Lessons Learned

#1. When you have a tall spouse go ahead and add a few inches to the island. I feared I'd be like a little kid trying to reach the counter. It is amazing how just a few inches from the normal 38" or so, gives the island depth and makes it a major work station. Of course, that means I will actually have no excuse NOT to work and create something fabulous, but it is the ultimate work space I always wanted.

#2. Listen to the salesman. Sometimes they actually do understand the product. We looked at several stove vents and ended up with Vent-a-Hood because our salesman talked about the easy clean-up. While that sounds like another sales tool, we were happy to hear from our installer that this was the easiest piece of equipment he'd ever seen. I, of course, selected it because it has fabulous light, looks classy and I knew the name. Bill, on the other hand, selected it because of the cleaning and few-parts-to-break factor. But, when you have guys who install these things every single day marveling at how easy it was, how efficient it is, you feel like a genius. A genius with a great salesman!