The buttons were a problem, not because of how they look, but because they don't really 'seat' in anything behind the panel, so they tend to shift a little, so don't necessarily 'catch' and control things on the first try. Like spinning it and not getting any changes. Or the main button sticks and then the rest don't respond. If you try it a couple times, it will eventually work, but that shouldn't have to be the case. Just not a great design...Unless they've made a change. The one I had was one of the first of that style. As for 'clean'...It's a clean looking design, but mirrored black glass only stays that way with some work and constant attention. With the amount of baking we do and the number of kids working in my kitchen who don't pay that much attention to 'detailing' the appliances, I wasn't a fan. I can recommend it as having great baking performance, and the racks work nicely. I wouldn't recommend self-cleaning unless you don't mind the pits and chipping in the porcelain that may occur. I have to say they were great about replacing my first oven for that, and not all F&P ovens seem to have that problem, but having it happen twice to me, I'd just avoid self-cleaning. That's disappointing, since it should work and not damage the oven...but I think it's a risk. At least it didn't seem to fry the electronics as it did with earlier F&P ovens and other brands, which makes me think they learned from that and did something to make sure the electronics were protected during the high heat. I would buy the old F&P oven again (stainless front, blue interior), but one experience with the black mirror finish doors was enough for me. Too many finger prints and smears, and it doesn't take much of that to make it look yucky.

If the alteration you are thinking about can be done, it would be a major and costly project. I would get the opinions of at least 3 different fireplace experts. If they all agree that it can be done, and on how it should be done and the cost, then it's up to you to decide whether you want it badly enough to spend the money and live with the mess while they're working. But if even one of the 3 experts advises against it, I would not do it. You do incur a risk of "expert" opinion that is wrong (not so expert), or worse, a so-called expert who is just looking to make some money, and he can't make money if he says it can't be done. There is also a risk that, once they start the alteration and dig into this or that, that they find womething they did not expect, and they tell you that it will cost more to do it because of the unexpected finding. You might also check with the forum in hearth.com. The people there love and breath fireplaces. You might get some interesting opinions from them. I wonder if they would agree or not.

Thanks for the info laxsupermom. Do you have any problem with water splashing out of the small side? This one is 7 wide by 5 inches deep. We're undermounting in 3 cm granite, so we'll gain another inch below the countertop surface, but I'm wondering if trying to rinse small prep items in such a tiny bowl is more trouble then it's worth. Besides having the two drains so the garbage disposal is always available, is there a reason you prefer this style to a large single bowl?

I thought I recognized "Expressive Plum" (name). The front door on our last house was the prettiest eggplant color--very close to Expressive Plum, but we thought it'd be too dark for the DR. We sampled SW "Socialite", too, but it leaned towards the mauve side while I thought "Soulmate" stayed the shade I wanted. I knew I couldn't go any lighter without it becoming lavender, and we didn't want that. I was talking to the head painter when we were standing in the foyer looking into the DR. The painter said one of his guys said to him after they'd finished it, "I know it's purple....but it's pretty." Sounds like a guy who didn't expect to ever like purple. We thought of this color for our bath, too (we "re-used" several of our colors in other rooms), but it's too dark in there with only 1 NE-facing, frosted window, so we put a light sage green in the bath, and I have eggplant towels from the last house to use, so there's my purple fix in there.