>>It's interesting that there's crown molding on the columns and a lot of detail on the wall, but no crown in the kitchen. Is there crown molding elsewhere in the house?Oh my, have you hit on a sore subject. Crown molding was only included in the formal areas and master bedroom. They also crowned no sloped ceilings. Adding crown to other areas was $250 per "room". $250 now, not so much. 20yrs ago when we're building a house and running out out money, it was. Crowning just that hallway and the adjoining family room cost $500 because it counted as 2 "rooms" even though it was only as much crown as a bedroom; the exterior wall is sloped so the family room is really only 1/2 crowned (one wall not crowned and open on one side). I didn't crown the kitchen because the only wall that would have received crown is that single wall (because again, the outside wall is sloped), and it would have cost me $250. Don't think so. I did the crown in my office myself (come on -- a box) along with the sloped ceilings in the formal living room. If *I* can do it, why in the heck couldn't a carpenter? New cabinets will go up to the ceiling in the kitchen. They put tile crown where I cared in the master bath when it was remodeled. What I should have done was made them crown the hallway to the bedrooms just to punish them. It has so many compound angles it would make any carpenter cry.

If you have a long run for your vent, they make a vent fan. My hubby will be installing this. Saw it on Ask This Old House. You're right about cleaning vents. Knew someone that lost their house to a fire that started in the vent of the dryer.

I think there is some level of I don't know..common sense? For example that custom made tile that ends up not being used doesn't go in the garbage bag? Or that you don't throw out 20 perfectly good dimmers or bulbs, just because you used your subcontractor's account to purchase them, and had too many? Or if you take out the old door, and there are two surfaces in front of you that you can lean that door against, one of them being a wall, other- a living bush with flowers-wouldn't it make sense to lean the door against the wall? I can't assume, that's right..obviously operational systems sometimes are very different. Sometimes I can't even imagine things that I can't or can assume.

Okay, Most on here are of the school that shutters have to be sized to cover the window. That's fine, but,,,, Most houses around here built from 1940 and up, that are a traditional style have decorative, nonworking shutters, that are the same width, no matter how wide the window is. They do match the window height. They are considered a decorative item and are just screwed or nailed to the brick or siding. Sometimes they are wood, most of the time they are plastic. They look just like yours and I think they look fine. Just buy some new shutters in the same sizes. Don't worry about covering the window if closed. I hadn't heard of that until I started reading Garden Web.