I just ordered the book. Thanks for the heads up!

Yes they are painted from Shiloh. I love them don't get me wrong, I just can tell they are going to scratch easy. My husband just tried to open a cabinet without the pulls and scratched the corner:(. My old house had oak cabinets. That is what I was meaning. Thank you on the light fixtures. I searched forever and I couldn't find anything I liked until I found these at a local lighting place. They are Kitchler Lighting 65408 Crystal Ball Mini-Pendant.

I want to add to the "learn by doing" suggestion that we have all made mistakes. The bedroom in my last house was painted 3 times before I figured out what I liked. The realtor really liked it, and asked how I knew what to do. Trial and error. In the new house, my powder room is a disaster. I tried to go for a fun, reclaimed industrial vibe. (I'd LOVE to live in your space!) The salvaged sink is smaller than the industrial light fixture. The plumber also hung my sink way too low. And everyone makes fun of my bar sink faucet. Whoops. It sounds expensive, but the sink was $15, and the light fixture was $5. When I run out of other projects in the new house, I'll get a bigger sink and have it moved up. In order to minimize the cost of the trial and error method, I either shop second hand, or at stores that do returns. A major purchase like a couch is a little harder, so I'd try the colour on a mood board, or a slip cover over the old one to see if it works.

The beige rooms were more interesting than one usually sees, and the first bedroom especially appealed to me. If I had to move again almost everything would come along, most importantly my collection of Chinese porcelain and the many paintings and other art on the walls. Also my parents' dining room table, most of the other furniture and most of the rugs. Also of course our books. Any place would almost instantly feel like home. I would have to leave my garden with its collection of many antique roses. Fortunately, most of them can still be acquired.