Like most of you I miss NorCal. When I lived in the BA there was a place that sold seconds on clay chimney pots that I used as garden containers. No bottoms but elevated the plants. All shapes and sizes so it looked way cool. It was in Berkeley somewhere. Don't remember name but I found it under "tiles". Good luck.

Thank you all for your responses! I will clarify a few things, and ask for a few more thoughts. 1. We started out with 7 contractors, but 4 dropped out because they were no longer available. Of the 3 who bid, 2 were near the low end of the range and 1 was at the high end. 2. We got several rough estimates (including from the 2 contractors with lower bids) before going into design, and they were all significantly less than the bids (by about 1/2). That is part of why we were so shocked. 3. We also shared with those 2 contractors what our budget is, which is more in line with the original estimates. The 3rd contractor who bid never asked our budget, and put together his estimate in only a few days - however, it was rather detailed and he claimed it was well padded for our benefit. I'm not sure what that says. 4. I don't believe there is any additional cost for it being a condo. It's a 3 unit building without HOA restrictions, and the other tenants are very supportive of the renovation. I do think because demand is so high right now, pricing could have gone up even just in the few months since we purchased. 5. While we don't have $150K lying around, we could figure out how to make it work if that really is a reasonable price. We bought the place planning to renovate (we got the rough estimates before purchasing so we thought we knew what we were getting into), and after living with a dilapidated kitchen for a few months I would say we can't afford NOT to do the work! But if we're going to be eating ramen out of our gourmet kitchen for the next few years, I don't want to be wondering if it's because I didn't do my due diligence. Because there is a pretty significant gap between our expected/budgeted and the bidded costs, we do want to figure out a way to reduce it somewhat. I am planning to speak with our designer on Monday and see if there are any adjustments we can make that wouldn't destroy the overall look and feel but take out some of the cost. For example, cutting back on the built-ins? Or should we consider reaching out to additional contractors? I like the ones who bid, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, but if there are other reliable contractors who can do the work for significantly less I think it's worth exploring. Roo

Igloo, It appears that the PUFP-CT-BK is a fully Code-compliant way to put a required receptacle into a countertop. Even so, it has apparently been rejected by at least one inspector (who used reasoning that didn't follow the Code). When you do something that's out of the ordinary, it's never a complete slam-dunk that the building department won't balk at it, even it any reasonable person can see that it's Code-compliant. The Mockett "grommet" doesn't meet Code for several reasons. So one would expect that one's chances with the PUFP-CT-BK are better than with the Mockett. I don't think that adjusting the depth of the shelf would make any difference, at least not at the 18" point. The 18" refers to the distance from the sink to the corner behind it. In your case, the question is whether the inspector will accept the position that the step up is the "wall" behind the sink (in which case the magic distance is 12", because the distances are 18" to a corner or 12" to a parallel wall). If it's a "wall," then the next question is whether the section behind the step is a "counter" or a "shelf." There is no requirement for outlets on shelves, but there is for counters. And I know of no formal definitions of the two, so it's totally the inspector's judgment call as to what you have there. Have you talked with your building department about this? And do you currently have a working relationship with them? In my opinion, the thing to do, if you know them well enough to have a frank conversation with them, is to present them with the problem, say "this is the best solution that we've been able to come up with", and see if they're OK with that. If you're not comfortable with that, I'd suggest going with the PUFP-CT-BK in back corner (or close to it), and take the position (nicely) that what you have is completely Code-compliant if they question it. . To address this from a slightly different place, I don't see any Code requirement for an outlet in your "step", a few inches behind the sink. The Code clearly doesn't require that (who told you that it does?). The only question I see is whether you need an outlet in the corner. I think you mentioned that you actually want one there, because there is something you want to plug in there? Or was it a rationalization of, "Well, if I really have to put one there, I guess it's OK because I could plug the X in there."? If you really want an outlet there, I think you're in pretty good shape. Also, you might want to poke around the Lew Electric web site. I believe they have some "floor pocket" type receptacles that sit below the surface, and just the cord comes up through a notch in the cover. That could be really slick in your setup. (You've have to verify that the particular unit would be Code-compliant. The key issue here is that the outlet not be sitting flat with its face pointing up, because the Code doesn't allow that on counters (but does on floors).)

I have a dimmer in my bathroom for that purpose. I suppose if you wanted something fancy, maybe a toekick light that is on a motion sensor would be cool. Enough light to get to the toilet, but not enough to wake you up. I just hate excessive light switches. Especially if it's in an area where guests might have to use them. Just as important as the number of lights is the number of switches. In those big rooms, you probably don't want ALL of the recessed lights controlled by one switch. Especially around the TV. In those areas, when you're watching TV you'd want the lights off near the TV but maybe have the lights on over the couch and sitting area. Too many switches is bad, but too few is bad too.