On a different subject in this thread: Based on my selling plants to the public between 1980 and 2004 at garden centers, grocery stores and florists. MOST people DO expect all plants they buy to live. Experienced plant folks know that potted holiday plants or dish gardens etc. are designed to be like cut flowers, enjoy them and toss them or repot them but the general public does not. If you display a dish garden or planter that is properly potted to live, people won't buy it because it isn't lush enough. Ditto blooming plants, the ones in full open bloom sell much, much better than the ones in bud. Especially bulb plants which really should be purchased when they are barely growing up out of the soil. It was one of the major frustrations over the years but when you make a living in retail you have to buy what sells..... BTW, I refused to buy LB with glued down rocks or impossible containers or that was infested with mites or already stretched out. I also included a fact sheet on proper care with each one and had signage.

I don't know if I have a particular "God given talent", but the things I enjoy doing, I seem to do well at. I've always had an interest in decorating, and my first project was in Home Ec, decorating my bedroom. I was always moving things around at home, and would tell Mom if I didn't like a lamp, paint color, furniture, or whatever. When I married, and was 'on my own' I was always aware of how my house looked, and not having a lot of money, would put things on layaway. Writing/i'm very descriptive! Flower arranging/this is something I do a lot for others as well as myself. I find it goes hand-in-hand with decorating, and love to 'put something together' when I get the chance. Painting/took lots of lessons, and at least know brush strokes. Haven't painted anything but furniture or walls in years. Singing/I *love* to sing, mainly in the car. I can reach some pretty high notes. I sang in the church choir when I was a kid, but didn't look forward to going to chrch, just singing. LOL Dancing/I can boogie-down with my 3 DD's pretty well! I took ballet lesson with my youngest DD several years ago and still remembered 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th position as well as tour jete, and plie'. I was still fairly light on my feet! DD found it difficult, and we only took 6 weeks of lessons. Sewing/sewed a dress for a beauty pageant oldest DD had entered years ago, and almost all her clothes in seventh grade. About the only thing I sew now are hems, on the machine, but will be attempting slipcovers for slipper chairs soon. Gardening/fairly successful w/Roses and various flowers, especially wild flowers. I don't have too many things die, unless it's lack of water! LOL Cooking & baking/great cook, too lazy to do much baking. I don't uses 'boxed' mixes, only cakes and brownies. I'm a 'from scratch' cook. Fashion/I worked in ladies ready-to-wear for 20+ years, so feel I have a very good sense of fashion, and what works for me and what doesn't. I don't spend as much $$$ as I used to, cause I would rather buy things for the house. Since i'm no longer out there working, I can save a lot! Most of all, I have a real passion for the things I do enjoy, and always put 100%+ into it! I have an antique space at a local antique mall, and find that's become my creative outlet for a lot of things. I get many compliments, which makes me want to do more, so I feel my efforts are not in vain. ;o)

I am really sorry that some of you have had issues with quality on Visual Comfort products. I would love to know which retailer you are dealing with. You see, I am the Director of Product Development for Visual Comfort. We do have occasional quality issues which we deal with promptly. Like any company which strives to bring great design at an affordable price to everyone; we are only as good as our quality and know it. I am aware of the issues that have been mentioned here - but the struggle to get satisfaction is not part of how we operate. We stand behind our products FOREVER. Someone mentioned that our prices have gone up 4x in some period of time. This is untrue. We have been operating since 1987 and we have had only two price increases. In fact, we are the most copied designer lighting line and I make sure our originals are priced better than the cheap copies. Shades sometimes fail; glass sometimes breaks; occasionally we ship the wrong item. The world has voted. We are considered the best; and it isn't because we send junk and don't support our customers. If any of you have issues, feel free to send me an email. cneal@visualcomfort.com

I know some folks will not like the stove and sink directly across from each other, but I do not mind Yeah, this is often touted as a no-no on this board, but I think the question is, are you planning a ONE-butt kitchen or something larger? My husband and I are solidly united in this: we both like to cook, but we are both highly annoyed by other people in the kitchen while we're doing it. I know some folks will think it is not necessary to have a eat-in kitchen table when there's an island and adjoining dining room, but I want to keep that and know we will get a lot of use out of it Eh, here's the question: do you really need the kitchen table AND island seating AND an adjacent dining room (and I bet you have outdoor dining that doesn't show on this plan as well). The question isn't, Is an eat-in kitchen table worthwhile? The question is, Which of these options is best for my family? And it's pretty certain that ALL OF THE ABOVE is overkill. I could also move the microwave over to the pantry or replace the wine fridge tower (although hubby is excited about that - probably doesn't need to be that large) .. but I do like microwave hidden in island in theory If you're thinking about hiding the microwave, you can probably get by with a small model. I know I can -- we really don't use ours much. You have no prep space next to the sink. You're not going to prep on the dishwasher side and 30" on the other side isn't enough. Do the 24" dishwasher on the end, the sink, the trash and then microwave and you'll have better prep space. Agree -- good eye. Also you will have to turn 180 anytime you need to load the fridge with groceries or take something out. Note that a 36" refrigerator won't fit in a 36" space -- you need a couple inches of "wiggle room"; if you're doing a surround, that'll take a few more inches. The point: if you build a 36" space, you're going to get a 32' or 33" refrigerator, and the difference in size is significant. Go look at refrigerators before you commit to this spot. Consider, too, that while French door refrigerators are all the rage right now, a right-hinged door will work better in this space. A right-hinged door will open "towards your work area", and you won't have to reach things around one of the doors. side as most kitchen tables are 42" wide. My kitchen table is 42" octagonal, and it's perfect for a family of four. It's enough space to comfortably include serving dishes, if desired. It's a nice size for playing a board game. There’s too much going on in the island and the area to the right of stove is underutilized. I’d put the microwave there. Agree with the premise; question the conclusion. Note that microwaves all hinge on the left, so a microwave to the right of the stove would "open wrong" -- not the end of the world, but also not ideal. Personally, I'd like to see the microwave hidden in the 24" pantry to the left of the refrigerator. It'd be "in the right spot" for warming leftovers. And, what’s the appliance garage for? If for toaster or coffee that requires milk or butter from fridge, that could move that to the other side, too. Yes, the concept of "away space" is popular when thinking of rooms ... but I think it's applicable to kitchens too. I'd skip the appliance garage /go with an open counter "away space" next to the refrigerator. This space could house the toaster, coffee maker, cookie jar, bowl of fruit ... you know, the "always outs" that clutter your counters. Either you assign them a spot, or they're always in the way. The microwave could go in this area ... perhaps in a shelf above the counter. I say put them by the refrigerator because this spot is "set apart" from the main working area already. I really think symmetry is overrated when it comes to this stuff. I do NOT like the 2 pendants that are not centered with the island. I could live with some things not being centered, but pendants ABSOLUTELY have to be centered - they're super-visible. Other thoughts: - Ideally your dishwasher - refrigerator - glassware storage would be close together. This is just convenient for the person taking a glass out /filling it AND for the person putting away clean dishes. - Similarly, where do you see your silverware drawer? Again, this needs to be handy to the dishwasher AND to your most-used dining spot. Plates and bowls aren't hard to carry a couple steps, but glassware and silverware need to be "placed right". - Much of your prep work happens at /near the sink ... and you have no handy drawers for your knives, cutting boards, measuring cups and other gadgets. This is a good reason to get the microwave out of the island. - This is a big kitchen, and you're looking at all your storage in $$$ cabinets /under stone countertops. If you were to lose some cabinetry /replace it with a plain pantry, you'd save a great deal of money. - The sink is the single most-used thing in your kitchen, and 33" isn't small ... but it's on the small side for a kitchen this size. I'd argue for taking it up to 36", which doesn't seem like a huge difference ... but is. The sink is not a place to skimp. - You want to store cooking oils (and vinegars seem to go with them) near the stove -- do you see an obvious spot for them? A chef's drawer would be ideal. - You said you're planning a spice drawer -- where is it going? I keep my spices in an upper cabinet /on a turntable, and I consider that ideal. - What's going in the tiny upper cabinets? - Do you have a spot for a fire extinguisher? If not, pick one right now! That's a must.