I am amazed of the responses that I have gotten. I noticed that a lot of people have doubts about me completing this project. I feel like if you don't have goals, then of course you can never expect to complete anything especially on time. Of course I have a time of 6 months, but if it is not finished then oh well. But I do have a goal. We have subs and back up subs in case something goes wrong. My Father In Law is a GC so he is assisting us with this project if needed - He is the over watching this project double checking everything. As far as size wise, we have finalized everything at this point and we will not be making any changes. We have came in under budget so that is good and we have allowed about $30K for price increases and little things that may happen such sub changes. I have what I call a low/med/high bid for everything. We have opted to go with the med, but if something happens we are prepared to make the changes as necessary. As far as increasing the space later, it probably will not happen, I am not really one to move walls and add on to things. I think someone above mentioned do I have a binder - yes, I do - I am very organized. I am not going into this blind sided, I expect things to happen. But thanks for the advice. All of my bids/subs are ready. We are getting some bids on some finish work things. Things that we can do, but it is easier to pay someone.

Iceanna, I drooled over those fireplace surrounds in the gallery - breath-taking antiques. Franksmom and Kswl - I do not want to hang those portraits over the fireplace. The fireplace is gas and emits a lot of heat - and a lot of it goes up (ask the poor fresh wreath I hung over the fireplace this Christmas). The woman is my grandmother and probably is 115 years old. I am afraid of the heat. Kswl - there are only two chairs upholstered the same - the two flanking the fireplace. I gave a lot of thought to comments here - a lot - and then DH decided to go shopping with me on Friday. He very rarely goes as he figures everything is a matter of opinion - and he couldn't figure out why I wanted to replace the piece currently there. Anyway - off we went in the snow. I looked at a lot of prints and saw this one. Were the colors good? Yes, perfect. More importantly, did it reflect me. I looked at the scene and immediately thought old, calm, serene, could almost see people walking up the street in days gone by. Life is more than intense right now and I am going for quiet at home! So we bought it knowing we could return it -but alone it seemed to small. We trooped through a few more stores and started looking at scones. He liked these as they mimic the fireplace surround which we do love. We came home and I told him I was going to wait until my DILs came today - he told me he liked it and "just hang it" - so we did. I do like it. Is it forever? Probably not. Will I always keep looking? Yes, but I do like it. The sconces look amazing lit (am going to look for battery-operated candles). So for now, I like it and certainly better than the purple print, which now has a new home. I don't know how the colors are going to come through but here goes: For years I have been wanting to take the ugly mirrors off my dresser - the picture is perfect - picks up the colors in the comforter: I still need to "dress" the dresser ---

Sidnee, I have some advice or at least something to keep in mind for future reference. Unless you bought the fat quarter bundles at a very good sale price, you can ~usually~ do better, price-wise, by purchasing a half yard (=2 fat quarters) or a full yard (=4 fat quarters), etc. Now I will admit that I am a sucker for fat quarters & have quite a stash of them, but sometimes (when I am "thinking") I follow my own advice, LOL, & when the urge to buy a fat quarter hits, I will often get a 1/2 yd instead. But of course sometimes a person really only wants a small amount of a particular color/print, so just buying a fat quarter is all you need or want. Looking at fat quarter bundles gives you a good idea of how to mix or pick out the colors that appeal to you, before you proceed to the bolts of fabric. Good luck with your project & glad to hear you are going forward with it!

Thanks all, for the welcome and the wonderful suggestions. I'll check out the site mentioned to find the 3/8" tile. Due to the time constraints, I don't want to cut the tiles myself. If they're precut, do they still need to be tumbled? I was thinking that my adult helpers and I would do all the outlining of each section and start any patterns so that the kids could just follow along and each section would be clearly defined for them. Does anyone have any suggestions for a simpler pattern along the same lines, or recommended reading for me? Thanks so much. I'm getting excited about doing this project after reading the forum postings and seeing all the beautiful work that's out there!