the one above looks nice, but I find that the ones with no toekick and with a back 90 degrees from the seat are not comfortable for me. We got a quote a year or so back when designing our floor plan that was something in the range of 2200 plus the fabric for the cushions. I need to go back soon and get more definitive. This was from a place recommended to me by a designer I know. If you drove by, you would just think it was a generic upholstery place, but it turns out they do a lot of work for restaurants and they know a lot about this type of seating and all the variables to consider. I know our cabinetmaker could make one that was really pretty, but I don't know that it would be comfortable, unless we just got lucky!

tinker & cattknap seems like 1600.00 is the lucky number around here.. it is a lot of money no matter how you cut it... doing home improvements is expensive and I can feel your pain... the money part is behind me... I may get up set about things, but I level out and I am not a dweller.. what got me up tight was the pace..I know some have said they can see where it took 4 days, but I was here and I have to disagree.. I am thinking one day too long..that is my personal opinion. Tink..please let me know how long they take to do your back splash.. just curious if it will take the same amount of time as mine did...I think you do have more square feet than I do. I don't think he purposely took advantage of us, I think it was more that he was in a comfort zone here and worked at a slower pace than maybe he normally would have in someone else's home.. he wanted to do a perfect job and wanted us to be happy with his work..so maybe he was just being over cautious ... he truly is great guy and doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body... but in my heart I will always feel he did move a little slow and paying by the hour adds up! just think..an 8 hour day is close to 300 bucks! He is suppose to work here again, (this was planned before the tile started) putting a vintage wainscoting in the breakfast room, so I will ask him before he starts what time frame are we looking at... I am actually considering doing it myself..all in a day! I also think what kills me with the high prices is, we are moving... but not until next year. thats the plan anyway..it's a hard call to say what will be in a year from now, a lot could change in a years time... if it doesn't work out, we will stay here...but that is the plan as of now. If you are wondering why I am doing this work if we are selling... it's a very hard market as it is..when I look at each room, I look at it through a 'buyers' eyes..if I don't like it for myself, I wouldn't expect anyone else to either... and for the time here, I will enjoy it as it is something that I have wanted to do for a long time... and who knows..we may be here much longer than we think..so in a way I am doing it for myself, and if the time comes to sell..it is 100% better than what it was..... a little OT but below is a link of the house we want to buy...( I am not crazy for the kitchen) yayagal I am a NY'er and we have a bad rap too.. :) Ree

Evilbunnie (and I love that name!), I definitely don't think your post was finger-waggie. You brought up some excellent points that I hadn't considered, such as contingencies, the my possibly unrealistic $5k remaining budget, etc. What sealed the deal for me on my decision was when I sat down with my trusty Excel spreadsheet, with this forum's advice in mind and the pricing I'd done on the things I wanted, and laid out a 3-step, 2-3 year plan. Even with doing mid-range components (nothing super expensive, but better than rock bottom), I came up with $17,500 for my total. And that's if everything had gone right. I cancelled the cabinets the next morning. I decided that I simply could not afford to do what I wanted to do with my kitchen. I would rather do a $500 patch job to get me some temporary storage and to knock out the wall to give me more open space, than to spend, say, $10k or $12k and end up with a kitchen that I just wasn't happy with. And truth be told, things always go wrong, don't they? To do what I really wanted to do, it probably would've ended up at $20k if not more. The fact is, I'm 27 and I still have student loan debt. I have a secure job that I love, but that doesn't pay awfully well (I'm a writer for my state's fish and wildlife agency). My budget is tight with a mortgage on one income and this economy is just plain scary. My cash needs to stay in my savings account. Your advice and everyone else's brought me back to earth. And I am SO thankful for that. It's a tough lesson to learn, but we just can't have everything we want at this moment, right? I believe we can have what we want, but slowly and with planning and hard work and good old-fashioned saving money. I am so glad to have changed my mind before it was too late. And how wonderful to be adopted! :)

Here is the faqs from my finishing company: http://freemanfinishing.com/faqs.html From their faqs: "Q. Are finishes used out of state more durable than the materials allowed for use in California? A. No. This is a misleading rumor that some premanufactured cabinet companies and their sales representatives use to help justify their high prices. Customers are led to believe they will be getting an inferior product by choosing a custom cabinet maker. The truth is, as a moderate size custom cabinet finishing company, we can legally use the same materials they use. BAAQC (Bay Area Air Quality Control) is the governing agency which licenses us to use these finishes. They audit us yearly to ensure we maintain compliance with the Air Quality Standards." Of course they could just be saying that. All I know is that so far my cabinets look beautiful. The finishing was done at this shop which is down the road from my cabinet maker and was a very expensive part of the cabinets (around 15k I think).