I've been pondering where to buy the glass doors, too. Just had the plumber crack the new porcelain tile on bath wall which they had to pay for repair. Now, I'm thinking that the glass doors will come local from a place that will take responsibility for replacement of any cracked tiles. On another thread, someone stated that about 25% of porcelain tiles crack when drilled. Scary, isn't it?

"I would avoid a loan from my 401K at all costs. You pay it back with post-tax dollars so you are taxed on it twice and if you ever leave your company, or worse, get laid off, the balance is due in 60 days or so. I've seen the "taxed twice" claim about 401K loan many times, usually on the websites of big investment companies who have a stake in keeping your 401K accounts to themselves for as long as possible. It's bogus. Anyone who takes out a 401K loan will make monthly payments back into the same 401K, usually for a period of five years. Of course the payments are made with after tax dollars, but the same would be true of paying back any loan except for those tied to a mortgage, such as a HELOC. And once it's paid back, the withdrawals you take out when you finally retire will be taxed at the same rate as they would have been if you had never taken out the loan. You pay interest on the loan at a fixed rate that is set by the plan and usually lower than any rate you could get for an unsecured loan. That means the unpaid loan balance is earning returns at that fixed rate. If you happen to take out the loan at the beginning of a down market, it'll likely be earning at a better rate than the rest of your 401K, and you will actually have a larger 401K balance at the end of the loan than you would have had otherwise. In times of an up market, however, the reverse will be true. The real and best reason not to do it is if you think you might leave your employment, voluntarily or otherwise, before the end of the loan term, because you will have to pay it all back.

Well, I like the concept of the huge TL, agitator-free (although Cabrio seems to have a small, hump-like one)relatively high efficiency machines. I've had one for the past 5 years. They hold a lot of laundry - I can do two loads of what would have been 4 in the basic Sear's machine. I looked into the FL machines, but they all seem so small inside, have long wash cyles, can be quite costly, can be unreliable (as any machine can)and I like the convenience of adding clothes throughout the load. Cabrio seems like a very sturdy machine. It's easy to operate. It moves the clothes around very well, in fact I always hear lots of swishing & splashing noises as it works and washes great. Time will tell, but so far, I don't have any complaints. And if something happens to the machine, I have a repair or replace 5 year warranty from Bray & Scarff that I purchased for $139. So far, they promptly exchanged the two new leaking Harmony's I had within days of my calls - no problems dealing with them. I did see Consumer Reports rated Cabrio high, although I'm not sure I saw the negative consumer ratings online although I looked. Personally, I thought my Harmony's were flimsy, and some people just love theirs. Whatever you get, just make sure of the return policy in case it doesn't work out or you don't like it.

I agree with all of you: they're definitely Hollywood Regency. And I should recharacterize my own style, which is probably better said to be "*in* transition" rather than transitional. (: I do like clean-lined pieces, and our DR set is very Mission; the adjacent LR combines Mission and Art Deco; and our bedroom, where these chairs would go, is your basic Recovering Graduate Student/Random Wedding Present room. So funky/eclectic would fit in just fine there. And there's just something about these chairs... The room is a long rectangle. The half without windows is for the bed (not a bed per se, but rather mattresses on a metal frame) and the dressers, which are mismatched yard sale finds. On the other side of the room, I'd like to create a sitting/reading area next to the windows, with a gorgeous view of the mountains (by far the nicest thing about the room!). We got a red and tan handloomed Peruvian folk-art rug for our wedding, and that's what we'll use to set off the seating area. Also on that side of the room, framing one window, are some slender dark walnut modern-styled bookcases. And then the part I'd like to replace: a heinously ugly loveseat that a friend gave us, also on that side of the room. I'd much rather find some reading chairs and an ottoman than a loveseat anyway; the room's not that big, and the loveseat makes it a pain to open and close the curtains and shades. I agree these chairs don't look too comfortable, so they're probably not my ideal reading chairs. But they'd be good for draping the bathrobe or pulling into the LR for extra seating. I love the idea of velvet, and maybe even the box-pleated skirt -- hadn't thought of that, cool idea, thank you! I agree that they're great in a pattern, but I don't want lots of patterns clashing in my bedroom, I don't think. What would you think of a tan velvet on the back and the bottom of the seat, and then the top, round seat cushion in something like this: Here is a link that might be useful: I'd use this pillow cover to reupholster the seat...