Bob Ryley does some work on the mahogany deck and kitchen appliances, lighting and cabinets are examined.

Bob tours the kitchen. Pointing out the complementary use of materials from Cherry Craftline Cabinets to stone counter tops, as featured in Show 1409, to stainless steel appliances. The appliances from Dacor include a dual fuel stove and an extra-wide 30-inch dishwasher.

Bob and Chris Vila are in the huge kitchen of the Manhattan Brownstone with floor-to-ceiling cabinets and oversized elements that take advantage of the abundant space. The island is a full 96 inches wide with front-facing deep cabinets and drawers with panel fronts that match the wainscoting throughout the kitchen and living space. The appliances are large-scale, professional quality, and stainless-steel. The 48-inch Wolf range has six burners, a central grill station, and convection and standard ovens. The Wolf range hood is also stainless steel, and functions as a smart appliance, responding to heat by automatically turning on and adjusting its fan speed. The hood vents to the outside and has halogen lighting. A pot-filling faucet sits above the stove for easy filling of large pots. The stainless-steel sink is made by Julien of Canada and features front drawers for sponge and scrubber storage.

Because this is an affordable house, most of the items in the kitchen were builder-supplied. The kitchen features oak cabinets and laminated countertops. With affordable homes, it's important to acquire appliances in the most efficient way. Big builders can buy everything wholesale but smaller builders often have to depend on the local mom-and-pop suppliers. BrandSource has an online network of 2,500 dealers who are locally owned but buy in bulk so the savings are passed on to the consumer. The main door of the refrigerator is at eye level and the freezer is a pull-out drawer down below. There are two separate compartments in the freezer so items do not get buried at the bottom. A dishwasher from Fisher-Paykel features two drawer modules instead of one so smaller loads can be run more regularly. The dishwasher is Energy Star rated and is extremely efficient. An electric range from GE completes the package.

Bob tours the restoration on the governor's mansion in VA and visits the "first kitchen" where Todd Graves with GE appliances shows Bob the Halogen oven.

After the countertops are in Bob meets with Ren Anderson of NREL to look at the Energy Star appliances.

The entrance to the back of the house has been modified by removing the small back door and installing a triple-panel sliding glass door that looks onto the newly landscaped backyard. The mudroom was converted into a pantry and outfitted by California Closets. Chloe Durant of California Closets reviews some of the work done in the pantry. The family needed space where they could prepare lunch for the two boys. In this space, a butler's pantry was designed and installed, featuring a deep countertop, drawers for storage, and space down below for recycling. Dave Weston of California Closets explains how the unit was put into the space. The California Closets system operates on rails. The rail is attached to the wall and hangers are attached to the secured rail. These hangers allow partitions to go up and down and holds any amount of weight put upon it. The finished product has four drawers, a couple of compartments for recycling bins, countertop space, and space up above for storage of kitchen appliances.

A high-efficiency Buderus boiler is installed in the Roxbury, Mass., house. Steve Offutt from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes the Energy Star Program for high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, kitchen appliances, and office equipments. The program strives to save energy and reduce pollution from homes. The average home pollutes more than the average car.

Bob meets Kelli and Scott Jacobson and their daughter who will soon be moving into the Cape Cod-style affordable home in Mashpee, Massachusetts. Scott is a contractor and Kelli an at-home Mom. They explain that in this community it would have taken 20 years of savings to enter the housing market. Scott credits Kelli for getting them into a first-time homebuyers seminar at the housing assistance corporation. They all agree it's important to learn what's available in the community, what's being built, and which programs can help families purchase an affordable home. Bob discusses the choices they have made for their new home, including the stainless-steel line of kitchen appliances from Kenmore. Kelli explains that they have a more modern and professional look, which is suited to her love of cooking and entertaining. They will also have a Vermont Castings electric fireplace installed in the dining room that opens onto the living room and the kitchen.

The final connections are made to the new kitchen appliances including a garbage dsiposal and gas stove.