update! I've gotten it about 90% fixed! It wasn't a store "mode" exactly, but the appliances all had things disconnected. The 2 ovens had the coils disconnected, and the magnetron in the microwave was also disconnected. I attached pics showing the parts that I found. The 30" oven and microwave were straightforward, because they were simple harnesses. but the 24" oven is another matter. There are 10 separate spade connectors, and I don't know which wires to connect to which. see the linked photo set for pics. Is there a way to figure this out without a whirlpool service visit? Here is a link that might be useful: disconnected appliance pics

We did this several years ago, and it worked out ok for us, but just barely. Make sure that there is no chance for a construction lien to attach to the house after the closing--make sure that the title insuance company deletes the construciton lien exception from the title insurance policy and make the builder provide all of the lien waivers that the title insurance company needs to do that. As I said, we lucked out, but our builder went bankrupt soon after we closed and the person who bought the partially completed house down the road wasn't as lucky and construciton liens did attach to their house after the closing so they ended up paying for lots and lots of things twice. They did get a big digger out of the bankruptcy--just what they wanted--but they paid thousands and thousands of dollars extra for that house (One thing I remember is that it was two story brick colonial and they had to pay for the brick and the installation of the brick twice!). The only other thing would be to make sure that you get a homeowner's warranty as most (but not all!) defects will become appararent within a year of construction. We had several problems from shoddy, but hidden, construciton/plumbing/wiring elements that became appparent within the first few years after we purchased the house but our builder was already bankrupt--we had to get a back hoe and plumber out to our house on Christmas eve one year because they didn't use galvanized fittings (I think that's the term) to bring the water into the house so the fittings rusted and got holes in them flooding the basement, etc. 5 houses in our subdivison that were built by the same builder had this same problem--just not on Christmas Ever. And then there was the . . . . If you are involved in construction early, you can watch what the builder is doing. But if you get involved when the walls are in, lots of defects may be covered up.

Ok, three of my favorite voices around here--Palimpsest, Ideefixe and Oakleyok--have pretty well covered all the bases, but just to recap... The three biggest causes of Decorating Remorse--other than watching TV decorating shows & wishing you had done something other than what you already did, I mean--are Being in too big a hurry & buying something just to have something (rather than have nothing), Worrying about inconsequential stylistic labels & categories, and Buying brand new pieces. I did without a sofa for five years rather than buy something merely to be have something to sit on, I don't worry about what style supposedly goes with what, and I never buy anything new. Well, almost never. The most expensive thing in my house is an early 19th century sofa, for which I forked over 850 of my hard-earned dollars, and the two-months-long diet of peanut-butter sandwiches that paid for it was worth every bite. The second-most-expensive thing I ever bought was also the only thing I've ever bought new: a gigantic 3-piece arched mirror set out of a popular catalog that looked very handsome in the photo but which turned out to be a piece--well, three pieces--of junk, which I should have predicted, since, Hello!, it was in a popular catalog. All I can say is I must have been on Nyquil that day. Anyway, I seldom make mistakes, but when I do, I don't brood & beat myself up over them, so I hauled them down to the service entrance lobby of my building and in a few hours, they were gone. The sofa I'll have forever.

Thanks, everybody! I'm kind of excited, but this morning at 3 AM I couldn't sleep so I got up and went upstairs and while I was trying to figure out about 6 different projects, I had a mini-little panic attack about the fridge. I just hate that we have to cut out part of the cabinet, and I wonder if it's too big for our small space, and everything seems worse in the dark. You know? Now it's light out and I feel a little better, but I'm not used to spending big chunks of money like that and especially on something that we will have to live with for a long time. And even if this fridge goes eventually, the cabinet is still cut. Lydia, your car? Aw, man. I hope you get it fixed up soon so it's like new again. *thumps DH on the head* Oh, wait, you already DID that! Silly me. And we would have measured if we had had a clue that a new fridge was imminent. The only thing that is keeping Woody from complaining too much about this is- he swore up and down it would fit. I thought not. And, he really liked this fridge more than any other. I could have picked a different one without too much trouble. Although- the drawers- most of the fridges had drawers that didn't have roller slides on them, I hate those drawers that you have tug and shift to get them to slide out, it always feels like you're breaking that brittle plastic. I know this fridge rolls really well, it kept scooting around in the store when I pulled the freezer open, so I don't know if that means it has adjustable feet or not. I think we'll call our salesman BEFORE we cut! Good point. Janie- Roll out shelves? Um, I don't know! OK, I looked at the spec sheet online- 1 slide in shelf. I don't know if it rolls out or not. I have one in this fridge, and honestly, I rarely use that feature. As for paying, we'll pay it off at the end of this year, not waiting the full year. We really don't like to owe anyone money, but since it's interest free, it's hard to pass up. We'll let our money make a dab for about 6 more months. Then lose the debt! We did that on our countertops too, got the extra 10% off and the interest-free plan by using their card, which we've never used since. That was Home Depot. Enjoy your book, Jodi! It'll make you want to go back, I guarantee it! Moni, furniture is way more fun than rope! The beauty of this spontaneous purchase is that Woody didn't have time to get worried about it or freak out. If we plan to go spend money, it makes him grumpy. This worked out good, but he's kind of grumpy today. I think he's in shock, too. lol