I commented on this thread a while back when I was trying to decide between the silgranite white or a darker color. I really wanted white because I thought it'd be prettier but I was afraid of the potential staining problems. Well I went for it and got the silgranite super single sink in white from home depot online. Even though the pictures don't show it, I bought the matching grate as well. I think the grate is a good investment as it protects both the sink and your dishes if you happen to drop them. It's been about 7 months now and I'm still so happy with my choice. I haven't had any problems with staining. I am careful with it as I would be with any item that cost me $300+ but I don't feel it's extreme. I always rinse out the sink after I use it and do at least a weekly clean with a liquid soft scrub unless I've done a lot of cooking. I have a bunch of microfiber cloths I got from Amazon that I use to wipe off any water spray on the counters' edge by the sink. I am meticulous about this because I have very hard water. Overall I love this sink. It's functional and beautiful.

OMG, BEDBUGS!!! Well, they had a Hoarders show where they had to clean out the whole house because of infestation of those. The family lived in tents out in the yard, up in Massachusetts, and it was getting to be late September, with first frost coming around mid October. The house had to be cleared out so exterminators could tackle the problem. But Mart, I like BOTH tan chairs. Maybe you can get him to lower the price a little by buying both chairs. And PAINTING the fabric would be easier on the lighter colored chairs. I think you will discover everything dark is not a good idea. Keep the space evenly balanced. Naturally the loveseat is a good option for a smaller space. And by having two chairs alike, you open up more possibilities with arrangements in the future. Get them both. Don't sweat the color of the sofa or the chairs. You can get yourself some painter drop cloth canvas which is heavy duty and cheap, and then with a GLUE GUN and fabric glue sticks, can make some washable slip covers. Or just throw them over the furniture and pin them in place. The reason I have simple loose cushions on my living room furniture is so I can strip off the dirty covers and wash them easily. Two little dogs and parrots take a toll on furniture and tidiness! Such slip covers will look very casual and comfy and BEACHY most of the year. Lose them in the winter when dark colors is good. But I like the way your fireplace goes up up, quite modern. The pair of chairs facing it, even from across the room, is a classic setup. They will help direct traffic AROUND and not through the middle of the room. To combat the "dark hole" look of the wood blinds, I'd think about a swing arm drape on each window. The whole wall is so symmetrical that treating them as a single unit, one left one right, with the drapes tied back low left and right, would further call attention to the symmetry. The dark blinds would make it possible to keep down glare from the windows should you one day choose to mount your TV above the fireplace. Yeah, you can put a flat panel up there and build a sort of furniture box with folding doors to cover it when not in use, I suppose. But the box even if left open could give you a way to hide wires, you will also need a DVD unit there, or a cable box whatever. Unless you have what they are calling a MAN CAVE space. I think that is ridiculous term myself. What happened to COUCH POTATO? Oh well, that just slipped out. Sorry. :) Been watching DIY channel, and it is heavy with testosterone and a lot of hollering, not at all laid back, like being at boot camp.

nosoccermom, I would be happy to go with a large piece of artwork instead, but I thought because this area doesn't get as much natural light, a mirror would work. The sun that comes in the windows on the opposite side of the room could reflect off the mirror. My living area and dining area are open to each other. justgotabme, thanks for the ideas. If the frames on the mirrors are painted a color close to the buffet, it would tie in with the buffet and also the thingamajiggers on the mirrors themselves. tuesday, I think black on the frames would look good too. I think that would look even better than the brown. Yes, to the more substanial looking centerpiece. I will have to look for Trailrunners post. Thank you. Here's the view from the dining area into the living area where the windows are.

Rigid sheathing over the patch should do just fine. The height difference in the two floors isn't something you can help. If you feel that it is worth the effort and the price, you can ask him to stop and REMOVE the top layer of subfloor. Then ask him to REPLACE IT with NEW plywood. This will NOT change the roller-coaster waviness of the surface. That is inherent in the house. It will simply give you smooth "new" while keeping the two floor heights as close to even as possible. If the height variation upsets you, then you have two options: choose sheet material like sheet vinyl or sheet linoleum or rip out and rebuild the entire kitchen floor and *possibly the entire main level. My suspicion is the KITCHEN floor was raised to meet/match the other flooring. If that is the case, it is possible to remove the current plywood and then drop in slightly THINNER plywood. Again....this all hangs on the question as to whether or not the kitchen subfloor was raised to meet the other flooring. You are not allowed to go "too thin" with a subfloor. Most industry standards require (depending on where you live and how old the house is) TWO layers of subfloor that equal or exceed 3/4" total thickness. Sigh. It might be possible to drop the kitchen subfloor a snick. But the amount of money and effort it will take could be a deal breaker. It should have/would have been talked about BEFORE he started patching. And I mean WAAAAAAAY before he started patching. Like several WEEKS before he stepped on site. This would have been discussed because you would have CHOSEN your floor and discovered the difference and would have raised the possibility at the time. It's not too late...but then again you don't want to see his face after you tell him to rip out his work and start again...with new plywood, etc.