As promised I tried cooking on both induction and gas for most of the evening and did identical dishes on the same pan, here are my thoughts: I was more than impressed with capital and every single bit of information here has been accurate about the culinarian. The simmer was fantastic high heat was more than anyone will use in a day-to-day residential kitchen but it�s there if you need to do wok cooking or some quick water boil. I was very happy with the culinarian and was practically sold but had to reserve my judgment until I had tried the induction. Now I have waited a good day or so before writing my thoughts so I can process everything I experienced and be as objective to my needs as possible. My one word experience with induction has been "magic". The induction usage was same as the culinarian, i.e. I made the same dishes and I did not alter my cooking at all. I tossed the items (vegetables) by lifting my pan and it made little to no difference as you do it once or twice and put it back on. The amazing magical factor was the lack of sweat on my forehead even as few burners were going doing various things. Magical aspects included lack of atmospheric temperature increase and accuracy of level of heat - holding sauces directly in the pan (butter without burning and cream based sauce, sure would be true for chocolate also). Without going overboard praising induction cooking I will say everything people have mentioned in terms of lack of heat loss, efficiency & cleaning of these cooktops have been very humbly stated. I am more confident than before that I will be going the induction route and enjoy a clean looking contemporary kitchen with little to no cleanups after cooking and not to mention a much cooler kitchen in summer. One thing that concerned me was power sharing issues and I realized even while water boiling the bosch if group 1 or 3 is used it shuts the shared hobs off but water boiling is something I don't do everyday and if I do what are the chances all groups are being used? Water boiling for pasta can be done on group two whose boosting does not disable anything. So the power sharing is a non-issue for me. I personally cannot come up with any reason to go to boost except water boiling and trying to heat oil for deepfrying, the high level of heat from the hobs is already hot enough and the hobs reach the set level so quickly that you don�t have to blast it on powerboost to get the temp and reduce it down. Someone had mentioned water boiling (I did not do this test on both times but I did boil water and I was gobsmacked at how quickly the induction boiled water at 9 without any flames)is quick but how quickly would it carmalize onions. I did cook some vegetables and I decided to carmalize the onions for funs sake on both culinarian and the induction. For both devices I did not go max heat and lower it down I set the heat level with oil in and started to cook, I timed both and the induction was a wee bit quicker. This is of no huge importance to me on which device you can quick faster on, they are both excellent devices and for me personally the pros outweigh the cons for the induction. I think whoever is trying to decide between gas and induction; that you should atleast go out and try to cook on both devices and then make up your mind. I am looking forward to cooking without dripping sweat all over and requiring showers after most cooking sessions. I did not do any steaks or burgers or pork chops. I cooked some eggs, a quick stir fry, boiled some pasta, thawed frozen sauce and just held butter on low. All this was done on a capital range top and a bosch 800 series induction in the same location and same day.

I was wondering where they were to be planted and was thinking you were amending outdoor soil. I've never ordered cuttings this way, but I would think the cut ends would be adequately hardened off by the time you receive them. You'll want to plant them in your mix and not water until they have roots, maybe a couple weeks. If you like, post a pic of the cuttings you get before you plant them and you'll get feedback from experts (not beginners like me).

I like this small rectangular Carrara better than the linear one only because it's similiar to what I'm looking at :) lol I'm not big on the linear but if you love it get it. My girlfriend did a white kitchen with a sold grey counter with the linear tile and when it was done she was a little bummed it wasn't a little more casual. I didn't say I agreed but with everything in her home it was a bit too modern. Almost cold feeling in that space. I don't mind modern elements but I guess I prefer more of a casual contemporary with some warmth whaterever that is lol. I think opinions and advice come from experiences and differences in likes and dislikes. You can see it by the input reading thru this thread. no wonder there are so many d@mn choices! It can seriously make you crazy. and unlike eam44 I use to like busy counter tops with subtle backsplash but since I had that in my last kitchen now I prefer a less busy counter on the horizontal and bling on the backsplash for more of a visual vertical impact that can be easily seen when walking into the space. Also I love that I can change it out easier than a countertop when I change my mind and I will change my mind someday :) but again that's because of my experience and what I like now. Ultimately get what you like and makes you happy :)

@elizht - Here is my opinion. First, your cabinets. Your cabinet frames, drawer fronts, doors and drawer boxes seem to be good quality, ignore anyone saying otherwise. Your cabinets are obviously older and the joints all look fine. Various quality indicators are used to to determine whether cabinets will hold up well over their life, they should not be applied to older cabinets. Older cabinets are good quality when they have held up well and yours apparently have. They have a pretty crappy paint job on them, but that looks like a previous owner changing the color on a budget. This doesn't mean the drawer glides are good quality, they should be replaced and that is likely something that you could DIY if you want with a good drawer slide jig (just take your time). While your cabinets may be good quality they don't necessarily function efficiently. Whether the layout is good and drawers vs. doors is another matter altogether. If you are considering replacement to get more functionality, then great. However, if you are just trying to achieve better quality then don't. ---- Next, my 2 cents on the refacing industry. I am not a fan. Refacing products and processes are relatively simple and rather inexpensive but customers are charged a premium because their other options are so expensive and disruptive. So your cabinet refacer is probably charging you a lot. I suspect that a handyman or cabinet installer can replace your drawer slides much cheaper than $225 per drawer. ---- "how difficult would it be for the refacer to match the finish of the IKEA boxes to the new doors if I were to suggest that route?" IKEA boxes are not matched, they are covered. The fronts are covered by the drawers and doors so only filler strips and side panels need to match and those can be ordered to match the doors.