Is the pandemic affecting your reno?
eam44
4 years ago
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eam44
3 years agoRelated Discussions
How much does HGTV and current trends affect your choices?
Comments (55)I used to watch it. Some of it's first design shows were OK. But then it degenerated into more TV than design. When I found myself shouting at the screen over some crap they inflicted on someone or they had some self important and indulgent teenagers searching for million dollar homes, I quit watching. Unfortunately, it does seem to be popular with many of my clients. And I have to disabuse them of the notion that a kitchen can be done on 2K in 2 days. Even on one of the shows that actually does discuss a true kitchen budget, the labor numbers are always way low because they are subsidizing it. In the real world, there is no way that a 50K budget for a redo ends up with only 7K worth of labor costs. And, I think it's a huge disservice to their viewership to present such fiction cloaked as fact. "It's TV entertainment, not real life." is a line that I often have to repeat to people who didn't really do their research before beginning the process....See MoreWhat went wrong in your reno?
Comments (25)I'm G.C. for our kitchen. My policy was mostly to keep things simple if I was unsure or if task required high skills from contractor. I think this saved me from too many disasters. But.. I do have one screwup that I'm still working on. I didn't do homework on hood vent over stove. Turns out that there had to be a re-design after cabinets were in. Not good. Still working on this. Won't be impossible to fix but vent will have more bends than I wanted - this can impact the effectivenes of the vent but since we have induction stove, I'm not too worried. But I will be happy when I make final decision on this. My advice is to put vent in before cabinets. We had a major remodel where appliances were moved and there was a complete demo before start. I think in cases like ours, there is a high risk of screwups - I'm so glad ours has turned out as well as it has. I think we were very lucky. Given what I know now, I don't think I would attempt a remodel that was so major. Competent contractors is the most important factor that determines job success. My main advice is to "keep it simple" if possible. I wanted more "wow factor" but I knew it was just too risky. I plan to add accessories that will give some glamour but our basic kitchen has very basic layout with basic Ikea cabinets. We like it but would have liked more details as many discussed on this forum. Good luck....See MoreHow will the Covid-19 pandemic affect future home design?
Comments (41)I just remembered a conversation some of the parents had a pickup on the last day before our school closed. It was about difficulty finding toilet paper. One person who was there was making the case for Toto washlet type toilet seats to avoid the scramble for toilet paper. I predict that those will rise in popularity, especially if the toilet paper scarcity continues. Similarly, I think people may start to return to cloth napkins, dishcloths, rags, dish towels, etc.. They may be forced into it by supply shortages, but then they'll realize how much better it actually is for many thing. I agree that the Toto washlet would be very nice right now with TP being in short supply; however, I don't think most people are aware of its existence. While I personally try to avoid filling landfills with single-use items (including cleaning items), I don't think turning to cloth in case of another pandemic is a realistic solution. Why? Because whatever our next crisis is, the details will vary. Our next crisis might have to do with electricity, and we might lack the ability to wash cloth items. That's the hard thing about preparedness: you prepare without knowing for certain what will happen. I missed the comment about brick and mortar schools. I’m also a teacher and believe that if learning was left up to all students and it was strictly online the retention would be poor. There have been many studies showing that. Yes, and that mirrors my personal experience. I fully accept that right now we have to do what we can for our students -- but as a long-term solution, this isn't a great choice. I don’t think anyone liked the feeling of not being able to buy whatever we wanted whenever and wherever we wanted. Yes, we are very spoiled today -- popping into the grocery store to pick up whatever convenience product and out-of-season fruit -- and we don't even stop to think about it. If there's a silver lining to this thing, perhaps that's it: it forces us to be grateful for just how much we have. In terms of creature comforts, the poorest American lives a pretty cushy life compared to all the generations who've come before us. I think if people would just do their normal shopping and stop hoarding there would be stuff on the shelves. Absolutely true, but I do understand the fear: I may not be able to leave the house to get more. We may be sick, and I need to be prepared to take care of my family's basic needs....See MoreCar Parades during the pandemic
Comments (41)I guess I was raised in a different world from most so although I feel sorry for all the disappointing things that everyone is experiencing, most of it is way down the ladder in importance to me. All the touchy, mushy stuff that people are doing such as the parades, etc. are trivial and useless activities to me but I don't begrudge people from participating in them if it helps them or others cope better. It doesn't take any energy or sacrifice to "care". I have a lot more respect for people who are actually doing something that requires sacrifices of their time or resources such as helping in a food bank or donating to a charity that is helping really needy people in their community. Personally, this really hasn't affected us because we aren't involved socially that much. We don't belong to any social or religious groups and since we live in a rural area we don't even see neighbors very much. So this hasn't affected us as much as more gregarious people. My biggest personal sadness about this is that it looks like our plans for something really special for our golden anniversary coming later this year aren't going to happen. But I'm not losing sleep over it. I'll be grateful that both of us are still alive after all this. We were so poor when we got married that we couldn't afford (and most definitely not our parents) a wedding and most of our lives have been spent working and making do without much traveling or fancy celebrations so this we can survive just as well. It's a disappointment but we will get over it. So, I guess I can see that parades and all these mushy FB videos, etc. might be helping young children and even teens and adults with childish tendencies get through the day - I think that beyond that there is more need of real help and sacrifice right now - IMO....See Morejulieboulangerie
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