Sorry for the delay in responding, we were gone all day and got home too late. Maybe you've already put up the fixture, since you posted at noon (EST at any rate) and your reno is all done! If that's the case, then more pics in your "5 day reno" thread, pretty please! I like that the light faces down in our bath. For a variety of reasons we decided to keep the fixture (and electrical box) above the mirror. There are two recessed lights over the shower and no window at all. To be able to see yourself with any (too much?) detail in the mirror, the light had to be pointed down. Better to have unflattering light than not enough light. You do have a window over your tub (and a separate shower so no curtain blocking the window light). Your old mirror did have side sconces, which I've read is far preferred to top lighting, but now you're putting in only one light above the mirror?? Two nice new side sconces would be better but if you can't do those for some reason (since you obviously already bought one for the top), then up or down is the question. I'm sure one who understands limitations in options :/ . If one or two of your recessed lights is over the vanity (light shining between the person and the mirror), I would think you could install pointing up. But, from your pics, it looks like one light over the tub, one over the toilet, and one over the shower (lucky you with that separate shower!), and the vanity corner looks dark in the pic but maybe it's ok IRL. If you stand there with the recessed lights on and can't see well enough for someone to be able to put on makeup or shave, then it probably needs to be pointed down. I was careful to buy a light that said it could be mounted up or down and that was ok for damp locations. Hopefully your light has the same qualities! Good luck and HTH

My sister & I have a longterm goal of building a Farmhouse on some land we inherit. We live on the coast and it will be our vacation escape to a rural setting near the mountains. Our plan is to build it cheaply (like you're planning) and we've looked into using lots of salvage items like doors, cabinets, etc. We've been surprised at how many ways we've thought of/seen to cut costs. With the 'old' Farmhouse look, the old salvage items will be fitting, and will be such fun to live with. Quilts and cozy. My husband & I once renovated an office building and turned the 4,000 s.f. upstairs into a Loft for us. In my bathroom, there were 2 old commercial sinks hung on the wall. I had my Workman replace them with one double acrylic sink. (long one, 60"?) I had him frame a base stand out of studs, extra tall for me, and there was no vanity or base cabinet. Just lumber legs and sink frame! I stapled a fabric skirt beneath the sink onto the lumber frame, then glued a gimp trim on top of the staples. I made the shower curtain out of the same fabric. I bought some salvage doors that were a distressed green and had cool patterned glass in them. They'd been in a very old church on storage closets. I had Workman build a closet in the bathroom to fit these doors, and also replaced the entry door with them. I paid $120 for 5 doors. This bath was super-cheap, but highly functional and VERY pretty! We may repeat the lumber & fabric skirt idea for bathrooms in our Farmhouse. Loved it. I stored cleaning supplies beneath the skirt. This may be hard to believe, but we bought that 8,000 s.f. commercial building for $73,000 back in 1993. It needed a new roof and heat pump, but most other problems were cosmetic. It was steel and concrete construction, sandwiched between 2 buildings. The building had 2 storefronts/offices on the lower level, and the upstairs was all one space. We had a tenant paying $750/month on a 3 yr lease. We started my husband's law practice in half of the downstairs, and we lived upstairs. Our utilities were super-low because of the insulation of the buildings beside us. We now had NO office rent, NO house payment. We lived that way for 4 years, in 4,000 s.f. (loved it, too). It set us up financially for our future. We probably put $30,000 more into the building over time. Still, a very good price. We were able to always keep a tenant and always cover the payment. Right now we're getting ready to build, and getting multiple quotes is getting us really great prices on a lot of things. Everyone needs the work. I hope some of this gives you some ideas. Good luck!

With that budget, here is what I would do (shop around you may find better prices - for instance, Lowes carry's Electrolux appliances as well and you can get a 10% off movers coupon easily) Range - Electrolux Gas Convection Stainless Steel - $1900 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8707991&type=product&id=1199496060691 OR If you could strecth just a little on the budget - Electrolux Double Oven Gas Convection Stainless Steel - $2200 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8707982&type=product&id=1199496060624 Hood - A Kobe model, preferably one with baffles. Here is one example at $887 http://www.us-appliance.com/ch7636sqb.html You can get cheaper squirrel cage type grease catcher at $688 http://www.us-appliance.com/ch2230sq.html From there - you can find a 3/4 HP waste king - 8 year warranty for $120 http://www.waste-king.com/?gclid=CJ3DwaWa9pICFQKnlgod_lp2Gw And depending on the Microwave - assuming its a counter model, you can find one a reasonably priced Panasonic or Sharp in the $100 - $130 range http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-R-305KS-1-Cubic-Foot-1100-Watt-Microwave/dp/B000A7B4CQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1209126520&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NN-SD667S-5-Cubic-Foot-1300-Watt-Microwave/dp/B000ON2TCA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1209126520&sr=8-8

Hi Max, That's quite a project, but I am sure will be well worth it. So many of your questions are about personal style and the overall feel you are going for in the house and how that will play in terms of eventual resale unless you are planning on this being your forever home. It would be easier for folks on the site to help you if you could give an idea of the style that you like. All that said, my initial gut says that you can have a lot of fun and play off your existing floor. It's got a really cool look and could go modern, vintage or play with color and go to a sort of moroccan feel. My first instinct is that I'd paint the vanity black (what is going on with the center section of that vanity?) And when you say finish, do you mean paint finish? It you are DIY'ing, it might be cool to try to do a distressed black finish something like this... http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=64741&index=8&currentPage=1&searchQuery=sinks&searchType=photos - here's instructions on that http://www.paintpro.net/Articles/PP903/PP903-Technique.cfm or simply high gloss it. If you don't like the design on the doors, I've been told you can fill in the areas with wood putty and then sand and paint but you may want to check in with a paint store on that. If you want a more modern esthetic then maybe something like this http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.decorpad.com/photos/2010/06/06/3d0161838c5e.png&imgrefurl=http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm%3FphotoId%3D75759%26relatedPhotoId%3D81685%26index%3D3&usg=_O7BEQGGxCpHMywlYN0Ah6LJpkI=&h=340&w=453&sz=182&hl=en&start=42&sig2=cYzOhWRc2Z1sm35BRjNKtw&zoom=1&tbnid=ys7JzxG5PTMuiM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=196&ei=_qLWTPiTEsSblgfQ84X-CA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmodern%2Bbathroom%2Bwith%2Bblack%2Bvanity%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1267%26bih%3D616%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1217&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=644&vpy=215&dur=482&hovh=157&hovw=210&tx=155&ty=93&oei=7qLWTNCeO4H98AbUl9jtBw&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:42&biw=1267&bih=616 If you like the clean white look... you could really play up the kitchiness of the vanity and go with something like this... http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=82047&index=19&currentPage=1&searchQuery=sinks&searchType=photos I used formica in a prior home but it took a lot of searching for just the right finish and a beveled edge to make it work so you'll really need to go look at this based on the esthetic you choose. I'm inclined to say that if you can figure out how to save else where... I'd spend your money upgrading the vanity top. With the tile in the shower and the tub... Since you are on a tight budget, my insinct says go look at lowes and home depot for white field tile in a (3x6) or 4x8 and use that with a similar grey grout as the floor. They generally always have something on sale... or look on ebay. I'd go simple there. For your walls, since you've already "stripped" the paper from most of it I'd recommend talking to someone in a paint and wall paper store about your options... I am sure there is someone more qualified than me to help on this site. Lights and mirror you can really find a lot on sale with lots of variety so I'd be opportunistic with those. Last but not least... go check out this bathroom remodel and website for inspiration on how to overhaul a new house in a thrifty way.. http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/01/tackling-the-bathroom-the-big-reveal/ they've repainted cabinets, etc and DIY'd a couple of bathrooms. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: young house love