Re: Is there a conspiracy going on about finishes?

"MiamiCuse" wrote in news:8MWdnavCkppt8iXanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@dsli.com:

((Did you actually have any doubt...?))

The only thing that ever matches is shiny chrome. Everythnig else, they not only make it noticeably differnt from mfgr to mfgr and even line to line - they can then make it obscenely and unnecessarily expensive, because once you buy one fixture, they've got their hooks into you.

Right.

What is your suggestion? The Henry Ford model? "You can have any color car you want - as long as it's black." There are certain companies that work off of the Kohler color schemes and match their products to it. That's fine when you have an 800 pound gorilla of bathroom fixtures, but what do you do in a kitchen or any other room? Nobody else has a dominant market share. "Standard" finishes, such as US10 and the like, are not uniform across manufacturers and product lines - never have been. Most of the time it isn't really an issue. If you have more stringent requirements about exact finish matches, then you're working backwards. You're choosing a finish from a manufacturer and letting that drive the rest of your purchases, hoping that their products have the features you want (they don't) and that the overall price won't be greater (it will).

"Don" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:

Ours have metal handles, but I still don't like them - the base "overhangs" the sink, which itself looks cheesy (Id thought those things

GOt taht, and havethe same complain - I'd gotten it because I'd thought (silly me) that teh actual spout would be higher - it's actually not very high at all - why the heck have this big long arched neck, and still have the water outflow so dang low...?

I've seen that on kitchen faucets.

Whcih made me wonder, WHy couldn't a kitchen faucet like that be put into a bathroom, esp. since the "bath" faucet setup doesn't fit the sink anyway...

Chrome alwasy matches chrome. THat's an advantage. Also, it's hard (if even possible...?) to find things like shower frames that are in anything other than either chrome, or that over-shiny "gold" color.

It's reasonable, IMO. IN this place, I paid extra for the "brushed nickel" fixxtrues - not realizing that the shower frame and towel rack/rings and toilet handles etc. would all still be chrome =>:-[

Not being apurist, I tried out a coupel of items fro THe Hated Den Of Satan (i.e., WalMart), and they'er far enough from the sink so taht it works out OK - but overall, I should've gotten teh chrome, and replaced them if I decided to. The mixture of brushed-nickel things jumbeld in with chrome things looks disjointed, incongrous, *cheap*. All-chrome would actually ahve looked better.

It's a small thing, but given what houses cost, hey...

Get yourself some concrete, and fashion a fountain and/or birdbath ;)

"Don" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:

But wouldn't an all-in-one faucet'n'handle combo fit anywhere?

At eh same time, IMO, since nobody seems anymore to install *utility* sinks, a great big bathroom sink would be great IMO. One fo those big "farm style" sinks. I mean, who made it a law that bathroom sinks have to be so puny that they're pretty much useless? I don't ant to do plant reporrint, or post-hobby-work cleanup, in the *kitchen* sink, so IMO, a big ol' bathroom sink could be useful. Also better for hand-washing the occasional item.

I hadn't thought of that before, but why not? A kitchen sink doesnt' even have ot be stainless steel - you can get Silestone or porcelain or heck, smoothed sealed concrete...

And really, it'd also be great for folks who have babies. THe more I think about it, the sillier those teeny little bath sinks seem to be.

Kohler used to have a 27" long bath sink for mounting in a counter, with a sloped end. We installed the counter at 36" and bathed our kids in it without breaking our backs. AFAIK they no longer sell it and we left it in the house when we sold. EDS

"Don" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:

IMO, all fixtures cost too much, unless you don't mind "WalMart Sheek"... OTOH, sometimes, it deosn't look much different from the super-expensive items. And they're all made in the same places.

At any rate, interestingly, I surfed onto HGTV while eating breakfast before, and saw...a bathroom with *two* large porcelain "farmhouse"-type sinks, with high faucets. Interesting coincidence, given the timing, and it was interesting to see how it actually looked. I liked it.

I know what you mean. Impractical. And they're so chep now that they don't even put in sinks with those drain-holes to deal with nascent overflow.

Same here, builder stuff. THat's why I always say that, if I get to where a custom place becomes feasible, it rob won't be very large, btu it'd have an unusual and quality interior (well, and exterior). I'm so tired of "WalMart Grade", esp. when I get WalMart quality at Expensive Specialty Shop prices. The markups are obscene.

The scary thing is that this is one of the better-quality new homes I've seen...

Sounds good to me - you will actually be able to *use* that.

It's kind of funny, tho' - there are all these things that are offered as options, but few of the things are practical things like that. THe whole "upgrades" thing is very spotty and piecemeal. Kind of odd, really.