Oooh, many thanks to you all. I love pictures! Bring on as many pictures as you can! :) Claire, my American Standard Collection pedestal just arrived yesterday, and I'm hopping with impatience to get it unpacked and installed after seeing yours. There's just something about an oval sink that's so appealing (esp for clumsier types like me! I currently have the Kohler Memoirs pedestal in my rental, and that darned pointy-square edge just loves a certain bruisable spot on my thigh). I have ordered a faucet from Restoration Hardware in antique nickel -- will take a good look at it to see if I prefer that finish or the polished. If I go with polished, I do love the Porcher faucets - mrslimestone, they're gorgeous. I have the Porcher Archive toilet, and it's really lovely. Keep 'em coming.

Brass Light Gallery. They make lights the old-fashioned way, by hand, and to order. They also have about 15 different finishes. Although their showroom in Milwaukee isn't far from me, I chose my lights from out of their catalog, and using their excellent customer service. I liked their "Continental" catalog the best, which you can download from their website, or they'll mail you a copy. Some of their lighting is a bit pricey when you get into the more non-standard finishes, but you get what you pay for. If you see one you like, it's worth it to call them to see how much it costs. The quality is top-notch. Here is a link that might be useful: Brass Light Gallery

Can you find decent used furniture in a style you like near where you live? Yes and no! Its funny but it seems that my area or county (S.E) is broken down to areas you can find certain things. If you want oak you would go to Royal Palm Beach or Lake Worth surround or certain southern areas of Martin County. If you want Rattan or wicker you would go to Lake Worth or parts of Martin County. For faux cherry woodish you would find lots in the western section of West Palm, Boynton and the southern section of Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington. For Modern furniture you have to go south towards Miami or the new high-rise areas of West Palm Beach. For older furniture styles in near mint condition like older Ethan Allan, Sherril ect you would look in Hope Sound, Stuart or coastal area's north of there. However, they all treasure their used stuff and it's hard to find a deal. For wow unusual mild cheese stuff for mansions you would look in Boca. I do see some great deals on CL for nice things you and your dad would like occasionally in all areas and they are very very inexpensive if you can beat all the new 2nd shops or consignment stores to the punch, they buy whole estates to a piece. The new/old stores are making it all a bit harder to score. From 2004 to 2010 we didn't have many of those shops still in business but now they are popping up all over. All but one has ridicules pricing. However, after writing all the above I have gotten my best scores in the most unusual places. I really love many of the vintage bedroom sets but I so far haven't found one that husband likes. I read somewhere that up until the eighties 50% of all furniture bought in the U.S came out of North Carolina...heck, even the lower end stuff is still solid to this day. Well some might be a bit beat up but it's still together and the finishes are still pretty good. I can't bring myself to buy a new set because even when you spent on the highest end of Mid you still get crappy finishes and very little wood. I'm mostly disgusted with the way things are made these days. It seems you have to be prepared to spend very high end if you want to get a few years out of a piece of furniture and that's not even a guarantee.

If satin nickel doesn't look right with your oak, why not look at something else? After looking at so many brands of pulls and light fixtures, I noticed that one brand's antique nickel equals another brand's antique pewter equals another brand's pewter. I would just go with what looks best in your kitchen regardless of the named finish. Get some samples both to check for color and also for comfort/hand feel.