Sa, from the time mine was tiny to about a year ago, it was tied (in a pot lined w/ plastic wrap) to the top of my bromeliad tree. It got decent light from a south window and from some fl. lights but not GREAT light. I would water it with r/o water periodically. I'd pretty well drench it and then ignore it for a good week or two. Often when I would next water, it had become SUPER light from being so dry. It got too big so i de-mounted it from the tree and this past summer it was in my backyard. It hung under an oak tree for awhile and then hung from a post where it could get a bit more light. Currently its hanging from the ceiling in one of my plant areas. In fact, I just posted some pics on the orchid forum and you can see the staghorn in one of them. I kinda feel that its just time that makes them big. It doesn't seem fussy at all and tolerates really bad conditions so I think just wait a bit longer. Maybe someone else has some better tips, or you could try the moss/fern forum.

There was a similar silver colored tool packed with my vanity light fixtures and it is for tightening/ loosening a plastic ring that holds the glass shade in place. It is another place were you can't get your fingers in so you need the tool if you need to remove the shade for any reason. If your fixture has glass shades look inside for a ring holding the shade.

I have a trellis on the west side of my house. The uprights are 4x4 and rest on piers bought at Mennards. It sits a good 3' away from the wall just outside the gutter on the eaves. The 4x4's are 4' on center, tied together using 2x4's and have latice board mounted. The whole thing is 20' long. The purpose of this trellis is to shade the west wall in the summer. (It was built before we got central air.) We live in a subdivision that's septic & well and doesn't have enough trees yet. The trellis is tied to the roof to stabilize it when we get gusty winds. It is flexible enough to take the freeze & thaw and sturdy enough to support clematis.

Debrak, good point. I will definitely have the popcorn done first. I think our existing Broan hood does vent to the outside. It has a large galvanized duct that runs through the cabinet above and out the back (which is actually the dining room...I guess it is going through the wall to the outside??). I am concerned about losing the cabinet above the cooktop. That's where I store all my cookbooks, tea kettle and pitchers. We do have an extra "empty" 11 inches to the right of the pantry cabinet that I've always thought would make a good spot for extra built in shelving. I have a little "mail center" cabinet from Pier 1 there now that is used for storage. kaysd and kris_ma those are great door ideas but might be a bit funky for us. kris_ma, I love those pendants but would they be hard to keep clean? Being a lazy housekeeper, I usually try to avoid anything that makes dusting more difficult. I am crazy about simple lantern lights and would love giant two or three foot high lanterns like these horribly photoshopped ones (minuse the candles and leaves!)? Existing Pendants (originally had flat glass shades on them that I removed) From Kitchen Giant Lanterns? From Kitchen chloe45, I don't think we have those hinges. Ours have three screws on the inside and two on the outside but they've been painted over so they might be hard to remove. Would any of these (horribly, horribly photoshopped) door ideas work? 1) Frosted glass, 2) Vertical four panel doors or 3) Doors in the same style as existing cabinetry From Kitchen From Kitchen From Kitchen