Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

You could post on gardenweb on the kitchen or bath forum.

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

It's a very new company, they only started selling their products about 1.5 years ago. Gardenweb and web in general have very minimal reviews. I also called and they don't have any physical distributors (only one in Brooklyn with just a few items).

My biggest concern is about kitchen items. Once they are installed into the new granite countertop, if I have an issue with them down the line, how do I replace them? Will I have to replace the entire countertop?

Another smaller issue is that if we go with the shower doors we like, we'll be stuck with chrome for the whole bathroom. The doors (Vigo) come with only chrome hardware. I don't hate chrome but not particularly crazy about it. How do I choose between the doors and the hardware?

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Maybe this is the one you saw:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ki ... 04820.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind ... =Bathrooms

I would work on the plan that you won't be replacing the sink, at least if it is undermount (which I would prefer). A top mount sink would probably be easier to replace if you needed to. I have an undermount farm sink and I think it would be impossible to replace without taking up the countertop. I think you could replace plumbing but the replacement would need to match the holes that are drilled. Obviously, you could make the holes bigger not smaller (not sure if the bigger/smaller would be the issue as much as the number or placement of the holes).

How much chrome is on the door and what would you rather have?

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Yes, that's all I could find on GardenWeb, in addition to the reviews on Overstock. Everyone seems to like them now but nobody know how they'll hold up in the future. There's a local granite place that sells sinks and they said that an American company (they wouldn't give me the name) recently started making cheaper versions of the European models I like. They're very similar to Vigo in price and style. I do have model numbers, so I'll try doing a search and see if I come up with anything.

As for the chrome on the doors, we're still talking it over.

One more question - BM requires a trek while SW is on the way from the apt to the house. Is BM worth the trek (about 20 minutes in a direction of nowhere).

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

I don't think so -- that is how I ended up with another brand of paint in our last house because I didn't want to drive 30 minutes for the Benjamin Moore. I already had the Benjamin Moore colors picked out so they just matched it. I say give SW a try since it is so convenient.

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

I have a painting question. My living/dining room is one huge room that's somewhat separated by beams and has 2 story ceiling. There are also beams that divide the space horizontally (I'll get around to posting some pics, I promise). I have this crazy idea about painting each side in 3 shades, starting dark on the bottom and going lighter further up. I want to do the dining room side in deep burn orange and the living room side in moss green. Has anyone seen anything like this and can point me to some pics? I vaguely remember seeing something similar on HGTV but can't recall the show or the host. My contractor thinks I'm totally nuts but I often get that from others.

[DCJenn]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

I did green, orange and purple in the DC house but not gradations of color. (although I'm totally intriged now as it's not too late for me to shift gears!)

J.

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

So my BF who visited on Monday talked me out of 7 colors in one space. I'll start with 1 but want to do at least 3 at the end.

Now I have another dilemma. I generally have expensive taste and would love to do more than the minimum we can afford to do now. There are some things that are an absolute must for me in order to live there but I can wait on others. As for the things I REALLY want to change sooner rather than later, do I go with a budget version for now and then upgrade or just go for the real thing right now and not pay twice in the end. Or leave it butt ugly for now until we can afford the real thing. I'm torn.

Examples (some):
-hardware in all bathrooms is completely mismatched. There's chrome, brushed nickel, bronze and black all in one room. I want to at least match the chrome faucets and handles that I'm definitely keeping. But the chrome lighting fixtures I like are about $200+. I think that's way too much for a guest bathroom and considering getting $30 one that I'm not crazy about but it matches. Is it worth getting it now and trashing in a year or so?
-the shower doors I like for the master bath are $1500-2000 but there are $350 ones I can live with for now.
-buying all new fans will be $1000+, so I'm thinking of just changing the lightbulb covers on some and try to find a glove fixture for others. But I do want to get rid of the butt ugly fans at some point.

In which instance does it make sense to shell out $$$ now and in which to trash the stand-in at some point in the future?

[DCJenn]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

I think it depends on tolerance levels. I've lived with some butt-ugly stuff while fixing the big stuff (like the HVAC system).

I'm not one to spend only to have to spend again. That gets annoying.

Jenn

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

More questions.

1. Wallpaper - pros, cons, anything.

2. Is it bad to match granite to cabinet color? I'm not crazy about lighter options and don't have enough light to pull off darker ones. I would have to totally revamp my lighting to do a dark surface (which I love). So I found a honey colored granite (Madura Gold) that is very close to the color of the cabinets. Haven't decided on the backsplash yet or a general wall color, so can always use that to break up the monochromatic scheme. Thoughts?

3. Any advice on shower tile? Ceramic, glass, marble, slate, stone, combination of 2 or more, other, etc. Are any of those easier to take care of than others, more slippery, wear better?

4. Ceiling fans. My two guestrooms have windows on two walls and I can also open the door on the third wall for a draft. Plus central air, plus we're totally in the woods. How much will ceiling fans help in the warmer months? The ceilings aren't very high and I can't find fans that have flush mounts and lighting are less than 50" and under $400. I don't know if I want to spend that much for guest rooms, can I just forego fans? I can't do fans without lights because the wall switch is configured to the ceiling light.

Thanks to anyone who still reads this thread.

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Wallpaper -- anything I like is crazy expensive. Therefore, no wallpaper in my house.

What, if anything, are you doing with the backsplash in the kitchen? That would be a way to break things up between the granite and the cabinets. What kind of cabinets? Lighter ones will really lighten things up, you might be ok with a darker granite. I had fir cabinets and absolute black in our last kitchen. It wasn't flooded with light or anything and it worked.

Shower -- any natural stone is a little fussier in terms of what you can clean it with. I think you have to be careful about acid etching with marble, limestone etc and can't use Tilex or that sort of stuff. There is some stone guy -- Mario something -- and whenever I search on stone care his site usually comes up.

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Ceiling fans aren't absolutely necessary since you have central air, but they do come in handy year-round with lowering utility bills. If you don't want a fan with lights, the wiring to the wall switch can be easily changed.

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Oops, his name is Maurizio. I think this is his website. I think this is where he has answered questions in a forum.
http://www.mbstonecare.com/?Click=897

Ok, I can't find that part of the site and it looks like he passed away. I've never used their products but thought he had helpful, and very opinionated, advice. I'm sure the water hardness/softness issue plays into this as well. I think the big thing is that you can't use anything acidic to clean and need to make sure any cleaners you use are safe for natural stone or marble (which isn't that hard, IMO).

[Vishenka69]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Thanks for the replies. My contractor said that to wire the switch to an outlet, he'll have to cut the drywall and then replace it. Sounds labor intensive and expensive to me. I like having a light attached to the switch because then I don't have to grope in the dark to reach the lamp, generally ceiling light doesn't bother me. I haven't thought about white fans, but I like the idea of them blending into the ceiling. I'll have to look into it.

Nellie, thanks for the tile link.

[houseelf]

Re: Clueless New Homeowner - Combined Thread (lot of questions)

Wallpaper is hard to put up, hard to change if, like me, you decide one day that you wish that room was a totally different color/motif. And it's a bitch to put down. I think it dates a room and style very quickly, and personally, I chopped several extra thousand off of every bid we put on houses where there was wallpaper. Because I would have to remove it. So for resale, I say no to wallpaper. To general living, I say no to wallpaper. I say no to wallpaper.

ITA, after stripping wall paper, I will NEVER willingly put it up again. Listen to Lilly. Lilly is wise.

Kelly