we have 3 kids (well 2, plus an infant - so he doesn't really count yet!). we only had enough space for 4 locker areas (wish we had five now that our family expanded). I wasn't sure we would use it because the powder room sink is so close, but the sink in the mudroom has been a life saver for those sandy hands, muddy feet, etc.). really glad that's in there. I love having the benches to sit upon to put on shoes. We keep our shoes 'loose' under the bench/drawer area which seems to work well enough. The coats hanging out in the open doesn't bother me (it is a mudroom, after all and just for our family to see). The hooks might be sturdy enough to handle a really heavy bookbag, but I'd think it best for shelves as well. I LOVE having the drawers - it's made keeping all the little items more tidy (I've got girls, so hair stuff, jewelry, etc.). we use the upper cabs and drawers for mittens, hats, and other overflow. The corner shelves now have bins for school work and lots of JUNK! this is also where we have plugs for any electronics that need to be charged.

these pics are when we first moved in (May) so limited visual of coats, boots, etc, but you get the idea.

Most PB valves have a single control handle on the valve that controls both temp and water flow. When you rotate the handle to set the temp on these valves to a warm to hot temperature range, you're also turning the water on to full flow. There's no tweaking of the flow volume at higher temperatures, for the most part it's either full on or off. So to get 102-degree water you're also getting full flow. If you were to try to reduce the volume to a trickle flow, as you reduce volume you're also turning the temperature down towards full cold. So the only reduced flow you can get out of a PB valve is of cold water.

Now, if this valve is part of a shower head/tub faucet combo, there's usually a diverter lever that you can throw to get water either out of the shower head or out of the tub faucet. That lever can be partially swung to change volume flow a bit while maintaining temperature.

TS valves have a setting for water temp, and it's a "set and forget" type of knob. You can set it to your desired water temp and leave it there for the next 20 years. They then have a separate volume control for water flow. So with TS valves you can easily have a trickle of 102 degree water or a full volume of 102-degree water.

There are always variations on the above, but that's the basic volume/temp comparison between a TS and a PB valve.

Here's mine installed:

This picture was taken when my son was 7 years old. He's 9 now and easily reaches anything in this oven - he heats his own pancakes (I freeze extras when I make them so he can have pancakes on school days.)

I strongly recommend installing a deep drawer underneath your ovens to store the accessories. The Advantium comes with two large circular trays that constantly have to be switched, depending on whether you are using the microwave (glass tray only) or the speed cook/baking functions (metal tray)

My Miele oven also has rotisserie attachments and a special filter that is needed for roasting splattering meats, as well as a temp probe.

While I'm designing your oven area, I may as well tell you how awesome it is to have trays, cooling racks and enough space to store my extra oven racks right handy above the ovens! Plan your kitchen to store things near where they will be used!

I don't have great finished pics yet. Here are some from Christmas and another with better lighting. Hope you can get the idea despite the poor lighting.

Came home and Beleza looks quite green so may not be helpful to you in pics. I'll take some tomorrow.

I know you're doing wainscot for backsplash, but I wanted to toss up these photos just for fun. (This is what I keep coming back to whenever I want to use Old White instead of doing my green thing.) Trikeenan's Sharkskin and Milk White mix:

And this is their random whites blend (Fog, Crackle White, and Milk White):

A huge thank you to everybody on this forum who helped graciously with advice, photos, experience & info. What an incredible resource this is. Shout outs to Erikanh & marthavila for hood help, willowdecor for tile, all the stoners, and many more.

We moved in last week-bottom trim on fridge & dw are still missing, excuse the messy bottoms.

I'll be happy to provide details if anyone wants them.

Thanks for looking!

Marble Close Up

Soapstone Close Up

I am considering a 36 in slide-out hood (this is for a smallish kitchen in a condo) that will be ducted out through the ceiling. The cooktop is a 36in Miele induction. A slide-out would work really nicely in this small kitchen and I seldom do any massive frying. This being said, I would like kitchen smells not to spread through the entire apartment and keep noise under control.

I found a few slide-out models on the web from Broan, Faber, and BestByBroan, but the only variable speed I found is only 300cfm, and the max I found is 600 cfm.

So a couple of questions:
(1) Is this type of hood, effective? Or the fact that all extend only about 18 in. limits their performance a lot? Anyone has any experience with them? Is 300 cfm way too little?

(2) Should I give up, and just go for a PS1010 from Modern Aire that everyone seems to love? (Extends 23in)

(3) Any other manufacturer to consider? Here is what I found:
1. Broan Elite Silhouette
Variable speed 300 CFM

2. Faber velvet
600 CFM, 4 speeds

3. Faber Jewel
600 CFM, 3 speeds, a different design seems to have a larger capture area.

4, Faber Crystal
500 CFM, 3 speeds

5. BestbyBroan U102I
500 CFM, 4 speeds

Many thanks!

I will have warm white cabinets, lighter granite with some carmel and grey tones and then walnut colored floors.

I want the walls to be the aqua but it needs to be a more subtle version...not like the bottom of a pool. I think it needs to have a decent amount of grey to tone it down. Can anyone make any paint color selections. I have the Benj. Moore and Sherwin Williams paint decks.

Thanks.

It's FANTASTIC.

The only think I might have done different would have been not so deep. Mine is 10" and add the 1" of granite and it's 11 inches. I can touch it with my fingertips but not my whole hand. LOL. Being 5'2" that's a DUH on my part. If you're short consier an 8" because after the granite you're at 9" which would probably be perfect.

But I'm really happy with the single bowl. So if you're debating GO FOR IT.

Trish