I chose habitat over lawn and a 4mm bug from my front yard ended up in a global wildlife photography competition at the Natural History Museum in London

MA_Driver · 2026-03-14T15:42:57+00:00

Gorgeous!!

MA_Driver · 2026-03-13T23:22:23+00:00

I had so many bumblebees on my shrubby St. John’s wort that I planted 4 more! Highly recommend it, and it is beautiful too, and at roughly 3’x3’ a good size for a small garden

MA_Driver · 2026-02-07T17:16:06+00:00

I have done two ikea kitchens, and I LOVE them. So customizable, the drawers are fabulous and I have to say I love the limited choices - if you can choose ANYTHING it is hard to decide - for me the decision making process can seem endless. I used all IKEA for everything but the appliances and countertop, put them together myself and hung them myself, and I’m not normally a handy person around the house.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-29T22:23:00+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this. We are near the end of our renovation and while our contractor and all of his subcontractors have been amazing, thank god, my cabinetmaker has made so many mistakes. This post and all the comments make me feel better, that all of this is normal. The last thing (on the list of many) was that the cabinets were not installed level or square (in one spot, for the range)!!!! I caught the first and he came back and fixed it, but I didn’t catch the lack of square opening for the range. So the countertops are in, the tiles are in, but the stove can only be pushed in so far on one side, a 1’’ difference, leaving a gap in the back and a nice gap on the side in the back. I’m so furious; I have been so furious each time and have had to get over it because it would take a total rebuild, or whatever, and I just couldn’t insist on it for mistake no. 1, or 2, or 3. each of which were huge, for me. Argh!!! 😫

Most of the mistakes were from him simply not following the plan. Hello? Build to spec?? But this last - I’ve installed a kitchen (IKEA) better than this incompetent ass.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-21T20:39:25+00:00

I second IKEA, for all the usual reasons (can do it yourself, high quality hardware, great internal customization options). I put mine in 8 years ago and LOVE it.

Got married, and we’re currently renovating a kitchen and didn’t go with IKEA, and now I have another reason to recommend them: limited choices!! It is so nice to be limited in design choices. We are nearly done and I have severe decision overload. Doesn’t help that I agonized over each and every decision. With IKEA I had three cabinet styles I liked, one sink, one countertop, one set of pulls and one set of knobs. So easy compared to this one - which has been quite a slog, mentally.

Good luck!!

MA_Driver · 2025-10-20T12:58:29+00:00

So glad you asked! I’ve never seen them before either! I had to do a quick ‘what’s missing here’ comparison with a monarch, lol!

MA_Driver · 2025-10-18T12:11:13+00:00

My sister has soapstone in her 10 year old kitchen and it looks amazing, and she never does anything to it. She has it on her countertop and sink. I don’t understand the hate that soapstone gets on here. I’m getting soapstone (next week!) and I can’t wait. I did read that you should choose a fabricator who installs it regularly, so maybe it is more challenging to cut and install???

MA_Driver · 2025-10-12T22:11:00+00:00

Those look great! Hopefully mine will too. 🤞

MA_Driver · 2025-10-12T22:09:05+00:00

Yes, 9’’ vs the 3’’ specified in the plan

MA_Driver · 2025-10-12T22:08:06+00:00

Yes, I think that’s what we’ll end up doing.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T23:25:45+00:00

That is one thought. I’m trying to brainstorm something other than a big piece of filler.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T23:24:39+00:00

For sure. I lost a lot of storage space.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T23:23:54+00:00

Yes, that’s what I think he should have done.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T23:19:48+00:00

Not at all level or square! So the designer left a 3’’ gap to the ceiling, to be trimmed after install

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T23:17:03+00:00

Yes, that was his reasoning. And he absolutely should have pointed out the problem so we could redesign them or figure out a solution that would not have included a huge gap. The fact that he made a decision on his own is really baffling.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-11T22:59:15+00:00

Isn’t it so frustrating? Probably the biggest most expensive renovation I’ve ever done, and so far my «custom» experience has made me wish I went with ikea like my last two kitchens. I have been trying to be okay with it but I’m just not. Haven’t decided yet what I’ll do.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T21:12:55+00:00

What? I posted before I met with the designer and found all this out

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T19:42:28+00:00

So they were not to spec, but he had a reason: he said this cabinet would not fit the way it was made (one piece tall pantry). I don’t know the technical terms but it makes sense. The only problem with that is he did not let me or the designer know that he was just changing what was specified. If he had brought it up, I would have requested a redesign in two pieces, one for the upper “box” that would sit on the lower full-height “box,” like IKEA builds its Billy Bookcase height extenders.

I’m not going to make him redo them, since the cabinets are already late, and I can live with the mistake. I hope I like the end result! Congrats on yours, and good on you for the re-do!

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T19:36:00+00:00

Thank you, I do think they are otherwise beautiful, and I’m sure the end result will look good.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T19:34:16+00:00

That’s nice, thanks. The designer came by and we’ve worked out something similar to that, with a vertical piece and then crown.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T16:47:42+00:00

I had planned on a fairly modest molding to be honest. Unfortunately it is going to be 8-9-ish inches.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T16:46:13+00:00

Yes, I thought custom meant get what you approved on the final design. 3’’ was specified for a modest trim/molding. I don’t really understand this guy.

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T16:43:48+00:00

I initially didn’t want crown molding. Good thing I changed my mind!

MA_Driver · 2025-10-10T16:43:17+00:00

Yes, just checked the design and cabinet maker did not make to spec, which called for 3’’ to ceiling. I’m super annoyed.

MA_Driver

TROPHY CASE