I have had the monogram built-ins in my past 2 homes. I love them. Had them paneled, and we love the water/ice in the door. The only downside for me was that it is not truly integrated and flush, with the protrusion being about 2.5" including the wood panels (which are solid like our cabinets). I liked the flush integration of the unpaneled sub zeros, but I am a best bang for the buck sort of shopper. I could not wrap my brain around the difference in price, and knew I could do a lot more with the money than put it in a fridge system that was not going to make a significant difference in my life. However, if full integration was at the top of my list, I would have gotten sub zeros.

I had to shop for ovens extensively and repeatedly, so I actually know and feel that there are tremendous differences between appliances...Just seemingly none that are perfect. I know the fear of the dreaded 'second guessing.' The grass always looks greener...and you don't want to feel that way after spending thousands on appliances. I have to say that the Appliances Forum was way more help than Consumer Reports, or most appliance salesmen. However, with your being in Seattle, and my recent shopping in Seattle, I might be able to tell you the names of the salesmen I found to be helpful, and even the ones I felt were 'full of it' when it came to facts and listening to my needs. I have Bosch dishwashers. We had one in our last house that was far superior to the 2nd one we added, which was a top of the line Maytag with a 3rd/cutlery rack. I only found that it severely limited the amount of full-sized plates and taller glasses we could fit in...and even though it had a food grinder and a heated dry, which the Bosch didn't, the dishes coming out of it were dirtier and wetter than those from the Bosch. Anyway, so it was Bosch for this house...2 of them in the 500 Series. The racks aren't the best, but we make do fine with them, and have no complaints about the job it does cleaning. And the dishwashers are so wonderfully quiet and energy & water efficient. I had Fisher and Paykel ovens, and now have Monogram. I just self-cleaned last night and the oven, including it's wonderful glide racks, looks almost new. None of the chipping porcelain I had with the F&Ps. And the full extension racks are the best. But it's baking performance isn't quite what the F&Ps offered. A sad compromise, I must say, but I can work with it. It's not terrible or anything, I've just had better and notice the little differences. I have a Wolf rangetop (48" with 8 burners since we have a big family)...Like Lisa, we don't have natural gas, so it runs on propane. I don't know if all gas stoves do this, because this is my first gas appliance, but I am amazed how the tiniest adjustment of the knob makes a difference in how vigorously or slowly something cooks. It's amazing and wonderful to be able to control things so well and easily. I like that all the burners have the same high BTUs and same low and consistent simmer. I can use whichever burner for whatever I want without having to choose by what size it is or power it offers. Best wishes. It can be difficult, but your own good research will be worth it. As I said, run things by the appliance forum, it's a great resource.

This may seem OT but it does relate to the general agreement here about preferring knobs, so bear with me: I was buying a new SUV last year so I spent months researching details. One of the things that irritated me about my 2010 Ford was the multiple rows of absolutely identical dashboard buttons. Everything was the same size and shape; you had to take your eyes off the road and actually look down at the buttons to be sure you were pressing the right one. When I started doing research on new cars, many reviews (professional and consumer) expressed dissatisfaction with some of the whizz-bang high-tech electronic displays used by some mfgs. Most complaints were about "slow to respond", but not a few of them said things like "you have to search through menus in order to adjust the interior temperature or the radio volume!" Okay, this is a problem....I am constantly adjusting the temperature in my cars. My spouse likes it warm and I like it cool, especially when the sun is shining down on my side. Plus, if a song comes on that I don't like, I like to whip the volume down to zero. No way can I fumble through menus while I'm driving, LOL. Thus warned, we went out to test-drive some cars. I test drove the SUV I eventually bought, and noticed immediately: the center console had less than half the number of buttons on my 2010 Ford. And they weren't just buttons, either: it was a well-designed combo of bars, with a few stacked buttons, on either side of a BIG ROUND KNOB. Gasp...how old fashioned of this mfg! Press in the center to turn the radio on or off! Turn the outside rim to control the volume! Retro paradise!! Mind you, the car has voice control for most dash functions. But we've owned it for a year now, and I still smile at being able to use A Real Knob to play with the radio controls....... I need to buy a new range. I'm not looking forward to it.

I ended up finding the first rug for a good price on Wayfair! Here it is in the room :) Please excuse the toys, haven't managed to get them contained still and it's our main living area so they keep getting brought back out. Up next: new end tables and some decor on the walls? Hooks by the door will be staying even though they're not super pretty, in his case functionality wins! I am thinking of maybe a wide piece of art above and a tall skinny piece beside the hooks to make them look purposeful... Thanks everyone for your help!