Love the floor! I've seen that pattern before, and would love to do it, but I was too cowardly and too cheap (lines with all those sizes of tile are $5+/sq ft, and I didn't want to fork out that much). Having DIY'd a hopscotch pattern in our kitchen + mud room + powder room + pantry, it adds a whole dimension of complication...can't even imagine the Versailles. Congrats on a beautiful bathroom!

I agree with bluekitobsessed - unless you need it for privacy I like the uncovered windows. Otherwise, I agree with you on the bamboo - that would continue the lovely peaceful feel you have created without detracting too much from the simplicity that makes it feel so soothing. I love everything about your room - beautiful job.

Timely discussion for me... I am in a major dispute with Raymour & Flanigan - big furniture and mattress chain in the northeast. I am 60, the hips are getting sore, my old mattress was old so I decided to buy new. Went to all the "mattress" chains, hoping not to spend more than $600ish. Went to Raymour and I walked out with a $1300 mattress. Almost immediately the mattress started to shift each night so that when I woke in the AM I had to be carefull not to fall of the edge on my bum (which I had done a few times). I thought maybe it was the risers, so I took those out. Thought maybe the sheets were too large. I Bought about 5 different styles of sheets - no change. So they send a service guy and he tells me I need to buy something to put between the boxspring and mattress. Told him I needed to talk with someone higher up, quickly. Regional office calls, they said all twins will shift. Said maybe I was to "big" for a twin, even after I explained I had been sleeping on a twin for over 20 years. If fact I gave my old mattress to my adult boy and he has been sleeping on it just fine. My main argument of course, was that if "all twins will shift" as she stated, I should have been told this at point of sale. So now I am talking to people on the corporate level. Waiting to see what they say. Will keep you informed. What I will say is that you really should listen to your friends as to what they do or don't like about their beds. Do research online, and when you do go to choose don't just lay on the bed for 5 min and say "okay, this is great" - and look at this like buying a car. Awful but necessary. BTW they were also trying to sell me on the gel bed. Too new on the market for me.

Well, what a nice surprise to run across this old post! I was just perusing GardenWeb and Houzz as we get revved up for another remodel, when a google search for “sapele kitchens” turned up this, my “almost-done” victory lap post. Please forgive me my moment of sentimentality, but reading through my post and the subsequent comments has me a bit verklempt; we are, as of this writing, only a few days away (probably) from committing to buy a new house, which means leaving this one, and our wonderful kitchen. Much has changed in the 5+ years since this post went up: The backsplash behind the range was installed; the rather wispy red Japanese maple that you can see in our backyard in a couple of the pics above is now pretty robust and magnificent; we had to say goodbye to our beloved boxer a few months back (our “first born”); we have a son, an amazing 16 month old,who has, of course, become the center of our universe; we are working on a sibling for him. With a growing family, and frequent visits from out of town grandparents, we are feeling a bit cramped in the home we thought we would be in long term. We found a new place in a lovely neighborhood, despite Seattle’s current crazy real estate market (after getting absurdly outbid on some places—like over asking by almost 25% of a big asking price in one case). It’s from 1907, was updated in the 70s and 80s, but needs a good overhaul. (I’ve tried to attach a couple of pics of the current kitchen but this interface limits comment size so much (~21k characters) that it seems that photos aren’t going to be an option. I’ll try to post some pics in comments to follow). It has served the current owners well over the last 45 years, but it is time for an update. It’s certainly a first world problem, but it makes me sad to leave our current kitchen after having put so much thought and energy into it, and after it turned out so beautifully. It has been such a joy to spend time in it. But the real reason I started writing this comment: I thought I would right two wrongs that I have just noted while reading through my original, ancient post: I never once acknowledged by name our architect, who played a primary role in bringing our current kitchen to fruition. His name is Andrew Borges, of Rohleder Borges Architecture (http://www.rb-a.net/), and he was fantastic to work with. So much so, that we are teaming up with him again for the next remodel. I never posted any photos of the backsplash behind the range, as I said (above) that I would do. I still really love the tile that we chose—an etched limestone (I think) with a repeating dahlia pattern. As I was looking at Andrew’s firm’s website just now, I realized that he has a pic of our kitchen with the backsplash in view so I have included that here too. Here is a link to the image, in case I can’t figure out how to post it here: http://www.rb-a.net/res-montkit1.html I suspect you’ll hear from me again soon, as I query the collective GW wisdom on this new project. And in 6 months or so, our current home (kitchen included) will likely be hitting the market, just in case any of you might be interested....