Well, we did a mini "refresh" on our kitchen in 1999 to add a dishwasher and standard-sized range, as we had one of those apartment-sized ranges that DH detested. When we did the mini refresh, we also changed countertops, sink & faucet, and we had put in peel and stick vinyl over the hideous gold linoleum when we first moved in. That being said, we still had issues with layout, with the only really useable countertop being the 15" to left of the range and 5" to the right of it. There was a small swath of countertop across from the stove, next to the sink, but because it was right by the back door, it became a catchall. When I took anything out of the oven, it pretty much had to go on the stovetop. Baking cookies just wasn't very fun after a while. I sorta stopped doing it. :^( Then there was the wall between the kitchen and livingroom that made the kitchen seem so dark and cramped. The lack of storage was the biggest issue we had. I still get the heebs when I think of that cabinet where the plastic storage containers lived. I don't know how many times I sat on the floor and cleaned out that blasted cabinet, just to have it heave out plasticware all over me the next time I opened that door. I'm pretty sure that DH would open the door *just enough* to throw an item in there. We had no venting over the range, instead we had a cabinet directly over the range, and it was lower than standard. When we did the remodel, we could see big black burn marks underneath. Lovely. Our garbage was located across the kitchen on the stairwell landing. If I had gunk in my hands, I had the pleasure of carrying it across the floor, leaving a nice little dribble trail. Fun times! The giant fluorescent light box, with that hideous tube light. I tried to "tart it up" at one point, but in the end, it was just a big rectangle with an ugly light, so it had to go. My peel and stick vinyl tiles, so wonderful and bright when we installed them, were pitted and cracking in places. No matter how long I scrubbed on my hands and knees, there were areas where the tile was worn, and the dirt was embedded. Yuck. The kitchen wasn't awful; it just was not a joy to work in. Now I enjoy baking and cooking in there, and putting away the tupperware is not an exercise in frustration! Hooray! Oh, happy day! :^)

When my son was about 7 they made Thanksgiving turkeys out of potatoes, with toothpicks for legs etc, in Beaver Scouts. It decorated the table for Thanksgiving Day and then it disappeared. I never thought anymore about it. Fast forward to mid-winter...every time I went into his room there was this horrid smell yet I couldnt find anything...until one day I went to clean out his chest of drawers cause they were all in a jumble. As I opened the last drawer, which held his seldom used summer clothes (remember this is mid-winter)the smell which had been lurking in the background became overwhelming ..lo and behold..as I was taking out the clothes I also encountered a slimey mass with a couple of toothpicks...not a pleasant experience..but at least I knew where the smell was coming from...lol He had wanted to keep it for next thanksgiving and said he put it there so he would remember where it was...lol

When we moved in in October, we discovered that none of the outlets were grounded. So we replaced every outlet. Once the PO's furnishings were removed we discovered that their dog was, well, gross. So we replaced the carpet. The living room started like this. See, the PO had glued these huge, horrendous mirrors to the front of the fireplace. So I had the mirrors taken down. The drywall needed repair, and it looked weird anyway, so I decided to see if there was anything interesting behind the drywall (like pretty brick, for instance), so I took a hammer to the center of the drywall. Then I realized that there was a draft coming in -- fireplace chimney needs new flashing and there are some spots that need new mortar. So, I called a contractor to come give me an estimate to redo the fireplace. Once I redo the fireplace, the sectional sofa that is facing away from the fireplace is really going to bug, and those very traditional baseboards in my MCM split level right next to my new limestone and beam mantel fireplace just won't work. And my traditional entertainment center will look a bit off. Oh, and don't get me started on the unsafe and generally ugly painted wrought iron railing off of the catwalk. Have an excuse to change that now that I've caught my 1 yr old climbing through the bars to slide down the sofa. :-) Did I mention the giant single-pane windows that make that room as warm as a tent on a winter night? Or the entry that is just off of the living room with its door hanging at a slant with a gap about 1/4" from the jamb? Then there's the family room...don't get me started on the family room... Oh yeah. In the meantime, I haven't even gotten the design drawings for the kitchen yet. LOL. First things first -- I have to have an associate architect draw the house and elevations before I can get the drawings for the wall removal and the new glass wall to the yard. And then there's the structural engineer. Does that crack in the ceiling look odd? Maybe the footings need to be shored up while we're at it. Is that wiring fabric encased? What do you mean I need to upgrade the circuit box to 200 amps? What's a "dedicated circuit?" The water heater is where? Oh, carp. What's with the shower head in the guest bath? Were the POs tiny people? Gotta move that up so mum doesn't have to croutch to wash her hair. ...

Different strokes for different folks...... LOVE LOVE LOVE our trash compactor. Took one out of our last kitchen remodel and replaced it with 2 pullout trash cans. I *hated* the trash pullouts! They were twice as bulky, and we had to empty them every day. The trash compactor is one unit (though we have a separate bin for curbside recyclables), and we empty it maybe once a week. I also love my corner lazy susan cabinets. I have 3 of them; one for spices, one for medicines and coffee/tea supplies, and one for little-used small gadgets. They totally make our corners useful, and I don't have things fall off the sides. Things I would not recommend: -OTR micro. I agree about that one. I hate how close to the cooktop they are, and the totally inadequate venting. -Open kitchens if you have teenagers and you don't have a house with enough "getaway" space for everyone. OUr last house only had one living room, which we opened to the kitchen in the remodel. It looked beautiful, and when it was just DH and I, we loved it. But when we were sitting down in the evening trying to unwind and watch a show and teaming throng of teenagers burst through the door and starts fixing food, getting ice, etc., we quickly began to hate the setup. We moved to a house with doors on the kitchen and 2 living rooms and couldn't be happier. (For now!)