Thanks for the kitchen compliments. The granite is Impala Black and I love it! Not too busy, not too plain. Easy to decorate around. Go to my Photobucket page and all the kitchen specs are in the Comments section. Kat, I need to get myself a sign like that. I'm not a slob, just a little more untidy than OCD DH would like. For now, my framed graphic that says "Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here." will have to do. :-) Jodi- Here is a link that might be useful: Jodi's Kitchen

Okay! Okay! This is a home video room for watching films. I did not really see those posters at first. So, my guess is that there are speakers behind one or more of those movie posters.

I showed this to the missus and she has a theory. It is a 'safe room'. You cannot see the short wall that goes back to the windows, but it would be there. Camera and motion detector? They are there so that when in the safe room you can see everything that is going on outside that room. If you look closely, there is a light reflection on the floor when the door is open. Look closer and you can see the light (probably florescent) within the room. That door shows that it is not that thick, but it would provide a bit so safe refuge should it be necessary. It sorta makes sense to me.

These aren't that rare in some places. About 15 years ago, we were on a driving vacation in Europe. The car rental co. had upgraded us to a Mercedes. which was fine with me. At one medium-sized hotel in an urban center in Germany we had reserved, there was a small driveway I pulled into to register. I asked "Where is the car park?" and was told "just pull forward into the opening, the elevator will take you down to the garage". I'm thinking, what? The "opening" was like a very tight garage portal into the building. I inspected it first- it allowed about 6 inches of leeway for each side and front/back for the car I had. Sweat streaming down my face, I pulled in carefully (which a lot of backs and forths), rolled the window down to push the down button, and took the ride down. After the platform stopped and I backed out, I found myself in a large underground lot with parking for >40 cars. And yes, the only access was this tiny elevator. We stayed there nearly a week, and I had at least one in and out each day. I got more comfortable with practice but the first time was really stressful.