when I look at the pics, the scale isn't working. I have no problem combining the different woods. The buffet looks like a danish-modern piece, which I have a great fondness for, and which I definately consider mcm. It doesn't feel at all to me like HW, but then again, HW is not my thing, which is gooooood, cuz it's $$$$$$ :-) I believe the heaviness of the mission would make the buffet feel downright ethereal. I called my sister just now, who loves danish modern more than I do, and asked her if danish modern can go with mission. She said NO. In fact, she screamed it at me. My ears are still ringing. She said that she feels that in a house decorated in mcm, you could possibly have ONE mission peice, but when you have mission as your style, she feels it looks best to stick to only mission, or other heavy, rich styles, like a rustic leather sofa or such. Things with a big physical presence, which danish modern does not have. Like she said "danish stuff floats!" :-) So that's my take...although I don't know if it helps :-) I THOUGHT that the buffet would work, but in my head, I was picturing mission being more slight. I don't know why. I have just never had anything mission and was not picturing something so substantial. I guess I always have to see pics! THAT SAID, I truly, truly believe...that if you really really love pieces, and you feel that they go together, you will find a way to make it work. Or rather, not care if they work or not according to others. For example, I always hear the if you have shorter fingers you should not wear chunky rings. I have kind of broad hands with shorter, stouter fingers, and I proudly wear the chunkiest rings with the biggest rocks I can find, like my canary cubic circonia that goes to my knuckle. I love the huge, unabashedly fake vintage rings, despite the fact that the would no doubt "work" on someone with longer, more slender and sculpted fingers. Pish. The rings are mine now. Those ladies will have to get their own. I do like the hutch very much. And I like your dining room set. But after seeing the dining room set, I am not loving the combination :-( I wish I had been right in saying that they go together...but at least I learned something more today. Which is ALWAYS a good thing. Joanna

Just to follow up on some of the posts . . . kitchendetective - touche! justgotabeme - the "garage" is actually a separate pavilion next to the main house. It is also a glass box, and apparently has been staged as some sort of classic auto showroom with a lounge area. As for the issue of windows and privacy -- take a look again at the photos. There are matching, unobtrusive pinch-pleat draperies throughout the house (I love how the hardware is concealed by the ceiling in the living room). I've attached a link to some additional photos so you can see that the draperies really are in almost every room. This particular house sits on a wooded acre, so there is definitely an element of privacy. And that's where the glass boxes are -- on secluded lots. In neighborhoods and tract developments, designs like Eichler built were far more common. As Pal mentioned, the street and public facades on those are more protected, while the houses open up to the rear or to an internal courtyard/atrium. Our half-glass box sits in the middle of three acres. We've been here about four years and I can say that the glass --the exposure, the openness -- is something you get used to quickly, and then becomes something you miss when you're somewhere more enclosed. We have linen sheers on the windows in the bedrooms, but no window dressings of any kind in the main room. There are two neighbors who could spy on us with binoculars if so inclined, but it just doesn't occur to us to worry about it. Here is a link that might be useful: Cameron's curtains

Allison - It is in Alabaster. From I-65 you take the shopping center exit and turn right on 31 back into the old little downtown part of Alabaster. The place isn't far. It is just past the older storefronts in a blue Butler Building on a high lot on the right. It is called Southern Consignment. There is a lot of stuff in there, but most of it not for me. It draws the Alabaster/Pelham/Helena crowd and has a lot of cutesy stuff. Also some 70s cast-off type stuff that has probably been there for ages. They also carry some low-end furniture for cost plus 30%. If you're out this way with some spare time, its worth a run-through.

When we bought our first home, a 1927 craftsman back in 1987, everyone was telling us to rip out the original subway tile in the bathroom and kitchen. We refused because it was period to the home and we loved it. However, I personally can't stand MCM. Probably because I grew up with it. MCM seems to now be old enough for those in their 20's-30's to have not remembered it growing up, which is sort of how I felt about my 1920's home back in 1987. I agree if you want to buy a period home, try and keep the bones of it. However realize that why so many of these homes were "destroyed" was because a few years after being built, something new came into vogue and without the wisdom of time and perspective, people didn't see the need to preserve their recent past.