I don't do store bought petunias anymore. I started with some re-seeding types from Select Seeds several years ago and I have petunias galore! They are in shades of deep purple, lavender, pinks to whites. Once in a while I get a broken color, but they seem to be gone this year. They get very long and I should start pinching, but probably won't get around to it. If I want to start some in other places, I just dig up a clump of seedlings and move them. This kind works better for me than the fancy hybrids the stores love to sell! This miserable heat we are having in southwest Missouri is hurting everything! My red daylilies in particular start out such a gorgeous color but are very unattractive by afternoon. The weatherman said we are having July heat now! Wonder what July will be like? We who live in different zones have to realize that our gardens are a whole different species from each other. We have to adapt our methods to our regions to get the best results and sometimes those results are less than what we would like. Such is life. glenda

Do you want the wall ovens for the oven space or do they have to be in the wall? If they don't have to be in the wall, how about two ovens in the island? Or a range with oven and then the second oven in the island or in the base cab next to the range? As an aside, I had double wall ovens in my old kitchen for 11 years and ditched them in the renovation. My range has a second, smaller oven, and that will be enough for us on those occasions when we have a lot to bake. I did like not having to bend over with the wall oven, but the trade off in loss of counter space made it not worth it to me. I guess that, in the long run, unless you can figure out a way that you like to add in a pantry to the existing cabinets, you might need to decide which is more important to you--the oven space or the food storage space. That's something that only you can decide.

GREAT pics Susan and Lynn. They are just adorable. I'd love to hear and see how everyone's cats are doing with kale and other unusual cat foods. I'm afraid I don't eat anything fancy like those greens. I detest cilantro and I would get kale in a box or produce that I got from the grocery store for my worms. Kale is a funny thing, even thawing after being frozen, it didn't soften or become mushy at all. I'd love my cats to eat some veggies. I'll keep trying to see if there's something that intrigues them.

What an incredibly helpful thread! It has saved me from returning to panic mode. About a week ago I saw the spray-painted outline of the planned island for our new kitchen and it was 10 inches less in width than I had been told. (I had been told 46" wide and it was drawn as 36".) After seeing all of the posts and photos, I will be very content with 9' X 42"(we were able to add 6" back in without losing too much aisle space) . Thank you to all posters!