It's not too loud most of the time, but is noticeable when the room is otherwise quiet. I am staring to get used to the sounds made by the cooktop. They are louder when the pan is cold or empty, and the sizzling or bubbling does effectively cover up the tick-buzz rhythm. It also varies depending on what utensil is being, used with cast iron being the quietest. My Calphalon Contemporary Stainless 10" skillet is the noisiest , but a similarly sized Scanpan non-stick makes only moderate noise as does the 3 qt. Calphalon saute' pan. I guess it has to do with resonant frequencies and the physics of the situation. Since I really like the cooking performance, layout, efficiency and easy cleaning of the stove I will learn to live with the sounds it generates. My only other complaint with the unit is the childproof lock. I have no need for a nanny looking over my shoulder making sure I don't do anything dangerous. The unit doesn't even turn on unless there's a appropriately sized magnetic object on top and shuts off if it gets too hot. There are no locks on other types of cooktops. It is annoying to have to wait for the controls to unlock, but I have found that if I put a wet sponge on the "key", it will enable the controls while I do other things. Is there a way to permanently disable the lock feature for us grown-ups?

Could I trouble those of you with these lovely Revitalize pulls for pictures from a little further back, in context with surrounding cabinets? One of my issues is sizing; most of my drawers are 30 - 36" wide so I have to consider paying up for long ones or putting pairs on each drawer. I was sure I wanted Candler but the linked picture of them installed, and the feel in my hand, has caused me to re-evaluate. They seem "thick" looking, and when I used them at the model they were also less comfortable than Revitalize. When I opened drawers with Revitalize, my hand naturally fell so that my thumb was on the angled part - do you use them that way IRL? Here is a link that might be useful: not a fan of this look!

Actually both are pretty poor. Agree that in both the garage is way too small. First the Clay: I just noticed that to get to the laundry room you need to climb up or down stairs on the landing to get into the room. And you open the laundry room door if you're inside and step down? VERY UNSAFE! Oh and it gets worse! To get to the master bathroom, you have to walk up two steps??? I'd hate to be trying that one in the middle of the night when I'm half asleep. Hate the two story family room for all the reasons stated already. Hate that the toilet is on the same wall as bedroom 4. Also hate that the closet takes up an outside wall so no chance for windows and cross ventilation on two walls. And not a single linen closet?? In the whole downstairs there is a total of 1 closet. Where do you store anything? The Paxton: Since you say you don't use a dining room, what will you use it for since you already have a rec room and a family room? At least there's a single closet downstairs besides the coat closet and the pantry. Still not much storage though. Again hate the open to below for all the reasons stated. This at least is not a hazard with the stairs coming out of rooms. Double doors into the bedroom? Where will you put light fixtures? Good luck walking around the tub to get to the toilet in the middle of the night if you're like me and hate turning on the light. That bathroom is very poorly designed. The master shower looks small. How can you have a sitting area if that's the space you need to walk past to get into the bathroom? The shower looks very small considering all the wasted space in the bathroom. Again, no linen closet for the other bathroom or for bedding? Personally, if it were me, I'd keep looking. That's a lot of space but most of it is not good usage.

I love my two tone. I like stained wood but didn't want to feel surrounded by brown. I like things a bit mismatchy and seemed like a good fit in my older home. I did the tall cabinets white like the uppers so that everything at eye-level is the same color. Especially because the tall cabinets are right at the entrance to my kitchen (seemed like it would feel too "in-your-face" to have the wood there). I prefer two tone kitchens with the tall cabinets matched to the uppers rather than lowers, but I don't think it's terrible to match the lowers. You can find pics of kitchens done either way. Agree to do a little contrast with the wood floor so it doesn't all blend with the lower cabinets. My kitchen floor was stained to match the rest of the house (IMO it's more red than I'd like, trying to tone it down with the rug), so I did lighter cabinets. I think it would be too much for the floor and cabinets to blend together.