Wow. First time home owner here. I bought a really old house that I knew I would need to put a lot of work into which, for me, meant a lot of money because I am nowhere near a DIYer. First up was the kitchen. I had the kitchen measured, went to Lowes and bought a bunch of cabinets. Then I interviewed about twenty different handymen and contractors before I found one that I liked to install them. I had no idea how to work with a contractor but I did know how I wanted my kitchen to look. He allowed me to buy some things and he took care of the rest and I was pretty pleased with the final result. I asked him to quote installing the master bathroom and not only was his quote very high, his finishes were also not broken out and I suspected they were basic builder finishes. While looking for another contractor for the bathroom, I started accumulating things that I liked from Craigslist, eBay, thrift stores and online suppliers. By the time I found a contractor, I already had the majority of the materials I needed. I explained my vision for my bathroom and showed him all of my materials. He was absolutely fine working with what I had. For the remaining items, if I didn't have a preference, he would buy it but if there was something specific that I wanted, I would buy it for him to install. Anything that was the least bit questionable, he would look at it before I bought it. It is certainly taking longer due to scouting out materials but he understands that this is not a builder bathroom and has bought into the vision. Now that I've been through it, I wouldn't work any other way with a contractor. I stayed in touch with the first contractor and while we both agree that he would have had the bathroom done by now, we also agree that I wouldn't love it as much as I will when it's done because he wouldn't have allowed me the kind of flexibility that this contractor does. That was a very long winded way of saying that I agree with what was stated up-post in that if you can find a contractor that will allow you to purchase materials and you clearly establish who is responsible for what, it can work out quite nicely.

i have no experience with chicago faucets but was looking at their line a while back as they have an excellent reputation; and can be found mostly in medical facilities. indeed, i've seen them in every hospital i've ever been in. i prefer a more traditional style design, otherwise i most certainly would have saved myself a lot of money and gone with what looks to be a very reasonably priced, reputable chicago. search the forums, i've seen them mentioned before. good luck!

The METHOD of hot water production has very little to do with the amount of time it takes to reach the fixture. That has to do with the LOCATION of the hot water production. If you put any type of water heater 60' across the house, you've got 60' feet of piping to purge the cold water out of before it gets to the fixture. And it will have that regardless of how that hot water is produced. It all goes back to the primary DESIGN of the plumbing system, and where you locate that water heater. Some place central is ideal, or, if the home is especially large, two points of production can sometimes make sense. That has nothing to do with tanked vs. tankless though. It's only when the system is poorly designed that you have to institute stopgaps like point of use or recirculation loops. Either of those options costs additional for the initial installation and has ongoing energy consumption costs that can be prohibitive. You have to weigh those costs with the cost of simply purging the cold water from the pipes and that inconvenience. In Western areas where water is scarce and costs are high, flushing that cold water down the drain may be more cost prohibitive than the energy wasted by recirculation pumps. In Eastern areas, especially those who rely on electric, the pumps may cost a lot more to run than living with purging the line. It's a cost. vs. benefit analysis for your location. And, it's also a personal analysis of how committed you feel to being "green".

" Do you think people using this forum are more thoughtful about function versus form" Yes, I think most people here, at least the "regulars" are function-first people. This does not mean that form/look is not important -- it just means that they consider function more important. In all honesty, it's easy to make or find something functional that looks nice; it's almost impossible to make something that's dysfunctional but looks nice functional without replacing the dysfunctional item (or design). My opinion...I hate side sprayers. I grew up with them, so I speak from a lot experience! But, as you can see from above, others like them -- so it's personal preference. I agree that bridge faucets look nice, especially in period Kitchens, but they are not for me b/c of the sprayer issue. I also like the fact that I can set a one-handle faucet to a temperature I like and then just turn it off with the temp setting till set...and I know that when I turn it back on, it will be at that same setting. This also shows you that functionality preferences can vary by person as well as looks/form. I really like the look and general function of my Kohler Vinnata, but over time I have realized that I do not like Kohler's spray/stream "button". Switching back & forth is not easy b/c you have to hit just the right spot -- and that "spot" for both options is quite small! It looks like the Kohler Artifact may have a different system for changing b/w spray & stream -- maybe Kohler realized their old design wasn't working as well as they hoped. Questions for those with the Artifact.... (1) Does it "remember" what type of spray/stream setting you used last? I.e., if you turn it off while it's on the "Berry Spray", will it still be on the "Berry Spray" when you turn it back on? That's a key feature for me! (2) Do the buttons work well? Do they last long? (I've already replaced the head of my Vinnata once b/c the "button" wore out -- it was free b/c of Kohler's lifetime guarantee, but I'd rather not have to do it!)