Autumn--I have dimensions for you on the bench and took a couple of better pics too. :) The carpenters were there when I went down there, so I asked them how they built the middle shelves. They said they nailed and glued it all the way around and then put the face frame on. Hope that helps!! Dimensions: The tall opening in the middle is 18.5" high and 23" wide. The openings for the areas with a shelf are 22.5" wide, with the bottom shelf at 9" high and the top shelf at 8" high. These are all measurements for the openings, so do not include the frame. bluemoon--Glad you liked the fireplace surround! :) My carpenters are really good. I just give them the basics of what I want or show them a picture and they have not disappointed so far. For this one, I just wanted something simple and not too thick as I wanted to leave enough space to showcase the pebble tile that will go around the fireplace unit. I think they nailed it! (pun intended :)) They put the shelves in on either side yesterday. The counters did go in yesterday, but they were covering them up just as we got there, so I didn't get to revel in them and I barely got a few pics. Super white quartz on island: Carrera marble on kitchen perimeter and DD vanity: Brazilian black slate on DS vanity and Great Room hearth: As far as pantry goes, mine is a walk in but not huge. I know I want a counter top with in an L shape with one shelf underneath for larger items and then various shelves above. I had two outlets put in at counter level so that we can keep appliances like toaster and Keurig in there. Something like this: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/cottage-bungalow-craftsman-kitchen-phvw-vp~7334112) [Craftsman Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2116) by Traverse City Architects & Designers Marty Rhein, CKD, CBD - BAC Design Group

The Zephyr website lists a 50w PAR20 halogen bulb (screw in type) for your Breeze II. Knowing that, your local lighting store might be able to help you find lamps that would match up with it fairly closely. The lamps of this type that I found online were specified at 520 to 600 lumens, 2900K to 3500K color temp, and 90-100 CRI, so even buying the same type of lamp isn't guaranteed to give the same results when you replace a burned out lamp but maybe it's close enough. Since there's such a range in specs even on the same type bulb, you might go down to wherever you would normally buy bulbs (like Home Depot or Lowe's or your local lighting store) and buy one. Put it into a lamp that you own (it has a normal medium screw-in base) and shine it on the tiles. If you like that light, then look for lighting with those specs. This is a pretty simplistic approach, but at least you would know what kind of light you're going to get and know where to get replacements. If you have enough time, you could try calling the support people at Zephyr and ask about the specs on their lamps.

We purchased Phase II solar shades for our great room in 5% openness. We opted for the dark color, and only use them occasionally when watching TV during the early evening in the summer. The windows are west facing so get the afternoon sun. They definitely block out enough glare to see the TV clearly. And you can still enjoy the view. When rolled up, the are not noticeable at all. We've been pleased, they function as we expected. Now that the sun sets earlier, we don't use them. We got them at Penneys, and they had samples of the fabric. I brought them home and held them up to light before making my choice. They definitely are not decorative. If you want something decorative, these are not for you. I love wood blinds, and plantation shutters too. But now that we in a wooded area with beautiful views, I wanted it to be wide open when we didn't need the shades for TV viewing. Here is a link that might be useful: Phase II

I've never seen your kitchen (or any pictures of it) and thus don't know how your tiles or countertop or paint or cabinets will look like under different lighting, so I have no way to know which would make your colors look best, but my inclination is to go with PAR38 bulbs in 6" cans, because that gives you the most options now and also in the future to change if necessary, or if better/cheaper LED lights come along. I've generally found high color temperatures (4000K and up) look best with white cabinets, which turn yellowish under 2700K light, but that wood cabinets look best with lower color temperatures. But the differences between halogen (about 2850k) and 3000 or 3500K are more subtle. I lean towards the GE 20947 halogen PAR38 bulbs I mentioned earlier, in part because I've used them frequently and can vouch that they give off great light (a 2850K 100CRI halogen won't dull colors like a 2700K 82CRI CFL does), an even well-focused beam spread, and not much glare. And the light bulbs themselves look good, more so than many LED floodlamps currently available which look more like showerheads or jet engines with visible heatsinks. The halogen bulbs have a rated 3000 hour life; by the time they burn out there should be a much larger, higher quality, and cheaper assortment of LED retrofits available then there are now; indeed, a halogen bulb now and an LED replacement two or three years hence could be less expensive than an LED bulb now. I don't notice much heat from them when installed in an 8' ceiling - they're much further away from you than the lights on your rangehood, and considerably bigger but only slightly higher wattage (and wattage correlates with heat). If you're really concerned about adding any heat though, maybe something like the Home Depot Commercial Electric 5"/6" LED modules (or another similar brand) would be better - they're cool, not wildly expensive, efficient, 3000K, but also only low-80s CRI. You can put a PAR30 bulb in a 6" or 6.5" can, but doing so requires a conical trim kit to look good (so there's no big gap around the bulb), and I've never liked that appearance - the fixture looks too big for the bulb - but getting a PAR38-capable nonetheless gives you that flexibility, whereas a 5" can can use only a PAR30. Myself I still prefer to use 5" cans for PAR30 lights for the neater appearance. Long necks or short necks are a choice only for the PAR30 size; other sizes have only one common shape. The long-neck bulb is more common in residential fixtures, and most of what you'll find in consumer-oriented stores. Cheap bulb extenders are sold in hardware stores that will effectively turn a short-neck PAR30 into a long-neck version, and sometimes the socket in the recessed fixture can be adjusted in or out to suit either. The short-neck PAR30 (or smaller bulbs) are a good option when dealing with shallow ceilings though where big cans may not fit. But most times (and nearly all times if there's an attic above your kitchen), there's plenty of space for a normal-depth large can.