Tiger, I live in northern VA, similar climate to Ryan,with cost per BTU about 25% less than gas at a COP of 3. Balance would be set no lower than 40 for HP by personal choice. The Carrier MVC heat outputs at 30K, 49K and 74K in three stages, the MVB does two stage at 49K and 75K As far as heat pumps here are the stats: Model: York Affinity 8T YZH04811 SEER: 16.4 EER: 11.7 HSPF: 9.4 Cooling: 46,000 Heating @47: 48,500 Heating @17: 37,200 Model: Carrier Infinity 16 24ANA648 SEER: 15.5 EER: 11.2 HSPF: 9.0 Cooling: 47,000 Heating @47: 47,500 Heating @17: 28,000 Model: Lennox Signature XP19-048-230 SEER: 16.25 EER: 12 HSPF: 8.3 Cooling: 45,500 Heating @47: 44,000 Heating @17: 26,400 Heating performance from the Lennox is so so as with the Carrier. The Infinity 19 has arguably worse stats than the 16. York looks like the winner for the HP? So it seems like York or Lennox for straight AC or York for HP unless I want the Infinity controller and system (all else being equal) Anyone have a three sided coin or other opinions?

Mine is panelled and the vent (moist/dry) works fine. There are slits in the bottom of the bit of metal that folds from from the interior wall, between that and the panel. That's where the moisture vents. It's not much moisture when you're venting something you're trying to keep crispy. It's not perfect. Something inherently moist, like waffles, won't be as crispy outside as if they were right out of the waffle iron, but should be somewhat crisper than without the vent. With the vent you can recrisp crackers. ;) No problems, but I don't have a damp kitchen. It doesn't get hot enough to affect the panel. Mine are solid bamboo, which is a kind of plywood. If you have veneer on MDF or something like that, there might be a greater issue. There are ovens with temperatures which will go down as far as a warming drawer. Traditionally, 225-250 was the "keep warm" setting and that would continue to cook the food. The temperature they have for rising bread dough is 90-100 degrees, the point being to "prove" the yeast (make it rise) rather than kill it. :) Some jump from there to 250. Others have dehydrate and warming settings between 100-250. Those are the ones you can use the same way you would a warming drawer. If you had full extension racks you could even dish up from it. Plate warming can be done on the dough mode. Keep it under 100 degrees for pleasantly warm. That also shouldn't discolor your metalics, but test it first. Safe warming settings for food range from 140-240 depending on the type of food, quantity, etc. That said, Jews have been keeping food warm for Sabbath at temperatures below 120 degrees, lest it be hot enough to cook (the test is that it be less than the temperature that causes you to withdraw your hand), for centuries without ill consequences. The trick to that is to have something that is thoroughly cooked enough to have no chance of still having bacteria. If you have a medium rare roast, which is heavy and dense and isn't cooked to a faretheewell, you'll want to use a higher temperature. The government recommends temperatures that are too high, and will cause further cooking, but they have to err on the side of safety. In reality, if you have good quality food and cook it to safe temperatures to begin with, you don't need to go that far and can use a temperature that will hold the heat without further cooking. Most warming drawers have settings of low/medium/high, sometimes with the additions of "proof" or plate warming. You can usually find out what the total range is, but the temperatures aren't exact. They'll give you a guide to go with it from which you can find something that is most like the thing you want to keep warm. There are some more precise warming drawers, but it's unnecessary. The whole point is that it's just a warm box. Very simple. Very reliable. Very easy to use. Some also have an automatic off after four hours, which you can disable for a day in dehydrate mode, and for a few days in Sabbath mode (for said Jews). That's overly complex, in my opinion, but people have been known to forget it for a week, and they probably need it. My kitchen isn't that cold, so I turn mine off when people go for seconds. It stays warm enough until I can put the food away. If you don't have that temperature range, you can still keep things warm in an oven for awhile. Just warm the oven up to its lowest temperature and turn it off. Even the nervous nellies admit that you can safely keep food in a warming drawer for four hours, however, and your regular oven without a warming setting is probably going to get too cool in that kind of time if it's not on, and you don't want to be shocking you food by raising and lowering and raising the temperature again. The KitchenAid (and Jenn-Air) warming drawers have slow cook settings whereas other warming drawers specifically caution against it. There's no reason for that, however. Having looked at them, I infer that what the low/high slow cook switch gives you is specific target temperatures. Low is equivalent to an old fashioned crock pot, which took 8-10 hours to cook, and high is the equivalent of the current models, which take about five hours to cook. If you use an oven thermometer to figure out the temperatures on your dial, you can do this without the special setting. People do it all the time. :)

I like dark floors.... Feels more grounded. They can be harder to keep looking dust-free, so if that's a concern for you, then don't listen to me at all, lol. The glazed cabinets are really nice (I'm totally drooling over here), and I can't help but want to go as dark as you can on the floor, to coordinate with the darker lines on the cabs. I like contrast, though, between floor and cabinets (and again between cabs and counter)... Seems most folks like to blend. :-D If my monitor is properly color-calibrated, I see a lovely green in your counters, and if your backsplash is also green, then I'm all for it! I even zoomed as far out as I could on my screen, so that I could see everything together. Looks beautiful! What color grout are you going with on the backsplash? Warm beige?

I am not a fan of painted brick at all. Even though there are a few around here it isn't a very popular practice. We have basements and clay sub soil and freeze thaw cycle that can play havoc on a foundation. Here painted brick sends up a red flag if purchasing a home. Some people will only fix the brick and not the foundation. Foundation fixes are $$$$. A brick fix is always noticeable. To hide it they paint the brick then they throw up drywall in the basement to hide the foundation problem on the inside. Personally I would never buy a painted brick house. First I would just paint the trim and windows and see how you like it. Have you thought of staining the brick if you feel you must change the brick ?