An occasional poster but mostly lurker here to say I'm glad to see the OP has had some success blocking the ads. This has always been one of my favorite forums, for the warm and friendly tone of the exchanges as well as the subject matter, and I hope things pick up again soon. I've been shamefully absent lately, since in mid-October I "died and went to heaven" ... I started a job at a county park which is a 57-acre horticultural park dedicated to the home gardener. WooHoo! Such a beautiful site, in all weather conditions in all seasons, and, a former private residence, has an interesting history. Also still trying to finish the front yard makeover as well; with about a dozen or so plants to go (there were over 100 perennials and shrubs to be moved, and 6 cubic yards of mushroom compost to distribute and work in), there's not much time for the computer these days. It's warmed up to about 43 now, a few more degrees and I'll be back outside. Just want to let you all know you've been a source of inspiration and encouragement over the years and I hope this forum will continue to be so for others for years to come.

I wish you and your son well. If the children will still be going to the same school for at least a while, you might want to go into the office and see about having the son moved to a different teacher. Being in the same school might be hard, but the same classroom could be upsetting to your son and affect his grades. I'd hate to think the SD spends her school day teasing or bullying your son. If they'll still be in the same building, the school needs to be aware that additional 'trouble' could be brewing between them. Maybe if your district is large enough they'd let you transfer you son to a different buidling. From your earlier posting "I've contemplated leaving at least every 3 months in the last 4 years. It doesn't seem to get better"... I'm not sure you can blame everything on the SD as it appears you've known since the very beginning that this relationship/marriage was not in your best interest. You gave it a good long chance but it never was meant to be for you and you sensed this clear back then. Don't let your mom and sister push and/or guilt you into remaining in this relationship. Time to think of only you and your son. Take your time now, get moved into your father's, enjoy a house filled with happiness and love... and don't look back. One day at a time, rebuild your life and gather your strength...your son and you both deserve so much more than what you've been living.

Wow that looks fabulous! I'll show your photo to DH, maybe it will motivate him. So you didn't put up the board and then cover the seam with the trim. You put up the trim (bullnose) first? Circus your kitchen is just gorgeous!! I love the tile colors with the rich cherry color. And your stove knobs match the tile! Love the way you hid what sometimes can be an eye sore . . . namely the vent hood! You made it into a work of art

Rhome, thanks so much for reviewing this. You've raised some points with which I've been hassling. So here are my arguments. Please rebut if you want. Re: pantry door Bifold doors take up too much side-opening space when open, and are a pain to close completely. Same for accordion-type. A curtain would be difficult to keep clean (think dirty hands and dirty/dusty clothing from the workshop), and also would get in the way of a step stool used for reaching the higher shelves. The solid door allows attachment of door shelves/racks (term?, the wire thing that screws into the door and holds foil, plastic wrap, and other skinny things). I need that door rack. But I'll try not using the one in the present pantry and see if I can get by without it. BTW, those wire slide-out thingies that slip onto fixed shelves would take up shelf space that, in my case, would be better used for foodstuffs. Re: snack bar sink I agree for the need for a sink, but don't want to give up counter space and under counter drawer space. For hand-washing, we can use the half-bath or the utility quasi-mud room (off the den. There's another entrance into the house from the deck.) For cleaning, I might use one shelf in a wall cab for a spray bottle and towels and keep a small canister on the counter for trash? Dirty glassware would just be left there until I get around to moving them to the sink. I don't want to extend the wall to the den so that a longer counter would fit. Making the wall longer would obstruct the view and screw up the den-living room symmetry. Extending the outside wall is not an option. I need to think about this. Re: oven I put the oven where I did so that I could watch what's going on in there while I'm cooking. The height is a compromise among bending over, microwave reach, and frig landing space. If the oven were placed at standard counter height, I may as well get a range instead of a wall oven. If the oven were placed at a higher height and along the long wall, the counter would be broken up, I couldn't watch what was burning, wouldn't have the counter space for making and rolling dough (for example), enough landing space for sorting groceries. The mixer is on that long wall and I want to leave it there instead of putting it away when I'm finished with it. BTW, a toaster oven is also on that long counter which I hope to retire if and when I get the single/double oven. The toaster oven has given me some insight into problems associated with having an oven on that counter/wall. As far as traffic pattern is concerned, there may be no good place for the oven? Ordinarily, there's not much traffic in the kitchen except for the dogs. Anyone I'm feeding would just have to wait until the oven door is closed to get by. Re: landing space The base cabinet is ~27" deep, or else 24" deep and pulled away from the wall so that the counter is ~28 1/2" deep. I need the 15" deep wall cab to house items that are, say, 13"-14" deep, and to hold the microwave (small countertop size). The ~12"high landing space is high enough for frig items. The 12"height takes into account the UCL rail/strip. The microwave is elevated to avoid hitting what's on the counter when the microwave door is open. Dunno. Another difficult choice I'm debating for the frig wall is cabinet depth. Use 24" deep cabs and pull them from the wall so that the frig looks built-in, or bite the cost bullet and use ~27" deep cabs and gain storage space. I'm leaning towards the latter. Please continue to make suggestions. If you want, I will provide vertical sketches for usage in the proposed layout.