Hi Wellspring/Charlotte! Lots of good things to think about in your comments... While everyone's experience is going to be different, I generally find the input from someone who deals with the issues themselves everyday particularly useful in highlighting details to think about. It did finally occur to me on the weekend to search on the Accessible Gardening forum here but I didn't find much. 'Introducing' my friend to her garden by walking around it and giving her a running commentary on it is definitely something we'll need to do. She's probably still in the early stages of developing those mapping skills you have so it'll be good practice for her to get very familiar with the garden space. She's still in the process of 'mapping' the inside of the house. She does have the depth perception problem (as do I...) so we're both somewhat used to dealing with that - but have the bruises to show that one can never let down one's guard! My friend just about knocked herself out last week when she mis-judged where the bathroom door was in the middle of the night apparently! (She was still following her old 'map' from the condo when she was half asleep...) I do need to get a better sense of what a garden means for her. Other than scented things, I'm not really sure. I know my garden preferences are largely formed by the gardens I grew up with as a child. I have no idea what gardens in her original part of the world look like and what expectations she might have with respect to things like foliage shapes, flower colors etc. We'll have to explore all that. There may be some unrealistic expectations to deal with too - I remember a girl from Guyana in my university days being baffled by the fact that tomatoes had to be planted again each year! And there's lots of new language issues for us to work out together I'm sure. The garden that's at the house now largely follows the foundation and the fence line. The path to the front door has garden beds on both sides. The path itself worries me. It's narrow at the driveway end - made with ~2' paving stones - and there's a 4-6" drop to the driveway at the end. At the front door end, the path widens to a landing area made with 3-4' patio stones - which are not level! There are 2 steps to the front door and then a step up into the front hall. The steps to the door are also not level and there is no handrail to provide support. It strikes me as dangerous - but is it something that she will just learn to navigate easily/safely from habit or should they be making a new entrance a priority? Is a trench edge also a hazard - i.e. if you step into it, it's easy to fall. (That's one of the reasons I spent a good part of last summer and fall replacing all my trench edging with brick... I was thinking that would be a good idea for her for areas she's likely to be walking frequently...?) Overhead obstacles are, I think, a big future issue at my friend's house. In this TINY backyard, the previous owner planted 3 (!!) pine trees of some sort. At the moment they're still only about 4' tall but in a few years they will totally eat up the yard! I think they should get rid of them now before they become an issue, but I sense it's going to be hard to convince a pair of non-gardeners to cut down these seemingly small green things! The previous owners planted quite a few roses up against the house. I've been wondering if they're likely to be an issue at all. I've seen my friend reach out her hand to the house wall for support, fairly near the roses. How often do do entangle yourself in rose thorns?! Should the roses be moved to places where she is unlikely to accidentally reach into or fall against them? I like the idea of brightly colored pots at the end of a bench that is easily reached. We haven't actually ventured out to the backyard yet so I don't have a very good sense of the space out there yet. From indoors, it looks a bit sloped and uneven and greatly in need of a level place for sitting etc. We'll probably have to wait another 6 weeks or so to really check things out. Probably some people are thinking this discussion doesn't belong here. I don't know how to switch the discussion to e-mail... But, since designing for accessibility is an issue these days in many situations, I thought this discussion might provide some insights into practical aspects from a 'user' perspective :-) There are certainly lots of well-meaning 'accessible' alterations out there that drive me nuts - and I'm sure you find the same sort of thing. As much as possible, I want to avoid inadvertently causing problems for my friend so I value your perspective on all this. Woody/Susan

I have to ask. You want Shaker style? Shaker is extremely plan and utilitarian. It's Cope and Stick. Once you add mitered corners, you're going to a whole 'nother level of design. It's really not Shaker anymore, but rather a Shaker style. There really isn't any need for mitered corners as far as strength. Plus, you have what seems to be Master Carpenters making your cabinets. I don't see your joinery being an issue on any level. I have some mitered doors and yes, they do expand and contract in the dryness of my house. They're older (Community Forklift) so I don't think their joins are as strong as they once were. On my Shaker doors in another room, I have old ones and brand new, unfinished ones. The older ones are as tight and clean looking as they ever were. One is sanded and I'm hard pressed to tell which are the new and which one is the older door. Which is totally cool. I think you're on the right track with the drawers. Larger is lovely with the Shaker detail, but the smaller ones do resemble a mail slot. [LOL] I went through that myself. I cannot wait to see your kitchen. I've been around a long time, but this is really the first time I've paid such close attention to something from the very beginning. So hurry up. Hey. How did you handle your KD1? Did I miss that?

"In case you *are* thinking of getting new switches, rewiring the switch is easy DIY--just be absolutely sure that you turn off the circuit breaker!" THIS. pull it up on youtube and take a look. The only think you have to really, really be careful about is flipping the breakers off. I'd switch off the ALL of them. which of course means doing the change outs during the daytime. And pick up one of those live wire checkers at lowe's so you can double check the wires before messing with them. Might seem like unnecessary BUT I figure it's worth the few bucks and extra few seconds to double check on it. I watched one being changed out on HGTV yrs back and the guy - knowing what he was doing - took probably less than 5 min to change one out. I didn't time him but it only took him a few minutes to do it.

White grout, white switch plates. What is the issue? Or the PALEST gray grout. Still white switch plates, and nobody can tell you a paint. We aren't in the space with YOUR lighting : ) You aren't tiling that breakfast area , right? You DO mean the backsplash? I certainly hope so .