THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS! And especially thank you for the kind words about my house....besides the fact that I am struggling with the details, our house truly has become our "home"..we are surrounded by amazing neighbors who are now true friends and are so blessed to live in a gorgeous area. I am going to peruse some stores today to try to find somthing long and low to center on the sideboard as that seems to be the majority vote! I find I really do struggle with thinking that I've just got random accessories scattered about my home with no real groupings or flow. I think part of my problem is also that I don't quite know what my "style" is. I've always just said comfortable french with some modern accents thrown in - like brown leather slipper chairs in my library, maybe sortof pottery barnish - I don't know. I definitely love my black accents and start to worry that I've overdone them.......If I only had a decorating identity - lol. As for the sideboard - It was made by Collezione Europa and bought from a local store here - not expensive by any means! Unfortunately I did buy it about 4 years ago so I'm not sure they would still make it....I also have a little black table with gold nail heads from the same company in my living room..they have some beautiful, inexpensive pieces. And the sectional was from Bassett. We looked long and hard to find a sectional that fit...my favorite one was at Thomasville but was just massive and wouldn't work...my family room is long and thin and we needed to find small....and affordable! The quality seems ok so far...it definitely gets its share of abuse with two kids and two dogs! As for the suggestion of moving the sideboard, I wish I could show it off in a better area but the layout of my house seems to have left out one major thing....wallspace! We've really struggled with that....it is all windows. As for the French-Asian suggestion...this really intriques me - since I have no idea what french-asian is...but the colors you listed are my favorite colors...I've been wanting to add some blue to my sea of red, gold, green, brown and black for a long time but don't know how. Can you post a picture of what something french-asian would be? Thanks again so very much......Hopefully this can be checked off my list and I can move onto my living room which is number two and of course involves tablescaping again...my weakness!

fmroberts: You have lovely gardens and outdoor area for entertaining. Thank you for sharing. Almost (but not quite) makes me want to move to Illinois! Here in Bay Area land is VERY expensive so we have to be creative with much smaller spaces. annz: I was looking at those offset umbrellas yesterday as well. Costco is also selling them. Thanks for all the suggestions. I need to think on this some more. DD's window in the one the rectangular one that is in the corner area. She already has wood blinds that work pretty well, though the room does get hot in afternoon. flyingflower: This is what the website said about being "rust proof": ---------------- Each Woodard frame is purified and dipped into a bath of zinc phosphates (rust inhibitors) during our state-of-the-art MetalGuard finishing process. Wrought Iron frames are electrostatically coated, creating a permanent seal that locks out rust. They are also finished with the highest quality powder-coat paint finish for durability and beauty. Woodard continues to hand-craft each piece of wrought iron furniture-a tradition handed down through generations. Combining the heaviest available solid wrought iron stock with the best steel, our individual craftsmen use an anvil and hammer to forge the intricate details found on many Woodard frames. Woodard designers meticulously study each product style with the goal of preserving authentic designs. Fabrics are selected on the basis of quality, coloration, trend, and in some cases, historical significance. Finish choices range from colorations which are current in vogue to those who are traditional and timeless. Design integrity by Woodard is a reality-not a concept. -------------- That plus my friend's personal experience makes me pretty confident. Her family is from Detroit and BIL works there and so multiple members of the family have these sets and no one has had a problem, even in Detriot. He was to have bought 2 sets for us at annual employee sale, but flaked out for some reason. Anyway, even at retail pricing it's comparable with other cast aluminum sets so most likely we'll get one of the sets by Woodard. She did say her mother uses cushions, though she does not, and her chairs are very comfortable and in a sunnier spot than I've planned. I've been to a few afternoon parties at her house when they just had it under a pergola and some chairs were out in the sun--no one complained of the chairs being hot, but an excellent point to consider. If they did, I would just get the cushions, though would prefer not as the set is going under birch trees which keep it fairly shady plus the leaves and little branches fall down in that area and I'd worry it'd mess up the cushions. This is what I am thinking of getting: 54" round table: 6-8 rocker chairs (these are soooo comfortable), in either one of these styles: Briarwood rocker: Windflower rocker: I'm not sure if I'll just get two extra rockers with hopes I can squeeze around the table, if needed, but keep where I have the white chairs in pic. above or a nice comfy bistro style lounging set with cushions for that area under the umbrella. I may just start with a set of table, 6 chairs and decide later if I want more chairs or not. She told me of a store in Campbell and one in Cupertino that carry the brand locally, though I will shop around on internet for best pricing.

Now I understand where you are headed. My suggestions will not be matchy matchy and are pretty eclectic in nature. So, hopefully you will get some ideas you may not have thought about. Let's start with the DR. Drapes: I like dramatic so, if the rug has bronze that would be my first choice though there is nothing wrong with gold. I like plain simple drapes. I think drapes like blacksplashes should not be a focal point of a room when you have other beautiful things going. They should help frame the room like the color on the walls do. You may not need pinch pleated drapes. It would save you money not to have the pinch pleats. You need to decide if you want to run them from ceiling to floor or with a rod (I saw some beautiful rods at Calico Corner's. I think JCP carries Kirsch hardware also) above the window not from the ceiling. Dining table: I notice most people select wood to use with oriental rugs. I am working with a designer for my family room and breakfast nook and he just taught me a good lesson: Print rug-glass table, solid rug-wood table. He said you want to show off the beauty of the rug at all times from every direction. They do make some very large glass tables that you can use with 2 wooden pedestals for support or a great square base. If you are having a lot of guests for dinner like Christmas than you can add a folding table and use the same table cloth. This is just a suggestion. You can use wood but I always like to share new knowledge when I learn something. I still like crystal for chandeliers in dining rooms. In this case I would use crystal with some funky lamp shades to add a little fun into the room. You may find these at Home Goods or on line. I would try leopard for shades. It's hard to visualize if this will work without actually seeing it in person. Maybe someone will photoshop. Do you know the size of the table you want to use? I also think you may be able to find dining room chairs on ebay or a used furniture store that might be in decent condition or you can buy them new. Remember the chair wood does not need to match the wood of the table. There is more interest created when they don't. Here is another idea for chairs: you can used entirely different ones for the head of the table. Actually, I am pretty good at decorating eclectically. My friends are always looking for my eye. The designer I am working with always says to me "what do you need me for". Well, he is a great buffer between me and my BF whom I share my new home with. He has made my life so much more easier and is worth every penny. I am also learning alot about decorating from him.

Olychick I have a blue bowl. I'll try and post a picture later to see how it looks. Leele I like the idea of the buffet lamps. I would love to have an art light hardwired, but that's not possible at the moment.