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Corelle is breakage resistant glass dinnerware, made by Corning Glass.
I buy what I like, and rarely "make do", because sooner or later I'll want to get rid of it to get what I really want. This doesn't mean I spend a lot on home furnishings. I don't, though I can afford to spend more than I do. I just shop carefully.
I have Corian counters in my kitchen, because I liked it more than granite or Silestone. I have to admit, I did like the soapstone too, but it seemed too high maintenance for the price.
Hardwood through the house except for bedrooms. Carpeting makes the rooms warmer and quieter.
My kitchen has a combination vinyl/limestone floor tile. It has the durability of ceramic tile with the resilience of vinyl.
Ceramic tile has become boring and is also hard on the legs and feet when you're standing in the kitchen a lot. Decades ago Julia Child had ceramic tiles installed in her kitchen at home. After a year or so she had them ripped out and replaced them with vinyl which she said was much better.
I'm a pretty good painter and photographer, so most of the artwork in my home is my own work. I've also framed and matted a few pictures from some art books simply because I liked them and wanted to be able to look at them as I walk down the hallway to the kitchen.
And yes, people occasionally purchase my artwork.
You know, if there were well made melamine or steel kitchen cabinets like the ones my mom had in the 50's and 60's I'd pick them over solid wood. My custom built kitchen has a mix of solid wood stained and painted cabinetry, and looks lovely, but you know, those old time melamines and enameled steel were so easy to care for, and I hate to clean.
There is nothing wrong with metals, or plastics, or artist prints. The bad thing is when a material is trying to be something its not, like laminate trying to look like granite, or vinyl floors trying to look like wood, or a Picasso from the mall.
I don't like fake, but there is nothing wrong with less expensive. Everyone has a budget and it's most always a trade off. Cost, maintenance, function, durability, resale and beauty are all factors.
A few very nice furnishings can look good mixed in with less expensive things. If everything screams expensive, it can be too much.
The one thing that I prefer to be fake is the fireplace.
I may be a wood-snob, but I gotta jump in, in favor of Corelle dishes!
I have a collection of Austrian antique china that came through the family, and it is so fragile, that I'll only use it for special occasions (it's not worh much in terms of money, but it's an heirloom collection, and I hate to see the 100+ year old gold edging rub off every time it's washed).
Then I had a very nice collection of "designer" dishes I bought from an upscale store. Those suckers chipped like crazy; total rip-off.
Then I tried a decent collection of dishes from Pier One. They looked cool, and were less pricy than the designer dishes. But those dishes chipped like crazy too. What's the point of having high quality stoneware or ceramic/porcelain when the glaze chips from normal use? Not only do chips look horrible, they can hold bacteria, even with washing, and they can expose your food to lead.
So for everyday, I have an awesome collection of Corelle. They are solid "cream" or "stone" color with no tacky designs on them. They look fine and you can drop them kick them, and bang them together, and they won't break or chip. Hot, cold, even in the microwave, they are great. And they are real glass, just super strong not-of-this-earth glass.
So I feel it doesn't pay to be a dish-snob. Love my Corelle.
Last edited by Tracysherm; 06-15-2012 at 09:56 AM..
Granite is so overused in homes here that it's basically passe. There are some higher-end consumers who consider granite to be too 'trailer park' or 'tract home' for them.
I've been comparison shopping for new counters, and granite is usually at the low end of the options when it comes to price. It comes in as more expensive than formica but less expensive than Corian, quartz, silestone, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kshe95girl
I have combined stuff from Home Goods along with antiques, original oils, etc......
I dont live in an area that has a proliferation of antique and high end stores, so if it works, it works.
That is my personal ethos, when working with a client, if they want real everything, I source it.
That being said, I want real tile, wood, and so forth for the bones of the home.
I'm really over granite, I have been using Cambria for quite awhile, along with soapstone.
I have real butcher block in my own home.
I'm really tired of granite too. Every house in my neighborhood has it. We are redoing our kitchen next year and were thinking of quartz. Couldn't find a pattern I like until I looked at the Cambria - there was a color and pattern I am definitely sold on. Thanks for the tip Kshe!
I think almost everyone is getting tired of granite. I called a local countertop store to get some quotes on different types of countertops. I was told that the cost of granite is going down because it's becoming less popular. The granite price was only slightly more than high end laminate. Almost everything else was more expensive than granite.
I've got my teens bungalow living room decked out in almost all antique/reproduction antique stuff; the 1 exception is a TV/entertainment center that folds down to look like a buffet. To me fake stuff looks wrong in a historic "real" house, but I think it's also turning me into a bit of a "frugal snob".
Our kitchen is fairly original too; we still have the original cabinets and a newer tiled counter, but we also have a modern stove and fridge which I hope to replace someday with more historical looking appliances.
We use all plastic dishes because we also have 3 younger kids; all our glass/ceramic dishes are long broken.
It's taken a few years but we've assembled quite a collection of "real" stuff... carvings, statues, original paintings and so forth by regularly casing the local goodwill equivilent, yard sales and so forth.
I've had especially good luck finding turn of the century books on the cheap to fill my built-in cabinets.
For example prints vs real paintings, or plastic vs glass, veneer vs solid hardwood, ect.
Does it make a difference to you?
Is it silly or mabye even a bit "snooty" to insist on the "real deal"... or is it better to go "fake" for price or even better damage control with kids or pets running around?
I have spent my life with fake-age. Now that I am a grown up I am determined to replace the crap in my house with nicer stuff. So far we have started with art, but eventually it will include furniture and other goodies.
Ultimately I am shooting for antiques, which are so much nicer than modern made stuff.
20yrsinBranson
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