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I believe you. Eight years in the mortgage industry very quickly taught me how unrealistic many buyers are about everything from what they can get for their money to what they can afford.
What they fail to look at is the big picture. It's a starter house, not the place you'll live in for the rest of your life. I was just glad to have something to call my own and not be paying rent anymore!
I chose black over stainless for my kitchen appliances in my current home--they're easier to keep clean, and I think much less likely to be a trend that's over long before the appliances die. I bought a dove grey washer/dryer because that color will hide the grime that tends to collect on those appliances no matter how often you clean them.
I totally agree when you say that alot of home buyers especially first timers forget it is a STARTER home.......and I am a first time home buyer, well builder. We are building our home in Florida at the moment......we could have upgraded more than we did and gotten stainless (which I didn't really want), granite etc.....but we wanted to get into a home that was within and under our budget and OWN a home and not rent.
Granite and marble have been used as counter tops for centuries, in Europe.
Granite and other natural stone has been hot stuff in the U.S., for about 20 years.
I rented an adorable little casa in Lindos, Greece from an adorable Greek babushka named Marietta. She had owned this house her whole life and raised her family there. It had counters in the kitchen. I have no idea what they were, we were too busy having a good time outside on the beach and the patio and in the town. But it definately did have countertops......
We rented a lovely 19th century apartment in Prague with a worn brass plaque on the door that read "Mazurki". Now owned by an Italian/Iranian couple, it had a newly remodeled bathroom and kitchen. The kitchen had red cupboards and a red convection oven with German instructions I couldn't read. It had new countertops. I'll be dammed if I can remember a thing about them.
I rented a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in Tallinn, Estonia from an Italian married to an Estonian. Very pretty place with a large balcony under the canopy of a tree and the glorious bathroom that had heated tile floors , but I'll be switched if I can remember one single thing about the kitchen countertop.
I temporarily lived in an new high end apartment tower in Baku, Azerbaijan. It had polished marble stairs to the building entrance that were impassibly slick if you weren't wearing tenacious Spiderman shoes. The apt. was about 3,000 sq. ft. with hand laid parquet floors and 3 balconies overlooking the Caspian Sea. It had a really cute kitchen I liked a lot. I'm sure it must have had countertops as I cooked in there, but I can't recall a thing about them.
I lived in a brand spanking new top-o-the-line apt in Beijing, China with all the bells and whistles. The bathrooms were all designer something special and the stove had a really cool raised wok cooking thingy. I remember the countertops were some kind of shiny morbidly black stuff. Maybe granite? That was a really ugly kitchen to remember. Love the heated bathroom towel racks though.
My wife and I break all the "sterotypes". We are younger 30's. We have....hold you breath now......wallpaper that we actually put in......we have....hold your breath now.....brass fixture in our dining room that goes really well with our hand-me-down hitchcock furniture.....we do not have granite in our kitchen, we have quartz and our appliances are white. Why? Because I don't give a crap about fads, I don't care what the next buyer of my home wants nor what they like or dislike. My house is mine. I pay the bills. I paid for the kitchen and bath remodels, I installed the appliances and the brass and paid someone a lot of money to put some wallpaper in a couple of rooms.
Yes to beige carpeting or wood floors, carmel colored walls, white trim & doors, nickle or rubbed bronze fixtures, prints/photos in black frames (or most recently I've seen white frames) in wall groupings, simple furniture with clean lines, white crown moulding.
That is exactly what the kid -- half my age --- who bought my old house did. Every room is the same caramel color with white trim. He painted the stained wood trim and doors, and replaced the glass doorknobs with brushed nickel. I wanted to cry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek
I plan to keep the house's pink bathroom if for no other reason than it is in excellent condition and there is no real reason to replace the bathroom suite other than the retro/outdated (depending on your point of view) color scheme.
*whew* I was worried there for a minute.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azoria
I probably should tour a Parade of Homes to witness the miracle of "design styles" now available in farflung contemporary subdivisions to learn what is right and proper in current home styling, thence to return to my own little hovel in a state of unrequited want.
*hangs head in shame*
LMAO. Don't worry about what other people think your home "should" look like. Homes are for living, not for displaying.
White appliances are gross, just like everything else white. Seriously, I've moved into two houses now that had "white" walls. Except they weren't really white, they had hand prints, scratches and a bunch of other junk on them. Just like how white appliances immediately show any discoloring or dirt on them.
Instead, I prefer brushed metal appliances. Not stainless steel, because they need just as much cleaning and treatment as anything "white."
Granite counter tops aren't just a fad, either. They truly are an upgrade, especially if you had tile. They are indestructible, and you don't have to worry about burning them. Their incredibly easy to clean, too. I'd avoid getting anything that is really good at camouflaging grime, like my parents have. I don't know how many times I've set something in a sticky pool because it was invisible.
What is a fad with granite are the colors people are choosing. Just like everything else, make sure to pick something that won't be dated in a few years.
White appliances are gross, just like everything else white. Seriously, I've moved into two houses now that had "white" walls. Except they weren't really white, they had hand prints, scratches and a bunch of other junk on them. Just like how white appliances immediately show any discoloring or dirt on them.
Instead, I prefer brushed metal appliances. Not stainless steel, because they need just as much cleaning and treatment as anything "white."
Granite counter tops aren't just a fad, either. They truly are an upgrade, especially if you had tile. They are indestructible, and you don't have to worry about burning them. Their incredibly easy to clean, too. I'd avoid getting anything that is really good at camouflaging grime, like my parents have. I don't know how many times I've set something in a sticky pool because it was invisible.
What is a fad with granite are the colors people are choosing. Just like everything else, make sure to pick something that won't be dated in a few years.
So this post makes me want to gag. Do you people not believe in good old fashioned cleaning? I have a black fridge, that doesn't give me cart blanche to not wipe it down every couple of days. And sticky on the counter top? Has no one ever heard of a damp sponge or Clorox Wipe? Sorry, but I don't want anything in my kitchen that will "camouflage grime." I'd rather simply keep it clean than camouflage it.
By the way, I've seen granite counter tops chip when something heavy fell on them. They are not as indestructible as people think, and because they are natural they can have unseen fault lines that cause them to not be as indestructible as you'd think.
So this post makes me want to gag. Do you people not believe in good old fashioned cleaning? I have a black fridge, that doesn't give me cart blanche to not wipe it down every couple of days. And sticky on the counter top? Has no one ever heard of a damp sponge or Clorox Wipe? Sorry, but I don't want anything in my kitchen that will "camouflage grime." I'd rather simply keep it clean than camouflage it.
By the way, I've seen granite counter tops chip when something heavy fell on them. They are not as indestructible as people think, and because they are natural they can have unseen fault lines that cause them to not be as indestructible as you'd think.
They can also crack if you repeatedly put hot things on them without using a trivet.
And I would rather see the dirt on my white appliances and wipe them down than have it "hidden". Its more disgusting to me that you (cloudy days...) would rather hide the dirt? nasty
I'd avoid getting anything that is really good at camouflaging grime, like my parents have. I don't know how many times I've set something in a sticky pool because it was invisible.
That's called "operator error" and is not the fault of the countertop material. Duh. Suggest to your parents that they wipe down their countertops.
Or better yet, do it for them.
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, but I'll be switched if I can remember one single thing about the kitchen countertop.
