DH gets an A+ for that one! I agree with Pearl, that the lawnmower base makes for much better maneuverability. I will have to think of that next time I am rummaging and see an old lawnmower ...

You sounded like me when I came home yesterday to find my 6x24 plank wood-look tile had been installed in the bathroom... in the wrong direction. It was just not what I had envisioned or wanted, and I was upset, but no way was I making him take it out. I had gotten it very cheap, job is running behind and I want to be done. Plus, my mistake for not telling the tiler which way. I had just ASSumed it was obvious it should go the other way. Well, not obvious to the tiler (though I wondered why he didn't ask, when there's a 50/50 no turning back issue like that)... but still, he didn't do anything wrong, and even my husband said he liked it the "wrong" way. Still isn't what I wanted, but the tile is gorgeous, and the effect of the color is still the same and I love it, even if I have to accept it as different from my vision. In your case, mistake = beautiful, so once your mind accepts that, you'll be good to do. :)

Huango, just returning to your basic comments, I often see and comment on kitchens that become large out of proportion to the rest of the house. It's a common phenomenon among the TKO'd. Often but not necessarily a mistake, but always something that needs to be done with great insight into the gains and losses and a commitment to living with them for decades if it comes to that. People's lifestyles, needs, and interests change as they do, and their homes still need to work for them. Regarding: "We are the first house into a LARGE neighborhood of very expensive homes, so we could never renovate beyond our neighborhood value." Dead wrong, and you do need to know that. Has your agent friend explained that yet? Future buyers will compare your entire property to their alternatives. The most glorious kitchen in your state would not significantly increase the value of you property if it was inadequate in other ways compared to alternatives. As an appraiser in Los Angeles, I can't remember all the really, really NICE homes that became--literally--teardowns because their neighborhoods developed with homes different (I don't say necessarily better, though almost always a lot bigger) from what they could offer. That's because, typically, almost all the increased value of a property as a neighborhood skyrockets in value is actually in the land--not the house on it. In any case, any time you're looking more than a handful of months ahead, you have to assume style changes will turn your glorious new tile, or even today's perfect layout, into a cause for buyer dissatisfaction that would have to be "fixed." This is especially the case in affluent neighborhoods where people have become accustomed to updating their homes the way they used to just update their wardrobes, or trade in the 2-year-old for a newer model car.

I have a cat much like Mooch and she will get scared over nothing with a super strong reaction. But based on her perceptions, she's right to be scared by it, so to her, there's much going on to "poof" about. I think the same thing can be said about humans....that there's much going on that seems scary that we may stress about.