LOL re "pimples"! true! but we don't actually have that many that are strictly "hallway" (since we don't have a lot of walls) - i think only 3 actually - 2 in the hallway connecting the kids' respective bedrooms (just around the corner from the staircase), and one right outside our bedroom (across from the stair landing). In comparison, there will be 9 others that will be "staircase step lights". To have just 3 being different would make them stand out. our hallway walls are supposed to be off-white (staircase wall will be either plastered or tiled to resemble concrete). We thought about buying white ones to "blend in" but didn't like the "plastic" look :-I

@kmcg, I love having two handles---and thought we'd hate it when we first moved into our house. Instead, we chose the same style faucet for the remodel! We do have our hot water heater set at a pretty moderate temperature (enough for nice hot showers but low enough that it can't scald). So that means we can (and do) turn just the hot tap on when we want warm water, and just the cold tap on for cold. I rarely mix the two unless I'm running a big sink full of water for something or need lukewarm water for bread, so it effectively functions as a single handle faucet for most uses. If you keep your heater on a higher setting, you'd probably be mixing the two more. Our new faucet also has levers on the top of the faucet (like the two here), whereas the old one had cross handles on the front. I prefer the cross handles aesthetically and had fully intended to replace the levers (which just happened to be what came with our model faucet, since unlike most of the Chicago faucets in only came in one version...yay California regulations!) But I've found I really prefer the levers functionally, so we're keeping them. We have a bungalow-style kitchen, so the traditional look fits in nicely with the aesthetic (mix of white inset and gray frameless, soapstone counters, and white cast iron sink).

actually the Ayers quartzite looks really good with my paint swatch, maybe not in this photo. But even my dh will agree that the Ayers green instantly clicked with all of my elements. circuspeanut - I agree with you, I am going to check out the Costa again for dh, but it didn't do anything for me when I initially saw it, so I can't imagine that it will the next time. My dh's concern is the dark, intenseness of the quartzite. I do know this, I won't buy something that I don't love. I'll keep my black speckled laminate! LOL!

merk, have you looked at Kobe? They are supposed to be a decent hood but at a price that is less than Zephyr. They are made in China, which is one reason for their lower cost but it seems that they are still a decent product. And I think they come with 8" venting but I'm not sure since it's been a long time since I researched them. I used to also wonder what the big deal about venting was. We didn't use our pop-up downdraft for our island cook top often because at low speeds, it really didn't remove smoke or cooking smells and at high speed, it sucked the gas flame out. Back then, cook tops didn't come with automatic re-ignition so I never knew this had happened until I smelled gas. Not good! Even on high, it still didn't remove all cooking odors and smoke. The newer pop-ups are supposed to be better - they also rise higher so that helps them fight physics (smoke rises) but even so, they aren't as good as hoods. I started to learn about the importance of proper ventilation from GW and from my friend, a CMKBD. So we bought a good hood this time and I'm so glad we did. It works so well that I've never needed to turn it above low speed. I can't smell what's cooking on my induction cook top unless I stick my nose over the pan. My hood is 600 CFM but I think I could have gotten away with 400 CFM and saved the cost of MUA. If I had stuck with gas, I'm pretty sure I would have needed 600 because gas adds combustion fumes to the mix. Oh, well. We'd already ordered our hood before we did the tear out but once I saw how much disgusting yellowed grease was on my kitchen valances, I was so happy that I had spent the money on ventilation.