I would love to see it as well, sparklebread. Glad to see people are still investing in quality furniture. I believe Stickley recently purchased N and S. I had been coveting N and S quality for years and finally found an upscale consignment shop that had a secondhand dining table with 2 leaves and 6 Country Manor chairs (4 side, 2 armchairs). The set was just in the wood tone I had been looking for. I did not hesitate to spend the $1,000 asking price. The side chairs probably cost $300 each new. Everytime I help my husband put the leaf in, he comments on what a solid and well-made set it is.

First I have to say that I wish I had your problem! I could spend a week thinking about your house's plans! I think I like the architect's master bedroom/bath layout better. The second version, with the toilet and bidet, looks rather cramped and clausterphobic. Looks like there is hardly room to turn around. Looks like if you are sitting on the toilet, you are staring at the wall just a few inches from your face. ( Hard to tell because I don't know the dimensions). Is that a pocket door for getting in and out of the toilet compartment? Not sure if having a closet to the left of the sinks, instead of at the entrance to the bathroom, does anything as far as reducing the noise that husband makes in the morning? I would think that most of the noise is from the water running, the toilet flushing, etc. and not from him opening drawers or pulling his clothes off the hangers. You also have a bedroom door that separates the bath entirely from the bedroom, so wouldn't that help with the noise and the light while you are sleeping? With the architect's plan for the dressing room, you could put a chair where he can sit down while dressing, so he can do all the dressing in the dressing area and not in your bedroom. WIth your closet plan, there doesn't look like there is room for a place to sit? This is just my opinion. Only you know your family's needs the best... I liked both the kitchen plans. Your plan with the stove against the wall looks a little safer in terms of having kids running around while you are at the stove. But I also like the large single island/cooktop arrangement too. It doesn't make the kitchen look so chopped up. I thinks sinks are inherently wet and messy areas, so maybe having it against the wall instead of on an island might make more sense. Cannot tell where the refrigerator goes.

Most base metals ( I think base metals are the common metals used for industrial use) have a simple chemical treatment to cause them to a. get shiny b. add dark tones c. go black Tin is metal used for battery contacts in cell phones. It's not easily oxidized and this is why it's used. This is why I'll state now that I don't think the color will change and won't require a sealant. however I doubt that your color is the tin chemically changed. And so if the color is just the inks in the paint they might change. I doubt it. Only UV light and ozone and stong oxidizers (chemicals) can change or fade ink colors. IF you want to test a spot for ink use acetone to try to see if your white / acetone cloth will pick up the color when you wipe it. A water soaked cloth will pick up color if the ink is losely bonded to the tin. It's more likely to change if that's the case but I would not seal it. Sealing tin is like sealing a gold ring. Why do it would be my first thought. The tin is beautiful and valuable. Tin remains shiny in nearly any environment as far as I know. The covering you had on the ceiling probably left it's own color behing but probably did not chemicaly change the tin. So if you want it shiny you might only need to clean off the color from the covering. Wikipedia should have an excellant reference about tin, the metal. I don't believe it's magnetic. If you use a new style rare earth magnet it should find any small amount of non-tin magnetic metals in the ceiling. ie: nickel is magnetic. iron is magnetic. Any product you find will have an MSDS for it. Look that up and read what's in the commercial product. Then if you choose you can buy the chemical (s) that are in the product , save money, become a bit of an expert, and often get better results than with a product. Look up keywords in Google like "tin brightening" Using quotes will make sure you land right on top of the kind of pages you want. adding another word like the name of the chemical(s) you found in MSDS will also put you right on top of pages that cater to companies involved in doing the process you seek. Good luck Andre

:) I'm glad to see you giving all these choices some thought ahead of installation/purchase Loretta. I know it's overwhelming, expensive and exciting all at the same time! I'm sure you've already googled images of penny tile laid on shower floors, but if you haven't, do so.. do you like the look, do you want this look for the next however many years? Are you madly in love with the tile? I'm not talking you into or out of, but instead telling you to do what you love most, can afford best, and to remember that there are plenty of people here who've been where you are today! Personally, I find the penny tile "disappears" once it's grouted. I love it naked LOL..but once the grout is in, it's harder to see. I like the hex tile you've posted on the bottom right both size and style wise, but what do I know! I went with a tumbled slate floor, in greys, oranges, golds and blacks.. so you may take that into account as well, I tend to like drama! :) If you're wondering about the effect of using the penny tile as an accent strip, type "contrasting tile bands on shower walls" into google, then click the "images" tab.. take a look at what others have done in similar situations.. hundreds of ideas and images! Sit back, grab a cup of tea or wine, and let your mouse do some clicking. I sure wouldn't use the subway tile in your pictures on the floor though ;) Kym