This will be difficult to decide, I don't want to have to worry about leaks like the first person who replied said, but I also don't want to worry about burning out the motor if it runs dry. I also don't want to have to refill it with a hose more than a couple times per month in case I forget to turn it off before leaving town for a couple of weeks. Now I'm a bit more inclined to go with the autofill and take my chances that it may leak someday. The water flow rate should be too low to have any concern for it flooding the patio since the faucet feeding the line should only need to be opened a crack to provide enough water to cope with evaporation. Maybe there is a way to set the base so that it will be obvious if it develops a leak.

Having lived in rural areas for most of my life, water quality is high on my concern list. As a child, our farm well water was the best IMO. The last 30 years, have been surrounded by folks who use excess pesticides, fertilizers and at times, even dump old motor oil in fence rows. Nearly all rural wells are contaminated with chemicals usual water tests do not detect. In one area, no infants were to have the water in formula due to all the excess agricultural fertilizer in the water. Currently, we invested in a filter(whole house) and distillation (for food prep and drinking), system for our city water source. We are shocked at the debris picked up by the filter. Before we installed this system, our skin was constantly itchy and excessively dry despite natural lotions. The water smelled like an open chlorax jug at times. No more. When we travel locally, we take our own water in SS mugs or glass jars. Have heard of some scientists who now suggest double distilled water for all drinking and cooking. Quite interesting that most breweries use complex water filtration systems to maintain quality. Wonder how soon safe water will cost more than gasoline? cella jane

The handle on the DW does not look out of place- it looks like a bar - 13 inches long. So it isn't pretending to be a handle- but an appliance pull. I found it better to consider my DW an appliance with a panel rather than to try to make it look like a cabinet door. The panel makes it blend in with the cabinets visually. The bar is handy and I can hang a nice towel on it to dry my hands after using the sink. I would advise anyone to do this. As far as painting the knobs- I will expect my painter to do this. They did some carpentry (which they still haven't completed!) and have to do some touch-ups. The same painter is doing repairs and replacing my front porch (20 years old) and painting the exterior of my house. They are working slow as molasses and you can be sure they will not get paid until the knobs are painted. This is a long tale of woe, but not for this thread.

Egad, again, I managed to put my foot in my mouth and "annoy" someone.... What I really meant to imply was NOT that GWer's do not have "expensive" kitchens.... What I wanted to convey was that if one is worth hundreds of millions AND has homes that are worth tens of millions, one does not often do one's own shopping.... Peacock kitchens are bought by people that have homes that are worth many or tens of mil. They "hire" the people to execute what they want. Seattle is full of these people (but not even remotely close to the number in NY). There are many companies that cater to these wealthy people. You should be able to find someone that should click with you. Igloochic, If you want to embark on a project that is less hands-on, the most imporant part of the work is to find a designer/architect that you trust. Many of my friends/colleagues builds houses/remodels with architects/designers without being very hands on. They end up with very beautiful kitchens/houses. The way they go about it was to have the architects/designers present them with a "few" options on much of the finish work and they just "picked" from those options; door handles, cabinets, appliances etc. Obviously, if they felt strongly about something, then that stays in the design. Sometimes, they go shopping for what they want with the designers. Often, they don't worry if the project cost them 50k or 100k or 200k more than what they thought that it would cost. They just pay the bill and move on. If you are comfortable with this type of arrangement, then you can build with much less hands-on involvement, leaving you time to get on with life. Money can give you the luxury of time if you don't care whether or not you spent 100k more than you needed/planned or not because having someone take care of the details were worth it to you. The end product can be and often are quite well done, "IF" you pick the right architect/designer. To do this, you have to trust the person you are working with AND let them do the work for you. This is not necessarily something that "control freaks" like me can let happen. As I am getting older and my budget is getting "more" comfortable, I am tyring to figure out a good balance of when to call in the calvary and when to trust my own design sense. There is an amazing designer/artist that works near where I live. His projects are all over US. He has been written up in many art magazines. Rococogurl may find his work intriguing. I WISH I could afford to have his work. But at 20k for a simple couch, mere mortals cannot afford his work. http://domesticarchitecture.com/ I asked one of my friends who spent probably about 2mil for their remodel, if she talked to him. It is the type of architecture that would interest her. She said even she could not afford him. What I am trying to say is that like everything else in life, there are people working at many different price points. Design/architecture is no different. You have to find good people at your own price point. Here are a few other contruction companies in Seattle that do good work. http://www.schuchartdow.com/ http://www.dovetailinc.net/ http://www.loganshammer.com/ Luxe interior magazines for Pacific NW also feature nice homes that are multi mil in price point. They often list architects/construction companies. You can get the magazine at Barns and Noble in Seattle (?Port Towsend). I wish you the best.