Will have to disagree Dan since I've repeatedly seen huge variety differences in splitting. Sungold is one of the worst followed closely by Black Cherry. Unfortunately, varieties that seldom split are usually tough skinned. Sweet Treats was one mentioned and Toronjino or Pareso (grape) are also almost as tough. Since some people mentioned larger fruited varieties like Mountain Magic and Tomatoberry Garden I'll also throw Juliet into the list that everyone complains is so tough skinned. In another thread on this subject I suggested pinching the stem when harvesting so as to leave the stem attached. I don't submit to harvesting unripe fruit so although it may lessen splitting it produces a tomato of similar quality to imported supermarket selections.

I am not sure how much under $3k you are talking about, but anything near $3K seems very high for Bassett! I bought a Bassett sofa in 1996 and paid less than $600 for it. During that time period, COSTCO was selling a sofa and loveseat combo for $700. Granted that was 10 years ago, but I cannot imagine the quallity has so improved to demand such an increase in price. You might want to shop around. In regard to the Guardian plan...I can tell you that Guardian repairpersons suck! I had a new nightstand with a broken stop on the pull out writing table that needed repair. The store sent a Guardian repairman to my house to make the repair. He took a piece of scrape wood and "fashioned" a "new stop." After he attached it to the writing table top, the drawer beneath it would not open. He then took the piece off and readjusted it a number of times--each time drilling new holes into the table top! There was also a gouge in the wood of one leg. His idea of repairing it was to put stain on it to hide it. Heck, I could have done that myself. I called the furniture store and told them what he had done and demanded they replace my nightstand. I wouldn't waste my money on a Guardian plan. They are not craftspersons; they have no idea how to repair furniture. Guardian is a national franchise that takes anyone willing to pay their fee though a slam-bang training program.

To steal another poster's word, I don't think the entry is "comically" large -- but it is large in comparison to the other rooms. Thinking about the whole-house plan on the other page, I hadn't realized the rooms were this small. I agree that the dining room is minimal in width. You might consider a built-in banquette on one side instead of chairs. This isn't ideal for such a long room, but those things are massive space savers! Another off-beat idea: Instead of one huge table, how about multiple small tables? I'm thinking of perhaps 3-4 small rectangular tables . . . and for every day you could have just one . . . but for parties you could bring out just two, allowing space in between for movement . . . or you could bring out all of them for the set-up you're discussing right now. You'd need table cloths, of course. Of course, the real issue isn't whether you can seat people in this space -- you can. The real issue is whether those people are comfortable in the process of being seated. Are the first people to be seated "stuck" because of the chairs around them? I also agree with the poster who asked about HOW you'll serve food. For example, I'd say that in my current kitchen (which is not optimal) we always do self-serve buffets: I put out the main dishes on my peninsula, place drinks on another spot in the kitchen, and use the breakfast table for desserts. A better set-up for serving is one of our future kitchen goals. Regardless of how you plan to serve guests, you ought to think through where you'll place things -- and don't forget dirty dishes. You mentioned serving "family style" from the middle of the table. Eh, that's easier with a round table than a long, rectangular table. Things I'd consider: Could you incorporate some type of multi-purpose furniture in the living room /formal parlor . . . furniture that could double as perhaps a place for desserts or drinks during parties? The first thing that comes to my mind is a drop-leaf table, which could sit behind a sofa everyday . . . but could fold out to serve for parties. I do like the butler's pantry concept. For example, it could allow you to plate salads . . . and then they're ready to pass down the table. Well, I thought I had more ideas than two. I guess I didn't. Another vote against the fluorescent light. We had one in a rental house in which I lived years ago, and -- yeah -- it puts out some serious light, but it was very ugly and today would be considered outdated. Your kitchen will be visible from your very-important dining room. Your choices aren't fluorescent lights or pot lights -- other options do exist. Most importantly, consider the function of that light: You're going to be standing in the kitchen facing the wall . . . and if your main light is a big ceiling light behind you, your shadow is falling on your work. In this kitchen, undercabinet lighting is essential. You can also use pendants...

@tbb123: Hey there! I only have a painting career if someone will buy stick figures, LOL! Nice to see you here. I’ve missed seeing your creative layouts at the old, much missed IF site. It never dawned on me to put the peninsula in the plan with the fridge in the broom closet. That would give me more counter space than I’ve ever had in my life. I’m not sure I’d know what to do with it all but it would be fun trying. I’ll play with that idea. @Jillius: Yes to your suggestion for how to use the horizontals if I go that route. Will need to play more with hood options but that can wait until final layout, right? I gotta say that I do like your new plan merging kitchen/laundry. However, we’ve become married to the idea of preserving the pantry wall and using the revealed linoleum. I love that floor almost as much as I like the glass blocks. Sorry you put so much effort into an idea I will have to nix. I really appreciate your efforts and kind donation of time. DH and I spent quite a bit of time this morning poking around in the garage tracing existing plumbing lines to see how we can tie things in. We have a false ceiling in the garage that needs to come out so we can better see the clearances. We have steel beams running the direction the plumbing needs to go; the wooden joists run the other direction. If these were reversed, the plumbing issue would be easier. The garage ceiling is relatively high so plumbing could be run under the steal beams but above the garage door system. We need to do better measures of what height clearance we have and the distance lines would need to run to ensure there’s enough height for the lines to drop for proper drainage. The plumbing lines then go into the cement floor of the garage and run under the concrete driveway down to the city lines. This all makes the plumbing issue a tad more complicated to deal with. And thanks for the cardboard idea for playing with window sizes. @practigal: Interesting idea on the windows. I never thought of expanding them. The would be cool. I am uncomfortable with the cost of doing that as, in our area, our view is NOT worth a fortune as it’s known as “the Appalachia of Washington”. Our logging and commercial/sport-fishing industries tanked in the 80’s and we have never recovered. Even though the location and homes on our hill are considered some of the nicer ones in the area, most sell for only about $125-200k. And that’s if you can find a buyer because of the severe wage stagnation here. Buyers for homes over $100k become scarce. And housing prices have barely increased since the mid-80’s. We didn’t even really feel the effects of the 2008 crash because we were already in a long-term crash. However, we’re also not seeing the recovery other areas are seeing so it’s hard to justify that extra expense. Even though we plan on being here for a long time, probably our forever, we need to keep our own spending down as we are nearing our own retirement years and need to stretch our bucks. I’m not sharing all that for a pity-party but, rather, so you understand why I’m trying to be very careful and frugal with the remodeling budget. Anyway, it’s a wonderful idea so I am not ruling it out and will play with the idea. @rina: Good point on the bottoms of the windows being at different heights. Another one of those things I’m so used to that I haven’t thought much about it. Hmmmmm….I’ve always wanted the window over the sink to be counter height. Love that look. Convincing DH might take some schmoozing. I think if we did we move the current sink or make it a small prep sink, it would be easy to center the range. Another visual issue that I didn’t notice until you pointed it out. Thanks for pointing that out, too. A smaller sink there would mean there is still enough prep space between prep sink and range. So...clean-up sink to peninsula then? @Everyone: While DH is cutting out sections of the garage ceiling, I guess I’ll be playing with these new ideas. Thanks to all of you. You’re all awesome!