Well, we did a mini "refresh" on our kitchen in 1999 to add a dishwasher and standard-sized range, as we had one of those apartment-sized ranges that DH detested. When we did the mini refresh, we also changed countertops, sink & faucet, and we had put in peel and stick vinyl over the hideous gold linoleum when we first moved in. That being said, we still had issues with layout, with the only really useable countertop being the 15" to left of the range and 5" to the right of it. There was a small swath of countertop across from the stove, next to the sink, but because it was right by the back door, it became a catchall. When I took anything out of the oven, it pretty much had to go on the stovetop. Baking cookies just wasn't very fun after a while. I sorta stopped doing it. :^( Then there was the wall between the kitchen and livingroom that made the kitchen seem so dark and cramped. The lack of storage was the biggest issue we had. I still get the heebs when I think of that cabinet where the plastic storage containers lived. I don't know how many times I sat on the floor and cleaned out that blasted cabinet, just to have it heave out plasticware all over me the next time I opened that door. I'm pretty sure that DH would open the door *just enough* to throw an item in there. We had no venting over the range, instead we had a cabinet directly over the range, and it was lower than standard. When we did the remodel, we could see big black burn marks underneath. Lovely. Our garbage was located across the kitchen on the stairwell landing. If I had gunk in my hands, I had the pleasure of carrying it across the floor, leaving a nice little dribble trail. Fun times! The giant fluorescent light box, with that hideous tube light. I tried to "tart it up" at one point, but in the end, it was just a big rectangle with an ugly light, so it had to go. My peel and stick vinyl tiles, so wonderful and bright when we installed them, were pitted and cracking in places. No matter how long I scrubbed on my hands and knees, there were areas where the tile was worn, and the dirt was embedded. Yuck. The kitchen wasn't awful; it just was not a joy to work in. Now I enjoy baking and cooking in there, and putting away the tupperware is not an exercise in frustration! Hooray! Oh, happy day! :^)

DON'T spend $35k on a kitchen you're not going to keep! You could get it done with mid-level finishes for around $20k if you watch your pennies (depending on where you live of course). Honestly everything in that kitchen looks functional and like Susie mentioned, you'll never get that money back completely. In the short term, you could take off the brickabrack and paint the existing cabinets white and replace the countertops with granite and do a pretty subway tile backsplash. That'd be enough to sell the house with an "updated" kitchen in a few years. You can get new hardware for the drawers and the center frame you could just live with. Instead of hardwood floors you could look at engineered floors or those new ceramic tiles that look like wood. There's even some pretty impressive laminate that looks like wood now. Your biggest expense otherwise would probably be tearing out the walls - you'd have to get an engineering report if you're taking out any load bearing walls (which require extra beams be added in the attic/basement). Also, you'd probably want to do that before you added back the cabinets/pantries. It'll probably involve an electrician and inspectors and framers and drywallers. If you're set on opening it up, I'd start with the big $$ construction first and replace the kitchen cabinets when you can afford to. If you have a HOBO in your area (EDIT: D'oh! you don't!), they do cheap cabinets if you have standard measurements. You can also find semi-custom local shops who are happy to compete with big box prices for the business. Avoid buying all plywood boxes, they're a waste of money. MDF and birch are great for painting and a good value, as well. Otherwise as Susie said, you could "reface" the existing cabinets easily enough. You could buy a SS rolling island that you can move around when not in use. They're visually light (because they're open on the bottom) and portable. If you do end up doing the fridge flanked by pantries, one trick we learned to cut down on the cost was to buy 24" (standard) pantries and two 30" deep end panels. This way you can cheat the pantry forward 6" (who can reach all the way back there anyway??) and it'll still have that "built in" look you're going for. This post was edited by Swentastic on Wed, Jul 16, 14 at 15:25

I have Sensate and I have had it almost a year. The sensor is in the curve of the neck of the faucet. By raising your hand up into the curve, you will activate the on/off. It doesn't matter where you stand since the sensor is in the curve not facing you, per say. I can stand on the other side of the island to activate the faucet as long as my hand can reach to the curve of the faucet. My hose will go to the bottom of my sink and to the far corner of the shelf of stages 33. I have it center mounted. Once it wasn't behaving quite right. I checked and the plug had come out of the plug just a little because of the long hose hitting it. Once I re-seated the plug, all was well. The spray is very handy/powerful in preparing dishes for the dishwasher and sweeping debris to the disposal. If I cook pasta or potatoes, the heavy steam will activate the sensor, turning it on or off. To avoid that, just press the lever into the off position and there won't be any water until you activate the faucet again using the lever. There is a tiny indicator light on the hand lever that indicates sensor function is on and ready to go. I keep mine off unless I am cooking/cleaning. BTW, amazon has some Kohler on daily deals if anyone is preplanning.

As has been mentioned, the most common cause of water hammer is the quick open/close action from fast-acting valves. Typically found in washing machines and dishwashers. It's less common with toilet fill valves, faucet taps, or shower valves. First thing you can do it to drain your entire house supply plumbing system. Normally water hammer arrestors are plumbed in above the valves during construction. You may have some already in your house's plumbing system. Over time they can fill with water. Draining the plumbing system can drain the water out of the arrestors, and when the supply is refilled, the air pocket that provides the cushion is reestablished. Turn off the water supply to the house. Open every faucet of valve in the house. Then go back in the basement and open the drain valve, or needle bleed valve(s), or basement utility sink tap...you're just trying to drain the hot and cold copper supply tubing above. No need to drain the water heater, boiler, etc. Just your domestic water supply tubing system. When drained, close the drain valve(s), turn the water back on, then go back around closing all the taps/valves. It took about 20 years before I had to drain my system to recharge the arrestors in my house. Last year I was in the shower and the water started surging a bit and I heard a series of mild "thump" noises. That had never happened before. My wife had started laundry. The thumps coincided with the washing machine valves cycling. I drained and refilled, the issue disappeared, hopefully for another 20 years. FWIW, when I plumbed my house I used simple extensions of copper tubing for water arrestors, similar to what you linked to in your photo. Also check your household water pressure. There should be a pressure regulator on your well's water supply tank, or at the point where city water enters your house. House pressure is often regulated between 40-60PSI, or 50-70PSI by well pressure regulators. City water can be higher, you can regulate it down to around 50-60PSI. If neither of those work, then attack the change in your system; the new shower valve. Since it's already tiled in on the shower side, I'd open up the back of the wall if able. Review the plumbing layout and have water hammer arrestors installed on both the hot and cold sides above the valve. If that can't be done, then the Watts LF-150A that Geoffrey linked to is a good retrofit option. You'll want one each on the hot and cold sides. They can be installed under a tub, in the basement, under a vanity, etc. I've never enclosed one of them in a wall. They may not cure the issue, but they can lessen it. Agree with Mule Meat, the "unused parts" in the small ziplock look like port plugs for your valve. If your installation did not require all the ports on the valve to be used, you simply plug the unneeded ports with those plugs. The green colored sleeves look like wall anchors.