Thank you all for your input. Jim, the first thing you should know is that Wood-Mode has told me that they do not stand behind how good or how bad their dealers or dealer/builders are. They consider the cabinet designer/dealer to be their customer, not the homeowner. I didn't realize that Wood-Mode and Brookhaven dealers are completely independent from the Wood-Mode corporation and not really endorsed by Wood-Mode. I had thought we'd have better project continuity using a design/build firm. That said, other cabinet manufacturers may be no different. I don't have experience with other cabinet brands. If I were shopping for cabinets again, I would ask about the relationship of the cabinet shop with the manufacturer. I'd want to talk to the manufacturer to see if they even accept phone calls from homeowners with questions about the products. Wood-Mode corporation doesn't want to talk to homeowners about its Brookhaven and Wood-Mode cabinetry. I think it would be very useful for anyone shopping for a design/build company to look at the five most recent projects that the company has done using the brand of cabinets that you are considering. Five kitchens would be my minimum. I would think even the smallest firm should be able to show you five completed projects. They should be recent projects so you can see the quality of work for the current crews they are using. A list of references with completed projects with scores of homeowners to contact would also be reassuring. It would even be great to see projects that are under construction. Ask about how problems are handled. When you visit those job sites or completed kitchens, talk with the homeowner, look not only at design but also at miters, attachments, details, color matching. Ask if there were any "surprises." Open cabinets and look at how the cabinets are attached (or not!). Look at how the cabinets are affixed to the wall. Are screw holes random and ugly? Is as much care taken with cabinet interiors as with exteriors? Familiarize yourself with building codes. For example, are the kitchen counter outlets done with 15 or 20 amp circuitry? If the design/build firm is also selling you appliances, are they actually authorized dealers and installers, or are they middle-men who really shouldn't be doing the installations? Don't accept, "We've installed Sub-Zeros before" as a substitute for credentials. I think a warning sign is when a company says, "We don't recommend you pull permits because. . . " Permits are a homeowner's minimum protection for at least the safety aspects of the project. Our building inspector volunteered this "I wish we inspectors could write up aesthetic issues. I'd give your contractor pages of corrections to do." I have also noticed that several random Wood-Mode design and build firms that I checked had unfavorable complaints listed with the Better Business Bureau. Some Wood-Mode dealers have histories with no complaints. That is no guarantee that all is well, but it is better than a history of unhappy customers with unresolved complaints. Not all unhappy customers will complain to the Better Business Bureau, but some will. The Better Business Bureau tells you about complaints from the past three years and gives some clues as to whether or not the customer was ultimately pleased or not with the project after filing a complaint. Additionally, make sure you have all details about cabinet interiors and exteriors in writing for every cabinet. One last thing, look at the edge moldings for boxes in cabinets. How well do they match your finish? Is a good match important to you?

"I do fear spending any money in the bathrooms because most people (I think) would want to rip out the old cabinets and countertops and showers and so forth and completely redo them. I am thinking that money spent tiling the bathroom floors would be wasted as a buyer would want to come in and rip everything out and remodel the bathrooms. But, maybe the tile floors would just make the house more saleable? Maybe with the tile floors the buyers would think that the bathrooms are servicable and could live with them a while until they decide to renovate?" This was exactly our situation. But the bathrooms were SO bad, that we easily justified the cheap tile (installed ourselves) and $50 craig's list vanity find. Add paint and it was SO much better. We didn't touch the showers, thankfully the colors were back in though they do have cracks/age and need replacing at some point soon. Figured we'd let the next poeple do that part in case they gut the whole bathroom. The tile floor is appealing and neutral enough to keep (even laid it under the vanity if they rip that out). So like someone suggested, at the very least do the vinyl so it's livable until someone wants to upgrade. Carpet in bathrooms is just wrong on so many levels and SCREAMS "YUCK!" We also have a popular 50s ranch, but no vaulted ceilings (and no window casements either). We put basic 3" crown with a single ogee in the two main living areas and it made the rooms! We still have the plain original baseboards and it looks great. Nearly everyone loves crown and I get quite excited when I see crown in other houses. Might not make/break a sale, but adds a wow factor they might remember or another "bonus" about your house over the others. Would look weird in the vaulted rooms though, so if those are your main living areas, only other room I'd consider is the master if it needs some pizzaz. Don't bother adding it in the extra bedrooms or bathrooms. Paid a handyman $35/hour to install and he had it in in a few hours.

Related to this, what is the thinnest trim/molding a top of kitchen cabinets you can get away with? We have 8FT ceilings and 42 inch cabinets and my contractor wants no trim but my designer HATES the idea and feels we need to finish it off. The cabinets are white shaker style and our home is not modern, but contemporary leaning toward the traditional side. Its an old house being renovated so has elements of both the 1940s and 2000s. ANY suggestions would be awesome! Of course this issue is coming up at the 11th hour for some reason!

Those pictures are of farmhouse style? Really? They look kind of froufrou to me, and in my book, farmhouses are simple, modest, utilitarian structures. But maybe now that traditional farms are pretty much dead, "farmhouse" is just another label for whatever some highly-paid interior designer thinks looks "traditional." I'm with the rest of the crew here. With 8' ceilings, that's no mansion you have there. Trying to make it look like one with fancy crown molding will just make it look like a parody of one. I say let your house be what its architect meant it to be. But that's just my opinion. It's your house, and if crown molding makes you happy, why not? I'd suggest the narrowest, simplest molding you can find. If the the next person who buys your house doesn't like it, they can always pry it off and patch the holes.