Gunter -- sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. Well I'll tell you, I'm pretty sure Mark (at Berkower) said his is a baked-on finish, but not 100%. Let me ask him tomorrow (Monday) and get back to you. I assume Berkower is less expensive than Wedgewood but to tell you the truth, I didn't have Wedgewood bid my kitchen nor did I have Berkower bid the den. Our kitchen is not a large kitchen but it does have a lot of stuff going into it, I think something like 90 doors / drawers, with lots of false drawer fronts (on our fridge and freezer, for example) which require "quirks" (labor-intensive). The door style is also more expensive, as it has a beaded edge (more labor and mitered corners) We're also getting every bell & whistle (like blum glides & hinges, 9' tall cabs, glass fronts with real chicken wire [not the diamond wire], hood, some toe kick drawers, sturdy chrome pantry pull-outs, etc.) -- I should measure the kitchen. I just did, it's ~ 13.5' x 21.5' with an island. Including tax, the price is ~$54K. (Mark also does all his installations, and that's included in the price.) Okay, our den is not only a much smaller space, it has many, many fewer cabinets. One wall (the workspace wall) is 12.25' long by 9' high, but most of this is, like a kitchen, not floor-to-ceiling cabinets because of the desktop. It has one 27" wide floor-to-ceiling cabinet (two rows of file drawers with cupboards w/adjustable pull-out shelves above), then along the whole upper wall are 45" high cabinets (nothing fancy, just the blum hinges) and then under the countertop are two three-drawer units. (The rest of the space is open for knees.) The other wall is 11.25' long, but 6.75' of that is sofa. It's two three-drawer units with open bookshelves on top and an enclosed "shelf" connecting the two bookshelves (so l-r: three-drawer base with bookshelf to ceiling on top of the drawer base, sofa with one row of shelf, connecting the two bookcases, [it'll hold baskets] above it, another three-drawer base with bookshelf on top). I hope this makes some sense. So this, which is something like 24 doors and drawers, is a bit over $13K. They deliver, but they don't install, so I'm paying for that separately. It's not apples to apples, but based on what the Wedgewood designer told me, he's a bit "shocked" over "how little" the den cabinets are costing. When he was over at my house (measuring) and saw our kitchen plans (because we were already working with Berkower) he asked me about it. I told him and he said he didn't think they'd be able to "come even close." I wasn't asking -- he offered that opinion. (but keep in mind, he was also "shocked" at the den's cost) Let me find out about Berkower's finish. But let me also add that Mark was happy to give me a (v. close) estimate before we decided to work with him. I gave him our plans (which have since been greatly tweaked) and that's how he gave me the estimate. Same with Wedgewood (for the den). I would seriously consider faxing your plans (even if they're just roughly drawn out -- they do not have to be fancy!) to both of them to get an idea. I doubt the idea will be too "rough": I seriously believe they'll end up being v. close to what the final tally will be. I also want to reiterate how positive our experience has been with Mark Berkower, a much more personal experience. Wedgewood wasn't bad, but it really felt kinda hurried (on their end). I would have liked a bit more time to go over everything but I kept being rushed. I should have been louder and demanded more time but the truth is I was more focused on the kitchen than the den and I let it go. Okay, I'll respond tomorrow with the Berkower finish info. If you have other questions let me give you my e-ddress (chinabrooke at yahoo dot com) so I don't miss your follow-up post(s).

I get your inspiration and I think it's a great direction. However, I feel a little hamstrung as you want to add pattern, but don't want to change out the drapes or the artwork and want to keep the upholstery solid, and even the stone bowl has no color. So I guess the only way to add pattern would be to use throw pillows and maybe an afghan or throw to the sofa. I would like to see some of the color from the rug moved up into the room. I would look at the blue and red and add it somewhere else in the room at least twice to pull it in. Otherwise, I'd consider not using that rug in the living area, maybe in the dining area instead and using a neutral rug to keep it consistent with the rest of the room. I think I would prefer the latter as I like the all neutral look and I think you'll have a decent amount of pattern with the flooring and the ceiling treatment already.

I would really appreciate if some of you can help with my dilemma. We are looking into flooring options for our new home. We live in Arizona. I was looking in to wood look porcelain tile because I really like the look of wood, but I want something where I can have the same kind of flooring in the entire main floor, so hard wood tile combo is out. We have hardwood in our current house in both our floors except kitchen and stairs as much as I love the look of it, I don’t like the upkeep that comes with it. A couple of our friends got LVP done in their homes and they really like it. I love how it looks but just can’t get over the vinyl part and how will it effect the value of the house? I spoke to a couple of local suppliers and contractors and they said I can’t go wrong with either it just comes down to personal choice. And with regard to the value they said only hard wood increases the value and carpet may decrease the value because buyers would like to change the carpet but vinyl or tile don’t add or delete anything in our are. it most likely will be our forever home till we downsize but just in case. Our home will be around 700k. I understand that vinyl costs less in labor charges but a 20mil wear layer vinyl is not cheap in material and I don’t mind to spend more on the labor of tile and prefer to compromise somewhere else which I can change easily later . I know some of the same things were discussed in this thread but most of them are over a year old was wondering if everyone is still on the same page. For everyone who has wood look porcelain tile or LVP do you still like it after a couple of years? What are the pros and cons. For me one big con with the tile is grout. And LVP’s pro is it’s looks. Do you have problems with footprints being seen on LVP like how a few mentioned in an other thread? any pro’s please give your input on what you think? Thanks a lot if you read till now. I will greatly appreciate any help you can provide.

Look into sheet vinyl. There’s much nicer, thicker stuff & some nicer patterns out there these days, you just need to dig a little and know where to find it. You’ll need to go to flooring stores, think local shops, not the big box stores or chains. The sheet vinyl samples are usually tucked away & hidden in a back room or some place out of the way, so you’ll have to ask to see them. Find some you like and take the samples home to compare in your space against the tub, toilet, vanity, & shower curtain (presuming there is one— if so makes it easier since most of the tub will remain covered anyway). Stick to something with the right undertones to go with the tub. I have the same situation in some of my baths: almond tub & white toilet, went with Harper by IVC. Looks identical to a tile that was out awhile back. http://162.243.93.218/flooring/sheet-vinyl-flooring/all-products/ A few samples below that might work: