Thanks SUe...I had rec'd some trade emails a few weeks ago, so I didn't even know it, but I surely was blocked.....thanks for all your help on here!! I certainly appreciate it!

Good to go here too....let the shoppin' and swappin' begin!! David

Ann, did you get me new email address? I sent it to you a few days ago thru Gardenweb. I am having a heck of a time getting on my work email from home so I can give you a new email to use. Let me know, I am soooo anxious to start thinking and plotting! janet

Hi goodguy2k2k, I wasn't able to reply back directly, you may want to check your email settings. We do have Conestoga RTA cabinets, which we put together ourselves. Our builder hung/installed them. Definitely doable (the constructing that is) once you get the hang of it. We selected them due to the door quality, which is beautiful. The interiors are nicely finished. When we ordered, you couldn't select a custom color for the RTA cabinets, just the doors. (This may have changed). We selected stained cherry for the island and one of their Colourtone colors for the perimeter cabinets. We did not paint anything, other than the occasional trim piece/touchup. (Take a drawer to your paint store and get it color matched). We used Brian Long at the Cabinet Joint (others on this forum have used him as well, very good experience). He (or other dealers) should be able to answer your questions regarding what you need for the oven area. Floor is the original oak (1965?) in our home. Thanks! That's the beauty of wood, it cleans up so very nicely. The microwave drawer has been great, we like it very much. I spent about 6 months on the design. If you have time, buy a few well recommended kitchen design books and read them. Tear out pictures of anything you really like and group them together in files, so you can show your builders examples. Keep a running list of what you dislike AND like about your current kitchen/space. This way, you come up with your requirements. List EVERYTHING you store/need to store. We reconfigured interior walls and bumped out the front of the house 5 feet, and our architect gave us our rough dimensions. From there... I worked with a couple of cabinetry companies, who gave us initial suggestions. We mocked up countertops, appliance areas, and the island shape with tape and then walked through how we cooked / what we did in the kitchen. Combine that with your list/wishlist of appliances and what you need to store, and you will slowly figure out ways to get this done. Best, oldbat2be -------------------------- Hi oldbat2be, Was looking at Conestoga cabinets for my kitchen remodel. It appears from your postings you have Conestoga. They look beautiful. I wonder if you could answer a couple questions for me? - did Conestoga come RTA and painted. I have heard you need to paint the frames? - Conestoga is a bit of a mystery to me as it is hard to find out info on them - I did find a dealer in Michigan but it seems I will have to work with a remote dealer anyway - who did you end up working through and who did you use for installation (a carpenter or other). - what wood color, species, company is you hardwood floor - looks great! - would you do anything differently. - we are considering appliance options and are stuck on a microwave/convection vs a micro drawer. You pics show a micro drawer, do you like it? - Conestoga almost seems to have too many options and it is hard to m ow how they will turn out.. For example, we have a standard (not counter depth) refrigerator. In trying to make it look a bit more built in, the Conestoga dealer wanted to use a tall cabinents as one item.. I thought of using panels and a deep cabinet to get as close to the drive as possible with the opening.. Not sure if you hand to navigate a million choices but how did you finally decide on the layout/design? Thanks a million for any advice you can provide...