I researched this product for months trying to decide if it was the way to go. I have been able to ascertain (to my satisfaction anyway) that Konecto and the Allure (HD) product are by the same manufacturer. If you go to Home Depot and ask to rent the installation video (which BTW is really nothing more than the sales pitch for the product) you will see that the scenes in the video are identical for the most part to the scenes in the Konecto video you can see online. Same set, same floor, same actors.... We are nearing completion of a 500 sq. install of the HD grade and let me tell you it ain't as easy as they portray it to be. *IF* you are working with a sqaure or rectangular room of the right width and length it isn't too bad. However, our rooms sort of meandered from one to another with hallways, cabinets, differing length stem walls and differing room widths...Frankly, in this application it was a real PITA to get this stuff laid. I would strongly suggest anyone using this product in odd shaped rooms where continuity is important to plan on spending considerable time in planning. It can be done but you can end up in a pickle if you don't plan the entire project from the first strip to the last. We laid this product over plywood sub floor that two out of three conventional vinyl installers said they would lay vinyl over. However, the bids for laying sheet vinyl came in at between $3000 and $4500 for mid-grade vinyl. Even with a good floor you will want it smooth or the product *WILL* telegraph major imperfections. $995 for the Allure product was a much more affordable option for us. However, it was not a walk in the park and it a lot of time spent on you knees and scratching you head trying to figure out how to stagger joints using the 1/3, 2/3 cuts when working with 3 foot strip lengths in a 15.5 foot room. (can't be done as far as we can tell unless you manufacture your own splines)...Which while I am thinking of it is a suggestion I would make to anyone planning on using this product. Learn how to make a spline in the event you need to reverse lay or shorten a full strip to avoid ending up with a itty bitty fill piece. As to warranty- I would buy the product on the internet. Generally, warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on... And, I can tell you from personal experience that offering me all of my money back if the product fails wouldn't begin to cover the amount of work it has taken to get this floor down! Since I seem to be writing a book on the product I will add that I thought the Allure product looked cheap and ugly when we purchased it. Much to my surprise that phony looking grain pattern looks really, really beautiful when you get it on the floor. Distance improves this product! One last hint for the Allure product...Don't believe Home Depot when they say there isn't a variance in color. They repeatedly assured as that there was no need for matching lot numbers and they lied. Luckily, I didn't trust them so I pulled product from each lot and intermixed it. You can still see patchy color variances but it actually enhanced the look to appear even more like a real wood floor. And yes, it is a much quieter floor than laminates and even the existing vinyl that it is being laid over. Elise

Wow, your home is beautiful and tasteful. I think you guest room is very inviting and seems like a welcoming comfortable place. Your back patio area is also lovely. Where I live 95% of the people have 6 to 8 feet privacy fences around their backyards. It's interesting how different parts of the country do it differently!

But I have a suggestion on the rip in the pillow case: Get an iron-on patch, cut to fit, and iron it to the inside of the case. You can get the patches at a fabric store. They make them for the knees in jeans, but they should also have some light weight ones appropriate for a pillow case.

WoW!! THANK YOU GUYS. I was so nervous posting here - this issuch unusual kitchen that I truely wasn't sure how it would be received but we absolutely love it and I am so glad you do too. I really think the biggest help was working out where everything would go when we were done and then setting up the "kitchen" floorplan in the garage using appliance boxes and working through a couple of our make-a-lot meals. We refined it quite a bit that way and the actual kitchen has met or exceeded all our expectations in function and form. The one thing I sometimes wish we would have changed is moving one DW more into the prep area making cleanup easier but the reasoning for not doing it was sound form over function :) We didn't want to see the prep sink from the front door and that was the only other floor-plan that worked. I keep having to remind myself of that. dancefit my pots are All-Clad Stainless. We bought them because non of our old pots and pans except for the Le Creuset Dutch ovens were not compatible with the induction top. I LOVE these pans. They are awesome to cook with. They've definitely made me a better cook. mustbnuts - the floor-plan was inspired by out of the box thinking by my then 7 yr old LOL. He wanted me to watch him play outside while I was cooking. Initially there was some reserve here about putting the cooktop under the window but code in our village allows it as long as there are no combustible materials like fabric around and if the windows open, which ours do, the cooktop cannot be gas which ours isn't lascatx - great minds think alike!! The yellow pendant was supposed to be the back up in case any of the others ever broke. The one that should have been there is a blue one but the electrician put them up without consulting me - he didn't think it made a difference - and then to get him back would have cost $100 so we live with it for now. It's still beautiful. Auchmedden The checkerboard was from my inspiration kitchen and my friend Julie, who is a graphic designer sat down with me, a few copies of the elevation and brown, yellow and black crayons and we worked it all out in about an hour although I couldn't have done it alone. Crabapplemcn and others: the metal braces were custom made for my kitchen. Our granite fabricator has worked with Eric, the stainless steel fabricator from Indiana, before and together we designed the look I wanted. Eric consulted with the installation crew and together they figured out how it would be installed. The wall they attach to was built to take the weight of the bar PLUS those pullout seats from innovative-seating. We ran out of money so just have standing stools there now. Acountryfarm - we had TG dinner last year for 44 WITH NO PLUMBING in the sinks and an oven that I didn't realise at the time was 50 degree too low LOL This year I have plumbing and only 14 people coming. I'm really looking forward to it. maydl,redroze and moonkat - thank you :) Come on over any time just give me some warning so I can get the counters organized rmkitchen - you're a GENIUS!!! THAT WAS MY INSPIRATION KITCHEN!! Their kitchen was based on Circus Circus but I took most of the colorful elements out - wow you have a good memory. I saw the kitchen in a magazine and my inspiration came from there. I didn't hear about the TV show until much later Here's one of the pictures we used for inspiration! mindstorm - you had me there for a minute. [GRIN] but my manhandle doesn't like to fly and he hates being packaged in a little box. He likes it just where he is and he's staying put. These are our upper knobs Our inspiration kitchen had about 15 different handles but the space was about 4 times what we have. It would have looked like a circus. zeebee - I'd tell you where I got the pendants but then you might have to shoot ME. It wasn't easy working with THAT glass blower but any good local glass blower should be able to make you something similar. Flyleft and others. A lot of the storage solutions are unique. DH is a fledgling woodworker and did all the fittings for the inside of the drawers including the can drawers. Everything was made to measure which is why it all fits so well. A HUGE advantage of going fully custom. The rest is due in HUGE part to Ken at Ayr cabinetry. We tweaked this layout to make sure EVERY inch was used. He never said no to a single request. I think I drove him nuts but it was SOOOO worth it. raehelen :) Thanks again everyone. Now I must run and clean up the mess I made making dinner: Beef Brisket, mashed potatoes, broccoli and La Bete Noir! Sorry - no pictures.