marlingardener - unfortunately, there aren't many Bluestar dealers in Texas - none have the range in stock, and only one distributor, so I don't really have any other options than to wait the 4-6 weeks they are quoting me. Good news is I can use the range I have until they get me the right one, so my family won't have to subsist on baked goods from my wall ovens! I agree about the granite and I've contacted him. Unfortunately, since it took the range so long to get here, the install on the granite was completed a while ago and he's been paid. I certainly hope he'll do the right thing, without me having to make a big stink. But I'm willing to make it if I have to. Breezy_2, you're right about the rocket science. These guys just did a bad job. I won't live with the gaps. The GC is still in the picture and if the installer doesn't get back to me by tomorrow, I'll have him get involved. I'll also go in and take some photos tomorrow. The cleaning crew will be there doing the final clean so we can move in Saturday after the poly goes on the wood one last time. Thanks all!

Hi, I haven't been on GW in a while, but happened by today. I got great ideas from everyone here when planning my kitchen. I never considered where all of my cookbooks would go in my initial thinking, but taking ideas from different people, I came up with a plan. My cabinets were built by a local cabinetmaker, so I was able to design some unusual storage. I have a 24" deep glass fronted cabinet next to the frig. It's 36" wide. What the cabinetmaker did was build 3 approx 11" wide boxes out of wood and put them on file drawer-type runners. The three boxes are next to each other. When you look into the cabinet, you see the three side by side, each one full of books. I have two shelves with the boxes, for a total of 6 boxes, or 12 running feet of cookbook storage. I slide them in and out to reach the books in the back. The pretty ones are in the front and can be seen when the glass doors are closed. Even after all of the instructions given, I still can't figure out how to post pictures here, or I'd take some shots to show you. Everyone who has seen the new kitchen oohs and aahs over the fact that the books are there, that there are so many of them taking up so little space. good luck with your project!

Oh gosh - thank you all very much. I really apprecite the compliments. Katy - First, I sanded the cabinets to remove the old shiny poly coat, then I primed 1 coat of Zinnser oil based paint. Next I put on 3 coats of BM White sand. I painted an outline in all the routed edges using BM Bittersweet Chocolate. I didn't do any sanding to reveal the old stain. I tried that on my test piece and it looked more rustic than I wanted. I did distress them with a hammer, nail holes and hit them with a bag full of lug nuts. I brushed the glaze over the paint and let it sit for a few minutes and then I wiped the glaze off leaving it heavier in some areas than others, and letting it stay in the dented ares. (I found a tip on here from soneone and I can't remember who - but she used Viva papertowels with her glazing and that's what I used to remove my glazing. They were just the right softness.) I looked through kitchen cabinet catalogs and magazines and the kitchen blog photos trying to notice details that would make my stock cabinets look more custom. I knew I wouldn't want to do this again anytime soon - so now was the time to incorporate stuff into the kitchen. I didn't even own a miter saw and had never done crown molding before, but I am pretty handy and bought a book and looked at instructions on the internet. I just plugged away and learned how to do the stuff I wanted to do!!! It was either that or not have it!

Unfortunately, our local framing shop went out of business a few years ago and I don't like using online for this. So, I am relegated to Hobby Lobby or Michaels. But, I have found the personnel at both to have an impeccable eye for complementing artwork with matting. The man at our local Hobby Lobby has been there as long as the store, and always has great suggestions. They'll cut it as you wait, and I don't find them pricey at all. In fact, the local framer was at least 1/3 more in cost, maybe more. I still used and supported her until she went out of business, and you may want to find a small business owner. But, don't discount Michael's because it's a chain. You also won't have to worry about the mats denting or bending in transit like online. I also don't buy frames online because I prefer glass.