The biggest drawback to self ordered fixturs is that the installer generally will not give you a warranty on the install of them because they didn't pick them out and inspect them. Most of the time, when a contractor supplies fixtures, they warrant the install as well as are the point of contact for the manufacturer's warranty. Take a toilet for instance. The price that the contractor wants to charge for the toilet is $600, which includes his markup for sourcing and pick up and delivery of the item. The manufacturer provides a 5 year warranty on the structural integrity of the toilet. If your contractor installs that toilet, and it has a hairline crack that leaks so slowly that you don't discover it until a couple of weeks later, your contractor will come out and switch out the toilets, and won't charge you the labor. He'll be the point of contact for the warranty. Now, if you find that toilet online for $490, not only do you have to spend your time searching for the "best" deal, pay shipping for it, know what other parts are required for the install but not sold with it, and inspect it upon arrival, and deal with the shipping company and supplier if it's broken or incorrect, but you also have to deal directly with the manufacturer when that hairline crack is discovered after installation. YOu'll have the hassle of getting them to fulfill their warranty, and the expense of hiring another install, because manufacturer's warranties never cover labor. You'll also have to deal with the disposal of the old unit and the damage to the ajdacent areas that the slow leak caused. And all the manufacturer will do, if you are successful in dealing with them, is replace the toilet. Some don't even pay for shipping the new one to you. It's your responsibility to pay for that as well. So, before you declare that your plumber is a bandit who just made $110 on every toilet that he installed in your house, realize that that $110 covers a lot of hidden costs that bargain shoppers don't always think about. If you have a LOT of free time, and are willing to gamble about dealing with any warranty issues, then sourcing a lot of fixtures can make sense for you. But, don't expect your tradesperson to serve as anything but an "install technician". And, if you really resent the cut that your GC will make from properly doing his job, then perhaps you'd be more comfortable spending your own time GCing the job yourself. Many people go that route and are quite successful at it. But many people also fail quite spectacularly at it because they underestimate the amount of work and knowlege that is required. It's a BIG time committment to take on even sourcing a few fixtures for a whole home job. Yes, the bottom dollar line may be somewhat less, but only if your time couldn't be spent more productively and valuably elsewhere, like in bringing in income. And, really, who's time can be said to be worth nothing that the amount of time that you spend on the net or in discount stores won't equal the full price that the contractor charges? Even if you just value your time at minimum wage, does "saving" that $110 on that toilet really equal out the 3 days you spent running around town to find that price? Or the additional 6 hours on the net away from your family? That time will never come back to you. It's spent. And unless the thrill of the hunt was really exciting and most of the point to begin with, I'm sorry, but I'd rather just pay the additional money and save the aggravation now, and possibly later as well if something were to go wrong.

I bought my Silgranit sinks at Homeperfect.com, on a holiday weekend when there was an additional % off...and I saved hundreds of dollars over what I'd have spent through the GC. He even admitted that the prices that I was coming up with were much better than what he could do. I saved enough to buy the sink grids that went with my sinks, and still came out way ahead. Shipping was prompt and they were packed very securely. I bought some other things from them as well, and had the same very good experience. That said, if I could have gotten even close with the local businesses, I would have. We try to support the local economy where we can, but there's a limit on how much more we can spend to do that. In one instance, we saved several hundred dollars buying our toilets, bathroom fixtures, and shower door from the online Home Depot vs. the local Home Depot brick and mortar store...including free delivery. That was the weird, but it taught us never to assume that the prices are the same online and in-store. Cj

They typically are fine with having customers buy their own stuff. It's just their labor is tremendously expensive or something. Depending on the case, I didn't want to know how much every detail of the cabinets were for example. I figure their prices are their prices. It sounds like you are on the back end of a poor front end. If the contract gives the contractor carte blanche to price things at whatever he wants, then it is a poor contract, as there is zero goal alignment there. If you are too far into this contract, and it is legal in your state (which it would not be in several states) then you are going to have to just ride it out and make a hundred little decisions like this. I can't tell you what you should contract out yourself as the entire reason for having a contractor in the first place is to select subs that match the job, so that clients can pay a small fee to have someone knowledgeable select subs. --- I watched my contractor measure and mark with small pieces of painters tape, where the holes would be. Then he used a laser level, before making the holes. A laser level might work if the floors are level but it could just as easily cause problems. You want pulls that are visually level and not actually level. Your contractor basically used a time consuming way to do something that would have been fast with the right tool. Grab one of the True Position jigs and it is not a difficult install but that is an expensive jig for a single kitchen install and could wipe away any savings and mistakes are still costly. I really hate that he was trying to work fast and didn't bother wiping off the front of the cabinets before installing hardware, but you get the idea.

Just wanted to say that I think your runner looks really lovely. I think going with a lighter wall color will work just fine with the stair runner. I might try to pick up on the lighter shade in the runner for a rug in the entry. Something with a different scale of pattern if possible. I really like the vertically centered left choice that Beverly posted.