Thanks Terpguy, I was hassitant because I heard phyton 27 should not be used on dens. And I don't really have mch luck with them so I didn't want to put the balance on the half that I am already killing them. LOL. Velleta.

I think it looked beautiful in her re-do, and not at all bathroom-y. I have a gas FP, but I would think if the fireplace is constructed correctly, the draw would pull the smoke up the chimney and not stain the surround. I have to say that the first pic above posted my nosoccermom makes my heart beat faster! Just gorgeous in that setting. And peppapoodle's light soapstone is also beautiful.

Be VERY careful with Carrera marble from any big box stores. One cannot choose ones tiles - they come by the box and it's not unusual for half or more of a box to be tiles that don't match. And no, they cannot be returned! I had very good luck with consistent color with my Carrera marble large subway tiles I bought from https://www.carraratiles.com. They were very easy to work with, knew what color their tiles were coming in (white/more gray) and actually assigned them a dye lot number. Mine came in uniformly white and my tile setter said he never had to even look in the boxes and select a "good one" - he just took them out as they came, they were so even. None of that "order 20% more for color matching" nonsense.

find some oak plank flooring and stain them in the same color. you could prob get away with one box (don't know your sq footage). do a raw, oak engineered wood plank flooring. this one is pretty cheap, 6" wide, natural finish. https://www.builddirect.com/p/Jasper-Engineered-Hardwood-Phoneix-Collection--15269375 or something prefinished, closest to whatever color you're going to do. https://www.builddirect.com/p/Vanier-Engineered-Hardwood-Artisan-Brushed-Oak-Collection--15263343 but you can shop around. just get your measurements and know that you'll have to get a trim piece or something to run along the edges. for that you can use a solid piece of oak and have it cut to fit. I know it seems like it's a lot of work, but it really isn't that difficult (or expensive if you learn how to do it). that's why I mentioned to watch some good tutorials. they'll explain everything. This video shows how she removed the particle board stair treads and redid the steps. ***make sure you maintain the proper step-riser measurements according to your code. if replacing the current tread, you must maintain the same height w/the new one*** (the video addresses this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP8S1DnriIU another way to redo the stairs is to do the same engineered hardwood flooring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8qj3js1rUw