Some people have seen these pictures ad nauseum, so I apologize, but I am a big supporter of both honoring the historic fabric of the structure while furnishing the house for your own aesthetic, for comfort, for whatever. My apt is 1838 so most of the units never had any kind of ceiling fixture at all, and the first floors at some point had a chandelier mounted at the medallion. Only the Gentleman's Chest and the Japanned cabinet on stretchers would be vaguely "period" in this room, all the rest is modern. (The wing chair is the wrong period, too). But when I bought this place I actually emphasized the 1838 by stripping anything off the perimeter that wasn't period. In the hall I did put a fixture that was at least "more" period appropriate, although modern fixture would be okay too. The public hallways mostly have fixtures like this: And I think something like this could work in your LR if you did not want another large drum shade. I would consider putting the current LR fixture in place of the small bell at the vestibule door, if you don't store it away. Personally I like the tension between historic elements attached to the house vs modern contents.

EPDM roofing for a smaller area will have only factory seams in the piece used, plus whatever cuts you have to make for things sticking through the roof. The life of EPDM is at least 30-40 years. There is no real supply of EPDM for the home market in the US (Firestone is a large manufacturer but could care less about residential work). Find a well recommended local installer and talk with them. If you are interested in trying the job yourself Resource Conservation Technology (Baltimore, MD) used to do turn key 'kits' based on dimensions and sketches. They supplied a piece of membrane made with hold down tabs on the back, and the rest of the items required to secure the edges. Flat Roof Solutions also sells everything you need and will help you decide what to order and how to do the job. They sell pieces of EPDM by size. You get a pieces large enough for the roof without any seams and cut it down as needed.

I've lived in suburban Orange County, California all my life. I'm only 23 and everything has changed since I was a kid. I remember when Huntington Beach still had swamp land full of trees and big oil rigs on it. Now it's full of million dollar town houses ON the swamp land and a few oil rigs that just sit there. Rarely do you ever see one that's actually moving. I just bought my grandma's house that's in one of the still unincorporated cities that most people who have grown up in the area didn't even know existed. Traffic is awful. During random hours of the day it can take me about 10 to 15 minutes to get to work but around regular commute hours it could take 20 to 45 minutes. You learn quick not to use the freeway unless necessary. There are many nature preserves and playgrounds. And I love the fact that I get the ocean breeze even on hot days and I don't have to actually be at the beach.

Thanks again, all. Well, I just spent the last two hours at yet another tile store (open late on Friday night...imagine!) and came away convinced that the tile designer person is full of finoopywater. The Motawi tiles just do NOT look right with natural stone, no matter how muted. They fight. So with your encouragement and the conviction of my own eyes, I'm sticking with ceramic tiles. Now to answer some questions/suggestions: Yes, the darkest, middle yellow tile "matches" best. The other two are lighter, but in much the same tones as the oak color in the dard hunter tiles. So, they coordinate more than match. And they aren't AS light in comparison to the other as they look in the photo, in part because that darker center tile is matte finish, while the other two reflected the camera flash. On the question of whether what I'm contemplating would have the same variation as Circuspeanut's kitchen (and yes Circuspeanut, I could see my Motawi tiles in your kitchen....) it depends on which I choose. The one I like best now is the Ann Sacks subway (the bottom, rectangular tile in the pictures. It is handpainted and has an A&C feel and I'm comfortable that the color is good. It's $12 a sf plus about $150 for shipping. Apparently you can only buy them at AS stores and they are few and far between???? But there is Florida tile in a color called Mellow Gold that is VERY, VERY close to the AS. It's about half the price, but is clearly more regular in size and color across the tile. And it is a V3 rating for variation from tile to tile and I've only been able to see one tile at a time, so I expect there will be more variation, more like Circuspeanut's kitchen. CP...what IS the tile you used? Rhome, you are right about the plan for behind the range...I'm not satisfied with it either. The problem is that the larger Dard Hunter tiles are 4X8, which just won't line up with a 3X6 subway tile. It my mind now, I'm thinking of not grouping the three together behind the range, but sprinkling them along with the 4X4 decos in the backsplash. (One reason...got feedback yesterday on the a post on a shelf /niche behind the range, which made me realize that I couldn't put everything back there...a focal point of tiles, bottles and a pot-filler and expect it to look like anything but junk!) In any case, whether grouped behind the range or sprinkled throughout , I think they'll look better with a 1" border tile around them, as I show on the plan with the 4X4 tiles. Of course that won't make them easier to work into a pattern of 3X6 subways...I'll have a 10"X 6" piece to work with. So...back to the drawing board. As for how much tile I need...well a fair amount. BEfore I came up with the idea of using oak beadboard for the backsplash in the butlers panty/scullery off the main kitchen, I thought I'd need 60 sf. Now it's down to about 45 sf. And if I frame each of the Motawi tiles (now contemplating the 6 I've got, plus 3 more small ones) with Motawi 1X4's and a 1X 1 in each corner, I'm talking 42 1X4s and 36 1X1s...paying $2.60 EXTRA for each side I need glazed because the Motawi tiles are much thicker than any of the subways I'm contemplating. Guess I'm playing with graph paper again tonight!