I too like the PB style and had a similar budget. For my LR, I purchased Lee Industries (manufacturer not retailer) which coincidentally can be ordered from Crate and barrell. They do have a 25% off sale once a year and I think it in October which is a significant savings. I actually ordered from North Carolina b/c I live close to NYC and my local retailer was charging me over $2K more. I bought a sofa, loveseat and 2 chais in medium grade fabric for about $5K. www.leeindustries.com For Bedroom furniture, I chose Durham furniture. In this case my local retailer was having a 40% off sale so I got a bed, 2 sidetables and a 5 drawer chest for about $2600. Another manufacturer I looked at was Orville and Mead which I think is actually owned ny Durham. www.orvilleandmead.com. Solid wood furniture - great quality - made in Canada. I can't help you find a local retailer as I'm not familiar with CA. Some of the big box retailers in my area include Ethan Allen, Thomasville, Safaveigh Home, Henredon, Domain, EJ Audi. However all the sites listed above can help you find a retailer in your area. Good luck and congrats on your new home!

Thanks everyone! benlinus (lost, right? love it!) - I have gotten that suggestion before about the plane frames, and I think I'll make a decision once everything else is done. I'm thinking light gray mats and maybe red frames. Not sure yet! yayagal - The chest will probably stay as-is, it has really grown on me and now it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. Here's a better picture of it: When I first got it, I posted here asking for hardware and paint suggestions and I was told not to touch it! ha ha Seriously though, I'm glad I didn't because it is in such nice shape. I thought about just switching the hardware but it's an odd size and I don't feel like going through the trouble to special order anything at this point. The nightstand, however, is nothing special so I have considered painting it (and replacing the hardware) as well as the headboard. Currently, all three wood pieces are a slightly different finish, which isn't a big deal, but they could also be cute painted. Any thoughts there are welcomed for sure.

To start with this big project, first you need to know which kind of style you wanna buy or what's the style of your room. To get a good sit for your buck, you need to have several tests. Check the frame (sturdy frame with joints connected), Test the spring, Test the fabric ( Cotton and linen are winners). Hope my thoughts give you any ideas to focus on ya.

Ashley, going back to your original question on slides, if you want to use a fixed base, you need an equalizer slide also called a pedestal extender http://www.leevalley.com/us/hardware/page.aspx?p=40139&cat=3,43586 Osborne sells them as well, and here is a video showing installation and how it works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHm2asFZTn0  On hand hewing, not sure what you are asking about - do you mean hand planing the surface. With a sharp plane blade and a good plane, it is a lot of work but manageable. If you don't have a decent plane, or don't know how to sharpen the blade it will be a trial. As to woods, there is soft maple and hard maple. Hard maple, is as the name implies, pretty hard, but while soft maple is softer than hard maple, it is still pretty strong, and would do much better as a table top than pine http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/ I agree with the suggestions about a woodworking club. If there are none near you, another option, though it will take a lot of time, is buy access to FWW magazine index through their online program - which is around $4 a month http://www.finewoodworking.com/members  There is a free trial period, so you may want to check it out. It won't walk you through every step of your project, but you should find articles that will show you most of the info needed for each part of your project, from the legs, to working with large slabs, to different ways to have the table top expand http://www.finewoodworking.com/2014/12/03/expanding-top-for-any-table  http://www.finewoodworking.com/2014/12/03/how-to-engineer-an-expanding-tabletop