hvtech42 - I'm looking at refrigerators now and agree with you. My situation is my almost 20 year old KA side by side is still working fine (has some very minor cosmetic issues). But I'm replacing my kitchen floor. So - if I ever want to replace the KA before it dies - now's the time to do it. When I look at the build quality of refrigerators (at least the stuff I can see and handle - drawers - shelves and the like) - the current SZs seem to have the build quality of my old KA. The new KAs are a lot worse. Some models of some brands like Samsung and LG seem to have better build quality than KA. So I am confused at this point. Also - when I got price quotes - the cheapest SZ quote was $7400 for a 36" side by side. Is that reasonable? I find it kind of maddening that getting price quotes on these things is like pulling teeth. Nothing on line or over the phone. I don't have problems getting price quotes on $75k cars or $1000/night hotel rooms. I think the notion that if you have to ask what something costs you can't afford it is ridiculous. Most people who wind up having money to spend didn't get there by being cost-oblivious. I live in a somewhat higher end house - but don't give a hoot about resale. I'm in my late 60's - and figure my next stop is a nursing home.or grave. My primary concern is build quality that leads directly to reliability. In the end - a refrigerator isn't a design statement. It's a utility stream. I have never had a refrigerator fail. Not even the low end harvest gold one in my first condo. That I gave to my late mother in the mid-1970's when I remodeled my kitchen (it was still humming when that house was sold in 2005). Or the super cheap ($175) bare bones absolute bottom of the line 20 year old one from Montgomery Ward that we use in our garage to store things like beer and water. Have needed some repairs on ice makers over the decades - but that seems to be par for the course with any brand. Refrigerators that fail seems to be a new phenomenon in recent years. Is my perception wrong? Finally - when I moved where I live now (almost 20 years ago) - there was no outfit that serviced high end appliances in terms of warranty work. Now there is. And it's the same outfit that will do the warranty work not only on your $10k SZ - but someone else's $800 Whirlpool. First come - first served. This alone would give me pause about a SZ (the repair outfit in question isn't the worst in town - but it's far from the best either - the best today IMO doesn't do any warranty work at all now). It's kind of like paying for concierge medical care - and having to wait a long time in waiting rooms to see doctors who are also seeing lots of Medicaid patients. Perhaps this sounds snobby. But - if I paid such a large amount of money for an appliance - I would expect not only a superior product - but superior service as well on the hopefully few and far between occasions when I needed it. Robyn

That was helpful. Thank you. Trying to decide between the Thermador 48" range and the GE Monogram 48" range. Looked at the Wolf, but out of our price point (you've got to draw the line somewhere!) I read that the star burners on the Therm got a bit 'overzealous' and it was hard to control or heat a smaller pot? Have you had the Therm before? Would you find this, about the burners, to be true? How about the griddle? Happy with it?

BalTra, I agree and I'm sorry. There are people here who are determined to misunderstand my posts and I'm going to stop responding to the misunderstandings. It's futile. In the context of tearing out an old kitchen, Toronto Tim has the right of it. Making do with what you have has the least impact on the environment, and joining a dining co-op, rather than cooking at home, does even more. What you can do, for demolishing a kitchen, is carefully remove everything, rather than smashing, reuse or pass along to someone who will everything that can be saved. Separate all the different kinds of bits and recycle everything that can be. For instance, there are places that recycle ceramic tile. They're probably very few, and probably aren't available to most people, but you can find out if there's one in your area. You can reuse/recycle whatever wood you remove. You can certainly reuse (let someone else reuse) any cabinets that you can remove whole, especially if they're the modern box style. If they're built in place you may only be able to save the doors and drawers, but if they're quality, you should find a taker. That's another thing you can do to limit waste: Forgo disposable furniture. A lot of people buy into the idea of the ten year kitchen. Builders put crap cabinets in to keep their costs low/profits high, but also partially because they figure the future owners will customize and redo whatever they put in. Homeowners often follow suit, especially if they're the type of people who move every seven years, figuring they'll get their money's worth out of them and don't want to leave a bit of value when they leave the house. That's unfortunate, because a well designed, quality kitchen should be able to stand for at least fifty years. Every time you put in planned obsolescence, you add more waste. Still, when you go for quality, you also have to balance the impact of that quality vs. something a little less wonderful. Old growth hardwoods are beautiful, but.... :)

Thanks all! The musician is a kid and while he will have to test and approve any piano, his decorating tastes are still developing. So the musician won't get whatever the musician wants. (I'm picturing glossy red or blue lacquer.) (I just realized that a matte red would look pretty good!) As far as sound quality? The old piano sounds fine for practicing. It may not sound like a professional piano, but it sounds spectacular for a piano that is only 18 inches deep. The issue is that the kid is just ready for a more advanced instrument. Our home is not really suitable for a real piano but what else can ya do? (lkplatow, no photos at the moment, but it is this model: piano although the one advertised here does not have the proper bench. It looks nicer in person. Still, this is not a fancy instrument! But it is cute and sleek and you can serve food on it (I don't.) and you actually CAN cover it with a single scarf. (I did, until someone started playing it.) I should mention that this one is priced at least $6700 too high!)