Thanks, rhome and twn! I've tallied your two votes for running the tile vertically. The more I look at that last photo, rhome, the more I like the way it looks. Were you thinking staggered grout or lined up grout as in the pic? I forgot to mention that the grout we chose is very, very close in color to the tile so it may not really matter whether we stagger or line up the grout lines. It will be similar in look to the 1st photo I posted showing vertical tiles. If we line up the grout lines, that's less cutting for the tile setter - that should make him happy - and less waste - that makes me happy. twn, the 5.5" band of accent tile will run around the tub/shower area above the shower niche (linked below in case it affects your decision) but below the shower head. The shower niche is on the same wall as the shower head because the other two walls are exterior walls. I'll have to draw it out with the tiles running vertically to see how things work. (twn, I often march to my own drummer, too. For example, I've always preferred honed to polished stone.) Here is a link that might be useful: Noble shower niche

I am shocked at $.09 for a kwh in LI. When I lived there, the rates were 2nd highest in the country. Does that last line mean you are at $.08? That would be really surprising. At those rates, electric baseboard would be cheaper than oil. A heat pump would be 1/4 the cost of oil at moderate temps so yes, you should have a heat pump. I grew up on LI and you really don't know what really cold is. Really cold is not getting above zero days on end - that never happens in LI. LI is a pretty temperate area of the NE so generally the NE is not great for heat pumps but LI isn't bad. That being said, a well designed and sized system would be fine. You will use electric strip as backup but that is about the cost of oil so not a big deal. When you really think about it, there are probably just 20 days a year below 20 degrees. That means there are 100 other days of winter (Dec-Mar) that it is warmer than that. So - if you were able to use all HP for 5/6 of the winter, you are doing pretty well. It is more complicated than that but you get the idea. Geothermal will give you your lowest utility costs but I doubt it is an option. You generally need a little bit of land and you need to have access for heavy machinery. If you have those things, then you just need to call around. LI has an unusual groundwater situation - very sensitive. There might be limits on what you can do by the local governments. Not that geo is at all bad for groundwater but it does use it and LI is a particularly regulatory place. Forced air vs. hydronic. - we have all been in bad forced air houses. It doesn't mean it is all that bad. But - most everyone prefers hydronic. I grew up in baseboard world and now live in forced air world. With a good system, it just doesn't matter. I've been burned on radiators and dealt with knocking pipes as they warm up. A modern system in either way is better. You do have to find space for ductwork - if you have a basement/crawlspace and an unfinished attic, it isn't a big deal. People will clamor about the ducts not being in conditioned space and it isn't ideal. But compared to using oil for heat, anything is better.

Dreaming about it for several years. I mean, DH and I would say, wouldn't it be nice if we had a bigger kitchen? Oh, I'd love to have a pantry. That sort of thing. But actual planning only began in June of this year. We are now two weeks in and every day I delight in some new thing that I see. They weren't even supposed to start until late next month, but I think the contractor kind of overbooks and then whomever is ready to go first gets going. When he came out to inspect the cabinets and saw that we had everything either already at our home or on order, he said he could start immediately.

I hope you're looking at induction as a cooktop option. The Best Caterra is a downdraft exhaust if you need one. Quartzite is generally a lighter stone possibility slightly harder than granite without etching or other marble problems. There would be some dramatic choices Quartzite including some dark with veining that would go with your current perimeter. Azul Boquira , Mazza or Modena are some darker stone. Calacatta and Calacatta Macaubas could be combined with the linear one for the perimeter. Or with one used only on the island.