My husband and I had an appointment at a Direct Buy in New York City. After the sales pitch, we were given the opportunity to view the catalogs of affiliated manufacturers. We were mainly interested in furniture (case goods and upholstery) and home furnishing items (fabric, accessories, etc.). The highest quality level of these items were on the low end of what I would term "mid-quality" home furniture. Several furniture manufacturers were low-end mass-market type. I was disappointed to find that only a couple of the furniture manufacturers I was interested in were participants of Direct Buy. That said, the pricing structure of the two manufacturers I was interested in, which had a couple of case good pieces I wanted to price out, was virtually the same as what a smart shopper will negotiate at their local furniture store. The high membership fees become ridiculous in this scenario. We also saw that a number of products actually had surcharges applied to them. These surcharges make purchasing from Direct Buy more expensive. We also noticed that home electronics and applicance items were not competitve to what one could price out at the local PC Richards or other electronics stores. Direct Buy is not the place to go for appliances/electronics items--there is heavy competition for these items and many places one can go to find the best price. While we were sitting with the Direct Buy sales associate, my husband called his contact at the electronics/appliance store we have purchased from for years, priced the exact model of an item available from Direct Buy and found that the Direct Buy price was in fact more than $100 more expensive. All this said, the high membership fees that Direct Buy charges may be of value to individuals who first and foremost have many, many purchases to make, i.e., a whole house to purchase for and are the kind of people who: (1) Don't have the time or inclination to research the best price among retailers. This is quite understandable, it takes time and effort to get the best value for your money!! (2) Are willing to settle for lesser quality items (for the money) in purchasing items for their home--this is really a point about making sure you purchase enough items to justify that hefty membership fee! (3) Doesn't like to negotiate with sales people. This is really a good point to make in favor of a Direct Buy kind of place--many people in the United States don't like to do this & Direct Buy has already done it for you. You're not getting the best price or best quality for your $$ but at least you're not paying full retail!

I read this whole thread before taking a risk on Yardzen. I have a pretty small project, where it's not cost effective to work through the entire design process with an expensive landscape architect. I thought the risks were minimal ... but my experience with Yardzen was terrible! So I wanted to circle back to this thread, even though it's pretty old and add my voice to the chorus above warning you to avoid Yardzen. It's not worth it. I spent quite a bit of time on the questionnaire, but got a first iteration back from Yardzen that was SUPER far from what I was looking for. The house was a color I specifically said I didn't want. The aesthetic was super contemporary, even though my house is craftsman style. It felt like the info I entered wasn't even considered. I added a bunch of feedback (more time wasted). I even met with a designer they offered to put me in touch with. After that virtual meeting, I felt better. But when my final design came back, I had so many weird design details in my drawings ...for example, counter seating facing a fence. You can always pay for them to do further iterations, but at this point, it felt like a bottomless pit. You can keep giving feedback, but there's a real disconnect between the client and the design team. The risks here are more than just your money; it's your time and energy as well.

The Engima Valley counter is absolutely beautiful, but I would NEVER install it again. I've only had it installed for a month and I already have two big chips in the island. I keep my house immaculate, including wiping down the counters every time I cook to ensure it isn't damaged by red sauce or acidity from lemons. I already have light stains forming on the island. I have marble in my bathrooms that's holding up better than the Enigma quartz. I reached out to Enigma for help filling in the chips. They redirected my email to the store I purchased the stone from who then redirected me to my fabricator for help filling them in. Really disappointed all around, especially since it was $5700 for one slab and fabrication/install.

I love this bathroom discussion. I swear it’s our bathroom from when we were in college in a California duplex. We had geometric 50s wallpaper that had teal, pink, lavender, orange and silver in it. The cabinet was wood and looked just like yours. I’d sand and seal the cabinet and go after vintage wallpaper. We have never had a tub that matched that one for relaxed soaking. The other half of the duplex had green tile, full out lavender tub and beige floor tile. Haha. The only thing that really looks bad is that window. The frame looks pretty rough.