Thanks for sharing... Regarding the Bosch Axxis washer & dryer there just are not many choices in a cabinet depth washer dryer that can offer 3.4 cu. ft. capacity. The Asko, Blomberg, GE, Maytag, Miele and Whirlpool are all between 2.0-2.6 cu.ft. The Miele and Asko units are more towards +$2k and above. I have some space constraints and need a stackable cabinet depth unit into a 30" cabinet (room for vent). A full sized unit would stick out. Any other suggestions that have good performance, compact size, stackable with reasonable capacity? And yes, I meant a pneumatic switch and not an air gap for the Miele. Thanks

You know I think the sink needs to move to the corner so that when you have an island, and even before, the sink can do double duty...For coffee and as extra help in the kitchen, as needed. I like it when things can offer you more than one use in more than one situation. Where it is, it probably won't be that handy for adding a splash of water to veggies you're steaming in the microwave, or for draining same veggies. What about an extra hand washing spot for kitchen helpers or to aid in a baking project taking place on the work table. Any auxiliary activities in the kitchen could take place on the counter by the mw and on the work table, and it'd be a lot nicer to be able to reach that sink from that same aisle.

We've rarely been "in-state" when we've purchased our homes. The homes/neighborhoods that have worked the best have been in areas where we had several trips to check things out. The one house that ended up not working well was a last minute situation and we really didn't have any time to visit the area. My suggestions for neighbors/neighborhood is visit the area - don't rely solely on the internet or your realtor. If the neighbors are out in their yard, go talk to them (I did this for our current house in Louisville - they were great and gave us a wonderful assessment of the neighborhood). Drive around the area and find the local houses of worship, groceries, Target, Costco, etc. My DH and I had so much fun driving around during our first trip to Louisville, looking at all the different neighborhoods and finding stores that when we moved in July, I already knew where most things were. If you have kids in school, do your homework on-line before narrowing down possible areas. There are a ton of web sites measuring schools' success (although I'm not a big one on just looking at test scores). For our latest move, I was checking on high schools so I looked for graduation rate, # of AP classes available, etc. States typically have an on-line education department so you can find out a lot of info from them. Another valuable tool we found was asking future colleagues for their suggestions. So we asked them about places to live, easiest way to get into work, doctors, dentists, etc.

No problemo! I also posted this same thingie on other pages ; ) Too bad they can't make this one a stickie. Thanks for bumping!