That average price appreciation you mention - 4% (don't know whether it's true but I'll assume it is) doesn't cover the cost of owning a house. Basic rule of thumb is a house costs about 10% of cost/value (which may be very different these days) annually. You have to count the cost of debt (or the money you're not making on any equity you have in the house) - taxes - maintenance - repairs - etc. On my part - I like to own. I tend to stay in places for a long time (3 places since 1973) - and I don't want some landlord telling me I can't do this - that - or the other thing. But my husband and I live off our investments (we're retired) - and the idea that our places have been "investments" - as opposed to "consumption items" is kind of laughable to me. About the only person I know who got a big bang for his buck in residential real estate was my father. Who bought prime waterfront property in south Florida in the 60's. A 4 year old 2200 sf foot house for under $70k. He sold it at the height of the real estate boom (November 2005) for $1.5 million - after doing virtually no work on it for almost 40 years (he wasn't a real estate genius - my mom died that year). It was a tear down - and the new 5000+ sf houses going up around him were in the $2-4 million range. Of course - all of that came to a halt with the building bust (this is our third since we moved to Florida in the 70's). FWIW - our house is worth maybe $600k. It's 15 years old. And will probably need a new roof - a paint job (interior and exterior - have done interior before but it will need a "redo") and new flooring in about 5 years. I think we'll be lucky to do this for less than $50-75k (new roofing codes in Florida are very very expensive in terms of compliance). But we'll have to. Not because we'll want to - but because we don't want our house to start falling apart. Fun job - no. Essential job - yes. And I'd never spend $50k redoing our kitchen. Robyn

susan4664 - since my Verde Butterfly was just installed Monday (the majority of it), I have went over it with a fine tooth comb and also found a couple scratches that were from transporation (I assume) and then I've found some places that are fissures since it appears they have resign in them. Those places I can live with since they are more "natural". Since Fabs are coming back today to install remaining counter, I left a note asking if they buff out the one scratch that is really bothering me, I don't have a clue if they can or not? Couldn't hurt to ask .... it's right under the undercabinet light or I proably wouldn't have noticed it. busymom2006 gives good suggestion to get a sample from "your" slab. I got a sample from the same bundle, but not from my exact slab, since we were trying to save as much of the slab as possible, because we only needed one. I figured since it was from the same bundle, it was pretty close.

Egad, again, I managed to put my foot in my mouth and "annoy" someone.... What I really meant to imply was NOT that GWer's do not have "expensive" kitchens.... What I wanted to convey was that if one is worth hundreds of millions AND has homes that are worth tens of millions, one does not often do one's own shopping.... Peacock kitchens are bought by people that have homes that are worth many or tens of mil. They "hire" the people to execute what they want. Seattle is full of these people (but not even remotely close to the number in NY). There are many companies that cater to these wealthy people. You should be able to find someone that should click with you. Igloochic, If you want to embark on a project that is less hands-on, the most imporant part of the work is to find a designer/architect that you trust. Many of my friends/colleagues builds houses/remodels with architects/designers without being very hands on. They end up with very beautiful kitchens/houses. The way they go about it was to have the architects/designers present them with a "few" options on much of the finish work and they just "picked" from those options; door handles, cabinets, appliances etc. Obviously, if they felt strongly about something, then that stays in the design. Sometimes, they go shopping for what they want with the designers. Often, they don't worry if the project cost them 50k or 100k or 200k more than what they thought that it would cost. They just pay the bill and move on. If you are comfortable with this type of arrangement, then you can build with much less hands-on involvement, leaving you time to get on with life. Money can give you the luxury of time if you don't care whether or not you spent 100k more than you needed/planned or not because having someone take care of the details were worth it to you. The end product can be and often are quite well done, "IF" you pick the right architect/designer. To do this, you have to trust the person you are working with AND let them do the work for you. This is not necessarily something that "control freaks" like me can let happen. As I am getting older and my budget is getting "more" comfortable, I am tyring to figure out a good balance of when to call in the calvary and when to trust my own design sense. There is an amazing designer/artist that works near where I live. His projects are all over US. He has been written up in many art magazines. Rococogurl may find his work intriguing. I WISH I could afford to have his work. But at 20k for a simple couch, mere mortals cannot afford his work. http://domesticarchitecture.com/ I asked one of my friends who spent probably about 2mil for their remodel, if she talked to him. It is the type of architecture that would interest her. She said even she could not afford him. What I am trying to say is that like everything else in life, there are people working at many different price points. Design/architecture is no different. You have to find good people at your own price point. Here are a few other contruction companies in Seattle that do good work. http://www.schuchartdow.com/ http://www.dovetailinc.net/ http://www.loganshammer.com/ Luxe interior magazines for Pacific NW also feature nice homes that are multi mil in price point. They often list architects/construction companies. You can get the magazine at Barns and Noble in Seattle (?Port Towsend). I wish you the best.

I love clocks, too, but I don't have that many hung right now. We're still in a remodeling/repairing mess. I do have a wall hung analog clock on east wall in the kitchen and an atomic clock/weather station/calender on the west wall. (along with digital clocks on the oven, microwave, and coffee maker, UGH!) I also haved a little West Bend digital clock and dual timer that sits either on the window sill or by the stove. I use the timer for everything. It can stand like a desk clock, or clip on a pocket, or "stick" to the fridge with a magnet. I have a replica "old fashion" framed wall clock in the living room. There's a "nightlight clock" in the bathroom. It's round, about 2 1/2-inches in diameter, and plugs into an outlet. The prongs are offset, it leaves plenty of room for another item to plug into the lower socket. The clock has an indiglo face and comes on at dark. The actual clock runs from battery power and the light uses the socket power. It's a great night light and keeps perfect time. I've had it for 15 years or more. I wish I had bought a few more; I've not seen anything similar in a while. I have an old German "coo coo" clock with carved deer, rabbits, leaves, etc., but it needs to go to the clock doctor. It will hang in the living room for now and the four-seasons sunroom once it's finished. I want to find a "pretty" wall clock for my sewing room and something whimsical for the laundry/mud room. I may put another atomic clock, with more features, in the living room too. I want it's weather sensor to be out in the open front yard. I don't want a wall clock in the bedroom. We do have a clock/radio/alarm set but it's purely functional. I love HUGE clocks, but I don't have a spot to keep one now. I would like one of the larger, two-sided station clocks to hang in the wide opening between the living room and kitchen, but since the rooms are so small that might be overkill.