Oh, Marcolo, that picture makes me laugh because I had been teasing DH that our daughter's play kitchen would be a perfect color scheme for a 1940's house. He just gave me that look. I know exactly what you mean by putting in the wrong decade and I agree with you for the most part, but then our neighborhood houses' original finishes were I think closer to the '30's than the '40's (maybe the builder was using up stuff left over from before the war) -- though I don't really know. All the kitchens I've seen on the street have been redone, or at least repainted, at some point in between and the new ones all look very much like 2000-2010 kitchens. Granite as far as the eye can see. Christine and mama_goose, thank you for the input! I've looked at Barker Door and I will check out DoorStop too. I will have to go sniff some Cabinet Coat and see if it would work for the resp-sensitive family members. Unfortunately (or not), we don't have a garage or other separate enclosed space for painting. Mama_goose, I remember your kitchen and it is just charming. I love how you have made it all your own. I believe our house's original cabinets were much like yours except with slab doors, from what DH tells me (he was the one who replaced them with frameless melamine in the late 80's).

Carob trees drop leaves and pods year round. Yuck. Messy. Up here in Sunnyvale I never noticed a smell, just got tired of cleaning up the mess.

Thank you Stan Z and cpartist! I really appreciate your comments! The house had been abandoned for over 10 years when I bought it. It was in awful condition. There were four roofs stacked on top and much of the original architectural details made or removed. I am using an architect who worked with the original architect to try to stay consistent. Both he and the original architect's wife have said they think he would approve of the changes so far. I think the garage will actually help to screen out the neighboring homes on the rise above my house, but let the mountain views show above. We will defintely check before we start. cpartist, they just barely started the addition. One advantage is all of that stuff on the wall and the ugly low wire will be gone as the addition is going against it. I cant do anything about the telephone lines though but I really dont mind. I feel fortunate to live in the city but have the mountain and wildlife so close. I saw a javelina yesterday and I have heard there is a bobcat in the area. The addition is going on the land adjacent to the wall:

"even from a “certified” Schluter installer" There is no such thing. A 19 year old that works sales in a tile showroom can attend a 2 day Schluter seminar. Sleep & text through 50% and get a certificate even though they have never even installed a piece of tile in their lives. Do you really want to hire that person for your project. They do a nice job with the seminars as I have attended multiple times. If you had a Schluter employee come to your home that would be a different scenario. I often see on this forum folks claiming to be Schluter certified. Just not the case. Always hire wisely. uscpsycho - Keep in mind there are many heat systems on the market. NU-Heat, Laticrete, Warm Floors etc. Research and compare products. Don't let $$$ spent on marketing make up your mind. Often there is better for less $$$.