Olga, I have grown Magic Carpet Ride and Emperor Butterfly for quite a while and I love both. Magic Carpet Ride is glowing, and full of blooms... highly recommended. EB doesn't have as many blooms as some of mine, but the blooms it does have are stunning. I got Francis of Assisi this year so I don't have a lot of experience with it, but the blooms were lovely. My Mom grows Court Magician, and it sometimes has opening problems for her, but is in a somewhat shaded area, so that could be part of the problem. Hope this helps! Julie

Flooring companies are proud of their green certifications and advertise that prominently. You will NEVER get a quality product or anything approaching "green" at the price point that LL sells their crap at. You can have "cheap" or you can have "green" but you will never get the two together. "Teak" these days is often cumaru, which is a tropical hardwood that with a high moisture content that translates into checks, and wanes post install when it dries out. Be very very sure that you do the proper tests for moisture content on your subfloor as well as the wood itself. That means using an actual moisture meter, not just waiting for "acclimation" based on time alone. I would suggest that talking to a local family owned flooring store to find a source of locally milled domestic hardwood, even if it's not "certified" is the greenest choice you can make. It's also the choice with the most impact on your local economy. It's also the choice that will likely give you the highest satisfaction with the material and install as there is more accountability. Remember, condos will have restrictions on hard surface installs that include installing sound attenuation underlayments, so be sure you get an experienced professional to do the install that understands how to accomplish this correctly. Multifamily living installs are more expensive in the labor department because of the added time and materials.

We have Omega Dynasty and love them! If I ever do another kitchen, I will most likely use them again. We actually have a mix of Omega Dynasty & Omega Custom. We used Dynasty for the majority of our cabs and Custom for the few that were less expensive via the Custom line than modifying a Dynasty cabinet. That's one of the great things about Omega...most of the doors & finishes are in both lines so you can mix them up to get your best price. Oh, and customer service is superb! They overrode our "replacement KD" when she tried to deny us the correct shelves... Omega CS took care of it for us when I explained the problem...including contacting the KD & sending out our shelves. (Our original KD left when EXPO Design Center closed and we were stuck dealing with Home Depot for the finishing touches. Hence our "replacement" KD!) There have been several threads about Omega cabinets; I've linked them below. Thread: Omega Cabinetry (2010) Thread: Reviews on their Omega custom cabinets anyone? (2009) Thread: Has anyone use Dynasty & Omega 'near custom cabinetry' (2008)

Stephanie_sara, I love the direct path from mudroom/laundry to rest of house in your architect's initial version, BUT...it leaves your informal dining area awfully narrow. (I doubt that your planned island seating would work, given the limited space.) In your updated versions, seating is much better, but the (direct) path from mudroom/laundry to rest of house is between prep island & range, then through your butler's pantry. Your inspiration kitchen is beautiful, but works much better because of the lack of traffic through the work zones. I'm not sure the best fix for your plan, but might still consider eliminating the butler's pantry (but enlarging the pantry & dining built-ins), in favor of a more direct path. I'd echo buehl and others in recommending reviewing your work zones. I found this extremely helpful in planning my kitchen. You've made some nice progress, I think, in placing both dishwashers by the clean-up sink, and locating dish storage close by. Make sure, though, that you have a trash pull-out close by, too. I also prefer your refrigerator in it's new location, closer to (both) eating areas, & the great room. I'll echo others, in suggesting a snack zone (near your refrigerator?), given the location of your pantry. Our pantry is off our mudroom (but close to cooking/baking zones), too, and works well for us...because our frequently used breakfast/snack items are in the kitchen, by our refrigerator/freezer.