Thank you all my lovely valentines! I guess the sleep deprivation yesterday had me even loopier than I'd thought, because I didn't explain very well! Some replies and clarifications: Bmorepanic--excellent point!! Thanks for the reality check! (Not stupid!) Pickle--great point about the reaction! I've just been trying to answer all the comments and suggestions and realized I was sounding defensive. But it was for one or the other (i.e., against "E") rather than one against the other. Rhome, I think my problem is that the difference on this probably won't bother me. I didn't communicate well on my window casing and the tile setter cut the wrong end. It looks fine, and in some ways the color flows better, but that's the thing that's going to always bug me because it makes the casing top heavy. I mean it really bugs me. But not enough to stop them installing it and order more tile. But it's always going to really bug me. Neither of these glass choices would bug me, or it would be an easier decision. I like the Masterpoint/Pointal a little better, but I'm just not sure it's worth double. All of the strong votes for it are starting to sway me though. :) Which is the purpose of asking for a vote! I have a bunch of samples from Bendheim of patterns I liked on screen. Fine Gauze (aka Linen, but that's my brain mixing up my fabrics, not the real name) was my favorite of all of them. Masterpoint, Pointal, or whatever other name by which it's called is one I've only seen 1/4" samples of but love more. Too thick or too expensive. Re Rhome's concern about "high visibility", it is visible from deep in the kitchen, or some angles from the dining room when the door is open, but it's really pretty low visibility for an area that's open to the kitchen. There's also a separate switch on the lighting in there (no lights in cabinets--ceiling and under cabinet across the aisle). Re Doonie's question about finish, the cabinets are finished in the picture. It's natural bamboo on the outside (1" stripes, pressure latches (no hardware) or small brass knobs if the pressure latches conflict with the hinges). The inside is natural maple. Re Country_Smile's point about seeing the pretty glasses, yes, the cabinets are visible, and yes, the stemware is nice enough, though not cut crystal or anything formal. It's all colored in one way or another, and some of it's $2.00 water tumblers. I don't want frosted privacy but I don't want to display them either. I'm hoping for a shadow of the contents for interest, but the only reason for the glass is to break up the bamboo forest, and I'm mostly looking for contrast rectangles rather than pretty display cabinets. (And boy, oh, boy, I should have explained that before, but I've been living with the design for so long I kind of forgot what a "normal" person would think!) But Country, I really do appreciate your honest opinion and your input!! As I do everyone else's. And I especially appreciate your point about the "artwork" and Peanut's about all the groovy finishes. And y'all haven't even seen the circus dots! I think I was looking for something with some clarity (transparency) but that would be pretty calm with everything else that's going on in that room. Especially since the husk board came in so much darker than the sample, which is good contrast with the bamboo, but too close in value to the soapstone. Andyman, thanks for the pretty picture. Leaded would look very wrong in my house, but I do love it (I gave up glasswork when I was younger because of vanity--I was tired of nicked hands--but I love leading.) The stemware: I have Huge balloon glasses with amber bowls and etched palm trees. They were a closeout. They were supposed to be clear. But the amber looks good with my white and gold dishes, and the price was great. I have Italian goblets with gold key bands. I have clear tumblers. And I have a dozen each of martini, goblets and flutes with carnival colored and gold hand painted beaded stems. And some assorted "kitchen" ones, including three goblets with peach stems and turquoise waters with hand applied lampwork. That's over 12 dozen glasses of Not Waterford. So, Pup, the answer is seen less, and thanks for all the votes for clear, I get the point, but that would make me nuts having to see all the glasses full on. I appreciate the look in other people's designs, but for me, seeing them from across the room while I'm working on the island, I'd feel like they weren't put away and it would make me nervous. Re ReFla's and Peanut's beautiful patterned glass, thanks for the suggestions! I have quite a few similar samples, and IRL I really liked the plain Gauze better. I appreciate Riverspots's and Circuspeanut's fluorescent cover point. I didn't see that! Re Malhgold's and Bostonpam's questions about the cost: Because of the location and proximity to elbows it has to be tempered. The six panels at Bendheim are something over $400 plus shipping. The right thickness of the Masterpoint, locally, barring a miracle from John, is over $800 plus tax but no shipping. $400 might not have been a really big deal if there were a really big difference in the glass, and if it weren't at the end of a very expensive project, and if I hadn't just had to have my main water line dug up through three terraced levels and replaced with proper, non-leaking, copper (think multiple Gaggenau prices for that one!). I mean, I can spend the difference. I just don't know if I want to.

Hi Uesmayor. OK, let's back up, here. Yes, those are interesting doors, but in a room only 42 inches wide, they'll be totally wasted. I know, because in my old apartment, I used to have a 48-inch hallway, and it didn't matter what I had in there--Rococo Revival hall tree, ornamental fragments of demolished buildings, 19th century engravings in period frames--no one saw any of it because the room was nothing more than a glorified tunnel, to be walked through in two seconds. In my new apartment, I have a whole extra foot of width, but it still doesn't matter. Sure, I have stuff on those side walls, but only because I needed the wall space to hang it, not because anybody will ever notice any of it. Unfortunately, in rooms the size & shape of our hallways, all that matters is whatever you see at the far end--not the sides--of your hall. So, if there's a wall there (rather than a another doorway) and you're determined to use this panel--that is, one panel--what I'd do is paint it the buttercream you mention, glaze it with a neutral color, attach it to that end wall & pinspot it from above with a narrow-beam light to throw strong shadows on the carving. Meanwile, while you wait for it to arrive, give your hallway--plain sliding doors & all--a few coats of high-gloss enamel in the darkest value of whatever other color you're using in the rest of your apartment. Maybe black, maybe ultramarine blue, maybe eggplant, maybe espresso brown. All that matters is that it's dark, it's fairly neutral & it's shiny. Won't the dark color make your hall look even smaller than it already is? Maybe, but that doesn't matter, because all that a pale color will do is make obvious how small the room is, anyway. Let's face it, a 42-inch room will never look any bigger than it is, no matter how light you paint it, so you might as well go for drama. That, at least is achievable. Here's the thing: we big-city, small-apartment dwellers have a whole different set of problems to contend with than most of the people on this board, so it's important to keep focused on solutions that will work for us and not get distracted by "solutions" that don't apply to our givens. What looks great in a marble-floored entry in expansive new home in the suburbs or in a cozy, window-seated vestibule in a Victorian farmhouse seldom looks equally good in our typically dark, cramped spaces. That's probably not what you wanted to hear, but trying to force a style that works in one place onto a place of a totally different character is just a waste of time & money. And I don't know about you, but I don't have enough of either one to throw away. Anyway, if the layout of your place means those carved panels won't work in your hallway, why not use them someplace else where they'll be better appreciated? Regards, Magnaverde. Magnaverde Rule No. 16: Decorate for the life you really have, not the life you wish you had.

Good thoughts Bronwynsmom! Our garage door is the Garaga overlay design. The rectangles that you see are in fact recessed as you guessed. The framing around the rectangles is over a flat door panel. The way the garage door is shown on the Sketch-up elevation picture is a bit off. Our garage door will have three rectangles across, not four as shown (the garage door is 14 feet wide). As a result the rectangles will be even wider on the true garage door. I will see about getting the different doors we are considering put into the Sketch-up picture. I will also investigate if we can get rectangles rather than squares into the two doors (sort of like the first door that you posted above, but with two doors). The two doors will at best be each 32 inches wide so the rectangles can only be so wide. I wondered what you thought about the window above the door. I definitely want this window above the door. The entrance way is 12 feet high, so there is plenty of room for the window above the door, and currently the doors we have looked at have been standard height (around 82 inches), although we could look at a taller door. The ceilings in the rest of our house are only 8 feet, which is still the norm in our area, and all interior doors are around 82 inches high. Do you think there should be a space above the door before the window starts? Should the glass in the window include frame to break up the shape at all? Perhaps it should look like two stacked rectangular transoms? Any thoughts on this? I really appreciate your help, and the help of others on this site. Carol

What a gorgeous kitchen! I'm jealous of all that beautiful wood. The character of the wooden beams and wooden base cabinets bring such warmth and personality, it almost feels like the outdoors are coming in. I had looked under your name in the finished kitchens blog to see if you were there, really appreciate you sharing the photo. Your backsplash is so pretty, just the right amount of bling and lightness. Where did you find it? I'd like to do he same thing, with subway glass tile everywhere except right behind the stove, do arabesque there. If I had a kitchen like this, I'd want to cook a lot too. =) Love hearing that cleanup is easy with a stain resistant grout, that's a great tip, I'll be sure to ask for that too, Was it an epoxy grout?