rmkitchen, what a nice thing to say! I am still so proud of that basement organization, it does make Christmas so much easier. This year I am having my son and his friend put everything away from Christmas .... they have helped in years past and are now ready (and able, because of how clearly it is all marked) to take it on themselves. The dinner party was a great success, thank heavens. Champagne cocktails for about 45 minutes with the hors d'oeuvres is a no-fail, good start for a party. We had a few non-drinkers and I made the same drinks with Martinelli's sparkling apple juice and these drew rave reviews as well. Centerpiece was lovely, I used a white cloth and a green velvet runner bordered in red sort of scrunshed up artistically, with three white and gold deer arranged on it and two very large (18" and 24") crystal candlesticks with big fat Root candles. And three dimensional "confetti" consisting of small red resin berries and green holly leaves scattered about on the table. It was lovely and very quiet, a classic look that I loved and people were able to talk over the deer and see through the candlesticks, so it was All Good :) Some of the nutcrackers went up on top of the library shelves, it was a brilliant idea (not mine!) Like you I am a toile-lover from way back. "Use it often and everywhere" is my motto :) We have toile in my daughter's room (blue and white), a toile bedskirt in our bedroom (bordered with a medium check on the diagonal), toile pillows in the living room and toile chair pads in the kitchen, and a chinoiserie toile in one bathroom, so what's one more paper in the laundry? I have decided on the Thibaut oriental toile for the laundry but have a great place for the plaid---in the kitchen. Our french country chairs have been so abused the stretchers at bottom keep popping out (must not have been very well made to begin with) but it seems I am always having a chair out being repaired, so I have decided to get new chairs. I am leaning towards the Chinese chippendale style with upholstered seats, and think the plaid would be fabulous in there, esp. if the chairs are painted red or cream. So I will manage to use at least two of the three patterns. Patty, I am glad you have had good experiences with Thibaut also, I think they have very nice quality and our paperhanger likes it because it is not prepasted. I wanted to use the Thibaut paper "Chinese Laundry," which I thought would be a clever joke for the laundry room (it is not really for laundry rooms, and the one I wanted was foil) but designer put his feet down on that immediately. I trust his judgment and submitted meekly :) If anyone sees this post and has either paper to display, please do! Just because I have decided which one to use doesn't mean I don't need to see more...

Igloochic, I love your dining room! Is that venetian plaster on the walls? Have you considered having a custom built piece that would run the entire wall and go all the way to the ceiling. You could do some open shelves that were glass and lighted and then closed storage underneath? I know you probably don't want to part with your lovely china cabinet which looks like a 1st cousin to my DR set, which was my Grandparent's set, but you could always put it in a bedroom or LR and use it more as a curio cabinet. I do love that my set belonged to my grandparents but I also wish it had way more storage! My mom had a triple china hutch and it held so much more stuff! BTW I LOVE that recessed wall cabinet, it's very cool! I built a *dish* pantry in my new kitchen for that very reason! Here is a picture from my old house of some built-in cabinets we did to give us some added storage for our LR/DR. We had them on each side of the doorway leading into the DR. You could always put glass doors on the upper part, we used them purely for displaying things and the lower part for dish storage. I can really relate to having way more stuff than storage space! Both my parents loved crystal and china. When my Mother passed away unexpectedly my sisters and I all inherited her vast collection of china and plates. My daughter once joked that Nana had enough dishes to feed an entire army from. The worst part of it all is I still find myself looking at dishes and glassware online...I don't need another dish or glass EVER! lol The DF "dresser" you referred to in the other post is actually a matching tea cart and it has two small drawers and then two shelves where I keep my silver chest, so not much actual storage. Here is our pantry cupboard to hold *some* of my many plates. It holds a ton of stuff because it's floor to ceiling! The top holds my stemware and the bottom is for platters and dishware. The middle hides my MW. Kat :)

My first question is What is your favorite color? You have excellent neutrals that could work with any color. If you love the cool gray green of Farrow and Ball's french gray I say go for that color. That is a color that can compliment many different colors from the gold warm tan drapes to a fire hot red chair or a deep green alligator. Go with what you like and you will be amazed that it works. If you think the Farrow and Ball French Gray is a little too green based you might consider another FB paint called Light also by FB French Gray FB Light by Farrow and Ball I like mixing cool and warm in different venues for drama. Obviously not all the colors but keeping it simple to two basic hues and working with them is ideal. You have one small wall behind your china cabinet that you could paint in a gold tan to match the drapes but the rest of the walls the Blue gray Farrow and ball you are thinking of would be perfect. Here are some combinations of gray blue and tan that look stunning. Living Pod Dining room rescue blog Clear Skies by Benjamin Moore French Gray Farrow and Ball (The color you love) French Gray FB by designer Brooke Gianetti amazing with the soft cream. Other Neutral colors if the farrow and ball is too scary for you to try Fools Gold Benjamin Moore New Penny by Valspar Blonde Benjamin Moore Skylight Farrow and Ball Camel Hair on left and Gustavian Grey Shaker Gray by Benjamin Moore

I'd do: -a sideboard between two windows. Craigslist is an amazing idea as is Danish modern..problem is won't be for a song anymore since the sellers picked up it's hot (and nobody knows that I -well and probably some other people LOL- understood it 7 years earlier when all the vintage from these decades started naturally appearing in second hand stores and estate sales as the owners grew older and older and had to part with their stuff)..so try to compare the prices-everything mcm is, like, automatically twice, triple price of other pieces since it's mcm..especially when somebody's refurbished it. Still, very well worth checking into..saw totally amazing(was very hard not to write it in caps..ok still going to do that: AMAZING) credenza/dresser, wood plus white, rounded, great condition, leather handles, very tastefully done, looks like new..they wanted 500 for it which is great considering the piece itself, and the prices on this style right now..the owners probably weren't fans and just wanted it gone..and of course it was gone in a day. Hell I'd buy it myself -I just couldn't think of space to put it. Sorry that was long..just to repeat the Craigslist/vintage advice..and not to be surprised about the price discrepancy..I'd still hunt mcm since I simply love it..but there are many interesting things out there that can work. (if somebody asks me-I know nobody does, but just in case-buy armoires guys..while you can..they'll be all the rage very soon)) -an art above the said sideboard -shelves on the opposite wall. I mean if you feel a need for shelves..books etc. It can hold also other collections. And plants. And art. Slim shelves, great storage, great impact. But I love books everywhere including dining so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Shelves can be used for many things though, as I've said. I don't like when they say "Conversation piece" but some pieces are like that. Once we had a laugh for twenty minutes over some improvised ashtray-it was a weird pottery piece. -corners? A tree/bigger plants would do great there. Indirect light. Lots of it. Not kidding..they'll thrive. Put the smaller ones you own already on the taller shelf-here's your corner. Or they have to be in front of the window? Depends on the plants of course. But bottom line-I'd play with plants arrangements there you don't need to fill up the whole room..as much as I'm into stuff I need some negative space as they call it..figure out your level of comfort as you go Also the more you consolidate in one place-art, credenza, shelves, etc-the emptier the other can afford to be. Just balance it out. -I'd repeat the white of the chairs somewhere..sideboard as was said or accessories..say even white ceramics or white mats in art? Center piece(ok hate this word too but whatever) in white, like a vase? I'm into vases lately..some are so indefinitely cool..and you can do pattern too..white plus something. White plus brown will be amazing too..picks up the wood and the upholstery. -Wouldn't paint the table-I think it's too nice as it is now Well..sorry for the lengthy post ..I wish you a fun and meaningful decorating!