Hi Bmh4796, I have no idea if you would be interested in a different option, but solid stone steps can be had from some quarries at a reasonable cost. They are very durable and beautiful. We were going to do the thin stone clad look, and Renovator8 from GW suggested we go for full stone steps. We had to drive 3 hours to an area noted for beautiful stone and made a deal with the quarry to cut down the slab and steps we needed. I have seen places that sell stone steps that are semi-circles too (probably more the landscape yards). Here is one link, but probably not your cheapest option unless you are far from a stone quarry. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: possible granite steps

Cute kitchen with lots of opportunities. Replacing the countertop, backsplash, sink, faucet, pendant lighting and removing the wallpaper will make a huge difference. Paint the air return the same color as the wall. Rework the chotchkies on the shelves - right now they are too linear. The trim around the door is white while the ceiling molding is stained wood. I might consider painting the ceiling molding white too to eliminate all the oak look and freshen things up a bit. The breadbox needs to go. I'd also remove the picture over by the door - it looks crowded over there. Have fun with your project and embrace the oak. It'll probably be back in high fashion in a few years :-)

To everyone who suggests we should honor the original kitchen, we wish we could. Unfortunately the original kitchen was replaced around 1970 by the most bizarre and impractical layout that was oddly divided. So, at the moment, the kitchen and the maid's room next to it (which became a tv room in 1970) have become one large space that is currently under construction. One end wall has 5 multipaned side by side windows with what will be about 15 feet of base cabinets with a clean up sink. The side walls will have upper and lower cabinets containing cooktop, ovens, microwave, and refrigerator. The island will have a prep sink and room for 2-3 stools. This opens into the "great room" which has two walls of windows replicating the kitchen windows. with the exception of the3 full and 2 half- bathrooms which scream 1970, the rest of the house is in decent shape and is being restored in its original form. The challenge for us is not how to maintain the original in the kitchen and baths, but how to overcome the 1970 renovation. And as much as I appreciate the suggestions for a Tudor kitchen, we both like simple and streamlined, so the busyness of most of the suggested photos doesn't work for us. The key will be to find a blend. (Our furniture is a mixture of some traditional, Art Deco, and Beidermeier. oh, and some Japanese art. Yes, we are not purists.) We want to honor the period of the house without being preservationists. Debby's suggestions are therefore most useful for us. So the question is how do we honor the house without creating a pure Tudor kitchen. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Decorate for the house you actually have, not the fantasy house that you don’t have. Notice I didn’t say “Design”. Design for this was a year ago, and didn’t involve anything Tudor. Design is Form. The bones. Your Form is set, and the basic Form is not Tudor. It does have a lot of nice Modern simplicity going for it. Simplicity that would be best served by a single cladding material, however that might be achieved. And a redo of the copper roof to achieve a more modern and simple direction. It’s ornateness is a jarring element against the rather more severeness of the body. Severity in this case is a good style direction. Bringing on late in the game decoration that isn’t at all part of the design form will look even more unnatural and overblown. Like Mario Buatta set loose in Phillip Johnson’s Glass House. Dont do this.... To This..