Mine don't have a wax finish...I am not sure how easy that would be to maintain...wouldn't it wash off with hot water??? I personally went with the copper sinks because I like the old patina on a dark copper sink. I wanted a "brown" verses bronze tone to the sink, and these are just exactly what I wanted to see. I purchased them after seeing a big old farmhouse kitchen sink in copper that was about the color of mine (but over 100 years old). I couldn't imagine a better finish for a kitchen sink :) Especially in the right counter top. I was told not to do anything special with them, they're meant to be used. :) Mine obviously haven't seen much water and toothpaste, but we did test them (like granite) with a big smudge of toothpaste left on for 48 hours and it didn't mar the finish (I wanted to make sure I wouldn't regret them after install). The real abuse they've had is to be accidently dropped, and purposely used as a flying saucer :) They haven't taken a ding yet, and they should have! They have no scratches on them either, and again, after the drop down the stairs by the contractor I did expect that as well. They're pretty tough puppies :) DS was in an intesive program to teach him how to feel and understand hunger. He is a little anorexic (ok that's my term but it's appropriate) and has been from birth. He's doing well now, but still without diagnosis so we don't know long term. We just try to take one day at a time. :) But this is why our house construction has taken so long. A two month stay at Johns Hopkins and a six week stay at Cincinnati Childrens both interrupted the schedule and put us WAY way back! I'm also looking to hold my first wine tasting (hopefully this summer). We drink it all (like good wino's) but our favorite is pinot noir or burgundy. Since we put in a french range, we'll probably have some fun with French Burgundy's at the first tasting :) Of course if it's summer and nice and warm out, we have to include some wonderful white burgundy as well :) Which I love when it's warm.

Oh how I wish I was done!!!! The bathroom is roughly in the same state as the photos. In theory, we should be done in the next few weeks. I like to say that the tile has a lot of character and it's hard to see its true beauty in a photo. Every time I look at it I see different hues... Thanks for the compliment on the bathtub (it has given me quite a bit of grief). I needed a tile I could install and would allow for the curve of the front of the tub deck. We are planning on installing Thassos Marble - White (12x12) on the tub deck (I wanted a solid surface for the tub deck but the estimates came in around $5k so that wasn't going to happen). We will also be putting the Thassos on the tops of the vanities (the installer promises very thin grout lines) and placing vessel sinks on top. I am trying to come up with back splash ideas and now that I see you using the tile in your kitchen I am going to have to make another trip back to the tile store and see if they have something for my kitchen. I can't wait to see what you decide - your kitchen is beautiful! What are your counter tops?

Thanks for the feedback. Here is an early drawing of the new kitchen layout (I'm waiting for a revised set): <a href="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/greasetrap/media/InitialKitchenSketch_zpsf653f107.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah58/greasetrap/InitialKitchenSketch_zpsf653f107.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo InitialKitchenSketch_zpsf653f107.jpg"/></a> You'll see that the island measures 66" long, but, due to the angled corners, I calculate that the work area is about 42" long. I asked our KD/GC to increase both the length of the wall with the cooktop and the island by 9" and add a prep sink, so I think the work area will be 51" long. My idea is to have the prep sink towards the end of the island across from the rangetop. That would make it easy to dump pots of hot water there. The colander we normally use is about 13" across, although we occasionally use a bigger one. Put another way, how much space is recommended for a prep area and how far from the edge can a sink be placed? Our current prep/everything space is 27" long and there are times when it would be nice to have more space. If we keep 30" as a work area and place the sink a few inches from the end, that would leave us enough room for a 16-18" sink. Would that be big enough for typical prep cleaning and dumping pots of water from the cooktop?

My personal preference is the 1st layout. First for the wall oven. If you cook/bake much then having two ovens, especially gas in the range and electric in the wall, is really really nice. The oven stack can also include a warming drawer and a MW or CSO. Second, for us there'd be no benefit in the second layout. With our layout similar to your first we grab stuff out of the frig and put it on the island as a primary landing zone. From there stuff gets prepped and off to the range or ovens. Then often back to the island for plating or in to a warming drawer. BTW, I'd ignore the work triangle. Great bit of marketing but of little practical benefit. Third, I think a range and hood look better aesthetically when looking from the informal dining. Lighting looks much better. I'd move the two over the sink closer together and ideally over the outside edges of the sink to eliminate shadows in the bowls.