Hi, I'm back again. I'm sorry I have been away from my computer for awhile and did not realize there was still some interest in this post. My 4 year old had surgery to remove a benign brain tumour on the 13th (she is doing awesome!), so I have been occupied with other things. I am also getting our current house ready to sell, so I have been a cleaning, trim-painting, de-cluttering machine. They had a meeting about my kitchen and the builder agreed with me that too many things had been changed. The kitchen company is going to fix things at their cost. We went through each thing and I had to say which I would compromise on, and which HAD to be changed and what I should be compensated for financially. Basically, they will be removing the upper cabinets and installing 36" uppers and the remaining 6" to the soffit will have moulding and trim work - similar in look to kitchenkelly's. (This forum has been so valuable for pictures and ideas. Even though I mostly lurk I find so many helpful things). They are also fixing the microwave shelf, the baseboards on the island and installing some beadboard trim on the island that was left off. They refunded money for granite, the custom wood hood and the 42" uppers. Anyways, the kitchen won't look EXACTLY as I had wanted, and a big part of the problem is that soffit. However, it will be very close and I think it will still look very nice. As my husband pointed out, I am the only one who knows exactly what it was supposed to look like! We are disappointed with how inflexible the kitchen copmany is in regards to doing NOTHING custom (the original company was more custom) and we would probably have not signed on with this builder had we known. However, the rest of the house is WONDERFUL and I think in the end the kitchen will be great too. It's just not what we would have expected. I will post pictures when it is finished. They will be installing the new cabinets in about 2 weeks - and I will definately be keeping an eye on it to make sure it is done right :)

msrose the product i used on the fireplace is called DAP All-Purpose Stucco Patch. It's in a red, black and white container. My husband had it in the garage from our old house which was stucco on the outside. It is in a 32oz container. I have no idea if it comes in larger sizes. It's very thick. I actually rubbed it on with my hands and wiped it off. Very messy technique. I wouldn't recommend it. But, I didn't want it really thick. Wanted some of the brick to show. The other reason I did it by hand was because of the grout lines. I felt like i had to rub it in there really good. There is probably an easier way but as thick as that stuff was, I don't know. I just did it on a whim. I am no professional (LOL) for sure (Im in the IT business, definitely not a decorator). I then painted over it with really watered down flat paint to tint it off white. Hope this helps. Sorry I don't know any more about it. Some of the pros on here may be able to add some suggestions to this. I am so glad i did it! I have gotten a lot of compliments on it in person. Here are some additional pictures below. The floor brick you can see in the 2nd one is what it looked like before I put the stucco on it.

Finding the slats will be as difficult as finding a matching door.Finding new slats and matching the stain is easier---but no piece of cake. The door can be glued back together---as long as it is properly clamped and reinforced on the inside----probably not a DIY job unless you have several different pipe clamps. The finish looks like stain/varnish---a popular combination used by builders. I replicate that kind of color---the tone comes from time and aging and will not be the same if the original materials were used----by using different shellacs over the stain to create the amber tone----then the varnish deepens the color a shade or two. It takes some experimentation----but that is one way the pros do it.

We ran into a bit of a snag last night when trying to hook up our components--somehow the installers must have blasted our outlets as now none of them are working. Arguh!!!! We had our regular contractor out last week to move the plug for the charging station and he had to add a junction box. The wires were all pushed back in the wall so we have a sick feeling the installers must've nicked one with a screw. Luckily we've not made the second payment yet for the cabinets (odd they've not asked yet) so we do have some leverage to get a resolution. Who do you think would be responsible for the electrical fee to get it fixed? I'm just hoping they don't have to pull any cabinets off the wall to fix it. As for the rug/floor protector as much as I like this rug when I tried to scoot on and off a rug with my desk chair it was a PITA. I looked at the floor protectors and don't like them. I'd need two and I just don't see it working with the angled seating--unless I were to have one custom made and then there would be plastic over 1/2 the floor and first thing I see when I enter the room. Now I am thinking of using two wooden desk chairs with upholstered seats with no casters and just the felt bumpers on the bottom of the legs. I was originally thinking I'd need the wheeled chairs since we'd need to scoot out of the way to access the center drawers, but it's really not that bad and the felt bottoms allow for some slide without the scratching. So if I go that route, anyone have some suggestions for chairs? Should I look for an unfinished maple chair and see if the custom folks will stain them to match? I'm completely open to other ideas. saraschlos: Yes, I am shameless about copying good ideas and that shredder idea is a good one!