I'm totally forgetting about trying to create a modern aesthetic. This kitchen will be what it is. We're quirky and I guess it'll be the same. We ordered this light fixture for over the seating island: Fireclay sent me samples of Tusk and Gardenia tile and Supernova, Cotton, Vintage Blue, and Snow brick samples earlier this week. I love the brick! It's thicker than regular tile. I'm guessing that it's ~ 1/2" thick. I'm not sure if that's a concern or not. As with anything I'm sure there are pros and cons. My Fireclay rep offered to send me a full sized brick and was gracious enough to agree to send me two, one in Cotton and the other in Silk. FYI: Brick is 2.5" x 8" Cotton: With its hazy fine-spun finish infused with the slightest hint of gray, Cotton offers a soft and cloudy white. Silk: A creamy white glaze is infused with a warm ivory undertone for a soft and inviting backdrop, flecked with hints of texture. Here is an inspiration pic from their site where they mixed Cotton and Snow. Cotton has gray tones and the Snow is on the whiter end of the spectrum, so I thought maybe bringing in the warmer, creamy white of the Silk instead of Snow would be a good move. I'm unsure about the two-toned look, but thought I'd get input from you all. Other considerations are using Ceres and Silk. Ceres: Named for an asteroid barely visible from earth, this milky white glaze resonates with the same subtle beauty. So, two-toned look yay or nay? If yay, which two? If nay, which one? Because of townlakecakes' collages, we're going to revisit the color options for the LVP. Our GC sent out an email connecting us with his flooring guy this morning. Hopefully we'll be able to meet in the next few days to look at other options. Taken this morning: the rough plumbing is in. The window is boarded up for now. Starting to think I may have gone a tad too big with that window.

So, just a quick update. Still waiting on the rug & pillows to arrive. In the meantime a World Market *just* opened up near us and they had cinnamon pillows! I also found a funky wooden "tray" that I liked. Do the old pilllows go? Or do I need to find something else to tie it in? Also, thinking of hitting West Elm tomorrow. Browsing their website I found this cluster of vases I like - might put these on the console. Maybe the mantle? I need something warm on the TV console too.. I also found these blue ones, don't think I like them as much. They also had some cherry wood ones, but I think if I redo the large framed artwork I won't need them up there. Maybe use these for the TV console? Or keep looking? Also saw this chair at World Market that I like, but I'm going to wait until the carpet comes in. It's getting there!

I went with pendants with 10” conical ribbed glass shades for my very simply built 1918 cottage kitchen. Though clear glass is a penance to clean and ribbed glass turned out to be even more so, it finally dawned on me to use the dishwasher to clean my shades. They come out squeaky clean. With lanterns, sadly, you will not have that option. I’ll see if I can attach a pix of the kitchen - I’m in the middle of a kitchen remodel. The pendants, bought 25 years ago, are staying.

"If it's west facing forget about the windows because that will bring so much heat into the house in summer as well as afternoon glare, it will be uncomfortable." Wouldn't the trees help with that? In the summer, the trees will be covered in leaves, so the light from the west would be diffuse. In the winter, the trees are bare, but one might appreciate the light and the extra heat. Perhaps it depends on the location. Those trees are quite close to the house. I admit, I like a trapazoid window. I think every house should have something a little off the mainstream to make it unique. A trapazoid window looking into a bank of fluttering leaves would seem pretty special. It's whimsical and would really bring nature in. I'm not sure about placing it that high though because then it looks uninentional to me. I get the need for privacy, but maybe a triangle window with a full sized rectangle window below it which you could put a blind on for privacy when necessary? A triangle window would still be cool and it would be a celestrial triangle window.