Thank you Deegeegirl and Oruboris, Deegee: Actually, the sample chip came from Eurostoves; however, while I was visiting we looked at the sample chip and we agreed it was not the same color as the stove on display. We all agreed the chip was wrong or the stove was wrong. When I received this chip in the mail, I immediately knew it was not the red on display. I feel much better, deegeegirl, that your range is Ruby Red and that it does match the one on their floor. Oruboris, I caved in and purchased the RAL chart from Dorn Color yesterday after calling 30 local paint stores looking for the RAL chart. Accorting to Pritzer Painter, only in rare instances do some areas not have RAL charts in local stores. Lucky me, I live in one of those cities-St. Louis. I just could not stand it anymore not having the color information right in front of me and knowing the chip was probably wrong. The woman at Dorn said in the last six months she has been surprised at how many they are selling. Interesting observation about red versus crimson. I would say the range at Eurostoves had no blue in it whatsover. It was a very bright red. The chip I received actually sounds like it could be color 3004 as it is a deep dark red--almost burgundy. I will let you all know what my Dorn RAL paint fan shows. Teresa

MichelleDT -- thanks a million for taking the time to post that picture. I didn't realize you were in the middle of a move (and probably wouldn't have asked you to take the time to do it if I had)! It was especially helpful to see the 9007 sample against the lighter counter sample, and saved me from a potentially costly mistake -- waaay too gray for what I had in mind. If I end up going with a BS, and doing a color other than stainless, I'll definitely get a sample and not just go by the chip at the dealer. Thanks again for your help, and good luck with the move and the house you're building -- looks like it will be absolutely gorgeous!

I don't own a Bluestar. My nephew does, because I told him he should buy one (and he loves it). One of my friends owns an original Garland restaurant stove, which I have cooked on several times. For many years, I cooked on an open burner O'Keefe & Merritt range, a 1948 classic. It was a great stove1 Not as much horsepower as today's ranges, but the open burner system is a cinch to maintain. Line the pullouts with foil and it takes less than a minute to change both. I've cooked on two different closed burner ranges for over 20 years: a Frigidaire/Kenmore, and a Whirlpool/Kenmore. They both had/have double PowerPlus burners, running 14.5K BTU. Neither one has half the guts of the Bluestar or Garland when it comes to fast, efficient high-heat cooking. Now, they're not bad ranges. Both my current and past ranges had nice large ovens and beautiful low simmer controls. They have timers (which I use a lot) and you can set both delayed bake and timed bake. But I would happily pay FIVE TIMES what I paid for one of these closed burner stoves, for a pro-style open burner range again. I can't, because the space I have is so tight for the range, I can't fit one in. I lack less than 1/4" of the necessary width, and believe me, I'm bummed that it's not possible. I cook a lot, and often that cooking is NOT high heat. But for sear-roasting and stir-frying, and to have a great broiler? Yes, I could really use those things. What I find most appealing is the lack of electronics. I've replaced circuit boards three times and they are VERY costly. I also find, as many others have, that cleaning a closed burner stove when you do a lot of high-heat cooking, is a real nightmare. I won't even let my DH clean the stove any longer - he got so frustrated one day by the inability to get the area near the burners clean, he actually attacked it with a knife to try to scrape the gunk off, not realizing that in doing so he permanently scratched up the glass so now it can't be cleaned at all! OTOH, if you are not as serious about cooking, there is no reason to pay the premium for the Blue Star/Capital/Wolf/Thermador/Viking/American pro-style ranges at all. A mid-level range will work fine, and DCS, Electrolux, GE Monogram, etc., will be more than adequate for at least 75% of people who are only cooking because somebody's got to put dinner on the table tonight. Most people don't rate cooking as an activity they would voluntarily spend a lot of time on. My friend with the Garland only has it because her partner loved to cook and put it in. But her partner died ten years ago, and all my friend does is boil water for pasta every once in a while. She can think of a dozen things she'd rather do than cook, so the Garland goes pretty much unused. For her, it would be a waste of money to pay for open burners over closed burners.

A little bit of beige may not be bad. Yellow reflects on itself and gets more intense. Whatever you think your final choice is, be sure to paint ALL of your old cabinets with it before you order. I love the fact that it's so hard to pick colors but the world conspires to make it even harder. The Aura fan deck is impossible to use if you want to see two colors next to each other, and you can't hang it vertically on a wall (all colors are darker that way). The paint store will always present you with an "issue" or "problem" that prevents you from getting the samples you need, and they make it too expensive anyway. Chips will either fall of the wall because you used painters tape, or rip off the paint because you didn't. It is making me insane and I would happily hire someone to do this just to avoid the insanity. My neighbors' kids and their friends have been setting off little snapper firecrackers all day. I keep hoping.