The IKEA sink you posted a link to says it can be done with the faucet mounted left or right. The only reason I can see that it wouldn't reverse would be if the back side wasn't finished so that you would see a raw side when reversed, but it sounds like you can reverse it. You have about 18 inches for counter in the middle. Is that enough or are you giving up too much to the width of the sinks? If you went with a trough, I think I would do wall faucets and keep the space you have for the counter space you want. You probably need something about 36 inches so two people can stand in front of it at the same time, and if you add faucet on either side, you're down to less than 12 inches of counter space on each end. I would hang on to every inch you can, and I think wall mounted faucets would look great with that kind of sink. They aren't something you are going to replace frequently and you might be able to get clever about creating access in case you need to service or change them out down the road. Ideally, they would stay put until someone else remodels. ;-)

Our entire house is 12x12 light colored ceramic tile and I use a Floormate to clean it. I love this piece of equipment and cannot imagine having to go back to the old way of cleaning (vacuum, mop and dry). It does it all, and is easy to use and handle as well. When I bought it, the sales person cautioned that it is designed for cleaning hard flooring, but NOT necessarily grout, unless your grout is high enough so as to be nearly level with the tile. According to her, as long as the grout is no more than a fingernail thickness from the surface of the tile it would get it, otherwise it would not. So my expectations were realistic to begin with. What I like best is how well it cleans the tile and how dry it leaves it. For us there are zero marks or streaks, though this may be floor specific. I can imagine that anyone that has a shiny floor might get streaks no what they use to clean it. I do prefer my stick vac for dry vacuuming, so that is what I use most often, but when the floor needs mopped, I get out the FloorMate. To do the kitchen takes about 15 minutes. The hall about 10, and the MBR another 10. The hardest part is getting all the junk off the floor and out of the way--that takes longer than the cleaning process. I guess the only trouble free way to clean is to hire someone else to do it, but until that day comes, I will remain a satisfied FloorMate customer. Lynne

If the dryer really is taking longer, then something else is the cause of the problem, not the sensor itself. The sensor does not control how fast the clothes dry, it only shuts the machine off when the clothes ARE dry ... within limits of the programmed sensor algorithms. What basically happens is that damp/wet clothes brush against a pair of sensor bars in the drum. The moisture completes an electric circuit between the two bars, which interrupts progression of the timer. Whether the timer is an electro-mechanical dial or an electronic board, the effect is the same. As the clothes dry, there is less moisture present even when items are touching the bars, so time runs out faster and faster as the drying process progresses. However, here are brief moments during tumbling when no clothes are touching the bars, so time does run-out in tiny fragments even at the start when the clothes are wet. If the vent duct is blocked or the machine isn't heating properly, time will STILL eventually run out and the dryer will turn off, even if the clothes are not properly dry. Try running a load on the timed cycle instead of the auto-dry cycle, and I'm betting it'll STILL take a long time and multiple re-cycles. If the clothes feel "normal" when pulled out of the washer in terms of how much water is being extracted, then have a look at the vent duct on the dryer. And that doesn't mean just the length of flex-duct that runs between the dryer and wall. You must check the *entire* length of the exhaust from the dryer to where it exits outside the house. I've seen cases in which the dryer was simply misaligned or pushed too far back, crushing the flex-duct.

The 1926 washer is pretty old (17yrs+). It was their first 6 kilo washer for the USA. I would considered a new Miele washer starting at $1599. The parts for old Miele washers can be expensive and who's to say something else might go wrong....more $$$ You could also check craigslist for a used washer. Example: I just saw on craigslist a 1926 washer and matching dryer for $450.