Thanks for all of the suggestions about removing the mold, and particularly the messages about finding and fixing the source. Here is an update... When I went to remove the mold wearing all sorts of protective gear and armed with lots of supplies (toxic and non), I realized that the wetness emanated from behind the studs which covered the corner AND that there was a lot of dampness hidden in the corner. You can predict the rest of the story... The studs came out when the contractor arrived and so much more mold and rotten wood was exposed. Clearly, there was a baaaad leak on the exterior wall that had been leaking for a long time and had rotted out the wood in the sill and plate. Forget wiping off the mold, it was time to fix the leak and remove all of the soggy rotten moldy wood. The tar paper between the layers of stucco and wood framing had disintegrated in the wet areas. After two weeks, lots of stucco crack sealing, some new flashing, rain and hose spraying, there are no more leaks in this area. The wet wood is gone. We will wait to close up the area until we are sure that there are no more leaks. Thanks again for the suggestions and moral support!

We went through the same turmoil trying to make the trim decision. Our cabs are SW paint matched to BM White Dove which is similar to Alabaster. We are bright white gloss trim people. We painted scrap trim with white and some with White Dove in all the sheen options available (could have had a whole room painted for the cost of paint we bought to make this decision). Cabinets are satin sheen White Dove. In the end we went with Oil based semigloss White Dove trim for all crown/baseboards, and casing for doors and windows. We even went with White Dove ceiling paint. We like how it turned out. The white made our cabinets look yellowish or grayish depending on the lighting. For our White Dove choice, I just like how it all flows together. The different sheens provide the contrast for me. Good luck! Won't you be glad when all this is done? Remodel/new build decisions are not for the faint at heart!

I do the same as Helen. Only stock "safe" cleaning products so cleaners can't stumble into any mistakes. Cleaning lady is allowed to use any concentration of Fabuloso (pH neutal) or Odoban No-Rinse (pH neutral and can be bought and shipped to home depot) on floors, toto toilets w/sanigloss finish, etc. We also only stock Glass Plus (ammonia-free glass/surface cleaner) for cleaning glass, mirrors, and granite surfaces. If you don't like Glass Plus, what works well for granite, chrome, and stainless steel appliance cleaning is a mixture of 2:1 water to rubbing alcohol and you can add a few drops of lavendar oil to improve scent. (Rubbing alcohol bought in bulk at sam's club or costco.) I keep a bottle of this on the kitchen counter for daily wipe ups. We also stock Sprayway cleaner from sam's club for glass and mirrors and it has yet to damage any granite or marble that it may overspray onto accidently (we only have one shower with a marble threshold and some marble shelves). We also give her Weiman's granite cleaner & polish for once a week granite counter cleaning. Things I use every once in a while but hide from the cleaning lady: Oxiclean and water to deep clean porcelain and ceramic tile grout. Barkeeper's friend on things like the kitchen sink grate, chrome faucets, and faucet pop-up drains. I do keep a limited supply of Clorox cleanup bleach spray and Fantastik around for cleaning plastic toilet seats and the inside of a shower drain that gets really gross, etc.

Hi! No, if you look at that picture, where the shelf is you can see the clear bar that runs between the shelves (there’s connectors on each side) but I just uploaded a picture of what I’m talking about! - I uploaded 2, the first to show the whole view of the bar - which is a horizontal bar- but it won’t show.