I like a lot of your contract points bevangel. When we built our garage in 2003, we hired a framer who was also a friend. He and his helper didn't show up the first day, or the second, or the third. Dh is the son of a carpenter/builder and knows how to do the work, but he has had back surgery and shouldn't be doing it. But on the 3rd day, he got antsy and we had 3 walls up before the framer finally showed up about 3pm and they put up the 4th wall. The next day they started putting up trusses and dh went to his real job. That night, he was looking at the work done and saw that the trusses weren't set on the same marks on each side. The helper must have either been measuring from a different starting point or he was using the metric side of the tape. Anyway, dh spent that evening moving one side so it lined up with the other side and he let the framer know about it so they would do the rest right. The next day, no framer. The next day they showed up at 4pm. and only got a couple of trusses set. The next day they finished the trusses and then we didn't see them again for 3 days. Then they started putting up the plywood subsiding and decking. After they finished that, we didn't see them again for a week. During that week, it rained and the plywood warped. The next time they showed up, they started putting siding over the warped plywood. I stopped them and told them the warped siding had to be replaced first. They said they would so I left them to it. When dh came home that night, he found that they had replaced a couple of the lower pieces of plywood and sided over the rest. And it was really wavy. Dh called him, told him to come get a check and not come back. I roofed most of the garage by myself and dh and I replaced the warped plywood and finished the Hardi-plank siding. The plumber left his assistant to put in the gas line and water heater. He did fine with the line but he installed the water heater with the controls facing the wall and in a cabinet with no way to reach them. Dh had to redo that. The concrete contractor and the electrician were both terrific, so it wasn't like every sub was a problem, but the framer caused enough grief to make up for all of them. That was at a time when building was still good and even getting bids for a small job was hard. Our biggest mistake was hiring a friend, who used our friendship and put us last while he ran off to work on other jobs. We aren't friends any more. A contract from our end and not just their end would have made a big difference.

for some reason, i stopped getting emails about the follow-ups. thank you so much for the ideas everyone. gmp3- i didn't even think about gray with green!! i love that print. i have dorian gray in the living room and hall so it would def be easier to continue the gray into the bathroom. would it be too dark? there is no window. I also have revere pewter in another bedroom so I can use the left over. I was planning on using revere pewter in the yellow bathroom. we decided on this tile for the kitchen and hall: 'canyon expresso' from lowes, would this work as well? I'd love to be able to use all the stuff we already have as it would really help us on the cost and labor. i love that vanity, and i can't find it. please send me a link. thanks again.

Is the elastic covered by the waistband or sewn to the outside of it? If it's inside the waistband and you don't mind spending the time, you could take all the stitching out of the waistband(you may have to remove it from the shorts). Adjust the width of the waistband to match the new width of your shorts, sew it back on the shorts(if you removed it), fold it over and make a casing that you can pull your elastic through and adjust as needed. If the elastic is sewn to the outside of the waistband, you might get away with taking it in along with the side seams of the shorts. Just reinforce your stitching(stitch over it a couple of times) so it won't come apart and trim fairly close so it won't feel bulky. Good luck. I hope I'm not confusing you.

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I think you're correct that using a mix of colors and textures will make both of us happy. DH has agreed to a different color island, but doesn't like the look of painted uppers with stained lowers. He says it's "trendy and weird." I don't understand his logic, but whatever. I am so FRUSTRATED because he cares what the kitchen looks like but doesn't offer many suggestions of his own. He says I can do "whatever," but wants veto power over anything he really hates. Which is pretty much anything that strays from what's on our builder's website. I've decided that I can no longer look at photos of any kitchens with white; it makes me sad. I'm looking for inspiration from stained kitchens that I DO like. So, here's what DH & I can agree on: - a wood species with a very subtle grain - DONE - simple cabinet design without a lot of ornamentation - DONE - a medium or dark stain that doesn't have strong red or yellow undertones - getting there - a light, subtle granite that doesn't hog the spotlight - considering Giallo Ornamental, which should meet that need - a wood floor that contrasts with the cabinets - getting there - doing something very geometric with the backsplash - painted island - still undecided. I love the idea in theory, but I need to figure out how to integrate it with the rest of the design. I'd love tips on how to do this. Would it be accurate to say that given all our neutral choices, the backsplash needs to be the star? In case you're wondering, DH is making concessions, too. Our compromise is that I'll concede quite a bit on the kitchen, but I get full reign to do pretty much whatever I like in the bathrooms. Two of the three bathrooms WILL have white cabinets. :)