Thanks so much to everyone. Romy718, your room is beautiful!! You do not need to wait for rugs & accessories to know that, it looks great and the colors are so pretty and work great together. Thanks for showing me. And I need to go on back to the backsplash thread and start looking up info on those tiles. I think the one that you said you were using in your own kitchen is my favorite...is it ok if our houses end up looking like cousins?! gpraceman, someday I hope to replace the slate hearth with soapstone. That was my plan for this remodel but budget got tight and we decided to just scrub down the existing slate hearth, my GC put some sort of sealer/enhancer on it; and we painted the shelf White dove same color as our trim. I'm not crazy about it, I really want a thicker distressed wood mantle, but it'll do for now. nyse2502, first, thank you Im so glad to hear you like my fireplace! This thread is from several months ago, in the meantime I had several other threads going round and round on what countertop material to choose. In the end I went away from the Sea Pearl, the Jet Mist, the Steel gray... and ended up with a Calcutta marble on my island that I love and a very plain almost solid gray Silestone on my perimeter which I am really happy with. It was a great solution for me. I got a (relatively) small little chunk of a gorgeous fragile material that I love, and then I have an extremely durable uncomplicated attractive counter everywhere else that I don't have to worry about. I admit to being totally overwhelmed and absorbed with my own reno that I haven't had tons of time to be looking at all the threads on here so maybe I missed it, but have you posted pics of your whole house reno? Sounds like a huge job, congrats on being done! I'll post a picture of my updated fireplace. This room still needs a lot of work...a rug, something on other side of fireplace, different mirror or something else on mantle, a screen for fp...but you get the idea. Thanks for all the support on this thread!

I've decided to not purchase the house, for now anyway. If the bank would accept 50K less than the asking price I'd do it, but the fact that they just raised the price last month after the third failed sale leads me to believe they won't. The house needs new exterior paint, complete interior paint, all new flooring, kitchen cabinets and countertops, new appliances, new furnace and ac, plumbing repair upstairs, 3 fireplaces that need attention, landscape clean up and probably much more. I do like the house and the floor plan though. It's not a traditional split level. Main floor has formal living, dining and eat-in kitchen. Upstairs all the beds two baths. Down 1/2 set of stairs from the eat in kitchen is a den and the laundry plus powder room with the garage entrance. The house has a mountain view from the front and the view out the back over looks Utah Lake with mountains that surround it. I'm going to wait and see what happens. My current home will sell in a flash, so the issue for me is finding a new home. I'd like to reduce my mortgage payment, but home prices are such that it's looking like that won't be much of an option. I really do like my current home except for the fact It's 50 miles from my workplace. I'm going to sit tight for now.

@funcolors Curious why you don't trust the colors the designer specified? That's a good question, one that my husband is asking me as well. I told her I wanted a light airy kitchen that wasn't stark white but had the overall appearance and feel of a white kitchen. She went to the stone yard and looked at my exact slabs, had all my inspiration pics, house layout, pictures etc - probably 2 dozen in all. She said the color was selected because it 1) coordinated and 2) had the warmth and depth to handle a large room with a northern exposure. Also I mentioned I didn't like the vast contrast between a gray counter top and stark white cabinets. She selected a blue based on my inspiration photos and knowing I wanted a dark island. Aesthetic White on three different sample boards in the partially done home reads pink to me. I think it's just too dark. Perhaps needs to be a bit lighter? But then again, too light gives too much contrast between cabinets and counters which with grayish counters can make them look dingy and dirty. After playing with sample boards I felt the color choice was not right so I did inquire on Friday about another alternative to Aesthetic White and I haven't heard back yet. Foggy Day was a surprise to me, because it is so light. I inquired of something darker and threw out Grays Harbor since it was next down on the paint strip and she said it had too much gray and wouldn't be balanced. Her second choice for the island was Grizzle Gray. I do like that color, but it reads like cement, but perhaps it will warm up with the northern exposure? I told her I wanted a relaxing spa feel in the master bathroom and she chose SW Misty. That color is pretty, but seems more appropriate for a child's room. And I don't see how it plays nice with Aesthetic White trim and doors. Seems to clash. At least to my eye. I hope that answers your questions. I am not good at color which is why I sought paid help. She is closer than what I have done on my own. It's just doesn't speak to me and when I look at it all together I don't sit back with a smile and get excited. I want to be excited about my choices.

Yes...the deck still has round hole / cover where hot tub used to be. I have purchased treated wood to make the deck "whole" again, covering the spot. I find it hard to believe that one has to go through this process every couple of years, even having sealed it. ...Wonder if there is anything hard-core that will preserve longer. I was told paint is even worse and that Trek comes in last. Thanks for all your input.