Clk, I'm going to post the link but add a warning not to visit it. I saw the turtle faucet in a magazine and thought "it's a faucet, how much could it cost" (always the kiss of death for me....remind me to tell you about the 3,000 tea infuser I saw last week) anyhoo...so I searched them out to put on DS's countertop (fabulous granite made up of rocks so it would look like the turtle was actually sitting on the rocks).

They make them for you...I mean they manufacture it specifically for you, with each one being a little different....for about twelve grand a faucet :) Now honestly, I'm a girl who can drop some cash when lust is involved (and I lusted over that turtle LOL) but twelve grand for a childs bathroom faucet???? I gotta find a money tree first LOL

Oh and folks...here's a fabulous pie recipe you can copy from my family vault for no charge what so ever :) I am known far and wide for my wonderful pies....

Go to a little hole in the wall bakery in Poulsbo Wa and buy any kind of pie you want. They even sell them in glass pie plates so you can make people think you made them...the crusts are devine, no fancy rolling pin needed :oP

Here is a link that might be useful: Beware, serious faucet envy will set in quickly!

Ahhhhh, Poulsbo... My older daughter was born in Bremerton, WA. We spent a little time in Poulsbo. I'll have to remember that, because we will go back and visit one day. In fact, we might have gone into that bakery. We went into a little dark hole in the wall, maybe trying to find lunch. What's the name of it?

I did click.... and I lived to tell about it. Beautiful stuff, and no doubt the best quality, but not my style, so I'm OK. Not to say there's nothing that would get my heartrate up a little.

jswenc... do you want to come before, during, or after the addition of all my dream things? Come'on down; the house may be tiny but we're keeping our motor home so we can have room for everyone!!

Oh, thanks for the invitation! I'll wait for the heated pool with waterfall, stone pizza oven, etc.! But why do you need a heated pool in FL?

All the super Expensive things I can think of for my kitchen are not useless. Sigh.

I'm on my way too RemodelFla!

I need a heated pool in S. Fl. cause I want to be a spoiled brat! I don't like the water any cooler then about 84 degrees. Less then that; and I may start to whine like some of my students!

I'm with you on the heated pool remodelfla. Atlanta is as far north as I have ever lived. 84 degrees sounds lovely!

Road trip! You guys can stop in Atlanta on your way to Florida!

*sigh* If only! We're chest-deep in snow here and we just had our road plowed for the first time since Sunday (after the FIRST snow storm!)

I taught elementary school for 10 plus years before taking some time off with babies. If your kids like "Stinky Cheese", try "The True Story of the Three Pigs" (as told to Jon Scieszka by Alexander Wolf). One of my students' favorite read alouds.

Some type of machine that effectively massages my feet....

GACK!!! Buehl, what is that stuff?

Pools must be heated unless they have a running hot spring. (Can I just tell you how wonderful swimming in a hot spring pool is? Shall we add it to the list?) But ReFla, have you considered solar? There's a kind that pumps the water up to the collector on the roof and back down and actually heats the water directly. Works great, even when it isn't hot out. You could probably get a tax credit and everything.

Beejay, there are different schools of thought on cleaning the pastry cloth. I sponge by hand because I like it stiff, and I don't want to starch it. I'm scared if I put it in the machine it'll get limp. First I use my dough separator or the back of my big knife or a spatula (whatever's out already), and scrape loose as much flour and dough as I can. Then I take it outside and give it a few whacks to see if I can loosen any more. Then I'll lay it flat and sponge it. Sometimes that's just not adequately clean and I'll wash it in the sink. Lay flat on the counter to dry. Then you can fold or roll it, and put it in a bag for storage. My mother has a special slot above her oven for her pastry board and she stores her cloth on top of it in the slot, but that's a special case. Most people work right on the counter or store their boards vertically.

Hey, rhome, re the measuring cups: you can get them for ten dollars at pier 1 if you'll take butterflies instead of flowers.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: pier 1 anthropologie knockoff

plllog... solar is one of the options we'll consider.
katie... one of the units I do is a compare and contrast with Fairy Tales. We read EVERY version of The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella. Did you know know there are versions on a Egyptian, Haitian, Spooky, Modern Day, African American, and more that I can't think of right now.

Those measuring cups would look so cute on a SS shelf above my bakers table in my never to be completed kitchen.

I'm sooooo tired of using my imagination...

Hmm. Definitely prefer the flowers, but not sure if it's $18 worth. :-) The ones I saw in the store were 'only' $20, so that's a little better.

Coffered ceilings. Useless, but oh so pretty!

I should say useless in certain situations, priceless when hiding beams or what have you. Either way, I swoon over kitchens with coffered ceilings.

Expensive useless item: Two Subzero Refrigerators with the glass doors installed side-by-side so that they are double wide. Love how they look but totally not worth the splurge for me...neither do I have enough room in my kitchen for two of these.

Other expensive item: Heat my home all year round so that it never falls below 70-75 degrees!!! I HATE to be cold, but energy costs are so costly here in CA that we keep the room temp at around 62-65....torture for me. I usually wear a down jacket IN the house along with wool socks. Most days I wear a tshirt, a long sleeve thermal, a wool sweater, a scarf and a jacket. Then I am a happy camper!

Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Door Refridge

firsthouse... you need a trip down to FL too! BUt then you'd be living with almost year round a/c. But for at least part of the winter I get to open the windows and sleep... aaahhhhh!

DH said all 50 states got snow yesterday. Firsthouse, when you come east you can live in remodel's 84 degree pool.

(rf, I'll bring you some of those circular swirly mini lights as a hostess gifts -- you can hang a cluster of them over the outdoor furniture.)

Now you've got me re-thinking my lighting choice for over my dining table. I never thought of clustering mini pendants. What a great idea!

BTW... in the summer, the pool runs between 87 and 90 degrees. It's pure heaven on earth.

Copper Wall Art for over an outdoor fireplace...

I would get a set of 9, but it's outta my price point!

Maybe for one conversation

Y'all clean your pastry cloths? I guess it's a Southern thing, because I don't clean my cast iron pans (well, not much) or my pastry cloth. I scrape off the extra each time, but I don't even think you're "supposed" to wash them. Although each must do what they are comfortable with.
Lisa

palimpest.... your new BFF?

It's not useless, but apparently expensive and/or simply unavailable. I just can't find anyone that will ship to Canada.

or

prarie-girl... why not go to a metal shop and get one fabricated

Hi remodelfla, I guess I've dismissed that option as I think it would be very expensive. We're trying to do this reno on a tight budget, and these sinks (in their native lands) are very reasonably priced. I wouldn't even mind paying for shipping as it would still likely be cheaper than getting a custom one. I think though that I will check it out - just to 'know' for sure. Thank you!
~Missy

Plllog, that's the 50 some inches of snow we got in two snow storms this past week...Friday/Saturday (2/5 & 2/6) and Tuesday/Wednesday (2/9 & 2/10). The dogs aren't too happy about it! They're very limited in where they can go b/c of all the snow....they have the porch, the driveway, and the little "run" we dug out for them in front of the porch! I have to admit, though, that I'm loving it! I miss snowy winters (I grew up outside of Buffalo, NY, and now live outside of Baltimore/DC.) The Weather Channel says we have had more snow this year (in basically 3 storms) than Buffalo, NY! (Of course, it's really not Buffalo itself that gets all the snow, it's the Southtowns in the Snow Belt that get it...where I grew up!)

I've been wracking my brain the last few days trying to think of something that meets the criteria of this thread (expensive & useless)...but I can't think of anything! Everything I can think of that I wish I could have that meets the first criteria (expensive) doesn't meet the second (useless)! I know I have a dream of a Library w/a fireplace, comfy chair, and lots of room for all my books (mostly science fiction & fantasy (SF first!)) without having to double & triple "park" them on shelves... But, I don't think a library to store my large collection of books is useless!

Wait! I know! The Lacanche I range I fell in love with last night! Why is it useless? Because we don't have gas and it would just be a "pretty" sitting in my kitchen!

Lisa--how do you store your pastry cloth after scraping it?

Perfect! A Lacanche with no gas definitely counts!

Those pictures are amazing! It looks like so much styrofoam! (We only have plastics here (coastal SoCal), and the kids think the occasional 10 minutes of hail is snow because it's white.)

All that snow in what's technically the South! I saw it on the news but your pictures are so much more!

I love this... it's $$$... has a use... but so do ones 1/10th the price. Still so unique but 3K. Ya' shoulda seen DH's face when I showed it to him and told him the price. I purposely left a pregnant pause before I told him we're not getting it. Hee. hhhee... his eyes' were twice their normal size.

sigh... this sink? Arguably useful, but undeniably expensive. I should mention that it would be going in a white kitchen with honed marble counters and a French blue Lacanche. And I'm not even usually a flowers-and-birds, French-ish kind of person -- but this just speaks to me. Any way I can possibly justify it??

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

If you're already at the French blue Lacanche and the honed marble counters, hazmatt, how can you not do that sink!? :-)

If you're in Fl., here's one from craigslist that's kind of that style.

Here is a link that might be useful: fancy sink

I'll have one of everything posted! LOL

Honestly, I can't make up my mind if it would be a copper range hood, or copper farm-style kitchen sink~love that 'fancy sink'!

A non-house want....

Here is a link that might be useful: oooooh lala....

Oh, well, Patty Cakes, if we're going there...I'll have this!

Ahhh...The Lacanches. I gave up the idea early on because we didn't have gas either, but then ended up bringing it in! But by then, we were so far along in the process, it would've meant a fairly big change in design to switch to a range-focused look. And, frankly, things went along so fast, I forgot about reconsidering it! I still get emails from them and I gaze and sigh longingly.

I'd also forgotten how great looking I thought those glass doored SZs are...But I'd want pretty food to go with. ;-)

My dream sink is linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: my dream sink...picture #2

Anything from Droog design. The shirt light seems fairly useless. But I'm actually considering the milk bottle light.

Here is a link that might be useful: Droog design

buehl, those look like big doggies. You have gotten a ton of snow! What kind of pooches are those? They look really cute and nonshedding?

stay warm!

LOL, plllog, you've gone from a rolling pin to a castle!!! At least now you can justify the rolling pin! : )

Remodelfla: I'll take one of those amazing lights too!!!! love that!

Jsweenc, I have been lusting after that castle in Umbria for a long time now. Then I could join join Igloochic in the preserving historic homes club. :) And I could get a red Molteni podium. I think it would look amazing with the stone walls! But, alas, the exchequer weeps... I started this thread by posting something expensive for its type but then people started posting dream things like Duesenburgs. Well, if we're playing at castles in spain (aka building castles in the air), I want my castle in Italy!

I'll take a guy with a body like the guy in the hanger ad. Separated 2 years now. About time to start thinking about things like that, lol.

I just roll up my pastry cloth and stick it back in the plastic bag sleeve it came in.

Lisa

oh gee, thanks for all of the ideas--now my list is pages long!
but at the top--at least today--are outdoor lighting for the brook behind the house. i want those underwater lights, to shine on the waterfalls! and spotlights to highlite the trees, which of course are twined with little white lights. (think disney, i guess!)
and inside the kitchen--a miele espresso built in --mmm, i love how they look, i love espresso, just loove the entire thing!
i'll think of more, just give me a sec!

Doonie...They're Standard Poodles. Ruby, the female, is 28" tall; Shea, the male (and Ruby's brother) is 30" tall. (Height is paws to top of head.)

They shed very little b/c they have hair and not fur. However, that means their hair, like ours, keeps growing so they need periodic hair cuts, again, like us. When their hair gets too long, I do occasionally see some hair around...but I think it's from them scratching (b/c the hair starts to get tangled & is more likely to get pulled out). Or maybe it's from when my DH and the dogs play rough??!

I'm very allergic to pet dander (dogs, cats, birds, etc.) but these two dogs together affect me far less than my mom's Irish Setter.

Contrary to popular belief, no dog or cat is "hypoallergenic", but some are better than others. It's the dander people are allergic to, not the fur/hair/feathers. Dander is present in all animals but it's less of a problem when fur/feather-coated dander is not all over the place and if you have a calm dog...dander gets worse when animals get over-excited. (I also think the dander is different for animals with hair...but other than empirical evidence of far fewer problems, I don't know that for certain.)

This is one thing but I need two of it.

Due to circumstances that will not change any time soon, I have two interior doors separating my kitchen/lobby space from the rest of the house. Ninety percent of the time, they stand open, but they get closed every so often. Currently they are hollow oak doors 30 years old

There is a door that I keep visiting when playing around in Menard's custom door display ... a Mastercraft interior door with a molded glass panel. Substituting two of these glass ones would allow light to penetrate into halls and would be much less unfriendly when closed, such as when we entertain people in the dining room and I'm in the kitchen area making noise and smoke and smells or when I grind coffee beans in kitchen while houseguests sleep in a room nearby or when we need to keep a dog from penetrating the carpeted areas of the house. And the glass would compliment the rough Scandinavian-like artglass that I am ordering for four panels of my cupboards also.

Each one is about $450 for the size I need, plus Minn. tax. What distinctive, unnecessary thing could I buy for less than a paltry thousand dollars that would serve as well? Nothing else would be as dramatic or distinctive, not even an antique piece or a work of art, don'cha think? Would this door make the kitchen as singular as my (banned) red sink does now?

Florantha in Minnesota

P.S. Chocolate labs shed a lot less than yellow or black labs. This is experience speaking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interior

I just discovered Emery et Cie...a store with the most luscious, drool-worthy tiles. Of course, they're located in Paris/Brussels/Antwerp/London. If I figured the conversions out correctly, the mural tile I covet is $32.64 for an almost 6"x6" tile. Plus shipping from Europe.

Happy browsing! I hope someone with a larger budget or Euro connections can use some of these Emery et Cie tiles. I especially *heart* the cement, the Kleurtjes, and Imitation Iznik tiles.

Here is a link that might be useful: Emery et Cie tiles

Definitely another pet. (One of the current ones just threw his dinner dish on the kitchen floor. Sigh.)

Seriously, I have so many INexpensive useless things that I have no room for expensive useless ones.

Oooh! Beautiful, Pickle! I'll put them on the list for the castle! I don't know if this will make you feel better or not, but the place I got some of my tiles has the same size for $200 apiece or more. See! You found a bargain!!

LOL! @ Warmfridge!! Another reason to buy a castle?

buehl,
Thanks for the info. I need one of those doggies when my backyard isn't mud anymore from this kitchen project. They are really cute with that hair cut!