I want to add to my original post that I visited an appliance store today where a salesman told me that they don't carry Electrolux at all because "it takes two months to get spare parts" when a repair is needed. That's giving me second thoughts about my appliance choices, even though I take everything salespeople say with a grain of salt. Has anybody had problems getting their Electrolux appliances repaired?

We gave the contractor a punch list of 27 items. The most important one was that his cabinets were not the style shown on the plans we gave him. He provided 12 drawers which would only hold items 2-1/2" tall, ignoring the the drawer sizes shown in the cabinet schedule. Since he was non-responsive to our punch list, we filed a claim with the state Construction Contractors Board. This board now has limited tools to deal with construction disputes. A few years ago the board had its own administrative judges who could decide disputes and compel compensation based on inspectors' investigations. Now the 'inspectors' are 'inspector/mediators' and there are no hearings before board judges. The board now only offers mediation. If no settlement is reached the owner must get a court judgement. The board will satisfy the judgement through the contractor's surety bond. In Oregon we had two legal courses of action: small claims court, and district court. Small claims court has a maximum limit of $10k. There is mandatory mediation for all small claims. If this mediation fails, we would have been able to have a hearing before a judge. All district court civil cases below $50K must be settled by arbitration. There are no trials before a judge. The parties to the litigation must select and hire the arbitrator, who normally charges several hundred dollars per hour. The arbitrator does not have to document the legal basis for a decision. We didn't feel that arbitration would assure a fair outcome, since there seems to be an implicit pressure to satisfy both parties. We decided we would try the Construction Contractors Board mediation approach. A site meeting was held at our house with the contractor, the state mediator, and us. The first thing the mediator did was to have both sides "vent" without interruption by the other side. After the contractor's spiel, we called him on his misrepresentation that he had to install and then remove cabinets many times because we couldn't make up our minds. The mediator looked at the contractor's work but would not comment on it. He then had the contractor go outside while he asked us what we needed to settle the dispute. We provided an estimate of the cost to correct the deficiencies. The mediator looked at it and commented that he could tell us the contractor's answer. He then spent about an hour talking to the contractor. He returned and asked us if we would accept the contractor doing the remedial work. We said that he would have to apologize for keeping us without a kitchen for 18 weeks, and that he would have to commit to a schedule and promise to do all work in a professional manner. The mediator again returned to the contractor and they talked for another hour. The contractor's proposal was that he would replace the 2-1/2" deep drawers with deeper ones, but would not replace drawer fronts so that each drawer bank had grain matching. We rejected that proposal. The mediator then said that he would continue negotiations by telephone at a later date. A week later he called with the contractor's new proposals. One was that he would pay us back the cost of the cabinets and would remove them all. Another was that he would pay us about 1/2 of our estimate, but with only half of that in cash and the rest paid over a year without interest. The proposal to rip out the cabinets was meant as a punitive scare tactic. The cabinets would have very little resale value, especially the ones with 2-1/2" deep drawers. In addition, our granite slab contractor said that removal of the granite slabs would cost half of the original installation cost with no guarantee that they wouldn't get broken. We countered with a proposal for a cash settlement that should be just enough to get the corrective work done. After a 10 day wait, the contractor agreed, and the state mediator brought us a cashiers check for the amount we asked. Unfortunately we had to agree to make no derogatory statements about the contractor in any media. We we itching to write a blistering review on Angie's List.

I'm almost too young to really remember when we had a rounded fridge in our house, I only vaguely remember us getting our huge (at least it seemed to me) new fridge with the sharp square angles (with the faux wood and chrome handle). Ours was white, not harvest gold or avocado! And with something that at the time we viewed as the height of sophistication and modernity--a dedicated freezer, (not an icebox) and an automatic ice maker!! But my grandmother always had an old, small white fridge with the rounded corners, aged to a kind of off-white. That's why I love them, they remind me of grandma's house! And since I have inherited many things from my grandmothers, I unabashedly decorate in a "retro" eclectic style that I call "boho granny." Or perhaps "European eccentric." Maybe black, white and 50 shades of grey are cool and calming in the hot southwest, but here in the damp, grey upper Midwest we need color!! I need to get a new electric kettle, and I'm happy to know there are colored ones available!

Jerry actually the reason I had 1200 CFM blowers was because at the time I had an indoor BBQ next to the 6 burner rangetop. VantaHood designed where and what I needed, primarily for the B BQ. Without that, I'm sure 600 CFM or less and a smaller hood would have worked. I finally took the BBQ out stored it up in the rafters in the garage and replaced the space with a cutting board. If a potential buyer wants to reinstall, very easy to do. I can install it in 10 minutes. I see a lot of houses with induction ranges and no ventilation. I think most of the need for ventilation has little to do with gas fumes but a lot to do with steam, oils etc. created by cooking. I would think those are the same issues with induction. I wouldn't mind having one hob but I thought about it and seems overkill with a 6 burner range top just so I can boil a pot of water fast. I guess if you're Italian and cook a lot of pasts, fast boiling is important.. I know you're a fan of induction cooking and you have a beautiful functional kitchen. Afraid it wouldn't work for me. I like the looks of gas burners and the functionality especially for Asian cooking. I've read too many things on this forum about induction that would annoy me to no end. The most repeated thing about the wonders of induction is how easy it is to clean and how fast it boils water. My requirements have little to do with easy to clean and fast boiling water. In addition Rocky Mtn power frequently shuts power off for extended periods of time, as 8+ hours mostly without notice.. Very annoying but a fact. I was one of the few people who used to be able to cook after a hurricane. I haven't forgotten that. Induction is also something that has electronics that can fail sooner than later. The less electronics in my life, the better. I operate a gas kiln that I fire to 2400 degrees F. Many people have switched to electric because ease of use. You just switch it on low, med and high and walk away. Not for me. The most important part of the process is the end and I'm not turning it over to this electric piece of equipment that cannot think, or produce the same results that I create with time,gas, flame and knowledge. I guess we all like different things for different reasons. Isn't it great we have the various choices available that make our heart sing! Inga