I agree with both of the above that you would do best to choose the brick for the house color first, and not for the plants. Your new taupe isn't the same as the old taupe? Your word descriptions wonÂt help. For example, if that dark grey tone in the first description tends to be blue-toned, it might look awful with the taupe, which may have mauve tints or olive tints. Borrow or buy several bricks in each color you are considering. If you buy them, you can probably return them for a restocking fee. It's worth it. In short, do whatever you can to see large samples of siding or paint that matches siding, and bricks, on site. Maro

The benefit of 304 SS is that it doesn't rust as easily as lower grade SS.In a kitchen enviroment it shouldn't really. The thick 16 gauge will prevent warping over time resulting from the heat output of the BS/CC. The seamsless construction prevents grease from depositing in the seams which makes it very difficult to clean. Eventually rust results. Remote blower allows a more powerful blower plus less noice,especially if it is more than 6 feet plus away with a silencer. Silencers are about $150-$200 and the ducting is not very expensive. BTW: The price for Top End Appliances in any category seem out of line:) BTW II: I don't know if the ebay question is a serious one but you go under Home & Garden then click Inside the Home,then Major Appliances,then Ranges and Cooking Appliances,and finally Range hoods. Or search "42 Hoods" and set a price range to exclude things like sweatshirts. Here is a link that might be useful: Ebay Range Hoods

The big decisions ARE scary! I've been reading these forums since we started (closed on the house sept 9th) but the other decisions didn't seem so bad...like paint color, you know? In 3 months we painted the outside, landscaped, refinished original hardwoods, painted every wall, ceiling, piece of trim, gutted the bathroom (finished!) and put carpet in bedrooms. The only thing we paid to have done was the carpet. DH really is a DH...he was laid off in Sept so the house is his full time job. we're doing everything we can by ourselves, and i'm so proud that theres so much i can do myself. I did the bathroom floor by myself (above pics). this kitchen...hmm...shooting for before christmas, traveling out of state. at least the granite will be shipped in a week, even the laminate would have taken longer. a lot of +'s going this route; plus i know we wont be here forever (its our starter house) so the granite tile should be good for resale. its a starter house neighborhood, not a lot of granite around here. Its down to Juparano and Tropic Brown. The only difference between the two (besides color) is that juperano only comes in an ogee edge, and tropic brown only comes in beveled or bullnose.

Vinyl siding is low maintenance, so we have resisted painting ours. I recently scheduled a virtual consultation with Sherwin-Williams (https://homeowner.sherwin-williams.com/colorconsult/) to help me work with the color of the vinyl siding and pick out accent colors for our front door and railing and garage door pergola and to get advice about painting or not painting the trim around the windows. The designer was awesome and spot on for making recommendations, sending color choice options, explaining her choices, etc.. I would give them a try first and see what they say about working with the present color of the vinyl siding. Hope it helps and saves you future maintenance.