Gibby: The only application I might give pause to recommending a Solatube is where the dome is visible at the front elevation of the house. Our Solatubes can be seen along the sides, but with the angle of our hipped roof lines, you cannot see any vent stacks or either Solatube when you stand directly in front of the house. Now as you walk around the house, you see them (of course). We have a brown roof and they really have a low profile so they don't jump out at you. And since most bathrooms are towards the rear of the house, this shouldn't be a problem, but thought I'd mention it. I believe that the Solatube brand can only be installed by dealers or contractors, but that might be the case in Texas. Home Depot also sells a comparable product, but I don't know about the quality. We bought the 10" diameter tube with a plain opaque lens, and it gives off plenty of light. Any bigger and we'd have to wear sunglasses in our bathrooms! Here is a link that might be useful: Solatube

Whether that's "average" for where you live or not, I don't know. Regardless, I recommend you take your design and shop around. Look at other cabinet lines. It may be that b/c your KD's company only carries one line they don't worry about competitive pricing b/c there's no competition w/in the store. Check custom...but (1) Custom is not a guarantee of quality...so be sure to see his/her work in several finished kitchens, not samples in the workshop. (2) Just b/c some people were able to find a custom cabinetmaker for lower than purchasing from a big box or specialty store does not mean you will. In reality, many custom cabinetmakers charge more in the end once you factor in the "extras" that come standard in some lines, good drawer glide/door hinge hardware, trim, installation, etc. (3) Be sure the custom cabinetmaker has done kitchen cabinets in the past, not someone who does furniture and has an attitude of "they can't be too hard"...b/c cabinets are different than furniture. There have been several horror stories around here about major problems w/custom cabinetmakers...quality, customer service, etc. So, do your homework...thoroughly...if you decide to go the custom route. Yes, there are also horror stories about cabinets from stores, but you usually have a management chain to climb if the person you're working with isn't responding or stonewalling you. Oh, and if you want opinions on the layout your KD came up with...feel free to post it here. However, people here won't pull punches...especially considering functionality, so if you can't take constructive criticism or absolutely do not want to change it, then don't post it. Good luck!

I seem to have a sixth sense about marble questions on this forum .... We've honed Calacatta as our perimeter countertops and backsplash -- that's how confident I was with them. We've had them nearly a year and they've been used literally every single day since then: the one holiday was just me taking our children -- my husband stayed homed and deep-fried his favorite (and one I find disgusting) dish. For whatever reason he absolutely refuses to clean up after himself, rather, he refuses to wipe down the counters / backsplash, which meant the grease splatters sat for days until I came home to wipe them up. Grr, but no stains! Seriously, not a single stain. As I learned from the marble gurus here who came before me (mnhockeymom and momto4kids) I sealed with Miracle 511 and so far, knock marble, so good! The only issue I've had was when a rusty strand of steel wool was caught in a sponge and I used it to wipe -- the countertop sucked that rust right up and looked as if I'd used really bad self-tanner. I used Iron Out and literally as I applied it the stain was removed. I resealed immediately after: the whole process, from stain to running out to purchase the Iron Out, coming home to use it, reseal, was maybe forty-five minutes. A splotch of tomato sauce sat overnight on the countertop next to the cooktop; after I scraped it up the next day there was a v. faint stain. I wasn't in the mood to use the poultice right then and knew I'd get to it later, like nap time. (as if) But when I did come back to it the spot was gone, all on its own. I'm sure we must have etch marks but for the life of me, bending this way and that in various lights I cannot see them, and I'm really looking. I think our marble, in particular the (slab) backsplash, is really the visual highlight of our kitchen (and our kitchen is a lovely thing). (oh, and I think a slab backsplash is heaven! such a breeze to clean one solid surface -- no grout lines) However, I still have reservations about it but only because it was so hideously expensive: it was more than twice what the fabricator and I had budgeted for marble countertop. Gulp. Others above are right: if you can live with it (and I couldn't), the Carrara is extremely affordable! I wish I weren't so particular that I had to have the no-gold / big grey swirls (as opposed to the road map Carrara), but for me, rather than settle I'd have had plywood if I couldn't have what I wanted. It would have really ticked me of to spend $X and get something (the Carrara) which reminded me on a daily basis I didn't see my vision through. But that's me and that was my priority. So instead I have a beautiful countertop / backsplash which reminds me on a daily basis that I spent way too much! Can't win. The marble was the last thing I found for our kitchen, and I found it as the cabinets were being installed. (My patient then-one year-old visited every stone yard with me for months, searching and searching for that marble needle in the slab hay stack.) If I knew then what I know now (I know, a stupid and dangerous thought to entertain), I would've done a much less expensive cabinet but still splurged on the marble. (I think our cabs were expensive, but maybe that's just my budget.) Someone else (whose id I've forgotten) wrote in a different post not too long ago that for many kitchens it is not the cabinets which are the star: it's the countertop / backsplash, sometimes hardware and sometimes showy appliances, but rarely the cabinets themselves. I think they're right, or at least when I think of my kitchen I think they're right. My cabinet door / drawer style is lovely -- the cabinetmaker and I spent a lot of time designing it together. But to be redundant, if I had to do it again I would've done a less expensive cabinet (like IKEA with custom doors) but still splurged on the marble. So that's my sole regret about the Calacatta, and it's a bit half-assed. I've a nearly three year-old and a four year-old: I am basically a short-order cook. I spend what feels like all day every day in the kitchen, using it. My husband loves to cook and cooks elaborately, and he does that frequently. (and frequently doesn't clean up ...) Our kitchen is used and the marble is the only material in our kitchen which is not the worse for wear. The only one. (The butcherblock, which we use as a butcherblock, not a decorative countertop, shows its wear; the painted cabinets show both dirt and some wear; the stainless sink is scratched [but I kinda like it!] and our lower wall oven is covered with my youngest's hand / face prints. I still wouldn't change a thing, however!) It's also been my experience the marble requires the least maintenance; the butcherblock I "butter" every month and the cabinets I (should) wipe every week, but the marble only requires sealing every six months or so and the occasional spot-check (like my rust). I just wanted to be completely honest about my experience, loves and regrets with our marble. Good luck!

Only get matching interiors for the glass fronted cabinets. Get plain panels for the end cabinets (i.e., not decorative/fake doors). You can always get the fake doors later if you feel you need them. There's a thread that talks about ways to save money: Scrimp on this, Splurge on that....: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg101324514831.html BTW...this is what my DH did for DVD storage.... My DH recessed these shelves into one of the walls we put up when we refinished about half the basement quite a while ago. (The shelves were done this year.) The shelves were sized to fit VHS tapes...including the oversized-Disney cases! But, we filled them up w/DVDs! [The finished basement is part media room for DH, part kids playroom.]