Now you will note the similarity in the names of the last two entries, Joe Labrea, and Kate's husband Joe. I was trying to call Joe L. because I wanted to send him some of the chocolate he shared with me after taking Carolina and I all over New York City. There was a number in my notebook that simply said Joe's Cell. I called it and gradually figured out that I was talking to Joe Musso and we had a few laughs and then I told him the chocolate was for Labrea and he said "so no Chocolate?" and I said no rather sternly and then felt bad because he'd been so charming and Leonidis was having their anniversary sale and Heck I was on a roll so I sent him a box. Never heard from him and suddenly "outta the blue" a GC from Vintage arrives in my mailbox. And that is the storey of how I atoned for my boorish behavior, Joe got chocolate and Kate is the Lady Bountiful casting roses on our delighted heads. I conced to being a danger but I go arm in arm with our Kate. Joe I would put that fudge in the fridge, when it arrives,to let it firm up as I don't know what the PO has put it through.It was mailed Monday. love, la

People were posting about it on the Winter Solstice Celebration thread. Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Solstice Celebration

xc60 posted: "Interior lighting and clear glass doors on the uppers of my double stacked cabinets. I wanted to display pretty things up there and light the cabinets up, but could never get the glass to look streak free. So I never turned on the lights or put anything up there. It was also expensive as the cabinet interior boxes had to be stained to match the exteriors. New house will also have double stacked cabinets, but solid fronts and no glass or lighting." This makes me feel better about our choice. Oh how I loved that look but my GC appealed to my practical side and disuaded me and I'm glad. He pointed out, not only do they have to look tidy, but only the first few inches of depth is viewable so you either lose the back half by leaving it empty or fill it up, negating the pretty display purpose. Onto the question - I never remember to turn on my UCL. It's almost too much light and I'm not doing that much detail work to need that much light. We put very little specialized cabinetry and that has been ok for us. I sometimes see things on here that I wish I had but only when I see them, not when I'm in my kitchen working, lol. I do wish our spices were better organized. That is probably my only beef with our new kitchen. Still looking for the perfect system to organize in our upper cabs. We like them where they are vs in a drawer, but we haven't found a way to organize them neatly.

In my last home, I had 8' ceilings, and I had 42" cabinets with a narrow molding. Loved it! You can NEVER have too much storage IMHO. You THINK you'll never use those top shelves, but believe me, you WILL. I am not a fan of a lot of molding - just MHO and my own personal taste, but I think a big molding looks great in a den or library bookcase, but is too fussy for the kitchen (sorry!). In my current home, I have 9" ceilings, so I have 42" cabs, plus another short set of cabs stacked above them. I don't think it looks closed in at all; in fact I think it makes the kitchen look larger. Also, I toured a mansion (tour was for charity) that had a butler's pantry. The butler's pantry was quite small, but had custom cabinets to the ceiling - gorgeous, and the height really made it look elegant. Also, in my area at least, the realtors say that 42" cabinets are considered more desirable and "high-end". You may choose to believe that or not, but you will see real estate ads here that make a point of saying "kitchen comes with 42" cabinets". Sudiepav - I too am short (5'3"), and for me, I need a stepstool for anything above the second shelf (or even for the back of the second shelf), regardless of the height of the cabinet. So whether the cabs are 36" or 39" or 42", it doesn't matter, I'll need that stepstool. So not sure if a person's shortness would figure into this decision...I guess it depends on just how short they are!