Forget talking to the construction manager. Find out who the CEO or President of the company is and write him a letter. Introduce yourself as a customer who is in the process of having a home built by their company at such-and-such an address by so-and-so construction manager. Compliment the quality of the work being done on your home (or how clean they are keeping the property...or something!) and that you are happy to be working with a company that prides itself on customer service. Tell him what a great reputation his company had back where you used to live and that you were so relieved when your original builder's company was taken over by his company. (Never hurts to lay on the compliments first.) Then state that you do have a complaint however and have tried to resolve this with the construction manager but have not gotten satisfaction nor any explanation that makes sense to you so you are hoping the CEO/President can assist you. Then, keeping it short, outline the fact that they broke ground on your home on date X and that on a later date (later dates) broke ground on three "inventory homes" at such and such addresses. Point out the ways in which these three inventory homes are substantially the same size, style, and quality of the home they are building for you and are in the same neighborhood. State that under the circumstances, it seems logical that the home that was started first (yours) ought to be the first one finished but that you now find that work on the inventory homes is moving forward MUCH faster than work on your home and further that you are being told that your finish date is being delayed significantly. In a chart, show the status of your home as of "yesterday" and the status of the 3 inventory homes on the same date. Point out again that the 3 inventory homes were begun AFTER your home and that the same CM is building all of them and using, as far as you know, the same crews. Suggest that it looks like the construction manager is delaying work on your home in order to concentrate his efforts on the inventory houses - presumably so that they can be finished and sold more quickly so as to maximize profits on them and that while you can understand the CM's motives, delaying work on your home to give priority to the inventory homes is simply unfair. Point out that while this INTENTIONAL (be sure and use that word) delay may be more profitable for the company and look good for the CM, it works a hardship on you and your family because if your home is not finished on schedule (by mid-September) you will have to move into a hotel with 2 school-age children at a cost of $x/week after September 30. Tell him - and quote me here because this phrase tends to be somewhat magical. "This is simply not acceptable. It reflects badly on the good name of your company." Suggest to the CEO that if they don't have your home ready by the originally promised date but do finish any one of the inventory houses that was started AFTER yours, it would be only fair for them to let you and your family move into the finished inventory house - and live there for free - until they complete your home. Then say that while this would be an acceptable compromise for you, what would really make you happy is for them to simply get your house back on its original time-line schedule and stop treating it like a "stepchild". If the CEO is a reasonable person, the fact that you brought the matter directly to his attention will tell him you are a savvy consumer. The fact that your complaint is stated in a rational manner and that you are not making irrational demands - only asking them to do what is right and fair - and that you still hold a good opinion of the company - is very likely to result in a message coming down from the CEO to your construction manager to get humping on finishing your house and to make sure it gets done BEFORE the inventory houses and before September 30th if at all possible. For the construction manager, finishing the inventory houses first is a big deal for his small portion of the company's bottom line. For the CEO, that extra profit is likely to be a piddling amount in the grand scheme of things. So, if the CEO can keep you happy by just telling the CM to make finishing your home a priority over the three inventory houses, he is very likely to do so. And, once word comes down from on high, you can bet the CM will do it. You may hear nothing back - other than maybe a letter that the CEO will "look into it" - but you'll know your letter succeeded if work on your house suddenly appears to become top priority for your CM. Good luck!

alliekj -- thanks for the kind words. Funny because we live in a 1969 ranch, so midcentury mod would work perfect in our house, but we like the craftsman/cottage look, just with a little modern update. Anyway, our Ikea cabinets came out to be about $2200-$2500. the original price was $2200, but I made some changes and broke a couple of cabinets during assembly so I think I wound up spending about $2500. This was my fault not the cabinets and so far we are impressed with their quality especially for the price. What can easily add to the price is the time spent revisiting IKEA if you make changes or need parts. We were lucky that an IKEA opened in Portland right when we started our project. Actually we waited for it to open instead of driving to Seattle, but I made about 10 trips back to store. Again, this was mainly due to me making changes in the design and needing a couple replacement cabinets, however since you mentioned you don't live near an IKEA this is something to keep in mind. I would spend a lot of time in the planning process and scrutinizing your plan to make sure it is how you want it. If you haven't done so, check out www.ikeafans.com. There are a ton of kitchen ideas and modifications that can be made to their cabinets to make them more custom if your plan requires that. Assembling the cabinets is relatively easy, even though I messed up a couple of them. If you do get the IKEA cabinets, make sure and pick up a handful of spare screws, bolts, and dowels -- which are all free at the store -- before you leave just in case some are missing or get lost. Also, make sure the sales clerkk includes the drawer dampers in your order. They do cost $6 per drawer but are so worth it and a major highlight of the IKEA cabinets. My clerk didn't put them in the order and it caused another return trip to the store to pick them up. And, if you haven't been to an IKEA before there is almost no way to simply run in, get something, and get out. It always takes forever, and I know our local store like its my house by now. One thing I've noticed about anyone with IKEA cabinets is that everyone I've heard from who has them loves them, even people who were originally skeptical are impressed once they're installed. My contractor, who's also an engineer, who installed them had a crush on them. He couldn't stop talking about how simple and well made they are especially for the price. And, everyone who's been over to see our kitchen can't believe they're from IKEA. Feel free to ask any more questions, good luck in your project.

For me, it was a matter of physically measuring our various things - I didn't measure every single thing (most utensils, etc. weren't measured), but I measured a lot. And I used a list that had approximate dimensions of important things then used an elevation style drawing so that I could label exactly what was intended to go where. In doing that, I found that I had a few things in my initial layout plan a bit wrong. I revisited those things and was able to come up with just about everything that I wanted where I wanted. As someone earlier mentioned, keep in mind that you will possibly find that you will have some need for a few things in more than one place for ease of use. For example, I have a measuring cup and measuring spoons in a drawer next to the cooktop. I also have the same in my island. I have pot holders in a drawer next to my cooktop, and more over in a drawer by the oven. My aluminum foil and parchment are over in a drawer by the oven - near the are where my cookie sheets and casserole dishes are. My plastic wrap and baggies are near where the fridge is. These are the places where I will most use them. Initially, when I started planning, I was putting all those items together. Because...wait for it...that's they way I've always had them...and the way that my parents and grandparents always had them. Luckily, someone from GW asked WHY I was going to do it that way! And I realized that she was right...that way didn't make sense at all. So, when you are planning, plan for the IDEAL locations. Recognize that there may be more than one ideal location for certain items, so you may wind up having them in more than one place. My goal in putting together my kitchen right now is that someone with a moderate knowledge of how a kitchen should work would be able to step into my kitchen and find just about any of the tools that he/she would need to prepare a meal without my intervention. I feel pretty certain that most GWers could feel "at home" even if it isn't exactly how they might have done things. I would bet that if I showed my kitchen and gave an item and it's general use/frequency of use, most GWers could come pretty darn close to nailing the location. Actually, that might be a fun thread..."Guess what is behind drawer number 1?"

@Maureen-- Thanks for the pics! Love the black sashes with the brown overhang in the first pic may go that route in terms of a color combo. The neighbors have a stoop where they were able to keep the stairs, paint them, and install an iron railing. Both houses are eligible to be on the state historic register-- the unit next door was slightly bigger and built by a local merchant with this one gifted to his daughter on her wedding. It has retained some of its very interesting interior features like a servant's back staircase, very unusual and deep baseboard molding and stair banisters, but it was used as a rental for many years.