Hi! I got the stone, marble for upstairs and granite for down, at Blue Rock Stone Center in Westbrook, ME. They have a large 'remnant' building and some outside areas where they have remnants. I checked prices at other places for remnants, and they were by far the best. The sinks are both Kohler, and I ordered both through Home Depot. The rectangular one in the first floor bath is one from their Memoirs series, #K2241. A quick search showed that HD is still the best pricing. The upstairs one is the Kohler Serif #2075. If you are making a vanity from a typical old dresser like my upstairs bath I searched far and wide to find a non-vessel sink that would fit. That is the only one that fit my needs. Note the each of the sinks come with one hole, or a 4" or 8" spread. I was working with existing faucets, so I had to order the 4" spread sinks.

Sometimes Tuesday Morning will have a nice selection of shades, reasonably priced. I ordered some for my mini-chandelier from this website; you might enjoy browsing on it. They're more reasonably priced than Ballard's, but not as good a deal as Lowe's. Here is a link that might be useful: onthebrightside.com

I'm glad you had good luck with it! As far as hanging it from three ties, were you still planning to use the two 'tie ups' - one on either side? What I would probably do, is experiment first. I'd take your fabric, if you have it already, and just for fun, use three long pieces of string or ribbon as 'stand-ins' for the ties. Rather than sew the ties at the top, I'd tie them up around your hooks (holding the fabric up from the bottom) as I do for mine on the rod, just using the hooks instead of the rod. That way you'd end up with FOUR 'scallops' at the bottom instead of three. Or, if you do just want to have the ties at the very top, I'd probably shorten the length of valance itself quite a bit, and just have a straight across valance hung by the (short) ties at the top. Take some pics of what you have up there bow and we'll vote to see what we think! Also, I have done 'my valance' as an inside mount on a spring tension rod, which ought to work for your window, if I am picturing it correctly.

Hi, auntjen! Actually, only 2 Karastans, one in my office and the one in the LR, and the Woven Treasures Couristan in the DR are from eBay. I bought the others locally. I stick to a brand I know - mostly Karastan. I ask LOTS of questions beforehand, if the rug is from someone without a lot of info in their auction, and not many pictures. I'll ask for extra pics, too. I 'met' a Karastan dealer from PA last year when he auctioned Karastan rug that I had been dying to see, but they were not available in my area yet. (Shapura Athena) Come to find out, the one he had, and I bought, was an early 'mill trial' - one of a test run. He assured me that I could return it if I didn't like it, but it was perfect, and I saved a LOT of money. I ordered another of that style from his bricks and mortar store, because Karastan told him to stop selling on eBay or they wouldn't supply him any for his store! I think that is why ones you see now are often 2nd hand (no prob with that!) or from a model home. I often check Craigslist for them, too, and not just in my area. I sold two Karastans last year when I bought the new ones, and one went to VA and one to AR! The buyers paid for me to ship them to them. I'd do the same if it was one I really wanted. I buy all wool, but that's just me. The Couristan was one of those rare flukes, when I hadn't seen the rug before, but the seller had ONE, and it looked like it would go with my DR wallpaper. PURE LUCK...and I paid a bit over $400 for it, brand new, where Macy's has it 'on sale' right now for $1699. You may be looking for hand-woven, but I have never bought one... I don't dare to, unless the seller has wonderful feedback and a lot of it. You never know if it's one of a container purchased from who know where, and many of them, especially the ones where the shipping costs more than the rug, may have colors run if it gets wet. I stick to the brands that I know, and am sometimes able to see locally for true color before buying. I have no favorite seller, and I would gladly buy from an individual or a 'store' on eBay, if it was one of the two brands above. I just go to eBay OFTEN, and search Karastan or Couristan and see what's there. I see a Karastan 'English Manor Stratford' out there right now in 'my' colors, with a $699 Buy It Now price. I ALWAYS check online stores before bidding or buying to see if the deal is good. In this case, the first online store I saw has it for $999, so that is a nice price on eBay. BUT, I just checked another online site (Abington) and they have it for $749.99, so the eBay price isn't wonderful. I will stoop to asking a seller if they can do better, if the rug doesn't sell in their auction after being listed a few times. If yes, I arrange to do a Buy It Now thru eBay. All that flies out the window, though, if it's one I want badly, like the Persian Treasures in my LR, because it's not made anymore. I paid $460 for it (phenomenal!) after it didn't sell in the auction, and offered him less. I sound awfully cheap, but I am professional and courteous in my dealings with the sellers, and it has paid off for me. I hope it does for YOU, too!