love the message niche idea...now I want one too... I am one of those "use every inch" types so I think putting stuff in between studs is great--otherwise think of all the wasted space!! If you don't fry, etc. maybe it isn't a concern, but I just wanted to say I have a narrow shelf behind my cooktop now, pretty high up, with a few doodads and jars on it, and it is DISGUSTING. I reached for something the other day and it had the nastiest film on it. TO clean it I would have to dump out all the spices in the bottle and wash it. So I just put it back, LOL...anyway, even if there's not grease there will be steam, which will attract dust and make a film. So if you do want a niche plan on it being purely decorative, and on washing the stuf in it periodically. BTW what is OOAK?

After a long day of rearranging the LR, hooking up electronics, and being w/o phone/ internet service, I am back!!!! Parma - that's exactly what I envision. Since I do sweep fairly regularly I want to find a real handmade broom to keep in the corner in the kitchen. I'm sure that DS1 would call it mommy's witches broom! Martha Stewart did a segment on handmade brooms one time and I wish I'd have paid more attention. And old flooring - I think the more aged, worn and dinged up it is the better for me! Stinky - Gardener (Great name) -I've actually been buying stuff here and there and packing it away for a few yrs. now. The house that we live in is Victorian on the inside but I've known the house we are moving to for a long time and it's more in line w/ our simple comfort level. There's no way that our current bedroom style would work in the other house but I am very happy w/ it and yrs. down the road I'm sure that it too will morph into a French Country Farmhouse style. For now I just want to enjoy the finished product. Tish - that sounds perfect, European Farmhouse! I will def. have to google that term and see what pops up. I'm thinking that Shabby Chic look too but w/ way less cottage & flower prints and a lot more farm and durability! Kmcg - thank you very much for the link. Guess what I'll be doing during downtime at work today after all of my work is finished?! Polly - that sounds so pretty - hopefully you will opst some pics anyways despite living through a reno. A real nice thing about GW here is that we've seen pics of eachother's homes at their worst. One of my favorite threads was one where everybody had to go take a picture of their kitchen in the moment and post it. It was great to see kitchens in their 'disaray state' that were typically posted after having been 'staged' for their GW photo op.! I really want DR chairs w/ rush seats and a farmhouse table but DH is so attached to his grandmother's fancy set that I don't even want to suggest it. Ronbre - both of your homes sound very lovely. I can see where it would be tough to decorate in the exact same manner after such a horrible event. I'd love to see pics of the man room and your MBR. Tina - right now I have much of the hardwired stuff packed away like my chandeliers and sconces. Most of it I'd pick up at deep discounts when I worked at Bombay. Our storage rm. was laid out so poorly that items would get stuck in the most hidden spots and forgotten about until I'd rip the place apart and find things that had been there for yrs. My 2 favorite chandies were only $59. Currently I visit them in my attic and peek in the boxes and dream. I didn't want to hang them all and then have to turn around and take them down to sell this house and put all of the original stuff back up. If things pan out alright I will take pics of the LR after I have some more stuff done. I def. have to paint again. When DH moved all of the entertainment stuff I forgot that I hadn't painted behind it all. There's a big bright blue patch! I'd also like to pick up a ceiling fan and paint out the ceiling after 9 yrs. here. There are just wires hanging from the ceiling now. Someone here had recently posted a photo of their Baby Turtle walls and Limestone ceiling and it was so gorgeous so I am going to follow suit and do the same.

If Otis is planning on buying ready made panels they would have to be long enough to go up on top of the board and still touch the floor. (They would be rod pocket panels). I wouldn't even go to the trouble of picking out the stitch lines for the rod pocket, but just gather the panels by hand and staple on top of the board. (As long as there isn't a 2 story balcony that you can look down on top of the boards - you don't have to be terribly picky about how the top looks.) This is just an easy suggestion for this window configuration. I do think that 2 panels will be needed for a nice full drapery on each window. You can use iron on tape or pins to keep the drapes together and then hide that join in the folds when you dress it out. I know how to sew and of course I would do them in a more professional manner. It just depends on a person's budget as to whether they can afford custom window treatments or if they need to make them or do something creative with ready mades! You can also use pinch pleat panels on a board and hang the drapery pins from screw eyes inserted on the 3/4" front lip of the board. I have drapes made like this in my own home. I've never posted a photo on this site but I will try to take a photo tomorrow and post it.

Lynn, you are certainly encouraged to have an opinion and express it. When you named Jannie directly in your post it appeared that you were personally attacking her instead of just sharing an opinion. I, personally, was posting an example to show that IN MY OWN OPINION she meant no harm and meant no offense. I don't feel there was anything confrontational about my post, it wasn't intended to "offend anyone back" and I even offered hugs at the end to EVERYONE affected by this stressful hurricane season (including you!). The situations you describe happen everywhere, and yes it is sad - no one here is saying it isn't. But just as you are allowed to have an opinion, so are all of the rest of us, and if you want us to respect yours, you need to respect ours as well - it's not a one way street. You posted your opinions, we posted ours back. I don't think there's a single person here that hasn't been touched by some form of tragedy, but that doesn't mean we can't poke fun at ourselves or post light-hearted comments - that's all part of healing, and we can even agree to disagree when there are differences of opinion. So I certainly respect the fact that you have strong feelings on the subject, and encourage you to post them if that's what helps you get through. It sounds like this is a touchy subject for you and I'm truly sorry for whatever you've gone through that has hurt you so badly. But I will also step in and try to clarify/defend if I see someone that *in my opinion* is being misunderstood. So please by all means contribute! Just because I may not agree with someone doesn't mean I may not learn from what they have to say. Differing opinions are what makes the world go 'round, as long as we can all respect each others' :-)