What Ian said... Despite rumours otherwise, NZ is quite dry in summer- my folks live on the West Coast of the South Island (no fancy-shmancy names for us..) and ran out of water this summer. We've seen some pretty severe droughts in the last few years. Historically the West sides of the islands have been significantly wetter, capturing rain and leaving the East dry, but since we seem to be getting 'hundred year' droughts and floods every couple of years. Damn Climate Change. Anyway, despite our small landmass, NZ's soo long and thin it goes from sub-tropical up North, with some (NZ style) desert in the middle to sub-antarctic down South. A lot of natives succumb to phytopthera if too wet, even the tree ferns and other 'tropical' looking plants. Like Ian, i highly recommend hebes- they are TOUGH- I don't know what your access to NZ plants is like, but if they have the 'wiri' cultivars, they are really stunning. Astelia is one of my favourites. Very hardy, dramatic pale green and silver spear-shaped leaves. Astelia fragrans...need i say more? How about the Caprosma and muehlenbeckia families. Maybe a bit of an aquired taste; divarcating, very 'architectural'. I love em! I think heat and dry would't be a problem. Months of freezing...not so sure. Of course alpine plants would cope, as it's blimmin boiling up those mountains in summer!

Get what makes you happy!!! So what if stainless has gone mass production. If you like it, you like it. 10 years ago one of my friends complemented my mother on her stainless oven...from 1965. It'll never completely go away. If you're more interested in the period look, or don't like the way the stainless looks with the stainless counter (and there are sevetyleven different colors of stainless), you can't go wrong with panels. But they do cost more. And it doesn't sound like you like them. That said, yes, you can paint custom panels. I've seen people do art on them. Chalkboard paint. Mirrors (the unbreakable steel kind). Faux fur zebra covered. So long as you don't add too much weight--I wouldn't do mosaic tiles--you can do just about anything with custom panels. There are companies that specialize in period panels for appliances. You can make your fridge look like an icebox. There are even fridges that are specifically made to look like and open like iceboxes, with the several doors. You can also panel dishwasher drawers to make them look like staples bins. Or just cabinets. You can panel anything except an oven. And there are even cabinets that can enclose ovens entirely for people who refuse to see them. The first appliances were cast iron ranges. There were wooden iceboxes--most of the ones I've seen have been oak. My father even remembers the iceman whose horse knew the route. After that things got very white enamel. Fancy ranges also came in colors, at least starting in the '20's. I don't really know before that. And there were even fancy ones like this that looks like a dresser (this is a favorite of mine): There are a whole heck of a lot of different things you can do to make a grown in place, or period look for your kitchen. But if you like stainless, just get it!!

I love reading this thread! Lots of great dreams. I like the idea of having a beverage and snack area in the kitchen. That would sure make my life easier as a lot of the time I'm just going in the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a muffin or a drink of water and my kitchen is in the back of the house. I would either buy or build a different house with my mega-millions. The kitchen would be the center of the home, not like mine is now, way in the back with no room for anyone to be in there. I'd get a fridge with METAL handles (what's with these plastic handles on fridges these days?!). One of the best things I ever had when I was young was an OLD and small fridge in one of my apts. but it had metal shelves that swung out so you could see what was in the back. Not sure why they don't make fridges like that anymore, but I'd have one custom made! I'm also thinking I might like a prep sink, it might make me more inclined to wash dishes as I go if I didn't have to do both prep and clean up in one small sink like I have now. As it is, I shove the dirty dishes to one side for "later." And I would like my kitchen to open up to a dining and family/living room. Wide open. And I have always wanted a breakfast nook, with a window! And a little desk area with a laptop and small printer and then shelves above for my cookbooks. BUT, my real dream is that dream kitchen above and then a little breezeway/foyer out the back door of the kitchen, leading to a canning/preserving kitchen. That one would have a huge freezer on the wall, a large pantry, and a root cellar. Big prep sink and cupboards for spices, jars, etc. Anyway, you get the idea. And in front of the breezway a huge decorative herb/flower garden, and on the other side of the canning kitchen--the vegetable garden, barn for the chickens and small milk cow, and orchard. That's my mega-million dream. And here in NE PA it would be mega millions. I have a colleague who is living that dream but it is on a farm that was in his wife's family for generations. Over a million to purchase something like that today. Oh, and I want a back porch to store all the weird things I never use except in the summer, and I want a playroom with a bar in it. I want it to be one of those tropical themed bars, lol! And then my own personal chef, so that I could just focus on growing and preserving the stuff, since that would be more than enough to keep me busy.

I’m sorry, I am bad and did not do a reveal thread! However, my architect did put up some photos on Houzz. Here is one and you can click through to the rest: We had not really furnished at this point so the pillows, table, chairs are not mine, and the pix do not show my favorite things, the knobs and the curtains: On the Marmoleum, I chickened out on Relaxing Lagoon and went with Volcanic Ash. (Although I did put Relaxing Lagoon in my laundry along with some crazy pink curtains and love it.) Feel free to ask any questions if you want specifics on anything.