Drive around and look at different property line plantings to get an idea of what you like. A hedge of all one kind of plant tends to look a bit more formal, expecially if trimmed. My personal preference is for a mix of several kinds so there is a variety of textures and flowering times to increase interest, but it may not be yours. If you want flowers, you'll get some bees, but unless the girls are actually playing in the shrubs while they are blooming, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd guess that they are old enough to remember to stay out of the shrubs while they are blooming. Diggingthedirt has made some nice suggestions. Hydrangeas, especially H. paniculatas like Tardiva, Pinky Winky, Limelight, Pink Diamond, etc, or H. arborescens, like Annabelle, are pretty trouble free and they bloom for long periods. Kousa dogwoods are just starting to bloom here now. I've got 2 that I got cheaply at a big box store three years ago. I wasn't sure if they'd be hardy, so didn't want to spend too much on them, but they have done well and have bloomed for two years now. They are about 10 feet tall, and were maybe 5 or 6 feet when I got them. Forsythia is nice for the early color, but also because the branches if untrimmed grow up and arch down, and can be trimmed from below if needed to make a nice play space underneath for the kids. Blueberries have bright red fall color, white spring flowers, and the kids can compete with the birds to get the berries unless you put nets over the shrubs. I love many of the Viburnums, but until I know whether or not they will go the way of chestnuts and elms, I'm not spending any money on them. I'm hoping that the viburnum beetle gets under control before it gets to NH because the genus provides an nice range of shrubs, many offering nice flowers (some with scent), berries, and fall color. There are native and imported varieties. If you have deer, I'd not suggest yews; they are the one plant that regularly got completely denuded, nibbled down to stubs at my previous house. Needless to say, I haven't planted any where I live now. Some of the hardy deciduous azaleas or rhododendrons, like the Lights series ('Northern Highlights', 'Rosy Lights', 'Golden Lights', etc.) have lovely, scented flowers, colorful fall foliage, and will look nice against your neighbor's trees. Between the wind and the sun, you probably don't want evergreen rhodies, though I love them and have a number along my woods edges. The one exception might be some of the PJM series, which are rock hardy and don't seem to mind winter sun. They have reddish to olive colored winter foliage that greens up again in the spring. There are also some summer blooming deciduous rhodies - if you want info on them, I'll look some up and add them - just let me know. One of my favorite native small trees, also a dogwood, is Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia). It's blooming now, but doesn't have typical dogwood flowers. There are creamy clusters which turn into berries that eventually are almost black on bright red stems which the birds love. Fall color is nice also, mostly pastel shades. Farther south it needs some shade, but it does fine in full sun to full shade in NH. If you have some areas of wetter soil (anywhere from average to soggy) a native deciduous holly, winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) is nice. It's a plain green in the summer with nonprickly leaves that drop in the fall, but has stunning red berries that last until the birds eat them either in the late autumn or early spring. You may have noticed them growing wild in wet areas. You'd need one male plant (unless you have wild ones nearby) for every 6 or so female plants - the females won't fruit without a male, but I've found I have male plants growing in a nearby wetland, so I didn't have to buy a male. Magnolias don't grow fast, but if you choose a variety with later flowers (to escape late frost damage) they can be pretty stunning small to medium trees. They grow slowly, so wouldn't be really tree sized for a number of years. If you check frequently, especially early in the season when the care (or lack of care) won't have influenced plant health, you may find some of these at Home Depot or other big box stores to help stretch your budget, or you can get small starter plants at Bluestone Perennials (http://www.bluestoneperennials.com). (I think they may have some of them on sale now for something like $5 each, but they are tiny!) If you want a whole hedge of something, a nursery that sells liners ( basically rooted cuttings) by the flat is Western Maine Nurseries. They do have a minimum order, I think 2 flats (the two flats don't have to both be the same kind of plant) or $100, but if you are doing a long hedge on a small budget that may work out for you in the long run. They would need good soil prep and mulch along with regular watering for the first year, but I've had good success with their plants. Here is a link that might be useful: Western Maine Nurseries

Hi, welcome! That is a very good hood, IMHO, good enough for permanent installation, unless you don't care for the design. My criteria for hood selection: 1. Style - this is up to you. 2. Maintenance - Stainless steel is easy to clean and will work with any color scheme now or in the future. Washable filter is good. 3. CFM - 600 CFM is good enough for normal cooking. Multi-speed fan saves heat and air conditioning if the hood is ducted. 4. Noise level - This hood has a quiet fan. 5. Hood light - this hood has two 50W halogen GU10 bulbs, they are very bright. Don't turn them on if you don't need them. They only last about 2,000 hours and expensive to replace. I don't like halogen bulbs over cooking, you may want to replace them with GU-10 LED bulbs. Halogen bulbs are pressurized and can shatter if grease collect on the bulb. 6. Durability - should not be an issue, if they use a non-ventilated induction motor, otherwise it will be a problem. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing. dcarch

We have 4 kids ages 9 to 17. We changed some things in our recent remodel that enabled the little kids to do a lot of things for themselves that previously a grown up had to do for them. But none of it is so kid-specific that it is not also just general good kitchen planning. - Careful layout/zone planning: when you create your layout, pay careful attention to where your prep, cooking and cleanup zones will be, and the ways people will enter, move around, and leave the kitchen. For example, if a kid is going to go the fridge to get a glass of milk while you are prepping or cooking or doing dishes, it would be great if they could get their cup (from a lower drawer), go to the fridge, pour it (having a counter to place the jug), and leave the kitchen without getting in your way. Same goes for people going to use the MW, access the fridge, or throw something in the trash. I also like it when the kids can load/unload the dishwasher without getting into my prep and cook zones. A lot of time all these things are happening at once, so it's been awesome having a good layout. - Induction cooktop: I wanted this for me, and I could go on and on about how much I love it (it's embarassing, really). The kid-related benefits became clear afterwards. My kids have always been interested in cooking but I only used to let the younger ones help with prepping, not actually using the stove. Well now even my little ones are making their own eggs and other simple meals without the danger of an open flame. There are lots of other reasons why I love induction, but I would drive you insane listing them all. - Microwave in a middle position in a cab stack. Our MW used to be on top of double ovens which was way too high and actually dangerous. We placed it in a cabinet with push-back doors in sort of a middle-height position. The little kids can use it now without it being too high and dangerous, and we can close the doors when entertaining (I don't use it much and I don't like expensive built in ones. I like it being a cheap one in a cab I can close up). - Lots and lots of drawers. Besides having lots of drawers everywhere, we have what we call a "kid stack." This is a stack of 4 drawers at the end of a run (not in the middle of any zone). Here we have all the lunch boxes, sandwich wrappers, plastic utensils, insulated soup containers, water bottles and snacks for packing lunches and anything for going to sports practices and games. It's amazing; I used to have to do all the lunch packing, but now they do it themselves because everything is right there. More about drawers: We have all drawers as lowers now. All the everyday dishes are in the drawer that is closest to the kitchen table, and across from the DW. So the kids can unload the DW (without getting in my cook/prep area) and later they can set the table straight from that drawer. We put the napkins in there too and the silverware is above. Of course my big kids can reach the cabinets, and eventually everything can be there, but my little kids are still pretty short, and so all the cups, bowls and plates are in 2 drawers. They are a lot more independent now, and don't have to climb up on the counters to get things. They like helping and since getting all these drawers they have been doing a lot less breaking/dropping while helping. Extra outlet on the other side of the island: My kids like to bake, so we made sure to plan an extra outlet in the island so that they could plug in their mixers and such. This has turned out great especially when they have friends over and everyone wants to make cookies when I might be busy doing something with the cuisinart on the other side. Seating: If you have a pennisula or island, it's so cozy and conversational to make the seats in a right angle rather than lined up diner-style. We lived here 14 years before remodeling the kitchen and we had 4 counter stools all lined up in a row. When we remodeled we made it so that there could be 2 or 3 on one side and 2 on the end. I just realized the other day that I never ever sat at one of the stools before (for 14 years), but now I sit down at the end all the time and talk to the kids or a visitor. It is just way more conversational and comfortable than the lined-up diner-style style seating. Kid-jobs: At my house the kids are in charge of the food and water for the dogs and walking them and such. Unfortunately I forgot to plan for the perfect place for dogfood in the kitchen. Ideally it would have been in the vacinity of the kids stack and near the back door area where the dogs eat. So instead the dogfood and leashes are in the pantry, which has worked out fine. But if you have any pet-related things, plan for them in your remodel. Whether it is you or the kids that are in charge, it's nice to have all that at hand in the kitchen. Materials and finishes: Get the materials and finishes that you want and teach your kids and spouse how to properly care for them. A lot of people will tell you to get this or that if you have kids, but I think you should get what you want and the kids should learn to care for and respect what you have chosen. Hope this helps.

Check out Kobe hoods, which give a lot of bang for the buck. My preference is baffle filters instead of mesh filters. The Costco Summit hood you linked has mesh filters. Mesh filters tend to clog with grease which diminishes the hood's efficiency quickly. Baffle filter hoods typically cost more, but I believe the added expense is very worthwhile. You mention you are replacing a fan in the ceiling. Does that mean you will be installing new ductwork for this wall-mount chimney hood? If so, try to install an exhaust duct that is 8". Most hoods (though not all) with 600 cfms or more require an 8" duct. If your duct is smaller than that, your hood will be less effective and more noisy through no fault of the hood. Having said that, there are hoods that are made to fit 6" ducts, just not as many of them.