Hi there! I'm in close to downtown Houston so I really know what you mean! I'm on the second floor but still get a fair amount of wind, and I just bought a JM a few weeks ago at a great price ($19.99!!!). I placed it in my most protected corner and plan to keep it well watered and misted. I'd like to keep in touch and compare notes this summer, if that's okay with you. Kaye

Water popping is a fairly common practice. It will make Maple more uniform but not like an open-grain wood. It will not eliminate all the splotchiness in a stained Maple floor. I'd frankly be more concerned that they're going to pick a color that you don't like, or one that is impractical (ie hard to keep up). As hollysprings points out, you can change the color. That's one of the bigger selling points of wood flooring. Is it absolutely necessary to finish the floors before the sale? Can you negotiate a deal to buy the house with unfinished floors, with a credit applied to the purchase price? Some finishers buff the floor before applying the stain. To me that defeats the purpose of water popping. To combat the "fuzziness" caused by water popping, we apply three coats of oil poly at a rate of about 400'/gallon. We sometimes add UP TO 8 ounces of stain per gallon of poly to the first two coats to add uniformity and deepen the color. The top coat would be clear. They should sand very lightly after the first poly to avoid sanding through the color, then a little more aggressively after the second coat so the finished product is nice and smooth. For clients on a budget, we have buffed with a soft nylon pad between the stain and poly to smooth it out, then applied two poly coats. In a kitchen I would do three coats. I am not a fan of wood floors in kitchens but there are pros and cons. I only sell wood floors but I have 16" multi-color slate in my kitchen. Maybe when it's time to jackhammer up that slate I'll be wishing I'd put in wood!

See, I'd just tell my DH that he could enjoy the sunrise while he's doing the laundry rather than while he's making coffee! ;) I kind of like the look of latest rendition, but I'm not loving the function. Leaving the laundry in the MBR would kill it for me. I know you don't mind it, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be a sticking point for some potential buyer down the road. It would be for me. The issue raised earlier about kids having to come in the parents' room to do their laundry as they got older would be even stickier with the addition of another bedroom--i.e., room for a second kid with laundry needs. Could your stackable W/D fit in that closet area in the mudroom? Also, how will you use this desk? Will it become your home office space? If not, it seems like it would become a clutter magnet, ruining that nice view. I still prefer the rendition above where you reuse your sink and five-panel door. I think it makes the space far more useful in a house where useful space is at a premium.

The attached layout I did days ago but didn't post it because it didn't seem applicable to discussions. Here's my thinking. I would run the countertop all the way along the top wall, around the corner, and down to the fridge. Cabs underneath. You could easily bring a 15"or so wide x 12" deep cabinet all the way down to countertop height on the far left of the stove. That space is not prime work area. I really like the idea of a glass-fronted area there that is shallow enough to find things easily--which your present 24" deep pantry is definitely not--and which would be a lovely accent that could be adjusted to the colors you prefer and even seasons. Center the range on the top cabinet run as I sketched it here, not between the two walls. The area to the right of the range will be the main cooking area. The cleanup will happen to the right of the sink, opposite the island. The island will be your work area, as you say it now is. I squared the island and slightly enlarged it. I really urge you to put in a prep sink. I know it seems redundant so close to the cleanup sink, but it isn't. Mine, like this one, is very close to the cleanup sink, but I use both, piling dirty dishes into the cleanup sink and keeping the prep sink clear for work. Of all the changes I made in my new kitchen, I think the inclusion of that sink was easily one of the most important. I think your cleanup sink should be large enough to hold your biggest frequently used pans. It does not, IMO, need to be as large as it presently is. Making it smaller will leave you room for more drawers. If this is an idea you can consider, you can solicit input with a query thread here on GW. I am not sure of the size of the window on the sink wall. I would love you to have 15" cabinets on that wall and on the left corner. On the range wall, 12" cabs will be fine, and will leave easier work areas. (Although I find no problem with 15" cabs flanking my range, because most work on that wall is really done ON the range itself.) Finally, I played with the idea of moving the fridge toward the sink, putting a shallow 15" or so wide cabinet facing the kitchen on the right of the fridge. If this is 8" or a bit less, it will be wonderful for storing your baking goods, spices, and cans. Then, behind it, facing the family room would be a 15" deep, 20" or so wide pantry for whatever you chose to store there. Hey, among other goodies, it could hold the ladder you will need to access the top of your ceiling-height cabs! This is just idea playing--not a hard proposal. Actually, all of this is just playing with ideas, of course. As I have said before in other links, this is like playing with paper dolls as I did as a child. Just plain fun. This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 22:28