I had four quotes for cabinets and all their drawings looked like what I had already but without the soffit as I am keeping the same layout. I had to add more drawers and tweak each of the drawings. I got quotes and then when the installation became too much last year, I held off to allow me more time to decide what will be my budget. I installed the recessed lighting myself and now I want to see other options with hiring my own installers. I never paid the people for their time as it was their job. No one pays me for estimates as it is my job and sometimes it is time consuming. One cabinet store really got me upset wasting my time as he would not even give me a ballpark price but told me he would be so reasonably priced and his price came to more than the Home Depot $33,000 install price for my 12 X 14 kitchen that did not include the tiles or the appliances as I have them here already. He should have paid me waisting my time as he promised that since he was a referral the price would be fair. The cabinets he chose for me to keep the price down were not even the style I wanted but he said the other cabinets I liked were too much. I do not want to pay way too much as I am in a townhouse in a very nice neighborhood surrounded by very beautiful houses but it is still a townhouse and someone will be willing to pay a little more for my townhouse if I sold but not so much more so I need to make sure I am upgrading to what I love within a budget so I can enjoy my kitchen. I have no idea how long I will be here but I love my home and neighborhood. I bought high end appliances (The kitchen Cafe Range instead of a cheaper stainless steel range) in my opinion compared to what others were buying in my neighborhood but I did it for myself as I want to enjoy my appliances. But I understand wanting to give this woman a gift for her time or some kind of compensation but you are not obligated to do so. I did give a gift to the Home Depot designer as I felt bad that the installation price was way too much for cabinets that I did not love but he worked hard on getting me what I wanted with most of the work being done by me with all the changes but still he spent time. Please keep us updated.

Hm... I wonder if that's true? In this particular cabinet, I'm not sure if it is really just about the innards. Maybe it is, though? This stuff is so over my head! Thanks for the input. IKEA makes this cabinet that operates like a pullout but has drawers on top and then a cubby for tall items on the bottom. I love that cabinet...

I find this very intesting and half confusing. I'm sure Merillat isn't top of the line cabinet brand but.. They say the sealers/topcoats have UV inhibitors in them. It also then states.. "Natural sunlight contains Ultra Violet (UV) light rays that may affect the appearance of your cabinets. Merillat has tested our wood species and finishes so that you may be able to determine the approximate effect that UV rays may have on the cabinetry in your home. The tests we use follow the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) standards for quartz ultra violet light (QUV). The actual results in your home will vary depending on these three factors: 1.Exposure to light (for example, direct from the south, east or west, or indirect from the north) 2.The portion of the cabinet that receives the light (top, base, etc.) 3.The wood itself. The finish does not change color, the wood itself will. UV inhibitors have been applied to all Merillat cabinetry. With varying exposure to UV rays, and over time, color variations will occur" What's up with #3? I thought the point of the UV inhibitors was so that it's protected and won't?

Gardenqueen87, Part of your question was -" Both greenhouses seem to employ a different way of moving the air. Is one way better than the other?" For most greenhouse crops, one complete air exchange per minute is needed. (volume of air within the greenhouse), and either passive-vents or fans can meet this need. One is not necessarily better than the other, other than the fact that passive ventilation systems do not require electricity. With fans, an output of 10 cubic ft / minute/ sq. ft of floor area is needed. For example, a 12 ft. X 18 ft. greenhouse (216 sq. ft. floor area) would need fans that could provide 2160 cubic ft/minute to achieve the needed one air exchange per minute.Check the specifications of the fans provided by the manufacturer. With a passive system, roof vents generally should be 20% of the floor area, and bottom-side vents 10%. Bottom-side vents are necessary to ensure the one complete air exchange per minute. For the same 12 ft X 18 ft. greenhouse with a passive system, top vents should be 44 sq. ft. and bottom-side vents 22 sq. ft. Check the specifications of the top vents, and ensure that bottom-side vents are included or can be modified into the design.