aokat: it is some hand woven rug from a local store, I don't know if it is a "brand" or something, sorry. phyl: it is Rosemary Sprig from BM. The tiles are from Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. They are from the "stratton collection" and come in that size which is 3x3 and they are just fixed regularly with grout. I custom ordered the tiles from them, they have a choice of about 10 or 12 standard colors to pick from.

We just had Lowe's install Curava countertops as part of our kitchen reno yesterday and they look great. Looking at the website I think we picked "Element" as the glass is predominantly green. We did a fair amount of reading and thinking about various types of counters and thought recycled glass was a cooler version of the now ubiquitous "quartz" surface, as both combine solid materials with a resin binder. We like that style because it gives a sleek modern vibe and doesn't require sealing. We're in Florida, so the "terrazzo" look resonates here as well. After the install I wiped them down and felt for pits or imperfections and did not find any. They're quite glossy and slick. I hope they're as durable as the company says -- the installer told us they're tough ("Use a cutting board, but you'll dull your knives before you damage these.") Ha -- probably an overstatement, but it's encouraging to hear. If they wear poorly, I'll amend this comment, but so far we're very pleased. They're obviously quite an improvement on our 31-yr-old laminate/MDF counters that were literally falling apart.

I'll chime in as a fan of contemporary myself, and a not-so-much fan of country. Your kitchen definitely has a country look to it for reasons already posted. The natural color oak cabs unfortunately don't fall into any description of contemporary, but I would expect touching the cabs to be off the table. If you need canisters for practical reasons (e.g. storage), then consider stainless steel. I got a nice set from Costco for not much money, and Crate & Barrel also have nice ones. Your family room has a contemporary look to it (with the exception of the table lamp). If you look at the elements there in comparison to your kitchen, what you see are solid colors, clean lines, and a lack of nicknacks. Look at the window treatments in particular. Solid color valence, and solid color drapes. Also look at the artwork over the fireplace. Dramatic dark frame that matches the color of the fireplace below, complementary colors in the matting, and a repeating dark brown mat towards the inside. So ask yourself, "how do I bring these design themes to my kitchen?" Well, replace the window treatment with a solid color. I would recommend a dramatic color that matches some other elements in the room such as your counters. Vertical pleating such as you have now is more country. No pleating (like your window valence in the family room) or horizontal pleating (like in roman shades) are more contemporary. Although roman shades always have a summer beach house feel for me, but that's probably just me. For the stuff on top of the cabinets, you should replace them with repeating items in solid or repeating colors. For example you could use a dozen clear/colored art glass plates that again match the counters. The key here is to use multiples of the same item in the same or similar colors, whereas currently you have a mix of disparate items (plate, jug, basket, bottle, etc). Anyway you get the idea - repeating elements, repeating colors, simple lines, no clutter. Those things say "contemporary" to me. Good luck and I hope that helps a little.

I think your house has a lot of potential! I know you didn't initially ask re: the second floor, but I couldn't help taking a crack at it - especially regarding the laundry room & master closet... =) Basically the left-side bedroom gets a large reach-in closet, thus removing the weird bumps in the master closet. The right-side bedroom gets a bit more depth in its bathroom (storage!), and there's 70" of closet on one wall + room for hooks, mirror, etc on the remaining closet walls. The laundry room is a bit more narrow (33” between wall & machines) but no longer has the machines against your master bedroom wall. Good luck - looking forward to your project going forward! =)