I would never buy anything mechanical or electrical from another country if I could buy it here. Not only are standards very different in other countries it is often impossible to get approval for things you would think didn't need approval. There certainly are a lot of good custom door manufacturers in the US. I think the best is Hahn http://www.hahnswoodworking.com/pages/whybest.html Designer Doors is a less durable but good looking alternative. http://www.designerdoors.com/ None of them are a bargain. Here is a link that might be useful: Custon Garage Doors

I would talk to the mom, to let her know what I'm going to do, and what my stance is. And then I would talk directly to the boy. And make him go home to get the leash, if he arrives with it. So that he knows you're not joking--because if you don't send him home, then really what else are you doing, but kiddin around. You could offer for him to keep a set at your house, but it doesn't solve another problem: he shouldn't be walking outside w/ the dog NOT on a leash. I also think you would be squandering a real opportunity to teach this kid. I'm a fan of the idea that we all help raise one another's children, and that you sort of owe it to this kid to teach him how to properly care for his pet, since his mom isn't. Make this be mostly between you and the boy (partly also he needs to learn that grownups don't joke, and you need to establish some authority with him. He may not be your kid, but he should follow your rules) And maybe educate the boy about how, without the leash, the dog could get out through an opening gate, or wriggle out of his arms while he's walking, and get pasted by a car. or get lost, or something. And emphasize how a collar can serve as a "handle" to a dog--he wants to run away, or you need to grab him before he knocks something over, and you can get your fingers around the collar. also, should he succeed in getting away, the collar will carry his ID info, plus his rabies status. He needs to start training the dog to accept a collar and leash now, while he's young, so it will be useful later. I think I might sit him and seriously, grown-up to grown-up, talk with him about the dangers his dog faces, and how it's important to take care of his dog. it's a big responsibility, and he can handle it. Speak to him as though he can handle this responsibility. He'll rise to it, I bet you.

Only a personal opinion, but it just looks too phony, not just the lattice product, but all vinyl type products such as windows, and composites such as decking. That's only becuase I'm old school wood. Problem is that means maintenance and it seems these days with people being busier and wanting less to do with projects around the home, the less/no maintenance the better. I would assume that's the opinion of the majority, so it could very well be a good thing for you. Why are they selling out?

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions! I will look at dropping the filler on the left of the sink and going for a wider drawer base on that side. I think I may be just a tad short of space there (like 1"). I don't like the offset sink idea and feel like there are better options. It looks OK with a stages sink but I'm not going that route. I keep hearing that the angle is not necessary but I really worry about having a sharp corner there. I wonder if anyone has a change in depth like that and can share their experience - and photos? BTW, it isn't just our family who will be using the kitchen -we do offer weekly rentals so getting used to avoiding it will not work for them. I also worry about the counter fabrication of a sharp angled like that. If I do that, I assume there should be a filler in the corner where the transition occurs? I think the bump back would then be right next to the sink and we might lose the space for a dish drying rack there - I'll have to check on the measurements for that. I was hoping we could still have one there with the angled transition. I'm not rejecting that idea but I'm really trying to balance form and function! Mama Goose - Ikea cabinets have no face frames, and so the dilemma I saw with using a standard box frame was making the opening exactly the right width to allow for a standard door front to fit without too much of the frame being visible. The frames are white and my doors will be gray, so there will be some white showing just because of the angle at which the door will be relative to the frame. This is the case even without a hack, but the edges of the corner cabinet are normally facing inward and not outward so less obvious. I think I can get paintable edge banding and color match the paint to make it not noticeable. I might want the edge banding for other spots as well. While I think a paint match will be fine for the edge banding on the frames (they just peek through), I'm not too comfortable with being able to match the paint and sheen well enough to use it on any exposed areas. I'm afraid it will look like a patch. I might see about cutting the front of the Ikea frames on an angle like you suggested just so the door will lie flat against the frame - and then apply the edge banding to the cut edge, But I'm not sure how well it would stick to the cut surface.