Sarah, you are more than welcome to attend. I met my closest friend at the first swap I ever held at my house and found out that she lived only a mile from me. Swaps are a great way to meet other people who have similar intrests as yourself. As for the seeds, once you see my collection you probably won't think you went so overboard! The only difference is that I collect most of my seeds myself from plants in the wild, from my garden, and from friend's gardens (with their permission of coarse!). My friend's find my obsession with seed collecting very amusing! lol

I seem to recall reading somewhere that 36" of counter space on either side of the range and sink is optimum. However, we have a really tiny kitchen and have 30" to one side of the range (works just fine for us) and about 1/2" on the other (not so good). Having no counter space was our only option and can be a pain in the @ss, but it's not impossible to live with. Do you often have 2 cooks prepping or cooking at the range at the same time? If so, I would recommend at least 2ft on that side. If not, I'd say you could get away with 18". You need room for pot handles to stick out and to set pots or pans out of the oven on. If you have a cab down to the counter, you want to be able to set a hot cookie sheet there without worrying about whether it is touching the side of the cab. On the issue of symmetry, I would say a little bit is okay, but with the kind of kitchen you are going for, you don't want it all completely matching. Someone posted a pic of their new kitchen last week wondering if the lack of symmetry with their hutch-like cab looked off. I think it made the kitchen look much nicer and less factory produced which is what I think you want as well. I wouldn't make your cab any deeper than 18". The reason I say this is that if you picture ourself prepping on that side of the range - you may be standing in front of the open counter, but your arms and elbows will be out to the side in front of the cab. You don't want to be butting into the side of that cab. We didn't allow for elbow room in our bathroom and had to move the vanity over. You will really appreciate the deeper cabs for those big dishes but like I said, I think 18" will be plenty. Really looking forward to seeing your kitchen complete. It's going to be wonderful.

Hey Scuzz....I'm with cluelessincolorado. You said your home is eclectic and the island is certainly large. Mix it up! Think about how you will use it; consider where you need what type of surface and use the existing tones to choose zones. Zinc or stainless would work well with the stainless/brushed nickel fittings- or- the kit could handle a little white- or - wood to warm it up. IF you do mix, use only two surfaces and make certain one is a solid (ie stainless & marble, white dekton & wood, the existing quartz color & zinc) Beautiful job, BTW. In both layout and decor, it's a room I'd love working and just spending time in.

Oh wow - I had no idea this thread had come back to life! Philipatx - I found Della Reese locally at an Armstrong Garden Center. Amanda - Stainless Steel is a champ. Has no mildew, and no disease at all. Thank you to all for the kind words. Right now I look into my garden and sigh. We're getting bombarded with rain - more than usual for us, everything is soggy and mucky, grass is now about 10" high and in this wet there isn't much I can do about it, I keep wanting to spray my pruned rose nubbins but can't get a break in the weather to do it, and it's just kind of downright depressing. And then I feel bad for complaining knowing how mild even our more extreme winters are here compared with the rest of the country. Seeing this thread revived reminds me that wonderful things are ahead (and a LOT of work). Hopefully this will be another good rose year, and I'm hoping after having the worst cane borer year last year I can get somewhat a handle on them with some dormant oil spray - at some point! Thank you for the encouragement!