I appreciate all of your feedback. So far I am still having work done with this contractor as per our contract. Everything is moving along well and there are no further conflicts thus far. However, after the unpleasant discussion regarding the kitchen designer and her never-agreed-upon-fee, the contractor expressed his plans to "remove $500 - $1200 from my kitchen allowance". I did not agree to any amount and though HE received her technical drawings I never did (except for the pictures and discussions regarding the possibilities). Turns out the kitchen layout I decided upon with the new kitchen person is similar to her design but not exactly the same... therefore I would like to compensate her in SOME way but not to the tune of $500 - $1200 as insisted by the contractor! You all have helped me to develop some backbone. I would like to be fair...I just haven't decided what fair equates to in dollars. Further discussion with the contractor regarding this topic has died down. The son, who is the project manager, has made some comments here and there about how they have to "change the way they do business by informing homeowners of the retainer fees of their vendors" and I should know "no one works for free", and that it was unfair that the person they recommended (according to him) "had her designs stolen". I believe the subject will rear its ugly head once again during the final payout. My husband feels we do not owe the designer a dime and the designer should have told us about her fee. I asked my present kitchen designer his opinion. He said he would gladly sit with a client, discuss what the possibilities could be, show them a few layouts, but once they get to technical drawings he presents them with a $500 retainer contract. Of course he doesnt release any technical drawings without the retainer. In my case, the technical drawings went to the contractor...not to me. My present designer said this is truly between the contractor and his designer. I have other "allowances" for flooring, granite and tile with my contractor. Of course the contractor has made recommendations of places to purchase these items however I am free to go to any place of my choosing. At this point I am hesitant to choose any of HIS recommended places because I am concerned that the materials I choose will (at this point) deliberately exceed my allowances. I just have a feeling, one way or another, he is going to somehow try to squeeze the kitchen designer fee out of me. It's not based on fact, its just based on a feeling. Therefore I believe I am going to purchase my materials elsewhere or at least do some comparison shopping. Any further thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you Melanie

It depends on what you do in the office and how much you want to spend, but I would: Get rid of the rug entirely and leave the floor au natural, but add a desk chair mat under your chair to protect the floor. Add a few tall shelves or bookcases, depending on what you need them for (files vs equipment vs books) -- Ikea has some nice options that aren't expensive and are easy to assemble. I'd add colour to the window covering (different drape? coloured tie?) and then decide if you want art work/photos and/or a corkboard/white board. If your peripherals (like printers, etc) are small, you may want to consider something like Ikea's Kallax series, because they could fit in some of the boxes, while you use others for books or baskets. I wish I'd thought of that before I got the storage unit I did.

I consider a chrome faucet a neutral and IMHO goes with most everything. Same with your glass door hardware. I would do chrome rather than ORB. I’ve shown you pics of the house I did for my daughter previously but don’t have a good one of the faucet together with the black Ikea Bagganas hardware we installed. We initially bought chrome cup pulls but switched to a simple black. Are you considering the black cup pulls in the kitchen you like? I do not think that the white quartz would make it look like a huge monolithic expanse at all. It may be a better choice if you are seriously considering the turquoise tile. I think either black or brass would look great. Not sure about mixing. I found it extremely helpful to snap a picture of my room and then paste the lights and hardware I’m considering using MS Paint. Helps to see it all together. It would also be a good idea to start a new thread in Kitchens and Home Decorating related to finishes so possibly some of the pros can chime in. They can give better advice than me about mixing metals. I have chrome on my main floor and just added antique brass to my pink powder and laundry.

Thanks for info. Your other stylish rooms offer a good guide to what you like. I suggest going for spacious elegance rather than glam for your office. Your wood desk is clearly in full use and has nice color that matches the stairs' wood. Start by removing all the art, lamps, floor lamps, knickknacks and anything smaller than a basket ball. Put them all on the dining room table for a while to be out of the way. Then trade the wood table with the chair-with-occasional-table. Put the shiny black lamp back on the desk. If you love the New York skyline print, hang it back up. Then pick some new bold graphic artwork (same strong impact as your art in the dining room) for between the sconces. Add one bowl or decorative item to the console table. Store the rest of the items to rotate every few months with the change of seasons. Fresh flowers or green houseplants that give an air of thriving life are much more attractive than fake greenery. A gorgeous coffeetable book or nothing at all on the occasional table would be much better than piles of books. A fine old edition, if you prefer those to coffeetable books, could be showcased on the console table. If you have a second chair to match the first, bring that in for guests. Remove the coffee table which serves no purpose.