Patty cakes, Do you think that med. grey small lumbar pillows on the leather chairs would get 'lost'? I saw 2 on sale at JCP yesterday and almost got them but then thought that they might be too dark. IKEA has some nice charcoal throws but I really think that I'd like to try my hand at sewing a few. I get what you mean about not adding a 'color' to the rm. and I agree. I have checked out grey curtains but I have this weird fanatical thing about all of my curtains matching if they can be seen from another rm.! Will check out Parma's sexy rm! Jacy - That's exactly how RP looks w/ my white trim! I have a sickness you know. A paint sickness. I admit that I have a sample of PD. In my house it got a bit too purpley for me. There's an excellent episode of Find Your Style where they did a rm. in Hot Spring Stones (1 up from PD) and the accent wall PD. The accent colors were Silver Sage. It was beautiful! I saved that episode for a very longtime. There was also a woman who used to post here who did her bedroom exactly the way your thinking. Her sign on was Girlwithaspirin. Maybe you can do a google search and a pic will come up somewhere. Caroleoh - Yep - that's the rm. that was BT! It's such a small room that there are only so many angles that I can get pics of. I highly recommend BT!!!! Truly if I'd hadn't begun painting the rest of my downstairs such neutral but rich colors I would never have parted ways w/ BT but I just felt that it wasn't working w/ the whole overall concept that I was going w/ and that I really, really like alot. I can't wait to post finished pics of the downstairs. And I mean finished pics! 3 more pairs of curtains to buy (3 more to glue pom-poms on too), get DH to hang the DR chandelier - and maybe, just maybe, if my decorating piggy bank has enough money - get my big black and white print for the hallway.

this is a gorgeous kitchen! More on India ink as stain: I've used it on furniture a lot. Be SURE you get permanent India ink. It has some shellac in it to make it more waterproof. It has amazing coverage. I have done an entire armchair frame with only an ounce or two. It's also very messy if you drip it, so wear old clothes and get some disposable latex gloves. It may raise the grain on some woods. Sand the wood smooth before applying it, then do a very light sanding after it's completely dry, if it feels at all rough. Apply a second coat if the sanding removes any of the color. The color is a warm black. It's opaque but the grain of the wood will show through, unlike with paint. It's a pretty unique finish. I have never used Waterlox over my ink finishes, since they were furniture. I think you do need something though--the finish doesn't seem to be super permanent even though the ink is labeled permanent. (That's more for when it's used on paper, not furniture or counters that get a lot of wear and tear.) I used beeswax on the furniture which seemed to seal the ink pretty well. I don't think I would use it on wooden chair seats, though. Too much risk of rubbing off on clothing down the road.

Last but not least the finishing touches. The tile was expensive but because I minimized it to one feature wall it was a affordable. It gave the kitchen the "wow" it needed. And I never could decide on window dressing, so I ordered these little flags from etsy, they make me smile. OK there you go. I will try and check back this time in case anybody has questions. How did Lavender Lass's kitchen turn out, anyone know? Currently doing our bathroom reno because of a leak, sigh it never ends. All the best to you guys! Steph

Love your new kitchen! Those grey cabinets with white make it really light and a farmhouse sink is one of my favorites! I have found that IKEA really isn't that bad for some things and it really can save you some money. As for the costs there is a free Home Renovation Estimator that can help anyone estimate home renovation costs.