We tend to think of the age of plants in the same manner we think of age in humans or animals - chronologically. We, like plants, go through several life stages - embryonic, juvenile, adolescent (intermediate in plants), and mature, are stages roughly mirrored in plants. Where we vary greatly is in the way our cells age. In animals, body cells all mature at approximately the same speed. Plants grow by consecutive divisions of cells at the growing points (meristems), so their various parts are different ages. Chronologically, the tissues at and near the transition from roots to shoots will always be the oldest tissue, but ontogenetically, it will always be the youngest tissue and will retain its juvenile vigor. Which is why when we cut our shrubs back hard to force strong new growth it's called rejuvenation pruning. Vigor wanes as the distance between newly forming cells and the root to shoot transition increases. That is why the maximum height of trees and other upright plants is limited. If you're happy with the way a plant looks, by all means, enjoy it. If you're unhappy with its appearance, you can usually whack it back and start over - especially if the plant is reasonably healthy. Cutting it back hard both above & below ground can give a tired plant a new lease on life. Ideally, if you decide to cut the plant back hard, you would not prune the top back all the way at the same time you repot/root prune. Leave a good amount of foliage on the plant to make food for the newly forming roots that regenerate after the repot. In 2-3 weeks, after the plant has its feet back under it, finish pruning the top back as hard as you're comfortable with. Most growers are unnecessarily timid about pruning or manipulating the growth habits of their houseplants - afraid they'll die if they're relieved of a little mass. I was once the same, but some of the radical procedures I regularly perform on trees has taught me that plants in general are survivors. If they have a reasonable amount of stored energy, they will tolerate almost anything in the way of mechanical manipulation. Can you imagine a maple tree with a 1" thick trunk being split in half from the roots to the top of the plant, making 2 trees from one, and both surviving as though nothing had happened? If you think about it, that is less traumatic than severing a cutting from the parent plant and rooting it. At least the split in two maple had half of its roots. ;-) Al

MiaOKC - thanks for the tip. I will call tomorrow and check it out LazyGardens - likewise thanks for the lead, I will check it out too. Im so excited...hopefully they'll pan out. Gregmills - I'm in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area and I guess it IS a matter of geography because Ive run up against brick walls trying to get it. Down here everyone is going with the pre-stained or engineered floors, based on what the sales people/contractors tell me. It may be due to humidity concerns. I'm not worried though. As I mentioned in my original post, my house is from the 1940s. The original part sits on joists, a master bedroom addition from the 80s sits on concrete slab. Both have the hardwood and the floors are in awesome shape, no warping of any kind. I'm confident, with a properly installed subfloor, mine will be fine too. Ive tried to make sure my addition did not look like one so I desperately wanted to keep the floors consistent. . Thank you all for the leads. If anyone reading has more suggestions, I'll take 'em.

Nice house! I think that golden oak and brass fixtures will soon make a comeback, because dark wood and silver/stainless have been popular for so long. I don't think the peachy wall color in your house looks good with the oak, though, because it makes the oak look so yellow. Before you paint the trim and window blinds, try painting the walls. Our walls are a pale khaki/green, so light it reads as a neutral, and it looks great with warm wood tones. I've also seen nice warm grays look good with golden wood. On the other hand, as much as I love wood, I think the bookshelves look odd in that spot, mostly because they appear to be floating above the baseboard heater. I think that would be the best wall for the TV, so you may have to change the shelves to make that work, or move/remove some of them. Can the dining room be closed off completely, with a big arched doorway? With such open space in the other rooms, it might be nice to have a more intimate space for contrast, and to have less sound bouncing around when you talk and laugh at the dinner table. Can the ceiling in that room be lowered? If not, I do like the grill idea suggested above for the openings to the DR. Lastly, before you shop for furniture I would make many copies of a to-scale floor plan and try moving little paper pieces of furniture around to make sure you can make it work before you buy it.

There is more than one way to approach it. First, how soon do you see yourself doing the large, big ticket items like cabinets and floor? Is the electrical up to date? Does the floor plan layout work for you? Those are important answers. Doesn't make ANY sense to do cabinets if you have to open walls to redo plumbing and electrical later. If you plan to do it over a period of just a couple of years, three at the most, and you have recession proof jobs, I would replace appliances as they go with what you really want. If you can see it taking 5 years or more, styles and your preferences might change and you might want something different by then, get used appliances. If there is little change expected layout wise, you don't plan on adding on or that is not a realistic option, and you plan to keep the current layout, a floor is a little less risky than otherwise. In that case, though, I would still consider buying extra to put away, or, if you go with wood, go with site finished in something easy to get like Oak, maple or Cherry, knowing it will need refinishing later on to blend into new areas if there are any. I don't know what your current kitchen is like, but if the layout is fixed, I wouldn't live 5 or more years with cracking, loose tiles or orange 1970s vinyl flooring, for example. If needed you can go with something neutral like wood that can be stained light or dark later to match your new decor, or something inexpensive like peel and stick tiles that you can just pop up and replace without taking much of a financial hit when the time comes. If you have really bad cabinets, I would consider doing that first, even if it means going with Ikea and saving up until you can do that and buying the least expensive reliable used appliances for now in order to do it. If you have perfectly usable cabinets, you can easily wait on that. You have to decide which "big ticket" item you need the most desperately to make the kitchen functional and livable. There is almost certainly some rational way to do that first, whatever it is. I gave appliances away for free, a working range and dishwasher, so a couple of people out there don't have that to worry again about for a while, now. :) Let us know what the situation is and what you hope to do over how long and you will get much more useful advise.