Caryscott, thanks for the info on Canac! Wow, I'm so relieved I didn't actually go ahead with this line - wouldn't have even gotten the one-year warranty on them! LOL! Just to add my two cents to this thread, I ended up getting Kraftmaid cabinets (from an independent dealer, who's given me terrific pricing and service). I considered Ikea, but I'm not really into the "Italian" kitchen look, I needed design help, and I don't think I would have been able to get the size customizations I needed for my tiny galley kitchen. (One side of my kitchen has 19" reduced depth base cabinets.) I had actually wanted frameless in order to maximize usable space, but couldn't find a frameless line with a finish I liked. I finally went with Kraftmaid even though it was framed because their Ginger Glaze finish was the one that attracted me over and over again when I went to look at cabinets. (I was much more inflexible about certain details like finish color than I ever dreamed I'd be - learned a lot about myself in this renovation!) Anyway, I'm happy with the quality of the Kraftmaid cabinets. I got to inspect them in quite a lot of detail due to the problems and duration of my kitchen renovation, so I have some idea what the quality difference might be between them and a high end cabinet line. But for the money I paid, I think they're quite good. I'm sure - I *know* - Ikea would have been much less money, but it wouldn't have done what I needed it to. For those for whom it works - that's fantastic. I have a friend at work who did his ultra-modern kitchen using Ikea boxes and custom doors. It looks gorgeous. There's no single right answer for everyone. :-) Oh, and I love Target too! Got my bamboo silverware organizer there - they were the only place that had one that would fit my very shallow depth drawers, it was *beautifully* constructed (better than the expensive ones I saw), and it was cheap. Can't ask for more!

I really don't know why I didn't think of this earlier... about storing all member photos on the FKB server. I guess I figured it out be outrageously expensive to host all the photos. But the cost of storage has gone down tremendously (an extra 20GB on picasaweb costs only $5 per year), and I am making small change from the ads on the FKB. So it's definitely do-able. I replied back to gellchom with a message similar to this. Please feel free to mention this when you send out your emails (although it's probably too late for most of you). Sample email: There are a couple of options for getting your photos back onto the FKB. Option#1: Upload your kitchen photos to one of the online photo management applications (photobucket, flickr, picasa, etc.). Remove password-protection from your kitchen album or members will not be able to view your photos. Email the link to me. (Many members choose this option because they like managing their own photos.) Option#2: Email all your kitchen photos directly to starpooh and she will upload them onto the FKB's photo album. Her email address is: starpooh@gmail.com. They will be put into a separate folder (similar to outwest's kitchen): http://picasaweb.google.com/starpooh. If, in the future, you decide to remove your photos from the FKB just send an email to starpooh and she will take care of it. (Some members are choosing this option because they don't want to worry about keeping track of their kitchen photos. They also do not need to worry about password-protecting their personal photos.)

I have quite a bit of Ikea furniture/items. Some has held up, some hasn't. I usually first go to the "as is" area by the registers. This is out of the way for a lot of people, but if I'm really looking for something I don't want to waste time going throughout the store if it's there cheaper. I was able to save over 50% on my Hemnes dresser in as is just because it had a scratch on the top. It was already completely put together. I've had this dresser for over 3 years now and it is my favorite piece of furniture. The top is somewhat soft, so I would suggest if this bothers you that the top doesn't look as great after a few years. I also bought a Tarva nightstand for $40. They're a lot cheaper and unfinished pine. I put this together and then painted it the color I wanted. I then spray it with shellac and it has held up really well. My eivor cirkel rug is beautiful, soft, and has held up for the past year. It's easy to clean and doesn't lose fibers ever. I have 2 Asele table lamps. These come with an adjustable dial to turn them on. They're great when you want it lighted but dim in the room. My cats have knocked them over a few times and the shades have held up to this. I have 5 NOT floor lamps, both with and without the side light for reading. These get wobbly over time and need to be retightened. I love them and they're cheap. I have several LACK side tables that I've painted and recovered. They hold up well, but tend to chip if you run into them, hence the paint. I also have a LACK coffee table that my bearded dragon's tank is on. It holds the weight and is very sturdy, but it does scratch easily. I also have a VEJMON side table. That one didn't hold up to my puppy's wood chewing stage.. woops. The BISSA shoe cabinet is great, but it has no cut out for the baseboards which makes mounting it a pain. I plan to replace this soon. My various IKEA cookware and utensils have held up well but dishwashing tends to kill them after a few times. I have IKEA artwork too that is pretty decent quality. My ottoman is so heavy duty that it chipped my wood floors when it fell. The one thing I would not buy from there again is pillows. I have bought maybe a handful of pillows for my living room. After only a few months they started stabbing me with feathers. Oh, and of course my bathmats, shower curtains, wastebaskets, etc. are all great.

Do not use Lowes..... Do not use Lowes as a contractor! On June 23, 2015, my life and my son’s life was turned upside down causing not only unnecessary stress to us but, causing me to incur thousands of additional dollars in costs due to the construction of the bathroom. On June 23, 2015 I initiated an agreement with Lowes to remodel a 5X7 bathroom. I paid in full $14,913.00. My son and his wife were supposed to move in to this condominium at the end of August as the bathroom was to be completed in 15 days of actual work or by the agreed upon date of August 15th. The events of the last 5 1/2 months were perpetuated by the poor and ineffective project scheduling and by the contractor hired by Lowes. However, it always seemed that Lowes had the back of the contractor and not us the customer who had paid in full the entire cost of the bathroom renovation prior to the start of the construction. The guarantee of satisfaction we signed with Lowes on June 23rd 2015 had no effect on the construction. Therefore, after deliberate consideration and consultation it is obvious that the bathroom renovation was not completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. 5 1/2 months’ later the bathroom was never completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. Examples of the extremely sloppy workmanship include: The door and door frame should have been replaced with a quality door as agreed to in initial contract. Door is damaged, poorly spray painted so its surface is like sandpaper and the frame is damaged too so that the correct hardware could not be installed. Old rusted hinges were reused with caked on paint of years of use. The threshold is not the marble one we selected and it is the wrong color. The bathroom is beiges and browns and the threshold is an orange composite material. The wall and the tile molding was never completed behind the vanity. The grout is coming out from between the tiles in the shower. Instead of re-grouting the tiles calking was use on the surface only. The ceiling has gouges in it from when the bathroom was demolished and the light fixture was removed. The vent fan does not sit flush against the wall due to a wall that is not vertical. The light switch was poorly installed and now it cannot be aligned. Due to the inexpensive door when the towel bars were connected to the door the door was hollow so they could not be anchored correctly. Other expenses we incurred were my son's 2 months’ rent in his Manhattan apartment since the timeline for the renovation changed from the end of August to the end of November. And you can’t move into an apartment that has no toilet. (Expense of $3,358.00) Also… *** You have to see the photos of the mess in the apt. Nothing was covered. Everything is covered by a layer of dust. Floors, walls, windows, all the furniture, television, bedding, couches all appliances and more. In the middle of the living room is a 4-foot pile of bathroom debris (tile, floor, wall board, ceiling, plumbing and probably asbestos & lead too. The floors were left in such a damaged condition due to the contractor's dumping the demolition refuse into the living room that we needed to scrape the damaged floors for $2,126.00. And finally the couches were discarded because the debris that covered them and it was not worth the risk to use them. Their replacement value was about $1800.00 In all we are requesting compensation in the amount of $ 22,197.00 without the cost of painting the entire apartment that is covered with dust that probably contains asbestos and lead. Photos are available if you contact me at Bschreier@aol.com.