"When we bid out a bathroom remodel the contractor told us to pick Delta or Moen. He refused to even consider Kohler due to its lower quality." This is the type of statement that contractors and plumbers make that I don't understand. I look at a lot of real estate and as a designer I tend to look at some things very specifically. Every relatively inexpensive spec house, every inexpensive tract house my sister has owned or rented, every flipped house, every on-the-tight-budget bath renovation my non-design friends do: Delta, Delta, Delta, Delta, Moen, Deltadeltadeltadelta. The two pre-sale bathrooms done to put the house I recently bought onto the market without spending an extra penny: Delta. So here I am picking new fixtures to replace a two year old bathroom and a five year old bathroom where I can pull the Delta faucets apart with my hands, and my plumber is telling me that Delta is so much better than Kohler. I realize that there are different levels of quality within brands but still, Delta being superior to everything else has not been my experience. I simply think part of it is that they only like working with what they work with all the time. My current plumber, who is a great plumber who does tidy work and loves talking about plumbing on a higher plane, almost, he's not a sloppy git her done kind of guy, says he will not put in Toto skirted toilets because they all leak. Having had Toto skirted toilets and having spec'd Toto skirted toilets for other people, none of which have leaked, leads me to believe that when HE puts them in they leak, because he Doesn't Know How to install them very well. That's fine, I will probably Not put a Toto skirted toilet in this house because I don't want white. But why not say "I don't like installing Toto toilets, so if you want one you will have to get someone to do that part of the job." Not "They are not worth the money" or "they are a bad product". I used to be in another business, and there were some things that were really outside my expertise, or I did not do that well compared to some people and I would Tell the client "This is something I would refer you to someone else for" not "This is a lousy product/procedure" just because I couldn't do it that well.

I am only addressing the Delta Leland price issue. I bought one almost 2 years ago after liking the look of it at HD. Since I could not afford to spend nearly $300 for it, I found many listed new on eBay . I paid about $125, but there was a seller who listed them new for $99 starting bid and many went for that price. I had a deadline on my Silestone countertop installation and needed one during a time when I could not wait for that particular seller to list, thus I paid more. I don't know if those prices are still the norm on eBay, but brand new, sealed with the plastic strip faucets could be bought half price or less when I needed a faucet. I love everything about my eBay purchased Delta Leland. I purchased it in June '07. Be sure to be familiar with the seller's feedback, number of items they've sold, and that he/she has been an eBay seller for a significant amount of time. Hope this helps!

I was finally able to see the Kohler Vinnata in person in a Lowes in another town, and the Delta Leland in HD. I do think the full size Vinnata is too big for me. I was surprised, though that the Leland spray head was plastic. I think the Kohler is "wrapped" in metal, but I don't remember where I heard/read that. Maybe it was here. Anyway, it felt more substantial. Of coarse my current old fashioned black spray head is plastic, too and it has never broken. Anyway, I would like to see the Vinnata prep faucet to see if it is enough of a size difference for me to be more comfortable with it. It is actually a little bigger than the leland but smaller than the full size vinnata in height according to the specs. Now I am wondering about a couple of others I saw. I found that I didn't find the height as much of a problem in more sleek, slender designs with smaller diameters in the neck, bases and spray heads. They might fit in a smaller kitchen a little easier, or just be easier to get used to in size. Sue

luckyblueeye: That is great to hear about the Premiere faucet. I really should stop questioning anything she recommends as she is extremely knowledgeable even on technical stuff like plumbing and construction and since she gets a markup, it is to HER advantage upsell me on stuff. Oneridgeoff: She had redesigned the tile in the bathrooms to save me money and so the invoice for tiles reflected the redesigned element. I put back the copper penny tile accents in the master bath because the square footage was de minimis versus what they added to the design but the guest bathroom is 122 square feet since it's on the walls and shower. :-( Oneridgeoff - I will check out Seneca tiles - that blue tile is gorgeous - to see what is available in the colors I want. I haven't seen the 4" x 4" in person she proposed as an alternative less costly tile for the guest bath so I don't know if it is as unattractive as the printout since printouts are the least reliable color source - Your other other tiles are also lovely but that shape would make them compete with the rest of the design elements. FWIW - I am getting some copper subway tiles from Premiere so you might want to explore that source if you are doing a copper kitchen. Premiere Copper Products Copper Tiles I might wind up getting a copper hood from them depending on the price versus the wood cabinet enclosure I had planned - depending on price for it. I am getting one of their sinks for the guest bathroom and now the designer thinks I should go with a copper sink in the master instead of the white originally planned but I can post THAT design dilemma in another thread :-)