Someone locally is selling a new, misordered white Kohler Purist tub for like 1/3 of normal cost, and I almost jumped at until I realized it had BubbleMassage and not the Effervescence i wanted (tiny bubbles rather than the usual big ones that quickly float to the surface and pop). I'm still intrigued with this tub - it, and its rectangular cousin the Kohler Sok, are like bathing in your own personal infinity pool. It's also a rare 2-person tub configured so you can either face each other or (my preference) face the same direction side by side, both in reasonable comfort. But I just can't fit a 46"w tub in this house (and thats before the obligitory deck built around it) so it will have to wait until my next move, which hopefully won't be too long in the future. Things I like in a bathroom that I really have: another Ikea Godmorgan sink cabinet (4' long x 18") with Odensvik sink - what an incredible use of space with those four deep wide drawers, thanks to the sink drain plumbing that's quickly pushed to the back, and the glossy drawerfronts, full extension drawer glides, soft-close feature, and wall hangability, along with the thick, glossy glazed ceramic top and nice chrome pulls I used, fool everyone into thinking it's seriously high-end stuff. As with a previous poster, the 18" rather than 21" depth went a long way to making the room feel roomier, since the deeper vanity would have been right up against the door opening. Since the Ikea sink doesn't have a backsplash, I put large ceramic tiles on the wall that look like Carrara marble. Nestled amonst those tiles between the sink and medicine cabinet is a 4" tall strip of glass/marble/metallic accent tile from Porcelanosa. Like everything else at that modernist boutique, it's expensive, but since I didn't need much it didn't matter, and the presense of obviously luxury-grade accent tiles further disguises that everything surrounding it came from Lowes or Ikea. Ditto the Pfister Kenzo waterfall faucet, which only set me back about $125. Looks 4x the price it is. California Faucets thermostatic tub/shower valve. Central lever controls temperature, with temperatures embossed in the metal, giving it the appearance of a dial on a nice wristwatch; just set your favorite temp and it keeps it. Below and above the large temperature control are two smaller levers for water volume control that can be used one at a time or both at once, for tub spout and shower, or fixed shower and hand shower, without the need for a seperate diverter control. All three controls fit on either a round or rectangular metal bezel, and there are loads of styles and finishes to choose from. Higher than average flow rate too. Much better than the Hansgrohe thermostatic valve I used in another room. An infrared heat lamp strategically positioned in the ceiling in front of the mirror and vanity cabinet, right under where you stand in front of the sink and mirror whilst drying off and styling hair. Also on the ceiling is a Broan QTR080L exhaust fan/light - very quiet, and the light uses a standard bulb instead of some funky compact fluorescent lamp that can only be purchase from an electrical specialty store, which is the norm for new exhaust fan/lights it seems. I put a retrofit LED bulb in there, which makes it even more efficient than the fluorescent bulbs most of these force you to use, and it gives off a more natural light too. Toto Drake II commode (or its skirted cousin, Vespin II). High quality, doesn't clog, perfect 16-1/2" height, cleans the side of the bowl extremely well (rare in 1.28gpf toilets), has two large water outlets instead of dozens of tiny holes that collect mildew so you can toss your toilet brush away. It's also slender so the space around it looks roomier in tight spaces. I used the Church 1720 slow-close seats from Lowes, which cover up most of their own seams at the back further easing cleaning (the lid on these sticks out about 1/2" beyond the seat and bowl underneath which looked odd at first, but that lets you lift the lid without touching the sometimes soiled parts underneath which I like). Also from Lowes, the Kohler recessed medicine cabinets mirrored inside and out, 26"h with several widths available, most for under $200. Would like them even better if the hinges allowed the doors (mirrored on the inside) to open further, but replacement hinges are available if you need that. Still, these look very elegant and are also very functional, with height-adjustable glass shelves. Home Depot has similar units with doors that swing open further, but they're not as well made. In another bathroom I used the Lowes Allen + Roth 31"w x 22"d vanity top in Blue Pearl, my favorite granite color, which was only $200 a few months ago but has risen in price some since. It's available in several other colors and widths too, all including an oval white undermount bowl. Still a good deal for a high quality granite top that fits atop loads of stock cabinets, though I'd prefer if it weren't pre-drilled for an 8" widespread faucet, generally ruling out using a single-hole or wall-mount faucet. These aren't stocked in stores, but they're not truly custom/built-to-order, probably sitting in a warehouse somewhere, and there's only about a one-week turnaround if you order from their website and pick up in their stores. These do include a backsplash, and a sidesplash is available too. Finally, nice sculpted lever handles on the bathroom doors, which allow them to be opened by pushing upward using the top of your hand if it's wet or soapy. I'm not a germophobe, but I like being able to do this before I'm about to eat a meal and want my hands to be clean and disinfected, and have guests over who may not have washed their hands after using the restroom. When used in the normal fashion, pushing downward with your palm, they're easier to open than round knobs.

I had a uniden. It was easy to hold on my shoulder. But the base went out since we moved here (2004). Sometime after that, we got a panasonic. This time, three cordless. Can't hold it on my shoulder easy, but it has speaker phone capability, and I like that. I have three handsets, one main unit mounted on the wall in the kitchen, and two charger bases in the other rooms where the phones live. All our phones usually make it back to where they belong. However, we do have a "search" function, where we can beep any of the three, and they beep till we turn it back off. Great option. The uniden would only beep for about 5 beeps. Nother option I like, I can copy any number I program in a handset to any/all other handsets. Jerry found them online, cheaper than at SAMS. That's all I remember about them. I could search for the manual and receipt, and will if you need more info. Moni

Patti bee brings up a very good point. The location of the garage is very important. It has to be in a spot that is convenient as far as location of the appliances, but not such that it gets in the way. My garage sticks out farther than the other upper cabinets (18") due to the way the lift up pocket door works. Because of this, I had to find a spot for it that had enough counter space in front of it to allow me to pull things out and use them outside of the garage. I went through many iterations of my kitchen layout, and one of the things that gave me the hardest time was where to put the garage. With an 18" depth, placing it on a regular 24" deep counter would only leave 6" of workspace in front of the garage. Thus the placement on the wall end of my peninsula was the ultimate solution. Not only did that provide an entire peninsula counter in front of the garage, but it also gave me usage for a space which normally would not have gotten much use at all. In point of fact, it does sort of break up the peninsula workspace which I use for prep 90% of the time, from the to-the-right-of-the-cooktop workspace. But that works for me because those two workspaces have completely separate purposes so there's not a lot of interaction between the two. There was at least one other spot in my kitchen that the garage could have gone without breaking up the workspace, but again, it was paramount that the appliances be in the spot where I would do my prep most often. So in order to be a good addition to the kitchen, it must be in a location that is convenient to the workspace without taking up necessary workspace. A delicate balance!

I have an old pre-WWII model singer treadle which I use when I feel nostalgic. When I was in HS I made petticoats to go under poodle skirts with it..and made pretty good money. Also made most of my own clothes. I also have a Necchi Elna which is about 40 years old. It works beaufully, but does not handle heavy fabrics well. Tension problems..it won't climb over the seams. I don't do much sewing anymore, but the maintenance man told me to keep it..it's all metal and made to last.