Ebay! I got all of my towel bars, rings, tp holders etc. from there. I got oil rubbed bronze for my master bath and chrome for the guest bath all made by Price Pfister a couple of years back. It was about half the price maybe less then it was in one of the big stores (maybe Lowes?) If you want to see it in person you can order one to be sure you like it before getting the whole set. I also got my cabinet knobs on Ebay for the last two houses I had and will again for the new house. The same exact knobs and pulls that cost $8 to $12 in stores cost $1 to $4 on Ebay. I always purchase just one to be sure I like the style and color before I order all of them. BTW I'm originally from LI too. That's too bad Fortunoff closed. I have a leather sofa and chair set I got from them that's going on seven years old that will probably last another ten years! It gets heavily used and abused by kids and dogs plus slept on by my 250 lb husband!

I don't know where these figures come on the amount allocated to furnishing a home. In my experience, if you are buying your first home, you are going to be strapped for cash - at least for the first year or so. Most people I know made do with donations; thrift store acquisitions, odds and ends accumulated along the way and disposable furniture from places like IKEA - or they made do without. If one is moving to a second or third home, surely one has acquired furniture along the way and doesn't immediately discard it. Again, in my experience, most people with middle class incomes make do with already existing furniture and augment as needed. While it's nice to get new stuff, most people I know bought furniture gradually.

1. Your builder may have an interior designer on staff that will help with all of the interior decisions. This, of course, comes with a pricetag (maybe not a line item, but it would be included). If your builder doesn't have one on staff, your best bet would be to hire someone. When we got bids on our house, we spec'd out generals: windows, floor type, cabinet type, shower material, counter material, etc. We didn't pick the EXACT material - those were included in an allowance. When it actually came to picking WHAT floor or cabinet style, we would have used the interior designer. 2. Your stairs are narrow. 3'0" is code minimum, but that is not comfortable, especially for stairs that will be used all the time. Ours are 40" and widen to 44". You'll be going up and down them a lot so you may want something a bit roomier. 3. I agree with others about all the 2 level rooms. I would close that up in an instant. 4. You walk into your master straight into a wall. Or a closet. Consider if that's the look you want. Plus I am not a fan of double doors. One will never get used. Where is your light switch? 5. You don't have room for a freestanding tub in your master bath. Toilet room is too small for an inswing door. 10' is a HUGE vanity. 6. You'll be hauling 3 kids' laundry upstairs to do it. Consider either adding a 2nd laundry space on the main level - and teaching your kids how to share laundry machines - and/or putting in an elevator. You will not have an entirely private level unless you plan on doing all of your kids' laundry forever. 7. Having the powder room right off the kitchen may make that bath really uncomfortable for guests to use. 8. Get rid of the pocket door into the shared bath and flip that bath around so the toilet is up against the closet. That bathroom is just about the worst of a jack and jill. Consider adding a tub/shower combo in that room for resale (anyone with kids under 5 or planned kids won't want to buy your house because they'll have to have their kids bathe in the master bath and truck up and down stairs with all that goes with that). 9. Any deck that you want to use for anything other than a couple chairs needs to be at least 10'. For dining, you need at least that width for a dining table. For comfortable living room type seating, 12'-14'. 10. Do you plan to watch TV in your living room? If so, consider flipping the living and dining room, and put the TV on the bar wall. And insulate that wall. 11. Kid in the middle bedroom gets screwed. Smallest room, no direct bathroom access, and toilets on both shared walls. 12. Reconsider pantry window. Typically food should be stored in a dark place. 13. Consider having seating on the edges of your island as well - this will make for easier conversation if you actually plan on eating there. 14. 3'-6" is pretty tight between a fridge and island. This probably doesn't include fridge handles or counter overhang, either. We have 4' between ours, and it only works because it's a french door fridge.

I disagree that all your wood has to match. I kept asking my decorator about "matching" wood and she was flat out against it. Said it makes your house look like a furniture ad, and she didn't mean that in a good way. "Matchy-matchy" was her derogatory phrase LOL. Painting your walls, or some of them, would be a good way to bring some life to the room without adding dust-collectors. My vote would be for a soft watery blue-green-gray. For example the SW Sea Salt in this example. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/8-most-popular-blue-green-paint-colours-mix-sherwin-williams-and-benjamin-moore/