I am redoing my kitchen after 30 years and have spent hours researching and looking at appliances, waffling back and forth between Kenmore Pro and GE Café. Since I have a Wolf 30" stove/oven which I love, I was looking for a similar professional look in a single wall oven and refrigerator. Since Sears recently was running a 50% discount on the Kenmore Pro, I jumped in, purchased the wall oven and had the refrigerator put on lay away. The oven was installed last week and I was thrilled until I noticed, after polishing off the installers fingerprints, that the handle was scratched (like some one took same sandpaper to it in the wrong direction). I was also disappointed when I realized that the temperature knob did not click into place securing the desired temperatures, but only locked in at 200, 350 and 550 degrees. This would not typically be a problem except that it is installed under a counter and I have visions of wee grandchildren brushing up against it inadvertently. So, I took a picture of the handle and immediately headed down to Sears and explained the situation. They were great! Offered to refund me some money if I were to keep it (damaged) or replace it with another Pro or any other oven of my choosing at the same price. Fortunately, I decided to take some time to think about it before making a decision and in the course of the week discovered the oven temperature regulation did not work. I had over proofed bread, burned Brussel Sprouts, and over baked carrot cake! 325 degrees was actually reading 342 degrees on my infrared themometer; 350 was really 389, and 100 degrees varied anywhere between 201 -141 degrees in a 45 minute span. Now I am thinking of trading the Kenmore Pro in for a GE Café, even though really like the look of the Kenmore. More than that, I'm sorry I purchased a Sears appliance to begin with. Even though the price was right, all my savings got eaten up purchasing their extended warranty which is at least 3x higher than at other retailers (but which I will obviously will need) and after reading this thread, I am concerned about their service. I am stuck purchasing my oven through Sears, but may switch to the Café oven and purchase the refrigerator elsewhere.

I thought about this a lot too when I was trying to make the decision. I ordered a sample of pre finished oak and tested it. Aluminum oxide may be tough, but it does scratch pretty easily. And the worst part of it is that once it does scratch, it is very difficult to repair. It is a baked-on finish and cannot be done on site. I don't like the micro groves of prefinished floors either. I think since you already have some site-finished oak there, the contrast would be pretty great between the two, one having a smooth surface and one having micro-groves. I have 3 house dogs. two don't count, since they weigh less than 10 pounds combined, but the 3rd is a very active pit bull. I know she will scratch the floors. So I have decided to go with Waterlox finish. It is easy to DIY, and it is VERY easy to spot-repair. You can't really say that between waterlox, aluminum oxide or poly that one is better than the other, they are all just different. The same smooth finish can be achieved with any of the 3 of them. As far as why some installers don't like prefinished? They have to be too concerned with scratching and damaging it during installation.

well, I am taking a breather -at least for a few days. The decision making process is really getting to me. I was hesitant whether to share this well why not~ I went today to look for Broyhill fabric. The person at the store said that they are reluctant to special order anything from Broyhill as there has been some increased uncertainty with them of late. I am not so concerned as I will be using a credit card, but I thought I would try another place or two. It's a shame because it's American made (As is ROWE) and I had thought they had turned it around.. Also a shame because I think I did prefer that sofa with the detailing. Also I am not sure if it matters, but I would also be settling on a navy(not really navy more medium but decent) microfiber. So we are at a standstill. Maybe in the next week(s) things will evolve and we can all know what is happening.

You’re worried about clutter so I’d start there - what do you actually WANT storage for in this space? How much storage do you need for it? What kind? If you don’t have anything you’d want to display on shelves, probably don’t have shelves you’ll feel obligated to fill up with things. If you do have a few items, think about what size they are and roughly how you might arrange them - if you had a tall vase you might want the carpenter to do something different than standard bookshelves, for example. In this scenario you probably will need to get a few items later for balance and to fill in, but you want it so that what you add has a purpose of making the things you wanted to display look better. Also, talk to your carpenter about options. Perhaps something could be constructed so that for now it’s just cabinets, but should you decide later you do need shelves there, they can come back and add a hutch type arrangement to the top of the cabinets without it looking stuck-on later. (This mostly means someone thinking about proportions and so on now so the cabinet base doesn’t have to be redone to look like shelves fit on top of it.) Plus, you can just say “do you have something else to work on while I think about this more?” That Mantle Mount thing is pretty cool.