You can always go to a flooring store to just look at wood samples in various colors and get started there, so you have an idea in mind of what color you are going for. Then it will be up to the flooring guy and the staining guy to get as close to that color as they can to what you have in mind. I started with the flooring first (which wasn't stained as it's vinyl) which gave me a lot to work with as there is a lot of variation in the flooring color, and then I ended up picking out the stain for the kitchen cabinets to blend with the flooring color, and I liked it so much that we used the same stain for the stained woodwork, including the handrail. Don't push your desires aside and then get angry or wait too long and be miserable. That is not the best way to get what you want. Rather, learn to be calm assertive....so they can either explain to you why what you want isn't going to work and it explain it to your satisfaction....or if they can't, insist that you want it done your way. You are footing the bill and you have to live with the choices that are made...they don't. They have other objectives. I remember when dealing with the trades, it was difficult as they each would insist on something but they'd be conflicting. It was because each trade saw it from their perspective and their ability to get their part of the job done in the easiest way. But I had to make sure I got MY way as I had to live with the result...they didn't.

Are you asking about the process of how they were designed? I was really most interested in the physical installation, and your pictures made perfect sense. These are inoperable windows, right? So they're more simple than, say, double hung windows, which include mechanisms for opening /closing. You were in complete control of what size windows you installed, right? I assume they're just a standard size? On top of the glass my handyman installed wood pieces to "frame" around the glass and make it look like it's part of the window frame. This "frame" then covered over the second lip (yellow arrow). I'm not sure it the glass was epoxied or siliconed in, but I do know the wood was nailed into the side frames so none of the glass window was compromised. So you could remove the wood /remove the stained glass ... say, if you wanted to move the decorative glass to a different location, or if your exterior window were broken? One concern I have ... and maybe it's dumb. One of my fellow teachers got into BIG TROUBLE over a window a few years ago: His cheap plastic blinds were broken, and his window faces the hot-hot west. His room was roasting and his afternoon students were complaining about the glare, so -- with no help in sight from maintenance -- he took several huge pieces of thick off-the-roll bulletin board paper, and he blocked off the window, sealing it with tape on all four sides. Unfortunately, he chose black paper. A few days later his class heard a boom ... gunshot? fireworks? car backfiring? No. It was his window breaking. He had inadvertently created a greenhouse (the windows are deep set ... you can sit in them) ... and the heat built up to the point that one of his windows broke. He was in BIG TROUBLE for breaking the window and for blocking off his class' emergency exit. So, my concern ... by placing glass-over-glass, you couldn't be setting yourself up for the same situation, could you? I think no. I think the stained glass wouldn't be caulked in /it wouldn't be tight /the wood would allow for expansion or ventilation. Did this topic ever come up with either the artist who made the glass or the handiman who installed it? I'd hate to think that such a lovely (and I'm sure expensive) item could break. In this case, I wouldn't think the exterior window could break ... not from heat. He mostly designed the gingko leaf kitchen window and I made some small changes in terms of scale and placement of the center gingko leaf. That is my favorite! I've visited two stained glass places ... one focuses mainly on doors, and the door to their shop is absolutely gorgeous: Dark wood door with a full-length glass oval ... in the oval, a pink dogwood tree in full bloom. Coupled with pier glass and overhead transom ... also with dogwoods. Note: I love dogwoods. I just had to stand on the porch a while. It was the most gorgeous piece of stained glass I'd ever seen. I wish I'd asked the price, but I strongly suspect I wouldn't be willing to pay it. Nope, dumb me, I just talked about cabinet insets. Thanks for this information.

I have concrete floors w/radiant heat in the kitchen/dining room, not stained, just a sealer applied. I also have dark acid stained floors in the living room with radiant heat, a passive solar house- in the winter sun light comes in 23'. The acid stain has held up 15 yrs, but now showing some effects of the UV rays, color is definitely lighter where the sun left it's mark. The unstained kitchen has held consistent color (same sun exposure) and just now requires resealing. My wish is we had not acid stained the LR. Best guess is it will hold color another 3+years before an intervention..... & no clue how/what that will entail. My kitchen, however, is good to go, the gray patina improves with age, (& a lot of imperfections ) ,still looks good from kids, dogs, NY winters & a ton of traffic. Paint is not a good choice for longevity. Acid staining is the only way to go (it penetrates the surface) but it is a mess to deal with- prep work to protect walls/trim, wash down (with lots of water), foot booties, safety glasses, gloves, face masks & the result is a 'live with what you got' situation. Good luck.

I like something a bit warmer in a basement so I have dri-core with vinyl plank on top. You can do some pretty industrial looking vinyl floors like Manhattan from Mannington if you want that look.I have used it in a couple of clients homes and it is quite nice looking.