Thanks, everyone, for your ideas! clt3, it turned out that My Sister's Closet, and her cohorts Well Suited and My Sister's Attic, were just around the corner from my parents' house, as was a thrift store. We don't have My Sister where I live, and I wish we did. They are very choosy, especially about clothes, which is good...(and my brother found a tropical shirt with the tags still on for a steal). We brought decor, collectibles, fine housewares like china, and small furniture to the Attic; they are also choosy, they know their clientele and products! The only thing I don't like is that you can't actually go online to see your account, you have to request an email that takes a few days. And, since we don't have My Sisters around here, we have to take the consignment percentage in cash instead of the higher credit amount. Our other find was the thrift store, also just around the corner. We took carloads over, and the nice thing is that they work with other organizations, too, such as a women's shelter and veterans' groups. So what they couldn't use, they passed on to them. If fact, on my second load one day, they told me that the DVD players I'd just dropped off had already been picked up by the Wounded Warriors, who also wanted all our trouser hangers. It was also good to know they would take some of the unopened women's items we had and send them on to the women's shelter. Of course, the amazing library down the road got three boxes of books and DVDs for their shop. It was closer than Half-Price Books, and we didn't have to wait while they priced. We liked taking things as opposed to having them picked up. One, the personal connection. Two, we never had a huge pile in the house or garage. Third, it gave us a break. We'd gather a carload, drop it off, have lunch, come back and start again. Smalloldhouse, I liked your link! There was an estate auction that would have taken everything, and I mean everything (down to the Tupperware and Kleenex boxes), destining artwork and collectibles to the gallery-style auction versus the everything-else auction, donating whatever didn't sell, but by the time the larger items went to the people they'd been promised to, it wouldn't make sense dollar-wise, as they charge for the pickup. It would have been by far the easiest route, though! We ended up doing the shredding ourselves;by the time I went through papers deciding what needed to be kept and shredded, it was just as easy to shred-as-I-went. Never thought I'd say it, but I got my fill of the Property Brothers! They were on non-stop while we sorted papers and more. We also got to enjoy the smooth roads (no freeze-thaw!), beautiful desert and foothills, the off-season low traffic and uncrowded restaurants, and to meet some great cousins I'd never met, and to get to know a couple people who have been so helpful to my parents; all of them were able to take things for themselves or to pass on to others in need. The realtor is a gem of a resource. The neighbors were so kind and understanding about the flurry of activity, too. I'm drained, and pleased with the outcome. Sad to see the house go; it's my ideal, but none of us are ready to have a second or retirement home yet. Just waiting for the shipment of some things we sent home. New stuff for me!

I know many here do not like laminate. I had real wood in my kitchen, breakfast area and hall in the last house. I would never recommend real wood in a kitchen if you have dogs and kids. I worked my tail of keeping that floor nice, and it wasn't perfect when I left either. The new house came with laminate in the kitchen, hall and dining area. I have to tell you, I love it. it looks perfect and is easy to keep up. Also we have shower one piece inserts in the bathrooms and linoleum or whatever they use now-decent brand on the bathroom floors. I love these floors. A quick mop, and you are finished-no cleaning grout and resealing grout, no cracked tiles from the kids dropping things. Also, we had a tile leak in our bathroom in our old house. Out beautiful tile in the master was installed incorrectly and leaked between the shower stall and the tub. By the time we found out we had to replace the entire floor, including some joists and sheet rock the entire garage. Naturally, we had to replace the sheet rock in the bathroom and tile again. It was a nightmare. I told my husband I didn't ever want to look at tile again. Also, when we put the house on the market, I spent hours on my hands and knees touching up that floor. Laminate and linoleum are out of style right now, but they were introduced as a modern convenience years ago-these materials are very durable and easy to clean and very convenient.

Iteach, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but would like to point out that the kind of glazing you've posted in your example is exactly meant to highlight where dirt accumulates and mimic stains on true antiques. I'm speaking entirely from my own design philosophy on this--so if it's just what you don't want, please ignore it--that a better way to get a varied coloration than adding moldings (which take a lot of care and adjustment to make look like they're not just stuck on), doing a few layers of dry brushing will give an aged finish of a different sort, that's fresher and clean looking. If it's glaze you want, you've received some great suggestions.

Same thing happened to me on another thread today, done by someone different. And several others "regulars" seem to be in the habit of doing the same thing. It's annoying. For some of them, I'll bet the thoughts were - "I'll try saying this. If people agree, I'll keep it there. If people disagree, I may have to delete it." The obvious thing to say is that people who don't have the courage to allow a comment to remain in a conversation, for no better reason than to allow others to react and respond for further conversation, shouldn't make the comment in the first place. It's cowardly to say something that people respond to and then delete that comment. I think the person using the Joseph account is a she.