I love it. Can't wait to see it all pulled together.
I don't think I would've purchased that crane lamp, but I like quirky things and I really am drawn to it. I often see things in antique shops and pass on them, only to be thinking of them down the line.

You have put a lot of though into it, I think it will all look lovely when pulled together.

I may be no help, but just a quick note for now. I like it all! Love your DR chairs. Do you need a mantle at all?

Love your kitchen b/s and hope you are getting those wooden knobs, and it is not just a cabinet finish?

I like the crane lamp ... and I don't like red so that means i really like it.

I would never pick the figurine lamps, but given their history I totally agree to use them!! I always like when my eyes can alight upon something in someone's home that wasn't in that day's catalogue mail!

I like what you've put together and I think it's especially nice that you're pulling together pieces based on their meaning to you as a family. I'm sure it will feel so much more like a "home" than a house because of it.

I don't care for the crane lamp, even though I appreciate unique and quirky items. There's something about it that creeps me out. :)

Absolutely perfect. I really really like the lamp and it seems to fit perfectly with your inspiration board, dining room, and kitchen plans. I hope you'll share all three spaces when everything is finished.

You are doing a nice job of pulling it all together. I especially love your din table and all of the kit. I had wood knobs in my last kit and loved them. I did have a few extra stained and finished in case I ever needed them. 5 yrs and never did.

I really like it because you love it. I have always decorated for myself and my family and not what's "in". You know it's right when you walk in the room and smile when your look at your lamp.
btw-I love the painting and the chairs in your dining room

*Everything* is gorgeous, Grl! I really love your dining room. The painting looks great even unframed. Your table is a unique, one of a kind work of art. It's just ALL so nice! You have amazing, very personal, style. I had to re-read your kitchen description several times, but I think I'm pulling the details together in my mind's eye. The tile you selected is bee-u-ti-ful!

I was just thinking of you this morning when I saw on the e-mail list of jobs in my dh's profession an opening in AR. I thought, "Isn't AR Arkansas? But Grlwprls spelled it "AK" in her last post. I thought AK was Alaska." Sure enough, I clicked on the job & it is not in Little Rock, but another town in Arkansas. So it is AR, yes? LOL!

It's so fun to get to talk to people from all over the country here...places I'll never see. Your neck of the woods looks fetching, Grl. I'll surely never get to AR (hope I never need to venture to AK!)

Oh, and if is this the shelf that will be over your fireplace...Perfect.

Here is a link that might be useful: PB shelf

Thanks, everyone. My husband had that table commissioned for me when we lived in New Orleans. It's reclaimed barge board on the banding and cypress in the middle. It was made for a very narrow shotgun dining room we had in the Garden District, but it's made in appearance in two houses and one temporary apartment since then.

Eventually, the dining room will have plantation shutters on those tall windows to block the view of the neighbors' but to still let some light in. It was really the only solution in terms of both space and controlling the view.

Oddly, the color palette is a nod to where my husband did his residency and where we started dating (UVa). People were concerned that the colors - primarily navy and orange - would end up looking too sports team, but I don't think most people will immediately focus in on the two main colors.

The knobs in the kitchen are Pottery Barn's "equestrian" line. It's their Benchwright wood with cast iron. It's really lovely and it *blends* with the vintage finished cherry, but doesn't really match. None of our woods do, really. Our floors are oak stained Minwax's Ipswitch Pine. They're a bit orange-y but there's a lot of orange (planned) in the space so it tones them down.

And Stinky, I probably did put AK - mainly because my mother *always* puts it on our mail and then for some reason, I start second guessing myself about the postal abbreviation! We are really enjoying our time here in Little Rock because we have a lot more time together as a family. The change in my husband's schedule has been worth the price of admission (even with the ugly house next door).

That lamp is fantastic! I don't know if I like the shade with it, only because I can't see the pattern on the shade but it looks like it is another bird and an animal? If that wildlife is not consistent with the crane then I would not like the shade with the lamp.

And while I love the lamp on its own, I'd have to see it it in the room to know if it "works". I just love whimsical things, but I have difficulty integrating them properly...so I never use them!

It looks like you know what you are doing and your home will be quite an eclectic mix of who you are. PLEASE come back and share the finished rooms with us! This is different than anything I've seen on GW so far!

Love it all and love the fact that you are making your own personal things your art, and letting your story show through your things. Love the tile for your kitchen. Where in the world did you find that?

I found the tile doing a random search for honey onyx mosaics. It was $55/ sq ft so I was certain it was going to be a no-go since we needed 60 sq. ft. to do a euro style 'splash to the ceiling on the window wall of the kitchen. Months passed and the price wasn't budging. Then, I found 65 sq. ft. on eBay for $19 sq. ft.! I could not believe it. I peppered the seller with questions, took a chance and ordered it. It arrived and it's beautiful. There are some chipped pieces, but I've been slowly removing and replacing them. For $35 sq ft savings, I can whip out my glue gun!

Cindyloo, the wildlife on the shade are all birds: humming bird, peacock, pheasant, some other birds I can't identify...and Stinky, that is the shelf.

Grl, I enjoyed reading the additional details you shared. What fascinating, delightful tidbits about the table! (Thanks for telling me about the abbreviation story. I did wonder, lol!).

On a more personal note...I'm a Virginia native & and very impressed that your dh went to UVA (did you too?) What an outstanding university! (Mr. Jefferson's!) I assume your dh is a doctor? UVA's Medical Center is superb. My sis had major neuro-surgery there six years ago and she adored her doctors. They were absolutely wonderful. I have a very soft spot in my heart for the medical team at UVA.

I am so glad that you are finding your new town pleasant and your dh's work schedule is easier to live with. Seems this move was really meant to be. (Sorry to rattle on so!)

Back to decor- great deal on your tile purchase...I love it when things like that happen! I can't wait to see all your choices in place, Grl. It's going to be breathtaking!

Love all your selections...the kitchen stuff and the DR table especially.

But I don't think I could live with that bird eyeing me all the time for any length of time...

Six years ago, my husband was a neurology fellow at UVa, Stinky. He did a fellowship in epilepsy after his residency. I didn't go to UVa; I have a degree in American History (with a minor in African American studies) from ODU.

It's really an oddly small world!

I can't wait to see all my choices in place either. It was a real leap of faith to order so much new stuff, try to blend it with some well-loved old stuff, and hope it all works out. Going all out on the first floor means waiting a bit longer on the upstairs renovations, but I'm hopeful that the contractor doing our kitchen might be right for the upstairs project as well.

You and your husband are naturals at this, you can tell by the items you've chosen. I laughed when you said "ordinary lamp" really??? Love the entire place, you're doing soo good, can't wait to see the rest. I love Ebay, goes to show what perservation can do. Keep us posted please.

May I ask where you got the beautiful bird lampshade? Hoping its available online. Love it!

However, I think it's too much with the crane lamp. I find the lamp downright creepy as another poster said, but in any case I think the lamp takes away from the beauty of the shade. Same room would be fine, but not together. JMHO.

I might agree with Patty that the lamp and shade do not work together because they are competing. What color was your original shade? I think I would prefer a solid shade on that lamp.

I love the Crane lamp and everything else you've chosen. It's going to look great! BTW, just got back from dropping my son back up at UVA -- he's in his second year. I love Charlottesville!

The lampshade is from Anthropologie. There's also a deep plum one with swans.

I'm loving your stuff! I especially love your sweet ebay deal!! It takes patience when you really want to have something that's not in the budget. That tile will be beautiful! I love your rustic elements (table, knobs, mantle) too. The crane lamp is a fun addition, so I'd find a place for him. You've got to show pics when you finish more! Thanks!

Anthropologie! I should have known. Love their things!! Thanks.

I just want to comment on your paint color. We painted a windowless powder room Fresh Butter. It was an intense, egg-yolky yellow. I can only imagine how much brighter it would be in sunlight. We lived with it a few years and finally repainted it a softer, more grayed yellow, BM Simply Irresistible.

I love that backsplash tile - is that Ann Saks? What is the small piece of stone on top of the Corian sample?

I meant to post this a while back in your other post. In regards to not getting a variance for a higher fence. My old neighbor put a fence in higher than code. When the town tried to fine him he drove around town and wrote down the addresses of *every* fence in town that was higher than code. He told the town he would gladly pay after they fined every single one of the people on the list. They backed off because it would be way too much work. :-)

"Six years ago, my husband was a neurology fellow at UVa..." OMG, it *is* a small world! My sister's surgery was Easter of 2007, so not quite six years ago. She had a tumor removed that was so rare it hadn't been recorded in the registry since 1969. A 12 hr. long procedure, & they did a marvelous job!

I'm a graduate of ODU too! (Sociology/Psychology) Did you happen to see the VP debate last night? CNN's "undecided voter" focus group was at ODU!

(Poor Grl, she just wanted feedback about her inspiration board, for crying out loud!)

Again, I can't wait to see your finished results. Your selections are amazing & gorgeous.

I love everything in your dining room- the table is amazing, the chairs look elegant and comfy, the room itself definitely has "this is it" written all over it. Your kitchen choices are gorgeous. Subway tiles and brushed nickle fixtures are a nice look, but your choices of backsplash tile and hardware will make a warm, unique space. I really like everything!
Except- The crane-or-heron lamp. I love herons and I love brass, but that lamp doesn't show the natural elegance and beauty of the bird. The lampshade around it's neck reminds me of old joke pictures of people dressed with a barrel around their middle. A nice lampshade doesn't make it look any better. I like the concept, but google "brass crane lamp" or "brass heron lamp" and you might find better choices.

The backsplash tile...is some sort of off brand. Really. But it's quite lovely. I like the sunflower marbles that are popping up over on Kitchens, but I did ming green three houses ago, and I don't want grey marble, so I went with this floral honey/pineapple onyx. The little stone on the Corian is just a loose "petal" - I just find it easier to throw in my samples notebook than the big sheet of tile.

As to the Fresh Butter - our kitchen has a lot of windows, but because of the way the house is sited on the lot and because of the new house next door, we don't get as much light as you'd think. The walls in the entire first floor are Sherwin Williams Creamy with SW Pure White trim. When I first sampled the Fresh Butter we had Martha Stewart's Westport Tan (the PO's choice) everywhere. The FB looked good then - now I think it looks a bit washed out for the cabinets. I might move down my current strip or possibly over a strip to Vellum. I need a "gold-er" yellow to ground the painted cabinets. The Fresh Butter, without a glaze, is just too airy in the new LRV of the Creamy wall paint.

I think it will be a good while until I master my accessorizing, but I think the main components should be in by Christmas - including the kitchen facelift. We are studiously eating our way through the pantry so as to have to pack less cans of beans and whatnots for while we have no kitchen.

i will keep looking for a crane lamp. I managed to score a brass Ralph Lauren Yvonne table lamp for a song on One King's Lane on Thursday. That will be on the table between the two spool chairs.

Stinky, Easter 2007 was right before we left Virginia for New Orleans; we got married in late spring of that year (mid June) and then moved in July. Chris was working almost all the time then it seemed!

That's so interesting, Grl! (ODU girl!) When my sister had her surgery I was staying at the hotel on the main street in town...is it Main St.? The Holiday Inn maybe? Anyway, morning after her surgery, I went to the Sunday Easter service at the hospital chapel, (which was very moving and special), then went to see sis, & a resident was checking on her. I have to wonder if that could have been your husband!(Btw, sis's husband is a doctor who works in Newport News...he delivers babies!). Your dh sounds like he must be brilliant and very, very hard-working.

You impress the same way, for that matter, Grl. You certainly show a real talent for remodeling and decorating through this project. You are gifted with an artist's eye, lots of great ideas, and loads of energy!

I wish you all the best with your plans and dreams, Grl. Your dh is doing wonderful work, and your efforts to create a beautiful home and "retreat," surely are helpful to, and appreciated by, your husband.

Ah, well, I delivered my daughter in Newport News. My father is an attorney there, and my husband almost took a position with a practice affiliated with Riverside Hospital, but then we decided to strike out on our own and do something crazy :-)

I really, really love this house in Little Rock - and considering that I've basically renovated a house from scratch with everything and every finish my heart desired- this place feels the most like home to me. I'm not sure why, but I am prepared to run with it.

And now that they've put the siding on the house next door - it's pale grey - coupled with their pale grey galvalume roof, it's just sort of blending into the background. I found a "rock guy" who will either raise my rock wall ($$$) or build pillars that I can install privacy fence panels inside of ($$) along the property line. I'm just not sure how to tie in the fence and gate to the lower garden in either scenario. That's going to have to wait until spring.

"...this place feels the most like home to me. I'm not sure why, but I am prepared to run with it."

That's wonderful!

(Also..."Wow!" on the additional "it's a small world" tidbits, Grl! My brother-in-law works at Riverside, btw!)