Alrighty! :O) Vina, if you think you know without a doubt who it is, wait until at least a few other ladies have guessed first, OK? That will give everyone a fair chance of guessing & winning! :o) LET THE GUESSING BEGIN!color>size> Only one guess at a time, please! The correct guesser of the secret agent will receive a prize (a surprise prize, of course!). Have fun!

Ok, so my DH brought it home and..... I don't like it :( Sometimes things have a way of growing on me but I don't think that this will. And, of course, the cabinet isn't finished yet so it's a bit hard to see it and judge with the cabinet looking the way it does above rather than the rest of the cabinets. My complaints - I think it'll be too dark. It's the darkest thing in the kitchen and it's basically the longest uninterrupted stretch of counter (the area next to it is 112 but that includes the sink) so it seems very visually prominent. I'm not a huge fan of the strips of wood next to the strips of wood in the floor. The finish on it is pretty shiny and somehow it appears very lifeless and flat - DH commented that it looks like laminate! I realize that this could be changed with a different finish on it. The positives - it looks really nice with the dark wainscotting in the dining room. It's not in the dining room of course but the view through is nice. The wood itself is pretty gorgeous. The colors and patterns are SO pretty. I'm thinking now that I need a different wood species. I think I'd prefer something that's more in keeping with the colors in the floor. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm thinking about sapele, mahogany, cherry, teak and maple. I think I'd probably prefer a plank style so that it's not as visually similar to the floor. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!!

I had hallmark alta vista pismo installed about a year and a half ago. My husband and I decided to do our whole downstairs in it. The first box didn’t even come close to looking right. We opened a second box and it was worse. After a lot of arguing, the distributer sent a box from a different mill. Again, it is not the right color. Hallmark has been awful to deal with and they just say its a natural product so they can’t guarantee anything, you get what you get basically. I am not sure if they switched formulas in the last two years, but the color for pismo is very dull and gray now. See pictures. The warm ones are left over from our kitchen and they the gray toned ones are what they are claiming to be the newest color of Pismo. Hopefully this helps someone thinking about Pismo.

What type of radiant heat do you have? You need to choose the floor that ALLOWES for your type of in-floor radiant heat. Don't listen to the company that makes the heating system. They are not the final word. The company that manufacturers your floors will be the one's who say how and why and why not to use their floors. Do you have whole home humidity control (either a whole home dehumidifier or a whole home humidifier or both)? If you do not, you may want to do that FIRST. Wide plank wood needs consistent humidity. That means a pin-point accurate range between 40%-60% (I prefer to see a range like 45%-55%). You should never have swings wider than 10%. And it is up to the flooring manufacturer to list their requirements. Some prefer to see 35-55%. Other prefer 45-65%. Again you must follow the FLOORING manufacturer. In-floor radiant heat can be drying. The closer the wood is to the heat source the drier the wood becomes...and then we get weird/nasty things happening which are completely outside of warranty.