A great project, thanks for the link. I love lighthouses. North Carolina has quite a few, but I love all lighthouses! Our Hatteras Lighthouse had to be moved back so that it wouldn't fall into the ocean. It's quite a climb up, but it's the walking down that gets to my knees. Cameron

Of course after spending quite some time writing my reply and uploading and posting more pics, we have a power outage and I lose everything that I typed.... so here we try again... I photoshopped the tables next to the fabrics... #1 Marrakesh (note once again that the light blue flower is actually pearly off white) #2 Morocco (light blue flower=pearly off white) #3 Honey Ivy #4 Brown Cypress #5 Mykonos Leaf Now onto the questions and comments... equest- there is no rusty red on #1- the points are brown squirrel- thanks for the links, the tables are very pretty. We had originally picked something like those last year, but i fell in love with the mosaic tables when i saw them. I really like the dark brown tile table as well-my favorite of all your links. We are looking for a large oval or rectangular table though... Keep in mind that the medallion pillows will be in the 'chat group' so they won't be directly next to the mosaic table. the only thing near the dining table is the dark orange fabric. sujafr- thanks for the advice.The table we will be getting will be a 72' x 42' oval. They only have pictures of the round ones in the catalog. I believe the table legs are not at the edges. I spoke with the company and the only maintenance needed is to seal it yearly with a marble/granite sealer and to make sure it's covered in the winter to prevent cracking from moisture. Threedgrad- I actually posted a thread asking about the tables about 2 weeks ago. The company is KNF designs and they sell a few of their designs through frontgate(that's how i found them). I'll post the link- you need to download their pdf catalog. They have many beautiful tables in many colors(the colors are more vivid than the pics IRL). The catalog reminds me of an inn we stayed at for our anniversary last year in Santa Fe- called the Inn of the Five Graces. It's courtyard and room decor is what inspired our patio. funkyart- the pillows are from restoration hardware. they come in several colors. I really like the red and orange ones as well. Here is a link that might be useful: KNF designs

I voted for maple early and will stand by my vote. But I want to say again that my vote is for durability reasons (and not design reasons). I would not stain the maple, but that is for design reasons, I think maple picks up stain in a weird way. The reason I am posting again isn't to weight the vote but to share a thought I had about end grain maple. Could you have a section made in end grain and have that mounted in your counter for a durable surface some where. There is a kitchen on this site that has an island that I think is marble, then at one end has an end grain section made of walnut. IT IS BEAUTIFUL, and practical.

TL, there is an option to stay signed in on HMF. If it doesn't work for you, it must be your computer's settings preventing it. I have the opposite problem having to sign in to GW, but not HMF. I don't pay the favorites much mind unless there are quite a few. Some roses just aren't as popular for random reasons or just plain availability. I've gleaned a lot from the comments and people's gardens especially if they grow no-spray.