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Old 06-27-2011, 05:18 PM
 
190 posts, read 450,081 times
Reputation: 181

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Good Luck on all your projects - I've toured a dozen 'dated' FH homes or more - some were so funny! Fully original Harvest Gold appliances were just one of the recent treats - like walking onto the scene of The Brady Bunch show - if I'd won that beauty - I would go Mid Century Modern all the way and just run with it LOL!
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Old 06-27-2011, 05:24 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,108 posts, read 51,313,080 times
Reputation: 28350
There's a used appliance store on McDowell near 27th Ave (used to be anyway). They have a huge selection in all the colors and styles past and present - some of it new that was never installed. Most of it comes with a warranty that it will work when you get it home. They also deliver and install. You might pay a little more than you will over Craigslist, but they have everything in one spot so you don't end up driving everywhere just to be disappointed. It might be worth having a look.
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Old 06-27-2011, 07:38 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,341 posts, read 14,708,160 times
Reputation: 10550
Quote:
Originally Posted by SloCoChef View Post
You are a wealth of helpful information and again I am grateful..........I too late learned I could buy moving boxes at Home Depot for a mere fraction of the cost of UHaul's boxes.........my mover was in cahoots with his buddy who owned the UHaul in CA - so told me to go there for boxes - then when I got a second mover - he told me about Home Depot's box prices - OMG - comparatively - they felt practically free!

I feel much more organized -- studied the homes photos again - and re-prioritized per the suggestions here - I think I'll be able to spend wisely thanks to what I've learned here.... If anyone else wants to share please do as well!

Does anyone have any particular loyalty to Home Depot over Lowe's or the other way around?

Each has tried to tempt me to buy during their 4th of July sale - even before I've secured the home - telling me they'd store my purchases!

Lowe's claiming they are this generations "Sears" for appliances, Home depot offering lots of information gratis which I found nice... But haven't spent a dime yet at either place...

Again many thanks for the truck info and to everyone else!
Be sure to have your realtor sign you up for the 10% off coupons @ Lowes...

https://www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com/

fwiw, you can use them at Home Depot too.
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Old 06-27-2011, 07:53 PM
 
Location: Fountain Hills, AZ
45 posts, read 64,317 times
Reputation: 108
Quote:
Originally Posted by SloCoChef View Post
Good Luck on all your projects - I've toured a dozen 'dated' FH homes or more - some were so funny! Fully original Harvest Gold appliances were just one of the recent treats - like walking onto the scene of The Brady Bunch show - if I'd won that beauty - I would go Mid Century Modern all the way and just run with it LOL!

Mine (luckily...I think...so far) is less Brady Bunch and more Family Ties/Growing Pains (except it had no colors except for white - or rather, as white as white can be after almost 30 years of wear and wear and wear and wear and tear. Oh, and a really "wtf!?!!?!" sw'ern turquoise in the master bedroom that had me lunging for the eye bleach). So no Harvest Gold, no wood panelled dens and I haven't seen any station wagons or dogs named Tiger on the street...yet

But yeah - there were some FH homes I walked into where all I could muster was a "wooooow" in a confused/fascinated/frightened/dumbstruck kinda way.

I think (hope) I've bitten off a bite I can actually chew!

Hope you don't mind if I loiter - I'm really very interested in what experienced updaters have to say
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Old 06-28-2011, 09:06 AM
 
190 posts, read 450,081 times
Reputation: 181
LOL .... lunging for eye bleach cracked me up!!!!!

I'm going to re-look at a house now - in Deer Valley - where someone appears to have bought it 6 mos. ago - gutted an 80's place and did a bunch of fancy tile work and the Kitchen and Bath ... according to records if it sells for what he's asking - it will be for double the purchase price!

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder - When you get a house under 2000 sq feet and do laminate wood floors (sadly two different types), granite and cupboads and all vanities - shower stalls etc... in shades of BROWN - you can't help but feel you just walked into a caramel fudge brownie and you can't get out

It's dizzying to go room to room and be caught up in a desert --- Why this is so noticeable I'm not sure - probably the size of the place - and maybe that all the baseboards are the same tile too.... It's pretty perhaps? but something went wrong with design sense imho big time But I'll look again and maybe bring a gallon of ice cold milk to wash it all down!

Down the pike young families will faint over the 'dated' stainless steel and feel smug over their warm bronze appliances perhaps?
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Old 06-30-2011, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Avondale and Tempe, Arizona
2,852 posts, read 4,507,558 times
Reputation: 2562
Dual-paned windows have a better cooling effect. Put your hand on a standard window during the heat of the day and then touch a dual-paned window, there is a large difference.

Fiberglass doors are also a better insulator than standard wood.

I agree about tile vs. wood, tile is cooler.
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Old 06-30-2011, 09:23 AM
 
9,816 posts, read 11,200,038 times
Reputation: 8510
Tile goes out of style but a natural products like travertine won't go out of style (but it possibly will be less popular). The key is to buy the travertine at the right price.

With Granite it will never go out of style so long as you don't use the over-used types like "Ubatuba".

If you use natural finished woods, again they won't go out of style as quickly. But the plank widths seem to be getting wider. I'd go right in the center of the current acceptable width and something mid color without stain (hickory??) and you will be set for a long long time.


Re: ROI. Generally speaking unless you are buying things right, you won't recover your investment.
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Old 07-01-2011, 08:58 AM
 
Location: Cedar Park
260 posts, read 905,260 times
Reputation: 117
I've had a home with wood floors through-out. If you go with wood, make sure it's not a softer wood and I would avoid anything shiny. Ours were brazillian (cherry); though very pretty they were harder to keep clean and scratched very easily. We had a lot of rugs. Tile is the most popular flooring here; it's durable and cooler. Light brown seems to be the new neutral (as opposed to white/grey/lighter colors). Check out some model homes to see what's popular here.

Also, check out Spencers Appliances. We have found them to be cheaper and you can also get new appliances that are slightly dinged for a really good price. We purchased our washer/dryers online-- free shipping and a coupon book that gave us 5 years worth of FREE Tide.

Personally, I would change what bugs me the most first. You are paying for a house, you might as well love coming home to it. Any updating you do will certainly help if you needed to sell.

Good luck with your home purchase and move!!
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Old 07-01-2011, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,915 posts, read 43,462,871 times
Reputation: 10728
Eight years ago, when I was looking for floor tile for my house, practically EVERYTHING had at least some beige or tan in it. Given the existing grey carpeting that was being left in the bedrooms, and the rest of the decor, I needed tile that was only grey/white. I found exactly one of those in each of the tile stores I went to. The tan types have been what I've been seeing for years in every house except my own.
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