I can understand the gavavemom's concern about the price of faucets. For the cost of a quality faucet you can buy a pretty good dishwasher or two microwaves, sometimes even a refrigerator. Why are the things so expensive? They're actually not. You can buy a good quality basic faucet that will give many years of excellent service from any number of sources -- and I mean a brass faucet with a good valve for under $50.00. In fact, I just did a search on my usual faucet e-tail sites and found name brand centerset lavatory faucets for under $30.00. The problem with these faucets is that, for the most part, they are not at all stylish. They look like the faucet in your mother's or grandmothers (as the case may be) 1970's bathroom. When you pay $600.00 for a faucet, you are paying about $50.00 for the faucet and $550.00 for the style. Most likely it will not work any better or last any longer than the basic $50.00 faucet. It's very much like buying cabinet hardware. A basic cabinet door or drawer pull or knob cost less than $1.00 -- in fact I have seen them for as little as 29¢ How, then can someone spend $25.00 and more on a cabinet pull? Easy, they're paying the extra for the style. As long as you insist that your faucet have style, you are going to pay more for it. You are paying for short production runs and the cost of designing, prototyping, testing and certifying the faucet -- which can easily exceed $100,000. Spreading this start-up cost across a small number of faucets means that quite a lot is added to the cost of each faucet. Not to mention that the manufacturer's markup on designer faucets is much higher -- they have to make their money from fewer items sold. Plus, as the originator of this thread shows, we don't fix things any more. If it leaks or stops working perfectly, we throw it out and get another one. This makes the lifetime costs of owning faucets much higher. And, it is really dumb because most faucets can be easily fixed. In almost all cases the problem is nothing more than a silicon seal. My grandfather built a bathroom into his Victorian house in 1912 as a Christmas present to his new bride. In 2012 when the city tore it down to build a new library, every faucet in the room was still working perfectly. On the hot water side of the lavatory, the nickel finish was entirely gone and the brass beneath completely exposed -- but it still worked because it had been carefully maintained for 100 years, by my grandfather, my father, and me. If it needed a new washer, it got one. If the riser leaked, it got a new one. It was certainly not a stylish faucet (well, actually, today it is stylish once again), but it worked, and my Grandfather, Irish to his bones, would not replace anything that still worked. It was a Kohler, by the way. Anyway, so long as you require a faucet be stylish, you are going to pay for the style. The more style, the more you are going to pay. If you want the major league bragging rights of owning a Philipp Starck-Designed Axor (Hansgrohe) faucet, you will pay a major league price. Or, for 1/10th the price, you can own a Delta or Moen that will last nearly forever. You are the buyer, and the choice is yours. So, what's it going to be?

Some other things you can consider in the design: - Stick to as square/rectangular a layout as you can stand. Bumpouts, additional corners, etc., all add extra labor, which you pay for. - Stick to standard sizes and patterns. You mentioned using standard window sizes, which is good. Also think about the plans in terms of even multiples --if you can go 15 or 16 feet, 16 feet likely will require less measuring and cutting. Think about using stock cabinetry instead of custom; stock fronts instead of special orders; ordinary casings and moldings instead of special stuff. - Don't make changes once the plans are done unless you're fixing errors. Every change is $$$. Think it all through before you proceed. Be as specific as you can about things like window quality (even brand and model), siding, door styles and construction, what doorknobs are to be used, etc. Any ambiguity is an invitation to a surprise. Neither you nor the contractor can read each others' minds. - Negotiate with the contractor on who supplies pieces-parts like electrical outlets, overhead lamps, etc. If you plan to do that yourself to save money, make sure that is part of the contract and that you will be notified when those items need to be on-site. - Don't be afraid to ask for a better price. Keep in mind that negotiation is a two-way street. Maybe you can get a few hundred dollars off if you let the contractor put an advertising sign on your lawn for the duration of the job. Maybe you can get a better rate by waiting for a slower work period or for being flexible on how long the job will take. Ask about "paint-your-way-in" or if there is some demo or prep work you can do. Maybe you get the dumping bin and the permits, paying for them directly. Asking is free. The worst anyone can do is to say 'no'. - Keep in mind that you are doing 'wet' remodeling. If you were not putting in a laundry room, you probably wouldn't be talking about water and gas (or 240V electric) connections. Putting those in will require labor and additional subcontractors. Think seriously about whether that's the best place to move the laundry room. OTOH, it may be cheaper to route new connections into the addition than to reroute into existing parts of the house. But talk it over with a plumber and electrician or two (offer to pay for the estimate since the contractor likely has his/her own subs) before insisting in the contract that you want it in the addition. - Finally, think about what you/DH can do later and what you need to have tradespeople do now. Maybe it's cheaper to go with builder-grade carpet on concrete for now, because you can put in a floor of your choice later. Spend the money on things which will be difficult/more expensive to retrofit or which will cost you to go without, like gutters or sufficient electrical connections. Good luck!

Your expectations match Unobtanium Cabinets. They aren't realistic, even for the highest grade custom with a lifetime warranty. Your budget matches builder grade quality or cheepchinese no warranty at all stuff. Warranties specifically proscribe humidity control in your home as being part of your responsibility for the warranty to be maintained. You also need good quality ventilation to keep grease off of your cabinets, and to clean them appropriately when soiled. That does not involve abrasive scrubbies and a fire hose. There does not exist a cabinet that will be unaffected by an impact force. How you live your life will show on your surroundings. Either quit obsessing about normal wear and tear, or learn to live with a lighter touch and more care.

Aw man, thanks for the comments guys! After being in this house with small kids for eight years, the cabinets are showing wear and there is quite a bit of water damage on many of them and some are broken (didn’t show you that photo!). So...that was where my head was at with going ahead and painting the cabinets. They are already priming today so this is a done deal! In my area, painting cabs is still a big thing (we might steer behind the times a little) and a big thing people look for in resale (we could be moving in a couple years). Honestly, it might not be trendy but I still love my granite! It hides stuff so well and never looks dirty. And I never even notice my backsplash and I just don’t care that much about it. It’s hard for me to warrant changing something just for cosmetic reasons (counter and backsplash) versus need (cabs). We got an amazing deal on the painting so I feel good about it. I’m going full steam with Antique White. After looking at it forever and being in complete decision making paralysis, that’s what I’m going with! I’m going with brass/gold knobs to add a little bit of funky and I have lots of Anthropologie-esque and plants to add character. I have a very open floor plan with my living room right there in all it’s colorful glory, so I’m thinking the lighter will look nice. I’ll be happy to post a pic when I’m done. Thanks for listening!!