hey PJ- Agree with the other posters here about the 'why' of it all. Sometimes it's not about the cost. Take me, for example. I am moreso a flower gardener. I used to not particularly care about veggie gardening, and although I'd grow a veggie patch every year, it wasn't my main focus, and I didn't particularly care if it didn't produce. I was happy with any result I got, but simply didn't care one way or the other. We don't use too much produce in my house. A bag of carrots here, a few apples & bananas there. I don't cook...hate cooking...so I just really have no big need to grow the veggies & herbs for the lower cost of doing it (in volume). PJ might find that there's no real benefit to going through all these gyrations and failures and money-sucking ventures to warrant veggie gardening. But PJ might also find that his/her tomatoes were no less than ASTOUNDING this year, and maybe he/she takes a real interest in "The Tomato" and your focus changes to tomatoes exclusively and enjoying every variety you can get your hands on. I bet I spent more on seeds and black plastic this year than I spend in an entire year on produce at the grocery store. Oh, not to mention the new fence to grow stuff up, and the DH (who is a tinkerer, and one who you cannot leave alone on any given day because he'll make trips to HD and rig something up when you're not looking) deciding that I needed irrigation in my veggie patch, so he rigged up a water-line from the house to the veggie patch. I'd say easy there's over $300 in materials out there this year. To me, that's INSANE. But...and here's the big but...it's not about the cost. It's about WANTING to succeed, WANTING to have a better production, WANTING to enjoy a veggie patch. I really didn't care one way or the other in previous years, and if I found a tomato amongst all the weeds in August, hooray for me. I like gardening. I don't like weeding, but I don't mind it at the same time. I like being creative in coming up with a new design that will make me want to be in there. OT personal stuff: I like art. I tried my hand at Stained Glass once. It was "ok," but something I knew I'd never really pursue heavily. I like mosaic...I keep it as an occasional hobby. I can draw, and paint "sorta" but it'll never be a full time job that I can make money doing. It's about knowing what you're interested in, and what you really enjoy doing, not about cost. I will say that one thing I have tried in gardening that I really don't care about at all is container gardening. I stink at it. I have no discipline to keep things watered, and I'm not interested in the finer points of how to fertilize container plants. I do better on large-scale and a huge compost pile. Anyway, it's really all about what you know about yourself, what you know you like, and what you know you DON'T like, trying some things and either discarding for other things or keeping them and getting better at them. If you're an artist, you might stink at painting & drawing. But you might find that you excel at sculpture and abstract art. You're still an artist. You just need to find your medium. Good luck to you!

But watch the low end stuff at Lowes. My dh and I went in there to look at vanities, especially their low/mid priced stuff. All of their display models were shoddily put together - crooked drawers, staples showing on the ends, doors that hung off kilter. A lot of particle board, which I think could be problematic in a bathroom (potentially wet environment). Granted, those were *display* units; maybe the ones still in boxes were assembled with some care. But I'd be very cautious. And no matter what, the boxed units would still have all that particle board. After that experience we gave up entirely on the big box stores for vanities - we felt like we'd get junk from them in the low/mid price range. If you want rustic - which you probably don't - I can tell you where to go for *that*!

If the offset doesn't matter to you, and you don't have a strong desire to spend the money on a furniture-looking vanity, don't replace it. There is nothing wrong with an offset sink. In fact, as stated by chicagoans, it's probably allowing you to have the bank of drawers. And it also makes a nice usable non-sink vanity space. And there is nothing wrong with a non-furniture-style vanity. You can place a mirror wherever you feel is right. If it's not large enough to span most of the space over the vanity, I think over the sink would be best. What size is your vanity? If it's not too large, I'd consider an extra wide mirror that would be centered on the vanity. Like one of these from Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware.

Decolav has some nice, modern stuff. I posted one below..that's a bit more than $600...and u still need fixtures...but it's pretty and wouldn't need replacing down the road at all. The more expensive one includes a sink. You might be able to find some less expensive vessels online or ebay: Here's on for $80. really cute one: http://www.amazon.com/DecoLav-5114T-8CW-WH-Lavatory-Integrated-Countertop/dp/B0037A6OMS/ref=sr_1_184?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1276109067&sr=1-184 http://www.amazon.com/DECOLAV-Vanity-Storage-Cabinet-Mahogany/dp/B00196W8AE Kompy Here is a link that might be useful: decolav