Thank you gsciencechick for the information on Lowe's even willing to cut the tiles for me if I mark them since that could be an option for me after my busy season since there is a tile another member liked that is reasonably priced and special order that I would like to buy a few pieces as a sample to see if it would look nice in my kitchen. The blue pearl granite you used that includes the washer cabinet buildup and the plumbing connection sounds reasonable but you are right that you live in a more reasonable cost State of NC. I will have to look into this. I love hidden hinges and that is what I want if possible if not I will live with new hinges that are seen. Congratulations on three happy years of marriage! I am happy for you. I hope one day to meet my soul-mate or someone that I would want to spend the rest of my life together with and who would love fixing up our home together. Of course if he is handy, that would help.

jake - the ebay pulls are solid and very heavy. THAT SAID, hollow isn't necessarily bad. Obviously when you hold a solid pull in your hand vs. a hollow one, one will feel heavier and, arguably, "more expensive." Once the pull is mounted, however, feeling heavy is not so much a factor. As long as they're not so hollow/thin that they could get dinged or dented, how they look (i.e., not cheap) and how they feel when you're using them are more important factors. I don't have experience with the Ikea handles, so I couldn't say. FWIW, the Contempo (Ebay) pulls are about the same price or cheaper than the Ikea ones that are 21" or shorter, and you have a lot more options on sizes from Contempo. The Contempo handles also use metric measurements (when I mentioned before that the seller's measurements were a little off, that's why - he's advertising in inches instead of the mm as they were made). My guess is that most of the European-style bar pulls on the market are going to be in metric, actually. re: screws, my installer had to use longer screws that she had on hand because the metric ones were too short. It looks like from Pharaoh's post that they'll send you the longer ones if you ask.

I only did a kitchen "refresh" so my cabinets remained the same. When we moved in they had white "globe" knobs. I replaced those with glass hexagonal knobs. When we did the mini-reno I ended up keeping the glass knobs on the upper cabinets (at the suggestion of a GWebber) and replacing the lower glass knobs on the doors with polished chrome knobs. On the drawers I substituted polished chrome bin pulls. I wanted some shine (good Feng Shui) and also wanted them to match my faucet. I love the different finishes and designs. Hope this helps.

I personally think of mixing appliances like I think of mixing jewelry. Given the right setting, it could work, but usually... usually... to get a cohesive look, you don't wear a gold necklace, one silver earring, one copper earring and a rainbow bracelet together. You find the things that match and can pull together a whole look. Usually.... usually.... mismatched appliances... to ME.... look like someone is in the middle of a reno, or like me... had to buy a new fridge and DW (stainless), but hasn't gotten around to or hasn't the money to purchase a new microwave or stove. In the big picture, kitchens don't have to be magazine perfect. But usually.... if someone does a reno, there is a plan for everything to flow together. If function is as important as looks, and for many, it is more important, then by all means, get what works or is affordable when you can get it. But most on this forum or most who redo a kitchen, it is based at least partially on getting a new look. And like jewelry or outfits or whatever, one usually... usually... tries to coordinate. And none of the above is a slam. Just an observation. As for "tacky", I do use that word a lot, and I am WAY past high school. I've seen tacky. It does exist. I haven't seen it on this forum, though. But if I do, I probably won't say anything ;)