I'm a huge fan of mid century modern. Congratulations on your house! Research the other homes by this architect - there may be an online fan club. Start decorating with a colour scheme that encorporates your tile & fireplace. Then choose modern sofas in light colours, and a few classic modern chairs that create a 'wow' feeling whenever you look at them. You can update with contemporary graphic pillows, start shopping in vintage stores for mid century collectibles, and buy art you love. No window coverings are required, but you could get large graphic patterned side panels to cope with echo problems. Large area rugs would help too, because you have a lot of hard surfaces. And rugs will create an area to group your furniture around, away from the walls. Is that a long window seat to cushion and add pillows, or is it a heating radiator? A high bar & stools would be fun in the walled corner of the bigger room. The smaller room would be perfect for comfy sofas, for intimate coversations at parties, or hanging out Saturday mornings with coffee and a paper. Lights can be vintage, or a contemporary interpretation of mid century. Just keep the good bones of the architecture, and you can combine modern with contemporary. This pic on houzz is inspiring! A tight colour scheme, well chosen pieces, and a good furniture plan. [houzz=]

I have had three ant invasions, fortunately tiny ones, over the last ten years. (I became fanatical after the last one and haven't had one in more than 3-4 years now.) There are two parts to my success: Part 1: Dawn dishwashing liquid, the blue one. That kills them instantly and also wipes out their scent trails. I wet down paper towels, put the dishwashing liquid on them and placed them on the trail. I also just poured the liquid directly on them and around the food they were after. It took a few days before they were never seen again. Part 2: Fanatical, absolutely fanatical, no-exceptions-whatsoever rules were put in place. Everything must be in canning jars, locking storage, the refrigerator or freezer. Cats are fed in their glass pie plates but the food, both soft and hard, stays down only for a limited period of time. This means I am feeding them more often, several times a day plus I always wipe the floor around the bowls with either soap and water or vinegar to catch any fallen bits of food. The water bowl is changed out daily but without food to attract the ants it seems to be left alone. Human food or drink, including water, is not allowed anywhere except in the kitchen or dining room. This includes bottled water if guests bring any. Some of these measures may seem extreme but they're not, really. And I am completely free of ants.

Who is this question aimed at? The design dilemma forum is mostly a design discussion forum of users, not employees of houzz. If you want them to see this, check out the Using Houzz forum. Most posts like this on the design dilemma forum go unanswered.

Dal tile and American Olean mass produce the tile so sourcing from these types of manufacturers will give you a more uniform look. Sourcing from Ann Sacks or other artisan type handmade tile will have more variance between tiles but this gives a more antiqued look. It all depends on your budget and the look you want. I have gotten some batches of subway tile from Dal Tile before that have quite a warp to them but for the most part the stuff at Home Depot/Lowes gives you the look you want at a reasonable price. The main problem I have at Home Depot or Lowes is sourcing enough material from the same dye lot for a large job. If it's a small project big box stores are OK, if it's a large project, work with your local tilesetter or local flooring company because you will have more professional service and that will save you headaches later.