We are going with Pineloch pool Construction. We got quotes from blue haven, laguna and pineloch. Blue havens design was pretty "plain" and cookie cutter, but the cheapest by far. Both Laguna and Pineloch had excellent designs. Part of the attraction to Pineloch was their long time in the business, and the fact that the designer also supervises all the major phases of construction. He stays involved to the end. Big Plus in my mind. Also, we are building on a steep waterfront lot and there are special design and engineering considerations. Pineloch has a lot of experience in that. Once I get back in town, I will start a thread about our build with pic's and spec's.

Stacy, sorry to hear our tile is hard to come by. Master Tile had a similar tile like ours called 'NOR LAT BOT 6' from the Latina Series. lala2874 used it with travertine and it was very pretty. Looks like wamaha is using Pearland Pools for their build. I don't expect they will have a problem. I referred them to a very good friend of mine as we made the mistake of not using them for our build. Their build has gone smoothly even though they are very busy. They are a very professional and a timely builder of beautiful pools.

I just looked at my old wallpaper invoice ... $123 a single roll seems like a bargain! I think we all have different spending patterns based on what we find important to us. I rarely shop for clothing, shoes, etc and still have classic pieces that are years old that I still wear. I could buy fancy designer stuff for my kids, but they are happy to shop at TJ maxx, etc ... but DH did take said kid to the super bowl and didn't skimp on seats or accommodations. I like driving so I spend on that item. If you can afford the wallpaper and it will make you enjoy your time at home then it seems like a good purchase for you.

I love wallpaper and have it in most of the rooms in my house. Some of it has been there for decades and is still in excellent condition. Having said this, I have told my children that when they haul me out of here, dead or alive, to remove all the wallpaper before putting the house up for sale. People are terrified of removing wallpaper - think it will destroy the walls (if drywall and not properly primed, it might!), or will cost a fortune to remove. So I told them to only leave the wallpaper in two bathrooms - both are done in a Farrow & Ball strie paper and they make the two baths. As to wallpaper and using it in a bath or kitchen. One is no longer limited to "kitchen/bath vinyl wallpaper. I chose a gorgeous french documentary paper for my kitchen when we were moving here in 1984. I was worried about using it as a backsplash in my kitchen (which is what one did in those days), and a rep in the Brunschwig & Fils showroom in LA, told me to just send it to ResistFlame in Cincinnati. They would coat it with vinyl and I'd be good to go. I did this and have done it many times since. One has a choice of matte finish (my choice) or glossy, and it can be single/double/triple coated depending on the wear/tear one expects it to have to endure. I've always done single coating and that has been fine. It is totally wipeable/scrubable with a Dobie pad. The company is so easy to work with - I usually just have the paper drop-shipped directly to them. They coat the paper and then ship it to me. It's really quite reasonably priced.