<p>Good thing I am not selling the house any time soon. I may have trouble finding a buyer for not having a GD.</p>
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<p>Oh, Goody! I never liked SS, never undetstood the fascination with it. I was so annoyed with the tough time I had finding anything that’s not SS. Now, I have hope.</p>
<p>Our countertop guy was saying, glass top is getting trendy. It takes 6 months to fabricate it. They set it first and then break it in a certain way and set it again. I think build bubbles. I am picturing Murano type in my mind.</p>
<p>Carrera marble is so pretty. I think if you seal it every year or so, you are OK. I put that in my kid’s bathroom. I am too lazy to seal it every year. It’s holding up in the bathroom without annual sealing.</p>
<p>This house was built in the 60s. We purchased on 2006 at the highest market price - had to pay more than asking price to get the house. </p>
<p>Built a new bathroom, an inlaw kitchen down stair, all new energy window, plus other work. Need to do the kitchen and carpet, plus paint inside to get it ready. So we will probably lose $50,000 on the house. </p>
<p>Have a mortgage balance of 1/3 my year salary with a 3% rate. not in a hurry to pay it off. </p>
<p>The advantages of moving are to get a newer home, closer to my work, and lower property tax. </p>
<p>emily, yes–if possible I would love to donate at least some of it to H for H. We have several awesome ReStores here. My problem right now is worrying about getting enough $ out of the sale of my house to have enough to do a proper job on the new one.</p>
<p>Your cousin’s kitchen sounds ridiculous! First of all, how does one spend a quarter of a million dollars on a kitchen?! That is more than the median home price in a lot of markets. Second, I agree that kitchens and their components are meant to be used. </p>
<p>Iglooo, it’s really easy to add a GD–you are joking, right? I am just squeamish about stuff collecting in the drain trap, so I like being able to grind it up.</p>
<p>Glass sounds awful for a countertop but maybe it looks good.</p>
<p>The problem with SS going out of style is that it is the most “neutral” of all the finishes–so what’s next? I like white but it’s hard to get certain models of ranges (especially the more upscale ones) in anything other than SS.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who never cooks put a bright red, $10,000 AGA in her kitchen…it was gorgeous but that’s a lot of money to pay for something that is never used.</p>
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<li>She lives in very wealthy town on LI. There are many people in her area (and also Westchester County) who spend a lot more than $250K on a kitchen there. She also put in a walk in wine cellar. Her home is just a typical 60’s ranch and she didn’t enlarge the kitchen. </li>
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<p>“The problem with SS going out of style is that it is the most “neutral” of all the finishes”</p>
<p>I don’t think SS will go out of style for that very reason. </p>
<p>I love my stainless appliances and my sink. My porcelain sink was always staining and it was a PITA to keep nice looking. </p>
<p>“Carrera marble is so pretty. I think if you seal it every year or so, you are OK. I put that in my kid’s bathroom. I am too lazy to seal it every year. It’s holding up in the bathroom without annual sealing.”</p>
<p>But people don’t usually drink red wine in the bathroom. </p>
<p>That is crazy. I just can’t even get my mind around HOW one could spend that kind of money. In addition to the marble, I’m guessing custom cabinets, high-end appliances…but still!</p>
<p>I am not sure I have a clearance for a GD. I have a thick farmhouse sink. I am sure if anyone wants badly enough, they can make it work. For me, it’s a routine to rinse out the sink after each use and empty the drain basket. </p>
<p>I am sure upscales will make anything other than SS should that become unpopular. What’s the fascination with SS? Are we all kidding ourselves that we are master chefs if our kitches are fitted with SS?</p>
<p>@iglooo I have seen the glass tops…they do look nice, but who wants to wait 6 months!! lol…not me!!! and, I don’t know how durable they are. cracks? yikes!!!</p>
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<p>I agree…if you pick out a natural surface (especially if the colors are understated/neutral), they can stand the test of time. </p>
<p>I think the rule of thumb for updating for selling is to go with neutrals and stage with color. Using some color is fine, but nothing that would be a turn-off to buyers.</p>
<p>Ah, didn’t think about the farmhouse sink issue. Yes, that would be a challenge.</p>
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<p>I think this is probably true about fixtures, tile, counters, etc…but it always bugs me on house-hunting shows when the buyers rule out a home because of paint colors that can be easily changed. In my current house I have some dark colored walls in a few rooms and my organizer/stager person suggested I repaint to a pale green or something. Ugh. Not only would that not look right in this house, why would anyone think the new color would be more pleasing to more people?</p>
<p>That’s why one should seal it religiously in the kitchen. That’s also why I used it only in the bathroom. </p>
<p>By all means, if you like granite go for it. I am sure you can find other natural replacements. Throughout my house, I have a marble, a granite, a soapstone and solid wood countertops. If I had to have a stone for a countertop, I’d go with soapstone.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion about talking to a realtor or 2. In my area, you would not make money on Wolf stove, vent above, marble countertops. But nearby, in the country club communities, the high end appliances are a must. </p>
<p>I spent a lot of time on Garden web last year, but found it after I had hired a GC. HD does all their designs from the stores. Also, you are tuck with their choices of countertop nd backsplsh.The least expensive cabinets are boxes made abroad, and there is no way to customize sizes. I love having drawers on the bottom, and added inches to the top. I used a light quartzite for countertops, which is as expensive as marble, but harder. I know I will probably downsize within 10 years, so I wanted something that will still look good. Not every one will be happy with the patina of marble. similarly, while I am not a fan of SS, I bought SS appliances. My open kitchen did not lend itself to a white kitchen, or else I could have gotten away with white appliances. Some of my luxuries include a spice drawer, divided cabinet for cookie sheets, and pull-out shelves. Even so, my goal of spending $35,000 was blown away.</p>
<p>DadII, you mentioned replacing carpet. Talk to your realtor. I replaced tile with 5" plank engineered wood. Two houses in my development were bought and flipped by investors. They used wood too, but 3" flat kind. Putting carpet in living rooms would not go over well, even in my modest neighborhood. </p>
<p>The mortgage balance will be paid off when you sell the house DadII so there goes that. Perhaps you are planning to pay cash for the next one since interest rates are slowly creeping up, though the investment in those cigarette stocks could counterbalance that.</p>
<p>I remember reading in the WaPo about a woman renovating her house and she was absolutely obsessed with stainless steel. This was about 10 years ago. She wanted a totally stainless bathroom so “she had to” order her toilet from a prison supply company! It was just a plain cylinder and I’m surprised it even came with a lid. </p>
<p>Dad II that’s a pretty grim story. Did you at least also sell high in 2006? Congratulations on biting the bullet and taking a loss to improve your quality of life. </p>
<p>No one should rule out a home because of paint color. Paint is cheap and almost anyone can paint! lol </p>
<p>And, I agree, repainting an existing colored wall with a paint color that isn’t neutral could turn off people. Leave it alone and let the future buyers change the paint…unless the existing paint looks bad.</p>
<p>Where we moved out, the prices have been going down ever since we moved in. It is an area not many people like to move to. I got the house at $20K lower than the seller paid for. So we sold it to the company at “fair” market price - lost about $20K. </p>
<p>Our current home is at one of the very best school district and most of the houses are sold within hours of listing. If we stay here for a couple more years, we might get even. But it is about 45 minutes of driving to work, very high property tax. And the house is getting old. </p>
<p>For the same $$, we could buy a 5 year old house, twice the size and 20 minutes away from work. </p>