Totally feel you on this, I redid my kitchen island last year and just ran everything through one of those cheap cable raceways along the back edge, cost me like 15 bucks and it looks magic. The trick is honestly just picking one hidden path and sticking to it, not trying to hide every single cord separately.

The handshake might not be binding, but the builder's lien rights probably are, so that $18k is already your problem either way. Get your title attorney to check if the old owner's approval was recorded, otherwise you're on the hook for a bad deal.

That same wall hits me with closets, apps, even my gym routine.

the wood grain thing is actually a real trick, drawers and doors usually have a direction that looks right. so your neighbor's kid kinda saved you from a whole lotta do-overs, good on them for speaking up.

$120 for a ceiling rack that holds 8 bins, honestly I'm floored. I priced out similar ones here in Edmonton last spring and they were closer to $200 even on sale. And you got it done in one afternoon with just a buddy, that's wild to me, I swear my last garage project took three weekends and a broken drill bit. The 3 inch lag bolts tip is gold too, the included screws are absolute garbage, I learned that the hard way with a shelf that nearly dropped my snowblower.