Kareemd515 who resurrected this thread is a spammer, but I missed this thread the first time around, and it's a fun one so I'll post. For anyone who has a small kitchen in which counter space is at a premium, like us, I recommend a "long slot" toaster. We bought a Haier 2-slice toaster, and its footprint is long and narrow at about 5". It lives up against the backsplash, and doesn't take up much counter room. Its blue LED countdown lights are fun too. I checked Amazon, and it looks like the Haier is not available anymore, but I saw a Cuisinart long slice toaster on the page with similar slim footprint. The Cuisinart is much more expensive than our Haier was, and it has "motorized lift", which sounds cool(?). I will also link for fun a youtube video of another toaster that is so cool, but sadly, no longer made. Haier TST120SS long slot toaster Fun Toaster on Youtube

You know, we didn't price laminate because I was removing it, and had ALWAYS had it everywhere I ever lived. I wanted something different. I can tell you that our best granite quote was $5,000, and solid surface from Lowe's would have been a little over $2,000. We wanted an undermount sink and I didn't like how they looked with the laminate displays at Lowes, plus I really didn't want laminate at this time. However, with laminate you can purchase it, install it and you're done. With butcher block, you have to put on multiple coats of your finish. Allowing drying time and completing each coat is time consuming. We were able to purchase our butcher block for right around $600. Ikea sells great butcher block as well however, it would have cost an additional $350 to have it shipped to our home and I would have had to buy it sight unseen, something I wasn't comfortable with. Another low cost option to consider could be concrete. I have a friend who installed it in her brand new home and it is lovely. I saw a blog at one time of someone doing their own concrete counters right over their laminate and it really turned out nice. It was very low cost. You also could always do a countertop treatment of some sort or install sheets of laminate over your current counter. These options weren't a possibility for us because our sink hole had been cut out by our previous owner way too big, and we had some water damage from our leaky faucet. We had to completely replace our counters. A friend of ours that just completely renovated their kitchen installed tile counters. They are beautiful, I just wouldn't have wanted to deal with the grout. I will look for the concrete counter blog and post it if I can find it.

You say you still are not sure you understand the differences between panel-ready and fully-integrated fridges. Please look at the photos on this thread of the fridges. A panel-ready fridge simply tacks the panels onto the fridge, and the fridge's trim, hinges, venting, and water dispenser (if you choose one) will show. Also, as Joe Henderson pointed out above, panel-ready fridges usually have black sides, so you have to be sure your cabinetry will cover the sides. A panel-ready fridge cannot be completely flush with the cabinetry, because the hinges are on the outside of the fridge, and there have to be a couple inches sticking out from the cabinetry so that the doors can open. As I mentioned, I do not understand the purpose of spending money to panel this type of fridge. IMO, it looks nicer just to have the fridge be a fridge. Alternatively, a fully-integrated fridge means the fridge disappears entirely into the cabinetry. No hinges, trim, or venting show. The fridge is totally flush with the cabinetry, and the hinges are hidden. With a fully-integrated fridge, usually the homeowner installs the same handles as the rest of the cabinetry (just bigger - cabinet hardware companies sell fridge handles exactly for this purpose). When a fully-integrated fridge doors are closed, it is hard to spot where the fridge is in the kitchen.

Hi guys, thanks so much for all the responses and for sharing your thoughts/experience - it's almost overwhelming how helpful everyone is! So last night I ran a load with gel, and there was still grit but less of it. It could be a one-off result, so I'll have to try going back and forth between tabs and gel to see if there's any consistency. The good news is that the cleaning seems to be back to normal (other than the grit) - the past week or so I'd have to rewash certain dishes, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse. Looks like cleaning out the filters and grinder area did something positive there. ci_lantro, interesting that you recommend that. When I was running a load with vinegar I opened the door shortly after it filled and noticed that there was some foam, which surprised me... I figured it was reacting with detergent residue. I'll definitely try drying out the grit and experimenting with how it reacts to acids. As for aerators, I did not check faucets, but did swap out a shower head fairly recently and there were no issues there. The plumber was also surprised by how strong our water pressure was, so doesn't seem like it's bad enough to clog anything.