Thanks, folks! I would love to do reclaimed floors. Unfortunately, they have been impossible to find here in the right size, and having them brought in from elsewhere would completely blow the budget at this point. We tried very hard to save the kitchen flooring so we could at least use part of it, but it was in horrible shape. I am going to keep my eyes open and see if I find anything for reclaimed wood. The floors were not stained when we refinished them, and they have never been waxed. (Except if kittens sliding across it on dropcloths count! When we were doing some plaster repair, Oliver and his brother, Toby, would jump from the stairs and slide across the room.) So I guess it could be either Douglas or Southern yellow pine. Does the fact the house is in Massachusetts make a difference? We got samples of Mercier pre-finished hardwood flooring, and the closest matches were in their honey finish: white ash, then white oak, then maybe red oak, then hard maple (for color, not at all a match for graining.) So unless something comes up for reclaimed flooring in the next two weeks, we will be using the white ash. Thanks again, Emmie

On a contemporary counter-height seating area, I ran flooring up the back of the peninsula (under the overhanging counter) in the same direction it was running on the floor. However, it was bracketed by some drywall on each end because of the design, not on an island where you could see it compared to the cabinet finish. The contractor did not want to do it because he said it was weird, but he liked the way it turned out. (But I am not sure I would like it in direct contact with the cabinet finishes at the corners).

Let me offer up an alternative. I live in the Pacific NW, so cedar is commonly available, but the quality has declined because much of the reasonably priced stuff is now from fast-growing tree plantations and is not as rot resistant. I have a large number of 12" high raised beds, and I considered making them from cedar, but didn't want to rebuild every several years. After thinking this over, I decided to go with "composite lumber," specifically Trex. It's a wood-resin product that is highly rot resistant, and the first beds I made out of it are 7-8 years old and show no signs of deterioration. Most of my beds are about 4' X 8' and 11" high, and are held together with coated, exterior deck screws. The material comes in a variety of wood-like colors, and is an actual 1" thick X 5-1/2" high, so to get the height I want edI used it two planks high. It has a bit more flex to it than equivalently dimensioned wood, so I simply ripped some 2-1/2" strips from a plank of it and used them as cross bracing: I mounted them transversely at the midpoint of the 8' sides, and halfway up so that they span the seam where the two lengths butt against one another. This prevents bowing of the sides, and also keeps the two boards on the long sides perfectly aligned. So, for a 4' X 8' raised bed, the structure consists of two 4' X 4' sections, but the cross bracing is hidden by the dirt. The thing I like besides the fact that the material is very rot resistant is that it never warps. It also comes in lengths up to 20' and right now I am actually making some 5-1/2" high by 2' X 20' raised tomato beds, with cross bracing about every 4'. The best price I've found on these boards is about $2.50 a running foot, so they are more expensive than wood...but never having to buy materials again or needing to build them again in the future makes it economical in the long run. If you decide to go this route, be aware that there are several board designs: some have a wavy back and some have slits in the edges for concealed fasteners when you use them for decking, and some are just a plain board shape, which is what I use; they look like this: Trex composite decking The other thing is that you can special order these in 1" X 12", which I didn't know when I built mine years ago. The obvious advantage is that construction would be easier because you wouldn't have to stack two of them to get a 11-12" height.

Virgil, we plan to have drywall throughout the house. Might do paneling for some accent walls. Some of the windows and doors will be vertical grain douglas fir. I was asking if the windows and doors should get the same stain as the ceiling. I suppose the trim should be done in a similar fashion as well. seabornman, leaving the fir natural is definitely an option we want to consider, but I am not sure what is the actual natural color. I have been trying to find some pictures online, but there seems to be quite a bit of variation. If we did the semi transparent stain on the ceiling as Virgil suggested, I am assuming the natural finish on the windows and doors will be lighter.