Oh good Lord! As if I wasn't already torn between the Tuftex and the Mohawk SmartStrand carpet. After reading these earlier comments I am really baffled! Originally I started my search for carpet by looking at nylon only since I heard that it is much better than polyester for wear and tear. But I happened into another carpet store today that carries both Karastan (Mohawk) and Shaw and the sales person seemed to push me towards the SmartStrand carpet. She wanted to show me the Karastan carpet that has been underfoot in their store for the last 10 years. She proceeded to push a heavy display fixture out of the way so that I could see how the carpet sprung back. It was amazing! Plus she pointed out that the SmartStrand's stain protection never washes out, while the Shaw Stainmaster protection washes out after 3 professional carpet cleanings. I am so confused on which way to go. And I need to make a decision quickly since I will be moving into my new home soon. The former owner left me with a surprising welcome gift---183 square yards of dog-urine stained carpeting. It was so filthy that I gagged several times while pulling it up and dragging it out to the garage. So I will be replacing all of that filthy floor covering with new carpet and my head is spinning as to which choice to make. Although my head could still be spinning from inhaling the very strong shellac that I had to use to "seal" any dog urine odors from making their way up from the sub floor. UGH!

Sue we have a small TV in our bedroom. Technically it's too small but even when I had a console table for it in place of the piece I have now (which greatly restricts the size we could use) I would not get a larger screen. Just as you mentioned, I don't want the TV to be the focal point - it's not a media room. Our viewing distance is a lot farther than yours - close to 16' and our TV is a 23". But the reality is, when in bed the ONLY thing I watch is the 10pm news and possibly a bit of Nightline. Neither requires big screen viewing IMO. The only other time I watch that TV is if I'm ironing and for that I'm much closer so distance and screen size are not a factor. We used to have a console table as I said but it was a particle board piece of junk so I got rid of it. That viewing height was very similar to what we have now which is about 32". However, before we drilled the back of this cabinet the TV sat on top for a loooong time and that viewing height is about 48" - 50" and it was fine. In fact, my DH worried he wouldn't like it lower again but since I gave him no choice, he's adjusted ;-) These are taken with my head pretty much on my pillow as it would be for viewing. And I can also tell you that at night, I can't read the time on that Bose clock radio to save my life!!! As you can see here, the DVD player is shoved in behind the TV - we never used it so didn't bother to hook it back up.

Ohhh, I didn't know your walls were already blue! I just thought that was an inspiration photo of what you wanted to do. My bad. I think that since you have the blue in there already, I agree that it would be nice to do the white bedding, and even the white curtains. It would give you that clean crisp look. But then again, sometimes having the curtains the same color/tone as the wall can give a a sophisticated look. Candice Olson does that in a lot of her rooms. Here's one that I just happen to have in my files: This is a Sarah Richardson room. I know the walls are dark amethyst, but see how the white curtains really look sophisticated with the dark wall? I have had the best luck with reasonably priced bedding at Home Goods. It's usually a hit or miss situation, but patience has always paid off for me. Mabye find the bedding first, and then decide which way to go with the curtains. Do it in baby steps. Good luck!

The cabinet is a standard height. That is, the sink is undermounted beneath the counter, and the final counter height is standard. The cabinet is about 32" wide. I can't say exactly, because the entire wall of cabinetry was custom made in the vintage style where it is all one long unit. The cabinets are not separate, and the side of the sink cabinet is also the side of the cabinet next to it. The installation was all very stressful for me because the "hole" where the sink would fit had to be pretty darn close to the correct height in order to make the counter the right height. Now, since my cabinets are painted, I did have some wiggle room. We needed to shim the sink to make it exactly the right height and levelness. The gaps all around the sink were covered with bondo (by me), and then painted. So the sink is perfectly snuggled in now. But if I had wood cabinets, my cabinetmaker would NOT have had the skill to do a beautiful job. Pictures, you say? You might be sorry you asked! Get ready for a bunch! I hope they help. The long cabinet unit: The sink "cabinet" Playing around with how to position the sink (shims in place) Again, experimenting with position and where the counter will end up: Bondo to cover the cracks More bondo (bottom edge) Sink with adjacent units (dishwasher is hidden on the right side-cabinetmaker hated making that panel for me with the fake drawer, but I think it's pretty awesome!! ) In the process of painting: Teeny, weeny kitchen, still in progress :-) francy