Sorry for being late to the game here... As to the toe plate, this sort of thing is pretty subjective... I often have strong feelings about these things too, though.
Everybody has different ideas of what they are trying to accomplish. People see these things from very different perspectives.
My personal preference is to base design at least in some small degree to some historical precedent. As people so often say, it's important to study original work. At least in my view... Having this approach, it becomes pretty obvious when someone has less regard for original pieces.
When designs have at least a little historical footing, they seem to turn out much better in my view. These designs can be expanded on, made more elaborate, etc. and be magnificent. But it's still important to keep a certain flavor.
So, as to this project, I think it could be made dead plain and be really nice. On the other hand, if the right sort of design details were used, it could probably be made much more elaborate and be fantastic.
Your project is looking great, Kingsburyarms! Looks like it's about wrapped up. Thanks for sharing.
Jim
