blue lyme grass! Blimey, that's brave. I grew this in my gravel beds for a year or so but then bottled out on realising I was actually growing a turbo-charged couch-grass. I did swap over to the (better behaved) leymus magellanica,,,,, but this was deeply unhappy and vanished quicksmart....but not before seeding everywhere). I first read about the leymus arenarius in one of Christopher Lloyd books and rushed out to buy....but then later read that he (Lloyd) employed his youthful gardener to dig it up annually, chopping into the ferocious rhizomes and replanting....which obviously, I did NOT do, only to freak out in season 2 when the clump tripled in size. The leymus magellanicus was a heartbreakingly lush powder blue (never attained with any number of heliotrichums or festucas).......so I may have to make another attempt and maybe protect a little better from winter wet. I have been sowing your seeds (the zephyranthes reminded me), especially the penstemons and callirhoes. I have a (tiny) packet ready to send your way.

Jason, I'd recommend looking at Durham and Orville and Meade (sister companies). Solid wood, nice finishes and reasonably priced. Both have websites to give you an idea, however (as several folks have mentioned on here) they don't do the quality of their stuff justice. Perhaps you can find local dealers and check them out. Online you can check lex furniture in Lexington KY or any of the places in NC for quotes. I'm not affiliated with any of the outfits mentioned. You can also seach both on this forum for additional feedback on both. Good Luck

LC For window walls, I love the butted glass look. You might want to view "Paul Mclean Floating Glass House" on utube for a great example of butted glass. It's probably going to be the most cost effective way to get wide open expansive views in terms of glass cost. Putting a lot of glass in a wall will require structural considerations that most likely will have to be certified by an engineer. Engineers are not necessarily expensive. I put a heavily windowed wall in one of my remodels and it was $500 for the engineer. Well worth the cost to get my plans approved. Single pane butted glass does have it's pitfalls mainly a much lower r-value than double paned, Double paned glass panels will significantly improve the r-value, but definitely consider your local temps. Double pane will have a visible seam, but a aluminum furring strip would cover that and not be too obtrusive. I've priced a double pane laminated 6' x 9' piece of glass at Home Depot at $2400. Installation will be a little pricy, but much less than what I've seen from some of the national glass companies. I would contact a local glass company and talk to them about butted single pane and double pane glass. Key conversation would also be with your builder and a structural engineer. Wood frame walls with minimal surface area will require lots of structural ties.

I've gone way cheap and have liked it lot. I'm going back to 1910 or so for inspiration when a kitchen was a place to work rather than something to show off. It also means small is better. Lots of open cabinets which is cheaper. No dishwasher...seems way easier to me to hand wash dishes...but we also keep very few dishes so it's not really possible for dirty dishes to pile up. If you have 1 plate for each household member it's really hard for them to pile up. All dishes are stored right above the sink so washing, air drying and putting away takes zero steps. Can put away all the dishes in under 30 seconds. For stove top we've been using portable induction units, about $80-100 and boy do they work great. For the oven we use a toaster over...it works. I also use an electric fry pan for some dishes and a crock pot too. For turkey and such I use an electric roaster...which lots of people use at Thanksgiving so the oven can be used for other dishes. Been 5 years and haven't missed an oven. I really like being able to put whatever crooking device I'm going to use right on the butcher block counter, preparing the food and cooking right there in one spot. Zero is the smallest kitchen work triangle. For the fridge I like using an chest freezer, just need to turn down the temp, and another for actual freezer. Covering the tops for more counter space is easy, covering with a cabinet front is also easy. Super cheap and use about 1/10th the electric. So cheap you can afford to have 2 fridges at different temps. One a bit warmer for vegetables, white wine, condiments. Of course the huge downside that almost no one can deal with is having to bend over or "everything gets covered so you can't get at anything". Oh how I've heard that. Of course people have to bend over to get into their bottom freezer units and good luck digging thru to the back of those..."oh look, frozen peas endorsed by President Truman". Well, you don't actually have to cram them full of stuff you're never going to eat. In the history of the world ice cream has never gotten lost in the back of a freezer. Brussel sprouts? You're never going to see those babies again. I've also gone without a garbage disposal. No problem. I never have to stick my hand down in that sewer to pull out a chuck of bone, bottle cap, or whatever that thing was. Lots more flexibility. I look at my kitchen like a guy looks at a work shop. Lots of tools for specific tasks. Definitely not an option for people wanting to keep up with the Jones however.