Hi- I don't often post on this forum (mostly on kitchen and bath), but I too am building a home.. I noticed your post and felt compelled to comment. I live in New England, south of Boston. We sold our house in March, closed in May with the expectation that our new build would have begun in April. They did not even start clearing land until August, and we are still in an apartment with our 4 and 6 year old daughters and 8 yr. old yellow lab. B/c you said you were moving to a rental. My only suggestion to you is to think about how wonderful it will be in the end when your beautiful new home is finished. We are due to close (fingers crossed) in the next two weeks- so I guess it is a little easier to say that now.. but.. it will be worth it in the end!

I agree with Pam about the function things, but, at least where I live, having the kitchen fit the style of the house, aesthetically, will have the greatest visual appeal. Make the whole house cute! Use the original kitchen as a style cue. Sochi phrased the plea not to lose the MCM as personal--I'll extend it to the rentability. Renters want function function function since there's nothing they can do about anything. Having the whole house read as a single style makes it so much easier to furnish and live in, and makes the house make sense to the renters when they're walking through while it's empty. I've lived in a '30's beauty of a rental with an unadorned, clean '70's kitchen, which wasn't bad. It was all function, white slab cabinets, white tile, and newish appliances. The kitchen had no charm but had lots more function than the '30's kitchen would. Lots of cabinets. Separate cooktop and ovens. Garbage disposer and dishwasher. So that was fine, if unexciting. The rest of the place was really cute, and had the original hardwood floors and walk-in closets, plus original tile and huge tub in the bathroom. Then there was the early '60's place with the panelled wall in the living room, panelled den with built-ins, and pink kitchen. Original, very clean, appliances. It was cute! The whole house was cute. The original kitchen, with it's display cabinet peninsula was cute. The panelling was a bit of a gulp, but it was clean and unmarked, and went so well with the style of the house. My furniture looked just fine. And the kitchen was very functional, other than too wide an aisle. Lots of cabinets, and more in the laundry room. Okay, as a former renter? LOTS OF CABINETS!! That's the ticket to pleasing a renter. And cute. Renters want the place to look like something. Keep that MCM thing going. Anyway, slab cabinets are easier to clean between renters. :) I also have experience from the landlord perspective (including surveying the competition), which also says that closets and cabinets are worth extra $$$, but generally, you'll get your rent based on location, pleasantness of surroundings, space, upkeep and storage. Utterly bland will rent at full price. Too much character (e.g., mauve walls or anything "weird") won't rent well, but a little style with neutral colors goes a long way.

Simply heartbreaking! Our two water damage events were not anywhere near your disaster but I remember feeling just devastated at the amount of the work needed for the cleanup. â The first time, we came home after an all day family Thanksgiving gathering at my parents to find the upstairs bathroom plumbing to the tub had broken. All the water fell into our bedroom on the first floor along with the ceiling. â Our next water issue happened during the night. We had a portable dishwasher and had hooked it up, turned it on and went to bed. Eight hours later found the connection had broken from the faucet and had water from the kitchen pouring down to the basement along with steamed and dripping windows throughout the first floor. All my DH's Marine Corps clothes and gear took a direct hit. They were all ready to wear neatly closeted in his part of the basement directly under the kitchen. I can only imagine the despair you felt when you discovered your flood damage! My prayers are with you and your family.

I agree with those who say an ice maker should be considered standard, especially if you are talking about anything above a cheap apartment. Since my childhood, I'v only experienced one ice maker problem and that was after a long distance move 20 years ago. They are pretty simple machines that tend to keep working. All things being equal, I'd rent a place that had an ice maker over one that didn't (big deal for me, but I'm in Texas, not Washington). I'm with breezy on a FD just being another door to open. I liked the idea of one when they came out -- DH pointed out that the door storage is not only divided, it cuts into your door opening space on both sides. If you use that tray storage, you have to open the doors super wide and then get around both doors with your hands full. You can get the same kind of tray storage in a single door and it would seem easier to use. If I saw one in a rental unit, it would seem out of place and I'd wonder if the landlord decided they didn't like it and cast it off to the rental. You prefer a single door bottom freezer. I love mine. They cost less to buy and to operate, offer a clean look and a bit of an upgrade, but not too much.