Hi Mica!! Sorry, but I could not sign in. Call the telephone number that I gave you. I also called them today. They do have the subway tile in. They said that they could mail it to you. Also, I agree with the last lady re: your windows... Have that area blown out and you could put floor to ceiling windows with white panes in the glass if you want to. You could also add a set of French doors. This, in my opinion would be absolutely stunning...and open the dark space...let me know if I can help you in any other way!! I don't work for Direct Buy but if you are planning to do a lot of renovating, You will save thousands of dollars buying from them. Look into it Mica!! Take care and can't wait to see the choices that you made. Yes, as many of us said, live in your space for a while, but you'll want to get the messy stuff done first....but that long rectangular window should really go...this will also increase the value of your home!! All the best Mica, Susan

I would choose a top loader any day. I've had both, and I can tell you, there's nothing like good old traditional design. In my personal experience, the front loaders are not worth the money they cost, they are much heavier and harder to move and they have to be cleaned often. A big problem with front loading washers is mold and mildew buildup, due to lack of proper ventilation. Meaning, there isn't enough airflow to allow them to fully dry, and this is because of their design. What will happen is it will cause your clothes to smell like mildew. I was able to control this using white distilled vinegar, and cleaning it constantly. A top loading washer is just so much simpler. I definitely prefer the stainless steel tub. I like the ones without the agitator because it allows for more room and makes it easier to wash larger items such as comforters. Ultimately, it is a personal preference. I just know that my first experience with a front loading washer wasn't all that spectacular. Hope this has helped.

What dilemma, JLoleary! It doesn't really matter 3 years after your original post, but since there are over 700 threads on "quarter round", I suspect there are tons of people out there agonizing over the same dilemma. I trust that with both in your house, you have come to prefer one over the other, for good reason. One reason they didn't use quarter rounds back in 1870's may be because they dind't make them or if they did, why would a carpenter put a molding on a molding if the first one did its job? Today it is done as a norm because the drywall trade has the baseboard molding in his contract (why in the world that is so baffles me to no end), the flooring trade is often the last one to come in (so other trades don't damage his installation) and now there is a gap between the baseboard trim and the hardwood floor. Thus the quarter round. But now our contracting norm creates all kinds of confusion for those of us who just love those beautiful lines and curves of the molding! Actually, I believe there is a rather simple way out of it. Not a yes or no answer, but a process by which a satisfactory answer can be derived. There are two truly great American architects whom I admire, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis I. Kahn. Both classists (and modernists), yet their styles are as different as night and day, with whom internal construction logic and external beauty are never divorced. Properly done, the one necessarily leads to the other. Traditionally, molding or trim is a practical way to conceal a construction joint between 2 surfaces that meet at 90-degree angle. Craftsmen, not being merely tradesmen, who took pride in their work not just trying to save time or increase their profit, and owners seeking magnificence in their homes, elevated it beyond functionality to beauty. Thus we have arguments based on the function of concealing a gap OR personal preference. The problem with preference as a reference is that only the owner's opinion matters in which case no second opinion matters, yet it may change from time to time (put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off). This is also why you are not sure whether you like it or not. Subjective emotions change, all the time. Pity if life & death, good or evil depend on such precariousness! Shakespear famously said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I would only add, in the extreme cases. If beauty isn't objectively and commonly recognized, good-looking people won't monopolize our screens, Apple won't be the richest corporation in the world. Appealing to common practice, though a valid reference point, is ultimately futile. Statistics is never adequate to settle questions of aesthetics or convention. Your house is, after all, yours and yours alone. Now, without demeaning those who expressed their preferences because you asked, there is a real arrogance in my saying "yes" or "no" based purely on what I like. I mean, who am I, why should you or anyone care about my opinion? A better way is to look at the nature of the detail & construction logic. For instance, consider how you can or CANNOT terminate the quarter-round at an opening in the wall. Usually, there is a trim/molding around the door or a cased opening. Now, what happens when that quarter round which protrudes from the vertical face of the 6" or 8" base molding hits the opening's vertical trim? If it's done intentionally as an aesthetic expression, it will be resolved, you will never see an exposed flat section of a quarter round or shoe mold. But more likely than not, since rarely is someone truly obsessed with the trivium of Firmatis (durability), Utilitas (functionality) and Venustatis (aesthetics), most likely "what I like or don't like" which is entirely arbitrary like much of modern art or modern music (nonsense), the quarter round is NEVER resolved at such interruptions (because 3-dimensionally that's very difficult to achieve with such a tiny piece of wood), revealing the folly of the situation. If one's concern is personal aesthetic pleasure, men will check women out between the thigh and the eyes, they wouldn't care about the feet or hair, but most women are concerned about their beauty from head to toe, the totality. For another, take a close look at the nail holes on the quarter round, there is simply no good or simple way to anchor through a curved surface. Do you shoot the nail through into the baseboard trim or the flooring, or somewhere in between and hope that it catches? If one doesn't care, that says something, doesn't it? In the not so biopic but tremendously entertaining film Steve Jobs, an engineer countered Jobs' inquiry as to why the wires are so messy, "But nobody will ever see it!" Job's response, "But I do!" and fired the guy on the spot. Jobs was obsessed with design details & their elegance and the result is history. Beauty is organic and has integrity, it's not skin deep like cosmetics, which is mostly about fabricating an image thus vanity, using materials that are harmful to the skin, hair, lips, teeth, eyes. If the work, craft, art is done with excellence, as it should be, one may say, "I don't like the way it looks and I wouldn't have done it if it were my kitchen, but boy, is it intelligently designed, expertly executed and magnificent beyond words. But it's not for me." Therein lies the difference between loving truth and beauty, vs thinking of oneself as the arbitrator of truth & beauty. Truth, goodness & beauty exist objectively in our moral universe, regardless of my subjective preferences. They can, and in MNSHO, do apply to molding details. In my view, quarter round or no quarter round isn't important, if it's just a matter of personal preference. But what is important is how one arrives at that decision. This was why when I walked into the library at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, I was floored and went through the building photographing every single detail, same at my hotel room at Grand Elysee in Hamburg, Germany. I knew I was beholding intelligent design, experiencing the creation of an incredibly glorious being, like how you feel when you listen to Bach or Tchaikovsky. (Sorry about the long sermon, I trust it finds you happy and content in your beautiful dwelling.)

Most dramatic would be NO FURNITURE and GREAT ART in niche! The dark floor and finish out is very nice Light fixtures are okay but, at least there are light fixtures there to emphasize niche and that is good! Easy to dial up quality of a fixture item like that if you choose. As a matter of fact a fixture that can be manipulated to spot light art in niche would be optimal. Hire a professional to advise you if you are not comfortable buying "real" art or go to a local trusted gallery. Go to a local college or artist collective to get good input and information. A good piece of art that you like will reward your spirit over and over again and be worth every dollar you spend. Visit a "Crafts fair" in your area with a good reputation. There is so much incredible talent out there producing "affordable work" that I don't know why more people are not art lovers! www.etsy.com Art in niche does not have to a painting....it can be a wall sculpture, mixed media, ceramics, weaving etc.... It truly is a perfect spot for a special piece. You will find it a conversation piece too, and so always always fun to talk about why we are drawn to certain types of art and crafts when we have visitors. This is a great opportunity. Don't miss it! Visit www.artfulhome.com which could be overwhelming or not. Write to me too. I will get you going in right direction! I know this is an old posting but, I am responding because, it is something that hits a deep chord with me! Thanks for your consideration.