How could I forget Just Joey and Tamora? I am getting Just Joey [also Brandy and Medallion] next weekend when I make my yearly pilgrimage to Robertsons Nursery near Houston - he doesnt ship, has the biggest, healthiest potted roses I have ever seen. I always come home with more than I need.... Brandy....a lot of these roses on my list are ones I have ordered for spring and havent grown yet. One that is currently growing for me that has had not one instance of blackspot is Vesper. I dont hear it mentioned much, but its a great little rose, very healthy. Its own root, and think it would do well in a pot. I am in east Texas, and it definitely heats up in the summer here. But I water constantly and spray fairly consistently so dont have too many problems. I dont really seem to have too many blackspot problems with the apricots that I grow - perhaps because I spray. I dont spray the rugosa Vanguard because rugosas dont like it. Ceterum, I have Versigny on order from Roses Unlimited. They unfailingly send great plants! Photos look gorgeous on this one, cant wait to see it bloom! As for the ones being the most orange, I think Pat Austin and Lady Emma Hamilton [on order for spring], Orange Ruffles and Anne Harkness would be. Apricot can be so many different shades - from a light, pale color to one with a yellowish tint to just a shade off orange. One I didnt list that is between apricot and orange is Lillian, from Roses Unlimited. It has a ruffled bloom, very pretty color. Dont hear this one discussed, but I like it. I like my apricots to be pure, no yellow - like Fragrant Apricot, Just Joey. Oh, and I left Evelyn off the list.....she is still in a pot, I understand she is a bit of a diva, so am still contemplating the perfect spot for her. She has a divine scent and a beautiful bloom. Another apricot shaded one I adore is Tahitian Sunset. I didnt care for it from the photos when it first came out, but when I saw it blooming at Chamblees, I zeroed in on it, was surprised to find it was this rose. The photos dont begin to do it justice, its one of my favorites. I have a long bed in the backyard that I am going to fill with apricot and mauves.....and edge with white, lavender and apricot periwinkles for summer. And am planning a formal bed with 4 beds surrounding a Knockout tree rose and will do one section of that in apricot, purple and mauves. Cant get enough of this beautiful color!! Would love to hear comments on other apricots being grown. Judith

I have not had relationships with Medallion, Dynasty, Kemper, Decora to know their price. I am a straight shooter and find it so interesting to read this message board. I am here to learn the mind of perspective buyers and what is happening to them around the country to learn of ways to improve. I find it amazing that so many people state that an itemized estimate is rare find. Also that cabinet shopping is worse than buying a car. I have only bought a few in my life I keep them till they die.. I hated my expierence buying autos! That is a disgrace to the industry I chose to be in. I personally love the kitchen remodel process becasue it is a mini design build expierence where you can be proud of your kitchen when you are done. I have stated many times that people from this site need to compare discounts from MSRP to find the average per brand and then you can see if you are being given a good price. I am begining to think that most people on this site go to retail locations based on show room appearance and equate the quality of displays with the quality of the business. The computer design software I use is Pro kitchen. It is less expensive then the more popular 20/20 that many of the stores use. The program has a data base of symbols for the cabinets organized by cabinet maker. A material list is generated from the symbols placed on the drawing that references MSRP of all the items placed on the drawing with relevant options. It is so easy to have the material list print out as a line by line estimate which is how I do it. Stores do not want to take the 2-4 hours it takes to produce a design that you can send to countless places to see who has the best deal. I can understand that to a certain extent. To me what does it matter the individual cost per item or the total as the items create the total. I had a customer in Orlando who I worked with for weeks providing quotes using different cabinet companies to get a price lower then the first go round. All my estimates were itemized line by line including all options to the custom cabinets. The husband got upset with me to the point of being almost rude that the other cabinet companies would not itemize the quotes so they could compare them to mine. I was amazed at his disdain towards me when I was the only company that gave him the info he wanted. I was told to make the kitchen fully loaded on exterior look and interior function which I did. They had 30 lineal feet of cabinetry 39" wall cabinets with crown and light rail soft close drawers and doors factory built intergal side panels on all exposed cabinets. 1 piece wainscott panels on the backs of the island and so on. Their price varied between approx $9,500 and $12,000 depending on door style chosen. The competition had a similar door style for 10,000 no crown no light rail and no upgrades. They went with the competition instead of asking me prepare a quote with out all the options. They asumed that I would not be able to match the competition because my detailed estimate gave them the ability to subtract out the options costs to see where the price would be without the extras. I would have made approx $3,000 on the $12,000 estimate. If they had asked me what was my price instead of assuming and said to me the competition is at $10,000 and been willing to show the paperwork I could have easily made another estimate with out the bells and whistles and seen my cost and decided what I was willing to negotiate to. I could have beat the competition easily. They assumed things they did not know or ask. We both lost. I could have given them a better price and we both would have been better off. Do not assume things wether you have a written total cost or a lump sum. Go to smaller stores that are more family owned get your quotes from each company and then share them with the competition and say can you beat this. You will be taken much more seriously if you have a honest written quote than a verbal story of your prices to compare. I am actually to the point where I am going to offer instead of free quotes as I do now to charging $150 for quote and measurement that is refundable if you do not purchase with me and you show me what the quote is you are going to buy and if I can not get the business for any reason and I then see a signed agreement I will refund the money. That way I will atleast see how I am losing to my competition and have a chance to learn and improve. Many dealers do not get the sales they want after working for them. Honesty is the best policy for all involved. Treat your perspective dealers and contractors as you want to be treated and you might be surprised what will happen. We have consumers playing games with us all the time. It sounds as though the dealers are doing it in kind. You have to be the adult to end the games and go with a straight face. The beauty of a free market is you are able to compare as many prices as possible. Take your written quotes and use them to your advantage and quit worrying about if I say the budget they sales person will set the price to the budget. So what if they do. Take the quote to the next guy and ask if they can beat and repeat the process until you reach the bottom price. Then size the company up and see if expierence and reputation are adequate if so you found a good deal.

I loved Ina's kitchen too, so I can't wait to see your finished kitchen! And I'm dong a 10' island with no upper cabs so we have similar taste :-) Here are my thoughts at first glance: - Ditto what Marcolo said about the range being butt to butt with cleanup, so moving the sink would be good. - It might just be me, but I feel like a 48" range (nix the speed oven) would have more visual balance with the island size. - Where will your dishes and silverware be stored? I know you said in drawers, but where will those drawers be? In the pantry? - Do you envision using the two DWs daily? Or one more when you're entertaining? We're doing two as well, but are putting the second one in our pantry and are going to use that as the "hide the mess" spot when we entertain. - Can you post your whole first floor? I searched for it but the references to it have been removed from your photobucket acct. - The current island seating looks like it might be hard to get in and out of because of the cabinet sides on the two end stools. Especially if two people are sitting in the middle seats. - I'd consider doing L-shaped seating and increase the seating amount to 6 or even 8. You said you have two kids but may have another one. I'd want to have a seat for at least everyone in the family, and ideally be able to accommodate each child having one friend over and all of them being able to sit at the island. - If you did do the L shaped seating, you could do cabs back to back on the other end and have more storage in one area. I drew your island at half inch scale so you can see what the L-shaped seating would give you and how much space you'll still have. You could also do backless chairs, like Ina, so they're hidden underneath when not in use. Since your den and nook is at that end, I imagine people will gravitate towards that end when you're entertaining.

This is one of the things I worried about most in our kitchen remodel. I had wanted a very specific French ceramic tile that I couldn't get for the price I wanted in the time that I needed it. This led me to a hasty decision, and I chose unfilled travertine. After pulling the trigger, I did some research (BIG mistake) that led me to the conclusion that I had made a horrible choice. I realized I would be stuck with my decision, so I figured that, if I really hated it, I could wait a few years and pull it all out and replace it. Well, the travertine has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable features of my new kitchen! We have rugs in front of our stove and sink, so it seldom gets anything on it other than normal dirt from foot traffic (and hair from three large dogs). I just vacuum at least once a week and spot clean spills. NOTHING sticks to it and nothing shows. Believe it or not, I haven't mopped it once since it was installed in January. Thinking it had to be gross by now, I wiped a few tiles in a high traffic area with a plain white damp paper towel, and there was almost no dirt whatsoever. We have 16x16 tiles and have had no issues with cracks. I do wish I had hired a professional tiler to install it, though. My contractor's crew was not very careful, so I have some unevenness. They also ignored my request to have tiles with more holes placed on the perimeter where they would be covered with cabinets.