wi-sailorgirl: I will post some pictures of the countertops as soon as I can - and, just to make you jealous, my island countertop in the kitchen is also quartzite. (And it's huge - 13 feet wide by 4 feet deep!) I may call the countertop guy (we have more work to do with them that is not quoted yet - they may want to help me to keep the rest of the work). I have four Kathryn sinks that are the smaller sinks, and their reveals are 1/16th of an inch. The two in the master are the larger Kathyrn sinks and they have the big overhang. Since I am not asking for a new slab, they might be willing to take them back and cut the hole a little bigger. Should have pix tomorrow.

What I've heard is that the traditional way to use toile is to have it be the only print in the room but use it heavily. That's why I initially did not like toile because whenever I saw it in photographs the walls where wallpapered in the same toile as the draperies and pillows and bedding were made of. Now I've gotten used to that look and I can appreciate it more but I think it's an acquired taste. Now I love the look of toile wallpaper enveloping a room with matching draperies. Where I think it goes to far is when the bedding is made of the toile. Now the eye has no place to rest so I think it looks better to have a white matelasse coverlet cover the bed (another large surface area) and have just a couple toile pillow shams to tie in with the walls and drapes. There can be a coverlet in the toile color folded at the foot of the bed. But the chair fabric and the comforter should be a solid white IMO. I'll never forget a room I saw once done up by Ethan Allen. The walls were papered in black and white toile with matching draperies (so the wallpapering company has to hook up with the fabric company and make the same print). There were two Bergere chairs with ottomans in a seating area of the bedroom, both had dark wood with solid white upholstery. Between the two chairs was a round table draped to the floor with a solid black matelasse tablecloth and a white square topper. The wood on the bed frame was dark and they had a white coverlet on the bed with toile pillows and another coverlet folded at the foot of the bed, I think it was solid black. So the room was a medly of black and white. It was very jarring and the contrast of black against bright white was a bit much for me. It was memorable that's for sure. I don't know if many people have the guts to put toile wallpaper on their walls (!) but even if you didn't I think I'd still chose to either have the pillows shams in the toile or the comforter in the toile, but not both together. There can also be a padded headboard in the toile. The idea behind it is that you can get away with a room saturated in toile because it's the only print in the room. It's hard to tell the drapes from the walls because it all blends in. I can't remember if they included a black and white checked fabric, I don't think they did because of the walls. That's another option I've seen used many times, have a second print in a non-floral, non-toile design to coordinate with the toile...usually that's a check in the same two colors as the toile. I have the same question as stargirl, when is there too much toile in a HOUSE...how many different rooms can you get away using a different toile?

Well, for me there can never be too much quilting fabric. I've been doing the Round Robin challenge, and just discovered that while I had a lot, there were still some centers that I needed to run out and buy more to accommodate what I WANTED to do. And I am always one to buy more than I likely need, in the event I run out and have to find a way to "make do". In fact, before I logged on here, I just got back from JoAnn's where I bought 1/4 yd. of a fabric I needed two 5" squares from to finish a RR quilt center. My stash is stored in 2 underbed storage bins on wheels that fit under my queen-size bed. Then there is a large rectangular laundry basket that is full in the closet, stacks and piles on one sewing cabinet in the bedroom, more stashed and stored away in the basement, and currently about 15 yards or more on the sewing cabinet in the living room. More in 3 tubs in the living room, all dedicated to various swaps that I am currently working on. I keep out what I am currently using/selecting from, and will hopefully put it away at some point this week so that we can have a "fabric-free" Easter (but don't tell my husband; he thinks it's possible, but I say it isn't likely to happen!). Will I ever stop buying fabric? Unlikely. It is my medium of choice for creativity. It is my canvas; my paint. Without it, I am lost. It calms my nerves and de-stresses me. It makes me feel good. And it's cheaper than paying a therapist every week for God knows how long, just to find out that my problems all begin and end with "my mother"..... What an excellent question! Odessa

I am also building a modern style, inner city house with an industrial vibe. I tried to avoid the exposed bulb as much as possible because we're trying to go all LED. And LED bulbs are either not so pretty, or the edison versions aren't very bright. First off, bathroom sconces are hideous, in general. They haven't really come out with new styles in about 30 years. I would suggest considering some exterior wall sconces for something less "bathroom of the 80s" than most bathroom offerings. In the powder room, I tried to use a pendant, but I went out of town when the electrician was in, and DH lost my explicit instructions. So I ended up with a wall sconce, and I used an exterior fixture. The hall bath has an exposed bulb, sigh. This one: The ensuite has pot lights in a bulk head above the mirror, and a ceiling fixture in the middle of the room. And I have used a mix of ORB and satin nickel throughout the house. Instead of going full on industrial, I've been considering vintage style lights, such as school house pendants, and ribbed glass shades. Because I'm not a fan of matchy matchy, and I prefer the theme to be more subtle, less literal. Here are some other fixtures I've either used, or coveted. For ceiling fans, I have these: Master bedroom Living room (in ORB) And office