A water softener removes hardness and iron up to 5 ppm although most regular softeners can't handle that much iron. On city water you will not have near that much iron, so you wouldn't need an iron filter to remove it. Or did you mean some other type of filter? Your city water is drinkable now, you may not like the taste but health wise there should not be a problem with it so what are you concerned about or wanting to filter out of it? The three brands you mentioned are proprietary and expensive and you will have to be dependent on that local dealer for service and parts; regardless of the prices. There should be independent dealers in your area, they sell non proprietary industry standard usually no brand name equipment. Or you can buy from an independent dealer online and install it yourself or hire a plumber to do it. If you go that route, I suggest you look at a correctly sized softener for your family size and water quality and the SFR your house requires, using a Clack WS-1 control valve. As to a big box store brand, I strongly suggest not doing that. They last 2-5 years and the parts and service are pricey for what you get. And in many cases the constant service flow rating (SFR) is low because of the style of softener they sell; a cabinet model which limits the size of the resin tank which limits the volume of resin used which dictates the SFR of a softener.

mama_goose: thank you SO MUCH for that link! I have searched and searched for this but could not come up with the right set of words to bring this up. I too want to be able to see out into the garden and not stare at a wall with high-ish windows. I actually talked to a contractor about options (I was thinking of having subtle brackets that could hold a back piece that we could slide in to form a back rest) but this would be even better, especially as I only need it at the two ends where someone might want to lean back and read. The window seat (window bed?) is so deep that no one will be able to lean back if facing the table. I am also going to use tempered glass to cut down on the number of people leaning backwards and ending up in the emergency room. Brilliant...maybe I will even have the fold down bit under the seat cushion so it is not visible most of the time. Good to know that problem has an elegant solution. holly-kay: this takes me right back to why we had that peninsula in the drawings. And why I am on the fence. I wish I could try each out for a week. When cooking for dinner parties and holidays the whole kitchen ends up covered in pots, pans, roasting trays and goodness knows what else and I thought we could use the extra counter to serve from. Then I got feedback that I had created a one person kitchen (when the distance from sink counter to the peninsula was drawn to be 4'6")...so I ditched the overhang, made the peninsula narrower (2 feet wide) in order to get more room inside the kitchen. The span is now about 5'6" in between sink and peninsula. Do you think the peninsula is too narrow? I have visions of Julia Child sliding things over that toppled to the floor? original plan was 3 feet wide but probably don't have the room for that And what do you think about the width needed so that two or more people can be in the kitchen without bumping into one another or having to scootch by sideways?

Go online and print out the spec sheets on the appliances, this will give you all the dimentions you will need to make sure everything fits perfectly.

Oh wow, this is the exact thing my husband and I have been discussing. I have an existing humongous mirror above about a 7’ plus double vanity. We are remodeling the master bath. It also has a vaulted ceiling. So just imagine the last photo caligirl5 posted but with the mirror all the way up that angled ceiling! So, this mirror would be custom and cost an arm and a leg today. It is from the early 70’s but in great shape. I’m leaning towards keeping it. It is just not seen anymore. I think that’s a good thing btw. It always comes back in style right??? I can do medicine cabs on the two ends. I say if you have the storage space for the clutter, keep the big mirror. You just helped me to decide. Thank you!