em4112's Profile

We have strand woven bamboo and love it. We live in a small city, and there were very few good bamboo options in town. Bamboo options were either crappy or way too expensive. We ended up ordering samples of strand woven bamboo from several online distributers. We went with Ambient but also really liked Yanchi and Cali. Ours is a medium brown (honey) that is hand scraped. It shows some dirt but hides pet fur well. Both light and dark wood (and bamboo) are going to show dirt. Our contractor said that shiny floors are the worst for showing dirt-- maybe it's more that than light or dark. I'd rather see the dirt though than have nasty carpeting. I don't think it's any worse than tile.

The couch is absolutely hideous. I disagree with those who say sell it though. I generally think that it is a better idea to use what you have until you are in a position to buy exactly what you want than to keep buying cheap furniture that you don't really like. In the long run, you end up saving money. It sounds like that it where you and your partner are anyway.

It's hard to tell exactly what color the couch is. If it is the color that I think it is (and judging from your other stuff), I would get square light blue and white pillows (maybe these from Z Gallerie: http://www.zgallerie.com/pc-8803-7-labyrinth-pillow-french-blue-20.aspx). I would also get a nice throw blanket to keep folded on top, which will cover part of the ugly couch. I think this blanket would be a good option: http://www.zgallerie.com/pc-6787-9-lazo-throw-azure.aspx

Good luck!

I use my wonderful Le Creuset dutch oven for pot roast. I love this recipe of Tyler Florence: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pot-roast-with-vegetables-recipe/index.html