WOW! Thank you for bringing my thread to 'life' again! I haven't been on here in awhile and I was thrilled to see it pop up again! Thank you! The room still looks the same, just more baby toys! But I am having a party in a few weeks and I would like to spruce it up! lmayer- I have been trying to decide for the last few months about the window treatments and I am leaning more toward roman shades and I think a nice splash of color would be nice...any ideas? I can't part with the spiral votive holder...I decided to somewhere else in the house. katy texas- oh, I just LOVE that print...I had no idea they had a poster of it! This makes it MUCH more affordable for me!!! I'll show hubby. neesie- fabulous idea! Thanks. It just looks SO bare especially since we still haven't purchased any doors or screens for it yet. I would LOVE to get some more ideas from everyone, I'm having SUCH a hard time with this room. It's getting there though....

birdly... makes total sense that you had to redo stuff if it were that one employee - you should have heard the subcontractors complain about that employees work :) The nice thing is Mark had them redo stuff without argument - a friends contractor fought him and tried to charge him on every little thing that he asked to be redone (and we are talking some obvious things) If you want I can let him know that my glowing review of his work was slightly tainted by a deck that took too long - he won't like that! Its sad that he was late for yours becuase both the person at international kitchens and the person I got the sink from commented on how hes on time. For me he was about 1 month late but given the circumstances that was not bad. Its surprising about the communication - he was great for me. It does sound like he was putting all his effort into my project - did you let him know that you were doing a kitchen and becuase he didn't handle the small project well he misses out on the bigger one? (FYI the contractor that was awful for my friend was Chermak construction - it was a 100k+ project and they tried to charge him when the electrician put in a 3 bank switch that only needed 2 switches so the electrician left a switch that did nothing - they told my friend that a "do nothing" switch was an "acceptable solution" - that was the worst example but there were tons of things like that). I am 95% sure Mark got the doors through PCS Millwork. They were WAY cheaper (talking less than 1/2) the cost of the equivalent doors through the lumber yard he normally uses. gwent, nightowl was asking about the dining lights - if you search (ctrl+f) the thread for "nightowl" and read those posts you should get all the details on the lights. For the pulls, believe it or not we got them at Loews. I went to all the fancy shops for a couple weeks stressing about hardware and finally stumbled on them at Loews of all places.

Yes, that is exactly where we started with Les' arrangement--except there would not be enough space behind the sectional for the bookcase as it would put the sectional too close to the TV. The room is only 17' long. It did not work for us--as we are a family of five with two teenagers and there was too much contention for seating when watching the TV. Having it this way so we have an extra chair facing the TV works so much better and when we had friends over for Thanksgiving who'd been here before we switched it commented how much more spacious it felt. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the kitchen table really is quite close to the family room so putting any furniture in the middle closes everthing in and makes for awkward walkways. Here's a couple before shots so you can see what I mean: I tried the sectional as Johna had suggested earlier, while it looked better, unfortunately the sectional is not oriented best for that (there are two pieces that butt up to the back wall) and would just come apart (think teens that are not overly gentle on the furniture and like to lounge here)--so reality having it pushed against the wall is the most practial solution. We just had the electrican over two weeks ago to get the cable moved. I tried moving the bookcase down further, but it looked squished since part of it looked like it was hidden by the console/TV and it's so pretty that I want it to be visable from the kitchen area. I could probably center it under the window, though if I remove the floor lamp--which is a possibility since we do have recessed lighting for this room. So, no one is liking the dried flowers from Michael's? I need to go there later today so am wondering if I should return them or not.

Last Sunday, Jan. 3, I posted a photo that marked the beginning. The following two photos document the progress. This is how the dinette looks today after one week. Miss the brick. The brick and pine boards are gone but neatly stacked elsewhere for use in the future or donation. The ceramic floor is partially out, the debris taken to the dump. So far the dirt and grime are confined to this area. DH is working alone. We have been planning a new kitchen for years and years, but other projects at a vacation home and here at home took precedence ( and truthfully we were also struggling with the plan- better but not finalized yet) with DH doing most of the work which included a new kitchen, patios, a portico with columns, two bathroom remodels, a new dock house after Isabelle. It sounds crazy but my DH always has a project. This is the third remodel for this kitchen. Almost 40 years or so ago soon after we purchased the house, he enclosed the carport to make the dinette and added a garage adjacent to it; however, the galley kitchen that includes a a large eating area, connects to the dinette through a doorway. Over the years, we have stripped and refinished the cabinets, added an island in the eating space, changed countertops, updated appliances and floors, vaulted the ceiling on one side. The current plan is to remove the wall to open the kitchen to the dinette, install new cabinets, countertops, appliances, and wood floors etc. This week I have been tweaking the plans, reading the forums and Houzz, and thinking about finishes. Regards to everyone. I have enjoyed having a peek into your kitchens. It is nice to be in such good company.