bh401, There is a way to post directly from the website that I copied from GW. (I don't remember who wrote this out...may have been Beuhl): Go to the website, put your cursor on the photo and RIGHT click and a box will pop up. LEFT click on VIEW IMAGE INFO A box will appear with the line LOCATION: followed by that photo's location on the web starting with HTTP and ending with JPG. Copy and paste the location into your post at GardenWeb. Type in front of it "img src=" It will look like this: img src=http and so on, ending with jpg Then add carets at the beginning and end. Preview the message and if you don't see the photo, something has gone wrong. What I usually do is save the image to my computer then upload it to either tinypic or photobucket. Then I retrieve the code from there that says it's for a message board. Babs, I would think any lighting store could order the LBL lights. I ordered mine through American Lighting. I am very happy with the quality and the light output for tasks.

Johnliu, point well made. However, when you have a small kitchen, the neat/tidy pot rack utilizes space that would otherwise be vacant. And it can look pretty darn good doing it too. It is just a very utilitarian accessory for a busy cook with limited storage space. LIDS are always an issue. I have several decorative metal plate racks which hold 4 plates each. Purchased from Mobile Fixture here in Alabama, and they are a restaurant and kitchen supply store. I was able to put some of my flatter lids into the plate slots, and now finding the right size lid for the job is not such a noisy problem. Here's my current pot rack and IKEA utinsel bar. I admit this is overkill and sloppy, but we are nibbling away at a kitchen redo, and everything has to be somewhere. And here is the current state of affairs in the back porch which will one day become part of the kitchen redo. Note on top of the left M/Wave where the orange enameled pan is, those are lids and racks in a wire plate rack, forget where that one came from. And then here is the regular metal plate rack used as a lid rack for the time being. When I redo the kitchen, a built-in table with a countertop will be installed adjacent to the range. IKEA makes the one I will buy if I cannot use the s/s topped piece you see under my current pot rack. I already threw out the old range, and we're now cooking on this Waring Pro 2-burner hotplate. It works for us. But you should see how my hubby's friends shake their heads when they learn I threw out the stove!!!

Had I not made sure mine were centered with the countertop/work surface, the electician would have no doubt centered them over the cabinets themselves. I think most people have overhang on one side only so that's fine in most cases. But we, like yourself, had overhang on the side opposite the range but also on one of the long sides of the island which made the long side asymmetrical. I wanted to make sure my pendants were centered over the island's countertop. Otherwise the lights would be shifted to one side. No one will hit their head on them. That shouldn't even be a concern. Here is ours. See how different it would look if the lights were not over the overhang on the right? If this is how you want them, you should have them move the lights. It's not that big of a deal to do so. Our electrician didn't center four lights properly in the house which we realized last minute. They fixed it AND the ceiling around it within a day. I would have never known the difference if I wasn't to particular and hadn't already noticed!

1. The idea that competitive bidding a set of plans will save you money assumes you're able to play the game better than much more experienced players. Not likely. Architects will try to convince you that their many-splendored set of plans will safeguard against any overage, but once you've signed a contract, you're at the mercy of the contractor for inevitable changes as well as dealing with errors and omissions on the part of your architect. Yes, architects, like builders, are human. Both make mistakes. 2. There is no such thing as a "perfect" set of plans--at least not without infinite cost. Know that you won't be able to do the elusive "apples-to-apples" comparison. 3. Your architect doesn't purchase construction materials or trade labor as part of their day job. Don't look to them as the authority on what a home will cost to build, particularly in an environment of rapidly escalating costs. 4. No you don't have to go over your budget and you don't need a 20% contingency. You just need to align your expectations with your builder's and choose a builder who does a thorough job investigating the site and estimating. A good set of plans and specs goes a long way toward this end, but refer to nos. 1 ,2, and 3 above. Get your builder on board during the design phase. 5. The m.o. of many builders is to tell you what you want to hear--including the price you have in mind for your project. They'll make the necessary margin to stay in business by a combination of less supervision on your project, lower quality materials, lower quality trade contractors and not servicing your legitimate warranty items. Hey, who doesn't love a surprise? 6. There are professionals whose word is their bond, who value their clients and who take pride in their work. Their "brand" matters. They won't cheat you or do something less than their personal best. You just aren't likely to attract one of them by competitive bidding them against a pool of builders much lower down the contractor food chain. Explore alternatives to competitive bidding to get the kind of contractor you want. 7. HGTV is not a good resource; their shows should be aired on the Disney channel. 8. Consider that you're not the right fit for every builder. Be willing to at least entertain the notion that you may even be the "client from hell." 9. This entry has been intentionally left blank. 10. You don't need to be a subject matter expert in any/all aspects of residential construction. That's what you hire your builder for. Choosing wisely enables you to focus on your day job while you build a home.