Arlosmom - I hope it is not tacky to ask, but do you remember how much your liner tile cost? I have been thinking about it ever since I saw your pics. I also wonder how a black version would look. I hope it would be gray at the lighter parts and concentrated black in the crevices. I will be meeting with a tile person at a fancy schmancy tile store next week because they are the only ones who carry Mission Tile West near here, and they may carry Pratt & Larsen as well. Luckily, we had decided to splurge on the custom 2" figure 8 liner from them as our big extravagance and then later that day found out our builder is the neighbor of the manager and has done work for her. He called her and she told him he'd get a discount on the tiles, which he is passing on to me. This is a crude attempt to mock up our backsplash. The plan is to put a 1/2" plain black liner on each side of our custom ones (as seen in the mockup), but after seeing your tile, I wonder if yours as the 1/2" ones would be much better. The egg and dart may soften up our geometric edges a little. Or, we could do the style that has the top 2" cap with the egg and dart built in, therefore combining the 2 inch top planned with your liner. That would mean only doing 1 pricier upscale "line" instead of 2 (2 x a lower price may still be a higher total). In any case, the pattern is really cool and I am hoping to work it into my design somehow.

When the 1970s range with eye level second oven sticks out a foot into the kitchen because the electrician who took it out to work behind it (cutting the end off a countertop to do so) can't force it back in again, and neither can I and my 280lb friend combined. When someone had to saw off lower shelf of the cabinet over the range to get it in there in the first place, and it's now a gaping hole When said range is painted with peeling cream latex paint over harvest gold original color When removing the range reveals that the opening for the vent hood has been covered over and there's a handwritten note on the wall saying the electrical feel has been removed as well When because of the lack of a vent fan, the soffit has decorative brown spots all round the edge where the nails holding the corner bead have rusted through the paint from the condensation When the vinyl floor has multiple dings and tears, as well as paint spots from the bathroom paint job (puke pink) and the kitchen paint job (sky blue) When rats come though into the kitchen from the crawl space via the gap next to the hot air duct, and run back and forth stealing the dry cat food (ignored by both cats and visitng dog) When the silverware drawer twists sideways and jams every time someone other than me tries to push it in (I've developed a knack, I guess) When the rim of the sink is 1/4" above the countertop it's set into, and the gap is full of ick. When the replaced-just-before-I bought-the-place countertop is mottled, textured laminate which is impossible to clean (if you can even tell it's dirty!) When there's nothing but a gaping hole where the dishwasher ought to be When you have to have multiple clip-on lights attached to the upper cabinets to see anything at all, because the main light fitting is a single bulb in the middle of the ceiling When you remove all the upper cabinet doors in exasperation because the handles are in the CENTER of each door and they are awkward to reach and you can't tell which way the door will open from where the handle is When you clean all the cabinets twice and they still feel dirty When the cabinet handles look like something out of a bad bodice-ripper novel When the light switch for the over-sink light used to be directly over the range, but has been moved along the wall to beside the sink using surface-mounted fittings. When the microwave blows the breaker if the fridge comes on at the same time (and the outlet it's plugged into is INSIDE the upper cabinet above it When the whole kitchen, apart from the range, runs off one electrical circuit which also serves other rooms as well When the water coming out of the cold tap is a brown trickle so you use hot water for everything. When the outlets on the backsplash are installed not quite horizontally, and are painted dark teal, from the decorative generation before the sky blue paint on the cabinets and soffit. When all the windows are single glazed aluminum sliders that need plastic film over them every winter. When the floor is freezing cold because rats have ripped down a lot of the under-floor insulation in the crawlspace below. On the bright side, the fridge is almost new, there's a 6 ft stretch of uninterrupted counter space, and lots of cabinet space. I've lived with it for 3 years only because I'm still working on the bathroom, which was even worse! Here is a link that might be useful: The house when I bought it, inclding the kitchen and even worse bathroom

jejvtr - thanks for the pics! The partially concealed ones are the ones I always think of when I think of hinges - I mean they're the ones I grew up with myself. I really want the totally concealed kind though...although it's possible I could just give up and go for the butterfly hinges like I have on the upper cabinets but I'll try not to give up just yet! Seems there are so many down sides! antiquesilver - those pics are really helpful, thanks! And therein lies the rub - mine have a frame all around the openings. So hey - this analogy works for me!: mine are more like a regular door in a house (that people walk through). There's the door, and the frame next to the door, and they're flush with each other, and connected by a hinge, rather than the hinge being connected to the door and the wall next to the door (like in your case). Your pics make me very curious about seeing more of your cabinets from afar. I'm so curious about their style and colors. I love your cabs' interior paint...and what backsplash do you have? More pics, please. Yes that is a pretty massive hinge! I've saved the site though, thanks!

1) Regarding the screws.... For the drawer faces: Pocket holes should be drilled into the face frames if they must be attached permanently vs using the hardware to keep them on. The pocket holes should have covers attached (either the plastic or wood options). I personally prefer if they are removable via removal of the hardware so they can be changed out or refaced in the future & since you're going the custom route I'd defiantly want it! Inside the cabinets: A pilot hole should be drilled prior to screw if the wood hardness requires it & the screw counter sunk (slightly below the side walls) with or without plastic caps (depending on the company). Cabinet/Wall Brace:Are all the cabinets secured to the wall with simple screws?? I was really surprised to see this! How are they making sure the bases are secured to studs & not just drilled through into the gypsum board? In the past I've seen cabinet makers use a base board across the run anchored into wall studs and the bases are then secured to the board. Holes: The hole that will be exposed once the dishwasher is installed needs to be fixed. The fridge cabinet with the double screws and the blank hole is ridiculous...whomever was doing the install rushed and didn't care about screw placement or taking the time to properly aline things before drilling. Again= Custom built should = quality control and care! Yes there are MUCH better ways of finding the studs...even just using your knuckles to knock on the wall can get you close enough that a max of 2 holes might need drilled if you miss it the first time....again, sloppy work installing. The range microwave: Did they know that cabinet was going to support a microwave/hood? I'd ask about the install and max weight support. I don't believe 2 screws is enough to hold it (especially if they only screwed it into the wall & not a support board!) but don't know...I'd just hate to have it come crashing down a year from now! *You need to make sure the cabinet makers know that screw placement & finish result is important to you and you expect no screws will be felt or seen once the install is complete. 2) Shims: Yes, it's totally normal for wood shims to be left under the cabinets. Floors aren't completely level and in a new build the house will settle over time and the floor will change so it's important that the cabinets can be leveled. This is why RTA cabinets like IKEA have adjustable feet on the base that's hidden with a toe kick. Custom cabinet makers use wood shims to level on site during install and those can then be removed or added to as time goes on and any changes are required to keep the cabinets level. 3) Fixture & Outlet Holes: Yes, it's common to have large square pre-cut from the backs before install as plumbing is different for every job & since fixtures change depending on the choices made in faucet, garbage disposal, dishwasher lines, etc they can't make exact cuts. Again, this is why a lot of RTA cabinets are backless and if the backing is ordered it must be cut by the installer to fit the existing fixture spaces. HOWEVER- I totally agree with your being upset about the range plug placement and their solution to cut another hole into the side of the custom cabinet boxes. Although- I'm not entirely sure I understand correctly if it had to go through another base to reach the outlet or just the base of that unit vs the back side where a hole was already cut? I don't know what another solution would have been.... 4) Cabinet Face Gaps: Are you doing a full overlay with the new build as well? I completely agree that the gap's should be consistent and you definitely shouldn't be able to see the contents of the drawers! If the cabinets are full overlay why is the frame not hiding the contents? If they are custom inset then I'd be very picky about how it all lines up since this is a fine craft that requires skill & time to get right (hence the excessive cost)...plus wood swells & contracts so they need to fit properly with a slight consistent gap after install.