@Creekland, It has no connection to lights. Whether or not the windows are clear or frosted is simply controlled by a switch that looks like a light switch. If you want to look out the windows, you “unfrost” them. When you want privacy while you are getting into the shower, you flip the switch to “frost” them. They are completely independent of the lights.
Obviously you wouldn’t spend the money on windows like these if privacy is not an issue! These kinds of windows would be great in my bathroom because without window covers, neighbor could conceivably see right into the bathroom where the shower is if privacy is not addressed. As it is, we had already bought new windows before I even learned this was a thing, and even if I knew about them previously, I don’t know that we would have been willing to pay the likely high cost.
ETA: I see now that @ChoatieMom already clarified. Sorry to be repetitive.
I’ve had mine in the kitchen for 10 years and have been very happy with it. Ours is built like a laminate floor and has tiles (I don’t remember the brand off the top of my head) as opposed to sheet cork which might need to be refinished. It’s our main entrance to the house as the kitchen is the entrance from our garage and porch. I like it because it’s not cold, easy to clean, things dropped are less likely to break, the pattern of our cork really doesn’t show dirt or spills. It can get scratched but again it’s not as noticeable due to the pattern. I imagine everyone has different priorities. I’ve actually been surprised at how well it’s held up. It really doesn’t look too much different (to me) than the day we had it installed.
I’ve been happy with my wood floors in kitchen (since 1993, when we built the house I didn’t want them but relented to husband who agreed to care for them - we’ve had them refinished twice). They look nice enough that we’ll likely keep them when/if we renovate the kitchen.
In case anybody else installs a new wood floor, I’ll pass on this hint from neighbor: Put a small mat or throw rug in front of sink and fridge. That prevents risk of water damage from sink or water dispenser.
I had a hard wood floor in my kitchen for years, absolutely loved loved loved it. So much easier on the back than tile. Dropped glasses, etc. don’t break as easily. No grout to worry about. No transition seam between kitchen and the rest of the hardwood in the house. I agree with @colorado_mom regarding mats.
While I really admire the new trend of white white white, sometimes it goes to far and just becomes stark. And cold looking.
We have a post and beam house and I shudder to think of someone someday painting all this wood white! When we leave I must never look back. LOL.
We did do a white wash look in the “greenhouse” and it’s not bad. Maybe they would try to emulate that and not go with stark white.
We do have quite a bit of drywall so it’s not all wood. Here is an example. NOT my house. Imagine painting all that stark white! :::::::shudder::::::::::We built our modest house years before Timberpeg became so hoity toity. LOL.
I saw in the paper that they are using that self-frosting glass in public toilets in Japan. That way you can see if they are unoccupied and clean before you go in.
We have sheets and a valance I made in the living room. The windows open to the screened porch and the trees, so no big privacy issues.
Our bedroom has blackout honeycomb shades and while I need to paint the BR, the shade color will probably determine what we do in there (and unfortunately, the shades aren’t neutral). Kitchen, fam room, office and other bedrooms have wood blinds. Some rooms have valances – I made them all 15+ years ago, so if we ever update, they’re among the first things to go.
The suntube is really tempting for our bathroom. We get no direct sunlight in there – our house faces north and we are heavily treed on the south and west sides. Good for A/C bills, but the house is dark so much of the year.
Powder room sinks - are pedestal sinks out of style? Ours doesn’t really have much room to hold a soap dispenser and we thought after 20 years it was time for a refresh. I like the idea of a small vanity sink for storage, but I always thought pedestal sinks were more “elegant” for a powder room??
Style? I’m one of the last to know. At a home decorating show, I saw a mahogany rounded bottom, with an onyx pedestal top. I bought that, along with the mirror, which has an onyx frame. ( I also have an onyx table in living room.)
We have a pedestal sink in our powder room, and use this leaning ladder in the corner for storage (extra hand towels, toilet paper, tissue holder, candle, etc.):
We installed a suntube in our master bedroom walk in closet and it’s been life changing. The natural light makes it possible for me to distinguish between clothing items in black and the darkest navy (something I used to struggle with). No matter how cloudy the day is, I never have to turn the light on to see what I’m doing.
I’ll bet if you install one in your bathroom you will love it.
I bought my house used and the refrigerator came with it. Whenever it finally dies, I’m going to get one that does Not have an ice maker in the freezer door. We lose power a lot, and I’ve come home to big puddles on my kitchen floor from the ice melting in the door.
We purposefully chose our last refrigerator without an icemaker or door dispenser. These components are always the first to have issues. Plus they take up a ton of space. Still use the old fashioned ice trays, and always have enough except for large gatherings. We’ve been searching for a replacement lately (in black which is very limiting). Can find options without the door dispenser, but none without the ice maker. We’ll simply not hook it up, but it still takes up too much space.
Our next fridge will have the ice maker in the freezer, not through the door. I keep waiting for the current one to die. It will soon enough. I never really liked the through the door ice and water, but it was very handy when our kids were younger.
When we moved to our townhome, I had decided I wanted a French door refrigerator. We had ice and water in the door at our previous house, and thought we would do the same again, until I saw the storage difference! With ice and water in the door, it took up a good chunk of refrigerated space, in a fridge that was already short on space.
We do have an ice maker, which my husband uses daily as he makes decaf ice tea often. I rarely use ice as we have a water cooler for me; hubby uses the filter water in the fridge. I love my water delivery, so have kept it. The old house didn’t have filtered water, which is why we started with water delivery 20 or so years ago. When the kids visit, they continue to use the bottled water also; old habits!
We downsized our vacation place two years ago and inherited a fridge that has a cold water and ice dispenser in the door. It is a Samsung (French doors and two freezer compartments). I hate it. Both the water and the ice taste awful–there’s an ice maker in the house already, so why you’d need another escapes me. Also the ice gizmo takes up space inside and there are fewer shelves on the door where it’s located. The other problem is that you have to really push the doors closed otherwise they don’t close completely. The previous owners set an alarm buzzer so that you would know that the doors didn’t close. The buzzer is always going off. I have a SubZero at home, you push it lightly and it closes. Once it’s closed, it’s sealed. This Samsung drives me nuts. I’m just waiting for it to die.
