Hmmm. It's amazing to me that this is the only fixture that has given me this much trouble. I've been holding most of my fixture order until I made this decision and thought there was no time like the present... I may have to stew on this overnight. Thanks to everyone for your input. It sounds like really, no matter which fixture I choose, it will "be ok". And none of them are extremely pricey (when compared to the rest of the house, :) ) so if I eventually find the "perfect" fixture, I'll just switch it out. oruborisThanks for the link to brightspot.com. I had shopped there before but had forgotten about them, so maybe I'll go peruse their site tonight. Thank you everyone! j.

lazygardens, I dunno. I did go up in the attic for the very first time since buying this house, and I remembered to wear old clothes, brought a drop-light with a 50' cord, and a flashlight in case I dropped the drop-light. I didn't think to bring the camera. Poop. I just can't tell if the porch/breakfast room was added on. I don't know how a roof peak generally looks as it comes into one the oposite direction. There were some jagged boards... seems if the peak was original they'd not have had a problem with trimming it - but if it was an add-on maybe they felt cramped and skipped trimming? Still, dunno. Will take pictures. Link to my album is above, it shows front of house from two angles. As for ceiling lights or not, I just don't know. ALL of the downstair ceilings are covered with 12" squares of lightly-textured white stuff that tongue-and-grooves together. Hate to monkey with it as it's in good shape. Hey! When I was in the attic I did find out one thing, all of my ceilings are beadboard under the white squares! ha! Who knew? I wish some of that showed! Hmmmm, that'd be great in the kitchen, give it a real warm feel. I wonder though if it'd let dust filter down? Gag. Back to the lighting, hostaguy, is the lightbox sort of an endtable? Surely it's not a center hung fixture? Maybe I'm picturing something way too large? I've been looking at a LOT of light fixtures in the past few days - and I keep being drawn to the Mission and Arts & Crafts styles. I don't see why I can't make something wonderful, perhaps a silhouette cut of copper, mica underneath? Maybe a spray of pine cones? I am still strongly thinking of a colonnade with lighting built-in across the top to throw a glow across the ceilings of both rooms. Sigh, so many ideas and life so short. GH-

My living and dining rooms open into one another and we planned it this way. The main thing is to keep the two rooms visually connected with the same feel to them both. Mine is a kind of Eclectic Old World Southwestern with some antiques from around the world . . . so I guess I'd call it "Well-traveled New Mexico" (LOL!). Both rooms have the same wall color, which I think is important for them to flow. Mine's a warm cream, since they're real exposed adobe brick walls. I also keep the accent colors the same in both rooms. We ended up having to replace our dining room table and chests, with ones that work better with the antique coffee and end tables in our living room. The previous ones contrasted too much and the two rooms didn't flow well. But, my furniture doesn't match at all, not the woods, era or style-wise; they're not even from the same parts of the world! The antique rattan end table is from England, the coffee table and a bookcase we use as a wine cab are antiques from India, the game table is from Syria and it's two chairs were hand-carved here in New Mexico about 70 years ago, the dining room chests are from the the Thirties, etc. I think that what makes them all work together is that the woods are all dark and they all have an antique, more ornate look to them. I've used Oriental rugs in both rooms, too, for the same reason. To help delineate the two rooms, I've added an antique-looking room divider. I don't keep it open all the way, but even partially closed, it works. It's dark and Old World looking, too. Although some of my holiday table centerpieces ~ such as my Easter tree or Halloween jack-o-lanterns ~ don't work that well with the overall feeling of both rooms ;^D I don't fret about it. Most of the time, though, I keep more formal centerpieces there that work well with both rooms. I do change them around a lot, sometimes weekly, using fresh flowers in a large crystal vase; matching Old World candelabras; statues; long table runners, a huge Talavera planter filled with silk ivy and sunflowers, whatever. I shop my house for centerpiece pieces seasonally. I also keep the feel of the art the same in both rooms. They're not all Spanish Colonial, but the ones that aren't have a Traditional feel and are framed well. A piece of Contemporary or Modern art would be too jarring in these rooms. Here's a few pics. Lynn Dining room: Summer table centerpiece. My table is 9 1/2 ft. long and needed a big one. See the room divider screen against the wall where the living room starts? Living room: As I said, a bit eclectic (LOL!)

Thanks blfenton. I think a semi flush might work but think 10.5 from the ceiling might be a bit high, 9 foot ceiling there I think. I was thinking that too, that the dining room light is the statement piece so I will wait on that. Square might work better too. Will have to see once the other light gets here. Thanks for liking my door. We're changing all the trim to white and I'd like to replace the door! Sorry!