Couple of strong guys and an appliance hand truck and you should be fine. Don't let the weight and difficulty of a one-time move put you off cast iron - it's worth the effort! A buddy and I wrestled a 320lb cast iron tub by hand up a "winder" staircase for my remodel project just last weekend. I wouldn't want to do it again but I'm glad we stayed with the cast iron. (My buddy wasn't too amused when I called him the next day and told him that we needed to return the tub because it was the wrong model - can't understand why he lost his sense of humor over a little ole bathtub.) Dave

I can echo ebse: our 1930 house has its original glass doorknobs backed by polished silver/chrome. But the little knobs on the hall closets wouldn't work in our kitchen--too small, and I don't want to push a tiny button to get out the plates. Our KD keeps saying: think classic, think simple: so I'm looking through Schoolhouse Electric and Rejuvenation and RH catalogs, and we're trying to reproduce the look of our shaker cabinets (but updated: slides and depth added). Our home, according to previous owners, had linoleum, and I love the Marmorette I've chosen. The finish carpenter wants to duplicate some of the woodwork, since we're taking out a wall and the kitchen will open into the former formal dining room. But the sticking point is this: I want SS appliances. I want those two lovely SS sinks and faucets. I had Traci's double-oven for 15 years (it finally died---it's from the 60's. It was the first GE to make a self-cleaning oven, according to the old appliance store where we purchased it back in the early 80's). So, we all make those decisions to try and reproduce the elements that remind us of "days gone by." Ellen Goodman wrote years ago about our generation building huge homes to act as perfect stages where we perform our lives...except, nobody's home, because we're all working hard to be able to pay for those big stages. Sigh. The most hospitable home I've ever been in was a tiny, nondescript ranch in So. Cal. where a tiny Japanese-American woman cooked over a gas range, in a non-A/C kitchen. The food was amazing, and always prepared with love. Best kitchen I knew. I want a prettier "stage," but I want her essence in that room. I'm working on it.

ok,,so lets start w/the kitchen. well, paint colors actually. it's ok to do different colors in other rooms,,,if you can see both rooms, slightly, then either do the same or do similar coordinating tones. The rest of the advice is if you plan on keeping what's there. If you're going to rip it out and get a new kitchen in a year, then live w/it if you can. If this is all you can do for many years, then see if the changes, below, are something you can do. if you plan on keeping all of that wood trim (if it was me, I'd prob paint every thing except the beams on the ceiling, and maybe the trim going up the staircase. In the kitchen you have so many dark and heavy elements, I feel you need to lighten it up. I can live w/the black tile, for now, but that brick? hell no. that has to get painted. You can paint the brick on the island, or, I'd cover it up w/panels/trim and paint it a soft charcoal to match the floor (or whatever color you like) Grab some thin wood or mdf panels from HD or lowes and cut to fit the 3 sides. Use construction adhesive to adhere to bricks (or get some masonry screws and screw them in) then get some 1x2 primed trim pieces and secure all around the borders..like so if you want a bit fancy, do the stiles along the back (above,,the vertical pieces) otherwise, just do it like pictured below. see how nice and clean looking it is? More ideas, search "trimming out kitchen island". you could try doing it in this color or if you feel like you want to have a painting party, do all of the cabinets in one, two or all four as they've outlined. This combo would look great w/your flooring. you kitchen ceiling needs to be skim coated and smooth out. or, have it retextured, primed and painted in a flat bright white. if you will be getting some retro fit recessed lights (Costco LED's,,,great price) then wait until the holes are done for those. Minimum of six 6" cans (8 would be better) , and two spots for pendants over the island. BTW, replacing the top on the island is a piece of cake. either check a granite fabricator yard for a remnant piece (you have a slender top so it should be easy to find) or look on craigslist for a remnant or even an entire island, or get an inexpensive butcher block and cut it yourself to fit. Whatever you get, leave an extra couple inches off the back end for an overhang. you could do a few more inches. The brick around your oven? paint it. white, black, gray, pick one. use a satin paint for that. clean and scrub that brick very well before you PRIME it (if using a dark paint, prime it with a gray primer. white for white,,,but don't skip the priming part) as for baseboards, if they're all small and short, pull them and replace w/these. Any questions? and yes, if you have the budget, call in a designer to help you out with what needs to be done, what should be done, etc.

I use a dish drainer at my camp. No dishwasher. It was given to me by my daughter because she didn't like the color. Usually there is just me and hubby and we don't generate many dishes either. I prefer my dishes to air dry. The drainer I have has a longer lip part that drains the water into the sink. I seen some like that on Amazon made by Farberware. I do have to elevate the back part of my drainer. I use a 2 1/2 inch high long little wire basket from the dollar tree. Works fine.