I never cut my lily stems, I do leave them until they finish turning brown. If any seed pods develope, I do pinch those off though.

I would use it- best by date is not the same thing as an expiration date.

Yes, it is what I'd call semi-custom, by a company that specialized in making entertainment units. We were able to chose the dimensions, as well as the number of drawers/shelves, wood type, door style, hardware and finish. The console is actually maple with a stain that goes with our cherry cabinets in kitchen. Dimensions are 32Hx21Dx70L. There is nothing that special about the size of the drawers/shelves--we were most concerned about the overall size of the piece and as long the width of the shelves accomodated our largest component we were fine. As the trend in components tends towards smaller we were not too worried. What is actually very convenient is the drawers which are 5" deep full extension and made just deep enough to fit both CDs and DVDs. We saw other units with plastic slots, but given the way technology changes, we didn't want anything made for a specific media type. Also handy are the adjustable shelves which gave us the versatility to store the speaker there as well so switching over to the grille no only improved the ventillation for the components overheating but more also allows the sound though while obsuring the less attractive speaker. Excuse the dust, but you can get the idea: At the time we did it, it was made for a different spot in our FR and choose the height so that it would extend beneath some windows to either side as well as be a good viewing height for the TV as my DH prefers to look straight at the TV and not have to crane your neck up (reason why he prefers not to have it wall mounted though I know many prefer it that way). After we first switched it to the full height wall, I wished we'd gone with one that has a hutch top and even explored the option briefly of getting one made--however, there was not enough room for ventillation for our 46" TV so we scraped the idea. I ended up adding the ceramic urn and dried branches to obscure the less than attractive side view. Now, I am glad we did not get a hutch top as I think consoles are much more versatile with the ever changing technology. My DH works at Sony and likes to add various gadgets so this works well for us. If I were to do it over, the only thing I think I'd change is to have a darker finish. Other than that we are quite happy with it.

Depending on what you plan to store in it, I'd space the first one from the ceiling 24 inches to accomodate taller items and then the others a minimum of 18 inches apart and I like the idea of not bringing them down to the floor.