Craigslist or other local classified will get you more money, but will take your time to list and show it, you have to store it until it sells, and you have to deal with transaction details (risk of counterfeit cash or bad cheques). Fastest bet is a used furniture store, consignment or otherwise but you'll get less as the store has to make money too. I doubt any real antique dealer would take it with the modifications. It doesn't look like anything really special to me as antique wardrobes go, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to be able to say whether its value might be enhanced above the obvious by what seem to be hand-hewn panels. Maybe it's really really old? Perhaps you know something about it from when you bought it and can price it accordingly. If on craigslist, I'd show the interior modifications but offer it with or without; that might increase the number of potential buyers. But I'd want to be pretty confident about the electrical work if I was selling it with; if a fire ever results, I'd imagine liability could find its way to you. KarinL

My goodness, you are much more patient than I would be. If I paid almost two thousand dollars for a dishwasher I would be really mad. Not to mention the hassle and damage to your home. I recommend going to social media. You can find Miele on Twitter at @MieleUSA. Start posting respectful but unhappy posts and see what happens. If you have a Facebook page tell your story - be polite but not too nice. Be fierce!! Stand up for yourself. Let us know if you get a response.

You probably know that goldfish grow to fit the size of their bowl, then they grow no more. Closets and garages are somewhat subject to the goldfish principle: The stuff we want to store in them accumulates to fit the size. So -- to some extent -- a larger closet gives you "permission" to accumulate more clothes /more stuff and excuses you from weeding out things that just aren't being used. I suggest you take a look at what you have now, and measure it. If your current storage is lacking, ask yourself how much it should expand -- half again as much? double the space? same amount of space, but with more shelves /less hanging space? If you had more space, would you add more clothes? Do you need more clothes? What else will you store in your closet besides clothes? Do you want to store your suitcases there, or do you prefer to keep them elsewhere? Do you want a spot for jewelry? Do you want ALL your clothes to store in the closet, or will you have a dresser in the bedroom as well? How many handbags /shoes do you have? How about oddball stuff like gift wrap? Do you store coats in your bedroom closet? Ski wear? Your old wedding dress? A box of baby clothes even though your kids are teens? Again, measure your own needs. I don't know what's "enough" for you, but I can tell you what we're thinking: - 8x12 rectangle closet in the master bedroom -- based up on our current wardrobes, this will hold everything we have (and more) and will allow us to e x p a n d our clothing storage so that things aren't just crammed in. I like the idea of things being easy to see /easy to reach. - We're placing the laundry room next to the closet -- the convenience feature being obvious. If not for the door to the laundry, we'd have gone with an 8x10 closet. - We're leaving a "blank space" on the wall for some hooks. This'll be for hanging worn-once jeans, etc. - This is to be our retirement house, and the 8' width allows space for a walker. Also, my 99-year old grandmother keeps a chair in her closet so she can sit down while choosing clothes -- the extra width would be valuable for that. - I do not want a window because sunlight bleaches clothes. I do hate walking into a dark closet with my hands full of things to put away, so I'm planning to use automatic lights. - I would not plan an island. Given that you need clearance space on both sides, an island would require more space than I'd devote to a storage space. - A mirror is a good idea, but I'd try to put it on the back of the door rather than allowing it to eat up valuable hanging /shelf space. - I intend to have a medium-sized dresser in the bedroom, which will hold undergarments, swimsuits and pajamas. Everything else'll be stored in the closet -- we'll have shelves for jeans and sweatshirts.

I showed this post to my husband and he reminded me that the kitchen is actually only 13x9, not 16x9 which it would have ended up if we had bumped it out like we did the dining room. I thought I should clarify in case anyone with a similar sized kitchen was wondering. marita40: I was originally going to use dal tile. Then we I got the door sample for my cabinets it just looked too white in comparison. So I looked at a lot of tile. I ordered samples from Anchor Bay, including the crackle, which is really pretty. But as Sweeby says, you have to stay with your vision, and mine was clean and simple, so I went with the solid glaze. I think the bisque gives the tile a slightly "older" look, and makes the contrast with the granite a little less severe. If you are considering the bisque, I would suggest ordering a square foot rather than just one tile, because it does trend (IMO) a little warm gray, rather than beige. And at $8.50 sf, it wasn't awfully expensive. mpmg36: I really think having a shallow pantry helps keep it organized. At one point in our planning we were trying to fit in a small walk in pantry, so at first I was a little disappointed with the idea of the shallow pantry. But I think in terms of function, it works better for me, and my kids, because we can tell what we have at a glance.