Cpartist, the entrance(s) are here in the center between the garage and the house; I'll probably have the house painted this spring because the current color is really faded in bits. Palimpsest, thank you for the advice. It didn't occur to me to paint the garage and siding all one color, but I get what you're saying about the two masses and I like the idea of doing that until I can figure out an overall exterior plan (garage door style, different type of siding, etc.) Most of the exterior remodels I've seen in my area somehow end up looking worse than before--they remind me of those kid's activity books where you can flip page sections to, say, put a firefighter's head on a body with a tutu and then give it duck legs. So I definitely worry that I'll spend a ton of money and end up with something that doesn't "go." Learning a lot on these forums...

I think the more recent comments are regarding...commenting, but in case it's helpful I will offer this: I have a cooktop over an oven. They are the same brand and manufacturer, and manufacturer-provided information states (and instructions indicate how) they can be placed one on top of the other. At least in my research, not all cooktops, could be placed over any oven. I did this nearly 20 years ago as a dual fuel 36" was (much) more expensive than installing two separate pieces. The top of my counter is at 36". And yes, the cabinet for the oven, that toekick area is about 2" shorter than the rest of my cabinets in order to accommodate the oven, and the distance required (by the manufacturer) from the bottom of the (gas) cooktop to the top of the installed (electric) oven. Our cabinet installer had to generate a custom piece of wood to accommodate this. So if your eye is running along the toekick, there is a clear and definite "hiccup" where the oven sits. Yes, the oven is low, and I am very short, so I have never been bothered by the lack of height in the oven placement. The biggest downside so far is 15 years in, when I needed to replace the cooktop. Challenge #1 and 2 was to find another compatible cooktop and oven combination that I could afford and liked, and more importantly, the cooktop had to fit in the existing hole in the quartz countertop. The new cooktop *just* squeezed in. Finding someone who would come out and enlarge the hole: 1) would have been probably nearly impossible given how busy everyone is these days; 2) they would have not been able to guarantee that they would have not broken the counter; and 3) it would have been a total mess to grind down two sides of a quartz counter in an existing kitchen. So I hope that story helps...someone. If I had it to do over again, I'd get a range, because it would have been easier to replace and there would have been many more choices. Good luck to anyone pondering this situation.

I haven't seen that but have seen lengthy delays in submitted post appearing for hours after I saw I submitted it. I'd ask pls make same post at forum "Using Houzz" so others will see it. Also hopefully so Houzz person Emily will see it too & pass it to the Tech Folks. She'll probably cite their designated problem addy which I don't recall. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/using-houzz Thanks for reporting it to us all.

I wasn't able to read your link as I have an ad blocker. I did find another version, which I'm copying below, in the event that anyone else has an ad blocker they don't want to adjust. Thanks for posting, maddielee! Houzz lays off 155 employees, cuts executive salaries Natasha Mascarenhas@nmasc_ / 3:20 pm EDT • April 21, 2020 Houzz, an online platform for home renovation and design, has laid off 155 employees, roughly 10% of its staff, per an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch. Executive salaries also took a cut. The company, last valued at $4 billion, confirmed the content of the memo in a statement to TechCrunch. “Due to the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses in the home renovation and design space, and the resulting impact on our core business of pro subscriptions, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to part ways with 155 employees, which is approximately 10% of our team,” said a spokesperson. In the internal memo, Houzz’s founders Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen cite COVID-19’s impact on its core business: pro subscriptions. The subscriptions are for home remodeling and design professionals to find work. Due to COVID-19, many of those same professionals are facing project delays or cancellations as states promote social distancing and shelter in place. Beyond serving as a marketplace for home renovators and customers, the company also sells furniture from third parties. Many consumers might not be thinking about renovating their bathroom or welcoming construction into their home as the pandemic shows up on doorsteps around the world. While the layoffs are COVID-19 related, this isn’t the first sign of Houzz struggling as a business. Last month, Houzz fired 10 people and scrapped a plan to create furniture in-house. The move would have seen Houzz bring in-house some of the revenue it usually delegates to third-party manufacturers. “At Houzz, we continually review our strategic investments, such as Private Label, to ensure that they are aligned to the current needs of our business and optimized for our continued growth,” the company said in a statement to TechCrunch back in March. “As a result of this process, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our investment in Private Label at this time.” The company also had some turbulence last year when it disclosed a data breach compromising 57 million records. A year prior, Houzz fired 10% of its staff to cut costs and restructure ahead of preparing for an IPO. And considering a number of factors, we’re guessing that plan to barrel toward the public markets may have changed. Houzz will provide those laid off with severance packages based on tenure and will pay for benefits until the end of July. The company also said it will help those laid off find their next gig through resume writing, career coaching and network referrals.