I think perhaps by definition we TKO are disproportionately fussbudgety. What's it all for anyway? You can't take those perfectly unscratched cabinets with you. Maybe have yourself buried with them like pharaohs? Nah..... Dings Happen. And as for dh's who can't refrain from cutting on granite - well, that's why we just need to teach (or have taught) our children well.... :) And in the absence of that, this is why we have MIL jokes... ;) FWIW -- I drive around in a minivan that has a cracked bumper; you can see its innards, the metal "I-beam"-like thingymabob in there. It is very out of place in LA where so much is just-so. I attract a lot of attention. But it is not worth it to me to spend the money (thousands; more than the car's worth) to fix it. And in all honesty, I don't care, though I recognize it gives many the willies. Thing is, it reminds me of an interlude in French Canada where the ding was inflicted by a snowplow. They have a very different relationship with snowplows, snow removal and those who perform said operations there. The previous winter there had been several individuals killed by errant snowplows. But subsequent inquiries had determined the individuals were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time" -- like my car and its bumper (parked, on the side of the road with many others just like it). Things happen, and just about all that changes is our reactions to it. Seems a life's lesson I rather value leaving visible on my bumper. But of course that's way too long a story to explain to the guys trolling parking lots looking to "fix" it (not) for a few $$.

I didn't and just put towels over the stuff in the drawers. It may have been better to take it out but they took out some drawers and set them on the floor so they could get underneath to do some work. Sometimes they will let you know what all they want you to do.

Florida Joshua installed our soapstone in May. We have a seam in our sink . . . . that you can't find. People have to search to find the 3 seams in our stone, because they are hard to see/feel. He used a black epoxy, it looks like your fabricator used white? And the bit about soapstone being porous and the water seeping in? Puhlease. False. Here's my sink. The seam is in the lower left hand side of the sink, about 3 inches in. Good luck trying to find it. This is freshly oiled. This is 3 months after install. We aren't oilers. As you can see, not having the stone oiled doesn't affect seeing the seam.

terrilynn, I am confused about what to do for the island and also the desk/coffee bar/bar area. I'm going back and forth on wood or soapstone for the island. I'm pretty sure I want wood on the desk and soapstone on the bar/coffee area. (just for maintenance purposes). I'm not sure if I do the base colors on the other areas the same as the island or different. We aren't doing any stainless except for the range, but that desk is pretty cool! Lavender, thanks, and I love the idea of red accents. I hadn't really thought that far, but that will be perfect and will blend with the rest of our house. I guess I need to figure out if I can really do the painted island and how much maintenance that will be. Here are my options, in case anyone else is as confused as I am: 1. Wood colored island with soapstone top 2. Sage/light green island with soapstone top 3. Sage/light green island with wood top Desk: something with a wood top....I'm thinking base should match the island, unless of course the island base is wood tone, and then it would either match the yellow cabinets or the coffee bar area. Coffee bar/bar: definitely soapstone top- either yellow cabinets like the rest of the kitchen, green, or wood colored. I'm even confusing myself, so if anyone is following this, I'm impressed, and thank you for any thoughts!