Palace Purple heuchera does fine in full sun 8 hours in Summer here two zones higher for years now - as long as it isn't allowed to go dry. Find it keeps its color without fading till the cold sets in, when it becomes burgundy. The leaves brown out during mid-late Winter some years, dissolve on their own by early Spring & grow back lushly. Needs good drainage in the Winter wet here & fairly rich woodland-type soil. Another you might consider is Salvia lyrata. That does keep its purplely leaves here all year round, can take moderate drought & grow in any soil, sun or shade. Bought it as a native years ago & planted it in a previously hopeless spot next to the driveway. Did so well & looked so fetching, started trying it elsewhere. Originally concerned it would reseed with abandon, have not found that in the last 12 years. Foxgloves reseed more gleefully here. Pleased with a few trialed as an edging, moving volunteers to form one now. The flower stalks give a similar impression as the heucheras, but are less showy, a bit more substantial & more enduring. Bees, butterflies & hummingbirds like them. If you want no reseeding, clip the flower stalks before they dry. Even left to dry & fall or be eaten by finches, reseeding not a problem here. Seedlings easily relocated or pulled, as are mature plants. I've become very fond of them. Well behaved & don't crowd out companions. Mine looks most like Purple Volcano due to its closed flowers, rather than Purple Knockout. The foliage has a velvety appearance. Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia lyrata This post was edited by vasue on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 12:33

codeslinger First off,I am not a Trane basher. I live about 1 1/2 hrs down 26 from your area and have a Trane dual fuel system. But I would not have the XL16i for several reasons. 1.efficiency numbers are poor for such high end HVAC 2.performance numbers for both heating and cooling BTUs are very poor. 3.I don't believe Trane recommends the XL16i for zoning-it has about 70-100 split between low and high stage. 4.There are just too many anecdotal stories about issues relating to the XL16i. 5.The HW VisionPro IAQ feature "dehumidify on demand" is not compatible for the XL16i which is important for your area/climate. See below AHRI Performance numbers for various configurations. XL16i HP with matching var spd air handler 1236563 Active Systems XL16I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX6024B1 4TEE3D31A1 22800 12.00 16.00 20000 8.25 12100 1236565 Active Systems XL16I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX6024B1 4TEE3D37A1 22800 11.80 15.75 20000 8.50 11000 1 1106622 Active Systems XL16I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX6024B1 4TEE3F31B1 22800 12.00 16.00 20000 8.35 12100 1 1106624 Active Systems XL16I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX6024B1 4TEE3F37B1 22800 12.00 16.00 20000 8.50 11000 1 Good SEER-that's about all now the numbers for the XL15i 1383387 Active Systems XL15I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX5024A1 4TEE3D31A1 25200 12.90 15.00 24000 8.50 14000 1 1383389 Active Systems XL15I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX5024A1 4TEE3D37A1 24000 12.50 14.75 23600 8.50 13400 1 1383391 Active Systems XL15I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX5024A1 4TEE3F31B1 25200 13.00 15.25 24000 8.60 13900 1 1383393 Active Systems XL15I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX5024A1 4TEE3F37B1 24400 12.90 15.00 23800 8.30 13600 1 1382158 Active Systems XL15I WEATHERTRON TRANE 4TWX5024A1 4TEE3F39A1 25000 13.00 16.00 24000 9.00 13800 much better EER and cooling/heating BTUs for the XL15i and if you have the space, the 4TEE3F39A1 air handler configuration offers the best XL15i system configuration now take a look at Carrier's sgl stg Performance 15 with Infinity Air Handler and Controller 1125333 Active Systems PERFORMANCE 15 PURON HP CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING 25HPA524H30 FE4AN(B,F)003+UI 23400 13.00 15.50 24000 9.00 15100 1 not shabby numbers either. I agree with Ryan's comments. As far as Clean Effects and EACs, I see no problem as the fire related issue has been resolved. There may be a small price advantage for the built-in Clean Effects. As far as the performance/efficiency numbers, there is no difference. I am not a fan of EACs because of maintenance/cleaning responsibilities for the homeowner. There is something to say about the old adage "keep it simple". Most homeowners will not adhere to properly maintaining EACs. For over 99% of homes, a good 4-5" pleated media filter cabinet MERV 10 is more than adequate for IAQ and protecting blower motor and evap coil. Changeout is up to one yr interval, takes a couple of minutes, and is very easy. Foe two systems, you should be able to negotiate a good price on the 10 yr ext warranty-parts and labor. A price below $1k for two systems would be good. Ductwork install is relatively cheap as long as its sized correctly and insulated properly=R8. I see no reason to zone one room as long as it receives the recommended CFMs to match the load. I would want to see a written copy of Man J and Man D and review with dealer. If you do decide on the XL15i, you should insist on the HW VP IAQ stat. IMO

I very much second Pickle's cart option. This makes a mini-island that doesn't trap you into difficult walk paths. The space I'm working with is close to the dimensions of yours and like you, heard from "everyone" that an island was needed, but after a number of drawings, I gave it up. I have created something else by turning the kitchen sideways, but have informed DH that there is the possibility that a cart still may show up. If my windows did not dictate so many other things, I would have made a cart garage under the countertop. I visited Ikea recently and was surprised to see all the cart options in the showroom. Large and small, wheeled or not, metal or wood. Lots of utility in them. Not advocating Ikea here, just the idea. My daughter has a little cart in her microkitchen in Fairbanks AK where it is invaluable. She can roll it out of the way when space is needed but otherwise, it's at her side when she needs an additional "plunk space" or cutting surface. Knives are in the drawer and most-used bowls, etc. are on it. A friend saw her cart and fell in love, went home to Minn. and created a one-wall kitchen with a modest cart as auxiliary space. It makes his wall a two-cook kitchen and is a transition between the table area and the wall kitchen. During the meal, things are plunked on it heading one way or the other; after the meal cleanup occurs via the cart surface. I don't think it moves around very much except when a specific cooking task requires it, but I know that wheels were important to him. When there is a big crowd or a project where it's in the way, many carts can go away, outside even. One of the mound of books I scoured for ideas during the planning stage featured the kitchen of a professional recipe writer. It had cupboards that were a little deeper on the two facing walls and there was a cart. I suspect that the cart was the stuff she needed on either of the two walls and that the top surface was that extra space needed in the heat of battle, in her case for dough often. Carts can have functional marble tops, butcherblock cutting surfaces, or color or....

To answer your question, no, the offset recommendation is not due to weight concern. The primary concern is lippage which occurs more frequently with large format tile (where one edge is greater than 15"). Minimal lippage is more frequent in larger tiles due to the manufacturing process. To avoid excessive lippage upon installation, a qualified tile installer will not only recommend the appropriate layout, consistent with industry standards and manufacturer recommendations, but use proper methods and tools (appropriate notch trowel size, mortar coverage, substrate prep, grout joint size, etc.) as well as consider the effects of lighting. Industry standards recommend any off-set pattern for large format tile to not exceed 33%. In other words, 50% offset is not recommended. Your choice of a stacked pattern would not be in conflict with the recommendation (it is not an "offset pattern"). Recommend you have this conversation with your professional installer as there are various considerations for a quality result.