i talked with the builder. we've got 16,000 off. he doesn't see how we can get another 14 off. we have to have a 2 car garage - required by the neighborhood. i personally prefer carports because they are easier to keep clean and you don't have to fool with a door, but the rules are the rules :( jennybc, that's a good idea about the surround sound. it is something that i'd really like to have in the future for music outside while entertaining. i asked about the ceilings and he said that they would end up having to build a separate knee wall or something (not sure i'm quoting him correctly) and that lumber comes in 12 feet anyway, so that it wouldn't be much of a savings. he didn't want to go down to 8 upstairs. we do have bunk beds, so I didn't fight him on that. all in all i think he wasn't comfortable with 10 downstairs because the standard in the neighborhood is 11. should i push him on this? what kind of savings are we talking about if i did 10 everywhere downstairs except the den. 3,000? 5,000? i think he's stuck on 11ft because he likes nice things - earlier in the process, he was trying to encourage me to use a big professional range when i'm just fine with a 32' KitchenAid architect series. a couple of months ago he was voted builder of the year from the local parade of homes, so he wants to keep his work impressive, i guess. i need to look at the plans to see about moving the garage. it might not be possible on our narrow lot. it's like a rubik's cube trying to fit everything. i know what i wanted to ask, and i forgot - air conditioning. in the house we live in now (built in 2006), we have only one AC little air vent thing in each room except for the den,kitchen, and master bedroom. those rooms each have 2 vents. i noticed on our plans for the new house that there are 2 vents in every room. even the super tiny kid's rooms. should we switch to one vent in those 3 rooms as well as the small formal dining room and small guest/study room? would that save money by eliminating the big octopus arms in the attic? these are the cabinets i have in my house now, and this is what i want in the new house, except with straight edge trim on top.

I have one drawer that I would love to have 3 inches more at back--it holds casseroles and lids. Drawers with dishes, pots, linens yes also. Other drawers, not so much. Now that I think harder, it's the top ones that have little stuff than can more likely get lost; in the bottoms where the large pans and things go, the extra space is more welcome. Make a plan to put some rarely used stuff in backs of the top drawers? OR...do as I did and make top drawers a little shorter at back and sink some stainless cylinders at back of countertop to hold utensils; same with knife slits at back of counter to allow easy access to knives without opening drawer at all. But I suppose that thwarts having the deeper countertops for other uses. Never mind.

Hi Kelly Feil, glad they were helpful! The color on the second image is Friendly Yellow. As for your hinge question, you have to break it into two parts. The visual aspect, and the functionality aspect. Visual is easy, either they fit the design of the kitchen, and you like them, or you prefer not to see hinges. (There is no wrong answer!) As to function, the main difference is, generally speaking, a visible hinge will have a wider degree of swing. A hidden hinge (commonly called a European hinge) will open less. Depending upon the manufacturer, a range of 105-120 degrees (versus 180 degree possibility of a visible hinge) There are hidden hinges with even wider swings then 120 degrees, but they are bulkier, take up more space, and generally used in corner cabinet applications. And if your cabinet doors ever need adjusting, both types of hinges allow up-down, in-out as needed. (Well, we are speaking for our visible hinge, we can't speak for other manufacturers!) Lastly, it doesn't sound like a frame and panel door would be a good fit for you. (You mentioned not liking intersecting lines) Perhaps a slab door is something you might want to consider. Good luck on your project!

Canuck99 - I have the Juno Trac12 xenon undercab lighting. I absolutely LOVE them. But they were pricey - significantly more than their competition, at least when I was buying them. The largest part of the cost is that the transformer is separate, and the transformer is expensive. Other xenon strips have the transformer built-in, which reduces the price. One thing I really like about the Trac12's is that they are open strips. I have never had any heat problems from them, and I have been told that open strips are preferable to closed strips (i.e. covered) because the open ones will not trap heat. Bluekitobsessed - here's my little summary, FWIW, of undercabinet lighting, with the exception of LED's which I don't know much about: Halogen pucks - run very VERY hot. There have been reports on this forum of scorched cabinetry, or food melting from the halogen pucks. And pucks will reflect circles of light on your counter rather than the more even lighting of strips. Fluorescent - they make much more modern improved versions than the ghostly pallor thick tubes we all remember. The Pegasus Associates Lighting T4's and T5's are particularly well-regarded because they are thin, and their ballasts are so good that they don't buzz. Also, the bulbs come in different "color temperatures" so that you can choose one that will have a more natural light instead of the ghostly pallor (see the Pegasus link for more explanation). Fluorescents run cool, too. However, they are not dimmable. Xenon low-voltage strips - a very white light. Also the bulbs have really long lives. I've had mine 3 years, and haven't had to change a bulb yet. As I mentioned above, it is more expensive to buy the xenons that come with the transformer separate, as in the Juno Trac12's. Kichler makes well-regarded xenon strips with the transformer built-in, in two styles, the closed and the open. I recommend the open because they do not build up heat. Xenons are dimmable. I have mine on dimmers (the dimmer switch is a low-voltage dimmer, and cost about $35). I really like being able to adjust the light from very high for task lighting, to low for mood lighting, like after dinner over coffee. HTH.