A few years ago, I purchased EasyClosets systems to increase the utility of closets in a 1950's-era ranch. It worked out pretty well. The systems are easy to install (the hardest part is probably finding your wall studs, followed by cutting the metal closet rods to length - or vice versa, if you're not comfortable with a hacksaw), and they provided a lot of extra hardware for putting the pieces together. One closet really fought me on the installation of the top shelf pieces, I suspect because the back wall was a bit bowed, but the other three units installed without problem. I didn't order any components with drawers, as I just don't trust cam locks and MDF to provide durable, long-lasting drawers. The biggest problem I've had was when disassembling and removing a unit to repaint the closet, a cam lock got stuck and ended up breaking a pretty large chip out of one of the shelves. It's at a bottom, back corner so with a bit of epoxy it's barely noticeable, but it's a reminder of one of the drawbacks of that type of assembly. In use, the closets have proved very durable, and they made the closets a lot more functional. My preference would be to have a similar system in solid wood for my current home; I now have walk-in closets that could use some TLC, but I would be reluctant to remove the (paint grade, pine) shelving that's currently in place to install something other than another solid wood product, and I wouldn't mind adding some drawers or cabinetry where I would want some quality joinery as opposed to screws or cam locks. If you're going for pure "bang for the buck", Rubbermaid closet kits are a lot cheaper - albeit more cumbersome to install and a lot less attractive. The EasyCloset systems proved to be a selling point when we moved; they looked pretty much as good as new, the hardware components (belt rack, tie rack) are quite solid, and while the closet systems are recognizably melamine they blended quite well with the natural oak in the house, including the closet trim.

There are veneer esthetics that solid doors simply cannot do, ie grain matching on slab doors. However, if you are not going for the esthetics of grain matched veneer, then solid wood gives you much more "durability" over time. Dings and nicks wear better on solid fronts. Veneers are more difficult to refinish and to hide the blemishes. I have seen some "pictures" of refinished veneers when designers restored original master pieces of mid century modern houses. But most people don't do this. I have really "cool/modern" looking dining room table with grain matched veneer top. The wear and tear shows quite a bit. This is not a life time piece.... I also have solid wood furniture where I can refinish if I wanted to keep the piece over time. I am getting grain matched veneer cabinets in my kitchen for a certain esthetic, but not durability. The company that I have chosen does 1/8 inch solid wood edge banding to give it a little more durability. This will help. I recently looked at a kitchen that had grain matched veneer teak kitchen that was only 6 months old. It was NOT wearing well. I chose not to go with that cabinet maker... Unless you are getting a really high quality veneer, I think high pressure laminates of a real cool wood grain is actually a better choice for durability and longevity if you are set on a slab door, IMHO. Some of these look quite wonderful. I just saw a super modern 1.2 mil house for sale with a laminate cabs showing some exotic wood specie. I think solid wood cabinets are priced well in America. So most people get solid wood cabinet fronts. In Europe, the price differential is quite high, so most do not get solid wood cabinet fronts. Their esthetics are such that they do not like traditional looking furnishings as much as the Americans do. Because of this, I think you will do better with solid wood cabinets in terms of resale in a typical American home, IMHO. (This is coming from a person that is doing a kitchen with veneer cabs.) If I could find a design/cabs that I liked as well in solid wood, I would have done it!

We have both. In our main house, we have slab granite counters (have had for 16 or so years, got it again when we gutted the kitchen 1 1/2 yrs. ago) and in our little getaway-to-the-mountains house, we have granite tile. It is absolutely fine for up there, but if I am honest I do not know if I would want to deal with it every day. We have no children and are careful with the grout. For us, cost was a huge factor when we gutted our kitchen up north because there were no granite fabricators within a 3 hour drive so we would have had to pay for them to come up and measure, come up and template and then come up and install and that was significant. Further, if there had been any minor or major issues, it would have been difficult to get them back. We found the granite tile (don't know the name, but really pretty, cream-ish color with black, brown, gold and other subtle colors running through it) for -- drum roll -- $1 per sq. ft. at a "parking lot sale" at Arizona Tile (had to buy all 125 sq. ft., so have plenty left for a shower surround we plan to do). That was about 6 years ago. Thrilled to pieces with the deal - laughed that we had to pay $5 per tile for the tiles across the front to get them bullnosed at a speciality tile place. If cost was similar or within $1,000 or so, I would probably go slab. I have not, however, regretted my tiles up north. I did see some sample grout when we gutted our kitchen at our main house last year that was awesome - I think it was Daltile brand and had glass beads and epoxy or something. New and expensive, but I believe it expands and contracts so there is not an issue with any grout cracking. HTH. Happy granite hunting!

"But I do wonder why the tops of solid plank tables don't split more often than they do.... " They are not fastened in a way to restrict the movement of the top. There are metal 'clips' that attah to the bottom of the top and ride in grooves on the inside of the apron, 'Figure 8' (AKA 'double washer', and a lot of other names) that are fastened with 2 screws and allowed to twist slightly to allow movement, blocks of wood fastned to the underside f the top that ride in grooves in the apron (wood version of the metal clips), expanding tables with leaves just push part way open, and some others I cannot even remember at the moment. All these methods allow a large top (it moves as a single board) to move on the apron while remaining tightly attached. Wood does not move appreicably along the grain, but changes dimensiomn perpendicular to the grain. Chapter 3 of the Wood Engineering Handbook by the Forest Products Lab of USDA has a detailed explanation of wood movement (including an 'end view' of a tree showing how the wood changes shape). The book is online for free.