Thank you so much! We are truly very happy with everything. The powder room and guest baths above were done about a year ago (no wait, that's when the demo for the big reno started). anyway, they were done first then I recovered from the decision making, all the while thinking about a vision for the next 2 baths and kitchen. Since the first 2 baths were brown, we wanted gray and white for the master, a classic feel. For the new full bath above, we wanted mostly white, low cost, but then I fell in love with the blue gray glass tile on the vertical and decided to do the whole wall with it. We loved the bones of the house and that every bath was hideous and kitchen too. But they were perfectly usable and we were able to renovate room by room or 1 area at a time and still live in the house. Nerves of steel? Insane? I dunno - but it was traumatic. Especially with the GC we started with. So much was measured incorrectly, framed not plumb and level - so a few months in we fired him and took it on ourselves (myself mainly). We had all the electrical re-done and then we hired a plasterer to board up all the walls. So I feel really good about what's behind the tiles and floor and where the wires go. Powder room answers: karenseb - the vanity was custom built by a carpenter. he also finished it in the dark espresso color. we sort of designed it together. The powder room itself is 5' x 2'10". I wanted enough space for extra toilet paper and a counter space for hand soap and a pocket book. I have spare hand towels on the open bottom shelf and potpourri on the middle open shelf. Tween bath answers: hoboken - that tile was $16/sheet (sq foot) after the discount and I bought them at the local tile shop, where I bought everything but the kitchen BS. enduring - the wall hung toilet was the only way to go here and include a shower. it's fine. there is a little bit of "give" but I really think that's in the wall. My tween never notices it. this bathroom also used to have a wall hung toilet. I hope we don't have to replace it in our lifetime. karenseb - that bathroom is 57" deep (door to mirror) and the vanity is 54". The shower is about 30" wide, and runs the depth of the bathroom at 57" to allow room for a shower door. It's a long-ish shower but there was no other way to do it. Oh and I found the name of the floor tile in the tween bath - it's Fabrique Linen Blanc. It's such a nice alternative to cheap white floor tile, it has a gray-ish strie pattern to it. I used silvershadow grout on the floor and it came out great. Again, thanks for the kind words and wonderful compliments!

I would like to chime in again in response to hollysprings' post. I do appreciate her insight, and others who are way more knowledgeable about this stuff than I. I agree that there are often circumstances that we may not be aware of that drive costs up, but let's face it, for many of us the construction industry is an enigma and it is already so hard to sift the wheat from the chaff. It only makes it harder for us when they don't let us know what goes into an estimate and we are left in the dark. Not only trying to find someone upstanding, but also someone who you get along with and understands your goals in the project. And I do think we should know the separation of labor and materials at least in some basic context. Obviously there is some range of cost that they have taken into account in order to come up with a lump sum estimate in the first place. Not to mention their own magic number that they need in order to make a decent living. And yes, there is a difference between nit-picking and getting a range of expected customer's choice driven costs. Shouldn't there be some responsibility on the contractor to let us know what types of allowances they are taking into consideration? I am new to remodeling, much like the OP. Unfortunately there are not many good resources for us noobs to educate ourselves about the construction process, how contractors work, good design, and product knowledge. Which is why I and so many others are on online forums such as this. I have been burned a few times attempting to learn and ask those same questions, like what the driving force is behind estimates and it is very frustrating because many contractors are not able to really articulate these things. What I have experienced is either a well organized design/ hold firm that does high quality work but only wants to work with luxury finishes or small time guys who come recommended by friends and neighbors that don't have a broad range of knowledge of products/design. And then those who do really great jobs for their friends and families but slack off for those who aren't on their Christmas list. No one I have met as a potential or actual client has been particularly interested in answering my questions, except with a short answer and a 'trust me I know what I'm doing'. I do know you get what you pay for and I am able to pay for what I want, but I also want to gain an understanding in what those driving forces are behind the costs. And in my expensive area of the country, it is very easy for me to feel and actually be price gouged.

My concerns exactly; Coincidentally, the company emailed me back today after I asked them about the level of urea formaldehyde and their response was: "The MDF and particule board used in the production are both urea formaldehyde and specs are standing that they are less than 0.30 ppm. The lacquer is solvent base and we see on the tech sheet that "This product has a very low formaldehyde emission and meets the German E1 specification for formaldehyde emission. It does not contain ketones, methanol or aromatics and is also free from D.O.P. and D.B.P. plasticizers. HAPs free solvents." Now I just have to get someone to translate this for me! Thanks-

you'd have much bigger problems with an overhead light when you opened your cabinet!!! I'd see whether (a) the cabinet can be fully or partially recessed, which will also give you more visual space. otherwise, (b) just get sconces that stand out from the wall enough to get past the cabinets. You might find that most wall sconces already do that -- even if it's partially blocked, most of the light will be coming forward and probably still be ok.