Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions. I'm thinking that Altissimo wouldn't work that good for me. It has lovely flowers but the fact that it is so thorny and stiff and not so easily trainable (and also that Paul says that it is sparse with flowering) makes me think that Dortmund may be best. I also like Noella Nabonnand. Hmmm... I really appreciate the wonderful suggestions. I think that I may be able to obtain Dortmund locally, too, just have to wait till they start selling potted roses in May! Amy

Thanks for comments, we are doing oak crown on the top of the kitchen cabinets (other end of this 37 ft long room) and rest of woodwork is pine so don't think we can do it everywhere (plus the expense - $2.50/lf at HD). If we tie the stools together (that 1/4" off in depth and 2" distance apart really bugs me!) I'm not sure what we'd do with the apron - 1 or 3? The casing would be the same but only 1/4" wider so no one would really be able to tell they were different from the rest of the house - in fact, I have to use wider casing on doorways in kitchen b/c the door heights on cased openings didn't match the prehung door casings but if I wanted the same reveal I had to go wider (and builder told me I was seeing things). As far as the light, I'm not crazy about it but we wanted something close to ceiling so out of the way of the tree. Box is actually in front of bay, not in it. And builder put in fan box, holes were not perpendicular to walls so couldn't hang a track like we have in kitchen (with smaller lights instead of pendants) as we originally planned b/c the 8 ft track would have been crooked. Don't want a round flushmount but chandy would be too low (8 ft ceilings). No ceiling fan b/c I think it would look strange (current ceiling fan is in line with track over kitchen island, slightly off from center of bay but other box is centered in front of that window). So the modern fixture with the curved arms hides the fact that it's not mounted square to the walls. Any suggestions (pictures!) for replacement light that fits all these requirements would be GREATLY appreciated. Oh, and we like that we can point the halogens where we want light instead of straight down.

You have anther post about a negative edge design. If this is the same builder, and he recommends a singe pump design for a pool with a negative edge, thank him and send him on his way. I find it hard to believe he has designed others successfully. He also hasn't been educated to understand how beneficial two seed and variable speeds are when it comes t energy savings. If he has been, what else has he been less than forthcoming with? The pool filter system should be separated from the negative edge. The pool filter system can run a spa but not a spa and the negative edge at the same time. Most negative edges are visible in the yard and looking pretty is important. Negative edges typically need between 10 and 20 gallons per foot,, depending on the back side of the edge and the effect desired. Spilling straight down does not require the same amount of water as a sheer arcing away from the wall. Negative edges should be driven by their own pump. Which pump to use here will be dictated by the edges design parameters. For the pool, we need more information about the design. How many spa jets, plumbing size, how dar away will the equipment be, and any other details you can think of will help us to help you. Scott

Update to the 6 & 10 Rule: It only applies when the 1/3 - 2/3 Rule of Cantilevering applies (1' can cantilever over 2' of cabinets). If your slab is 2 cm, you can have up to a 6" overhang without support. If your slab is 3 cm you can have up to a 10" overhang without support . If you are using a pony wall or cabinets with a depth of less than 2 times the depth of the overhang, then you need to provide support to equal at least 2/3 of the total depth of the countertop. . Thank you Joseph Corlett, LLC for the additional information!