Well, we're all attracted by the most expensive items, but there are decent items that are a lot less expensive. You need to define a budget for what you want and then see what exists in this budget.

Yes, that is what will happen, I'm again, just dreaming and brainstorming and gathering ideas (usually from seeing a link someone has shared on GW) and sometimes, I'm shocked by what some of the cool things cost.

For less expensive sinks, folks here are very happy with Kraus. And while lots of high end things are showcased here, you will also find poeple who work very hard to find the best value items.

Shop around.
Decide what satisfies your needs, and choose your splurges carefully.

This is a fine sink:

this light costs $600 through big H, or $30 at big Orange

thor what is big H? and you bring up another thought I've had...what pros and cons are there to using big box store fixtures etc vs other sources? I've seen some super cool looking light fixtures at IKEA... are places like that and products they sell practical and viable or just not worth it?

First define your style and what you like. Once you have that figured out, it will be easier to shop.

I splurged on a few items (my quartzite, the tiles on my fireplace) and for the rest shopped for similar looking items that would give the feel but be more in my budget.

For example, my style is craftsman. I love Old California Co lights, but found ones that work just as well from Arroyo Craftsman and they were half the price

Starts with H, ends with ZZ ;-)

Often fixtures (lighting, plumbing) are the same at big-box stores, but there can be differences, so buyer be warned. Keep in mind how easy something is to change out if there is a problem (are you comfortable changing out a faucet or a pendant lamp?), or how unsafe it could be - UL listing is important for electricity.

IMHO I stick with Moen or Delta for their guarantees, I won't spend thousands on a sink faucet.

Define the big picture design first. Then refine the individual elements that fit the big picture. For example, “white counters” can be an exotic marble at $200 a square, or quartz at $100, or Designer White Corian for $45. Each would fit the design for “white counters”. Each had their pluses and minuses. And cost vs value. Sometimes the big cost material is the only right material.

@rjinga We're in the same boat! I was pricing out tubs and kitchen sinks only to find some sinks were half the price of a whirlpool/air tub! Insanity.

If the sink can wash dishes for me, I'd pay $2500 for it.

Have you decided on a style yet? That helps narrow things down a lot.

What Thor said about Moen and Delta when it comes to plumbing fixtures. We've been very impressed over the past 25 years with their lifetime guarantee. No questions asked, no need to find receipts, etc. Excellent customer service.

When we were building our new house several years ago, I sourced light fixtures from all over. We're in Canada, so some sources were different than in the US. I did a lot of Google image searches to find the same fixture at different retailers and prices; Wayfair in particular has good prices but often renames both the fixture and the manufacturer. In the end, I bought fixtures from Canadian independent lighting shops, Home Depot Canada, Lowes Canada, Rona (since bought by Lowes), Ikea, and Wayfair (from which I bought several amazing Currey & Company fixtures). Definitely a mixture of high and low.

Our kitchen, and apron-front kitchen sinks, are Ikea, which I'm very happy with.

Here's a good thread on kitchen sinks; I find Starcraft Custom Builders' comments to be very useful, and their website is invaluable for building and remodeling,

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3555946/need-help-selecting-a-stainless-steel-sink-and-faucet

http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/

You could say the OP about anything. "I have sticker shock that cars cost $75k". Well yes, some do, and there are plenty of good ones that cost much less. You could say same about clothing, jewelry, computers, phones, gym memberships, eyeglasses, haircuts, on and on to infinity. Of course there are $3000 sinks, and $300 sinks.

As others have said, decide what is important to you in the kitchen, and spend more on that, and spend less on things not as important to you. The first thing you need to do is decide on your kitchen reno budget. Then do judicious shopping, research on the internet, for your kitchen as you would for your car or anything else.

rjinga-

Yes, you can spend obscene amounts of money for mundane items like sinks. But you can also spend reasonable amounts and not sacrifice quality. The most important thing to remember is that a $1000 faucet is not necessarily better than a $200 faucet. And a $2500 sink is not necessarily better than a $400 sink. Kitchens are an area where people get confused because they think a gizmo 5 times as expensive as another gizmo must be 5 times better. The reality is that you often are paying a big premium for a high-end brand name, but that faucet is built at the same foreign factory as an equally good one that costs a fraction of the price. You also pay a premium for cutting edge style with no gain in function. In regard to appliances, there are some really nice, expensive refrigerators and stoves that have many features, and some of them are really great, and some of them are notoriously undependable. So dig into the reviews before you buy, and consult sources like Consumer Reports for reliability ratings. There's nothing worse than buying an $8000 refrigerator and have it perform worse that the $1000 one you replaced it with. My view is that you can have a really nice kitchen and not have to drop exorbitant amounts of money if you keep in mind a few things:

1. Don't buy cheap stuff at big box stores, but recognize that you can often get better prices at these places on quality name-brand lines than you can at plumbing supply houses. Places like Home Depot can also do a special order for you of many things that they don't carry in the store and get you a better price than elsewhere.

2. Be aware that the engineering that goes into faucets is not rocket science, and a good $200 kitchen faucet can have internal parts and external finishes that are just as good as the $2000 designer faucet; and, the super-pricey faucet is not necessarily going to last longer than a decent Delta or Moen or Kohler faucet. Also, these name-brands will likely have longer and better warranties than that exotic Italian faucet that you may have trouble finding parts for when it fails in 10 years.

3. For stainless steel sinks, start by looking at Costco where you can get quality, heavy duty, name-brand, stylish sinks for very reasonable prices.

4. Explore online vendors, like Build.com for quality, name-brand fixtures. The selection is huge, the prices are very good, they ship fast, they carry quality products, and the sales staff are knowledgeable. Their product pages have a wealth of data on the specs, and there are often lots of helpful customer reviews. They also have excellent return policies. They have, for example, over 4000 kitchen faucets available, so if you are looking for a specific style, you can often find similar ones over a wide price range and buy the one that has good reviews but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. When I re-did my master bath, I was able to get an American Standard tub shipped for free to my home in 3 days that was quoted to me as costing twice as much by my local plumbing supplier and requiring 6 weeks for delivery. For light fixtures, try LightingDirect.com.

I recently finished a gut remodel and at first I had sticker shock but then became inured to it - especially in terms of surprise costs like electrical surprises :-).

Bottom line as people have said, is determine what your budget is and determine whether that budget is realistic for the scope of the project you are contemplating. Unless you are DIY the cost of quality labor is high in most areas and can actually be more than the finishes and fixtures. It is going to cost just as much for a quality tile shower and so the price differential for less costly tiles isn't going to make that much of a difference.

Also to a great extent, you will pay for style because certain styles and finishes are just more expensive. For example, Moen and Delta are considered to be relatively inexpensive but high quality plumbing fixtures and really they are the default in terms of probably being the least expensive fixtures you would want to install. However, select one of their more fashionable styles and then select one of the costlier finishes and the price escalates - and then realize the sheer quantity of fixtures needed for a standard bathroom - just an example.

Like other have stated, It all depends on how much you want to spend, people who spend high prices for designer name items do it because they can and it is some sort of "I do it because I can afford" mentality no because they need to spend that kind of money for something to work.

Is like buying a car, a $10,000 car will do the same as one that costs $80,000 which is transport you to point A to point B.

About lighting (which is what I do for a living) I can say that also depends on what you want, for example big lighting stores buy light fixtures by the thousands, so durability is not really a big concern for the store, not a those selling prices. Big name designer fixtures are pretty much the same (mass-produced as well) but the quality will be better in certain cases.

If you want handmade you pay a little extra but you are getting better craftsmanship because those fixtures are made in small batches and per request (at least in my case).

Also there are a lot of handmade light fixtures (or other items) that fall in two categories; made or designed by a renowned designer VS the same items made by a not-so-known designer; here the craftsmanship and quality of the components is exactly the same but when you buy from a renowned designer you're paying for the name and not for item in question.

Home Depot had my Kohler sink for less then a plumb supply shop - and it had the same serial number - was the same sink. However, some of the faucets at Home Center stores, even by a good company like Delta, are not as well made with faux metal finish that can peel off over time. So, check the serial number to be sure it is a better grade faucet that you might see at a plumb supply shop. I bought an inexpensive Delta kitchen faucet to tide me over till I replaced my sink and counter. More time went by then planned for and while the faucet kept working, the "metal" finish flaked off. My better grade Delta faucets bought from a plumb supply shop have been working well for 20 years. My Kohler Whitehaven sink was more than I expected, but less than $1000 and I love it - I bought it from Build.com. Home depot carries some brand name quartz too. My neighbor was fine with Home Depot installers, but that varies from place to place. I ordered my faucet online after seeing it in a kitchen and bath display. It is a mid-priced faucet and was on sale. 4 years later it is still working well.

I have a simple kitchen and avoid too many bells and whistles on appliances. I often buy the less expensive model of a company with a good reputation, so I have the least expensive Bosch dishwasher and I am very happy with it.

" However, some of the faucets at Home Center stores, even by a good company like Delta, are not as well made with faux metal finish that can peel off over time. So, check the serial number to be sure it is a better grade faucet that you might see at a plumb supply shop."

I have never, ever, seen any substantiation to the myth that somehow brand name faucets purchased at a big box are inferior to others.

Maybe somewhere there's an internal Delta email that says, "Hey Jim, don't forget Tuesdays are Home Depot' manufacturing days, so be sure to use the cheap washers."

Joseph, I bought an inexpensive (about $120) Delta kitchen faucet - as I said above at Menard's to hold me over before I did my refresh. The "chrome" started to flake off. In my budget kitchenette done 3 years ago, I have a Delta kitchen faucet - again about $120 and the base is plastic made to look like oil rubbed bronze. It works fine but only gets minimal use being in the basement. The one that flaked never stopped working - just looked bad:) I am aware that a $120 faucet is not going to be quality, even if it is made by a name brand, but others may not be.

The base and sprayer of this Delta faucet ($120) are plastic made to look orb. The handles are metal:

https://www.houzz.com/hznb/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~65270573

My Delta bathroom faucets, around $350 each 20 years and 4 kids ago, still look great, which is too bad because they are bright brass:)

Delta does not try to trick people - the inexpensive faucet will not have the same serial number as the better grade, nor will it be as heavy with the plastic parts.

Home Depot does carry name brand sinks and faucets in the better grades. I bought my mom a cast iron Kohler sink and a Moen faucet at Home depot a couple of years ago and they are fine.

At the low end, from any manufacturer, you can get marginal quality. At mid-range prices from name brand manufacturers, you should get quality products with (probably) lifetime warranties. At the high end, you are paying for design or cachet, but not necessarily improved function or longevity. Shop carefully and look at the specs and the reviews and you should be good.

And I agree with Joseph: if the model numbers of two items are identical, buy the cheaper one knowing it's no different from the more expensive one regardless of where it's purchased.

It appears that one needs to determine that the model as identified by the serial number is actually identical. I would assume that is how a lot of sales are made as I doubt most people are actually comparing serial numbers for various faucets.

If Delta which appears to be a company that prides itself on the quality of its products is creating products which flake after one year of use, then I would complain to Delta directly as I would imagine that they would provide a satisfactory solution.

Of course the wrinkle with all warranties is that the cost only covers the actual part so they would have to pay for installation - and not all people can install their own faucets or prefer not to even if they watch a Youtube video :-)

Helen-

The manufacturer doesn't pay for installation when you buy the faucet, so I wouldn't expect them to do it if the faucet needs replacement. I'm just happy to get a new faucet free, as I did when my 15-year old Moen developed a slight leak in one of the supply lines.

I realize that warranties always exclude installation or other incidental expenses. I was just pointing that out as a penny wise pound foolish justification for not cheating out in quality because it will cost more in the end. And a faucet is a relatively inexpensive fixture to replace in terms of installation costs versus bath and shower fixtures.

Agree...and the installation cost to replace a faucet is zero plus a half hour of time if a person has a minimal level of competence and a couple of tools. I'm always amazed that people will spend more to have a faucet or a toilet installed than the fixture costs in the first place.

I’m going through this exact same sticker shock... I was in a plumbing supply yesterday and just happened to notice a Rohl toilet paper holder for $320. Seriously?! I didn’t buy it :-). But one thing I have discovered in my recent research is that there are specific models of name brand faucets (eg Delta) that are specifically only sold at Home Depot or Lowe’s....

D Walker-

If that's so about Delta faucets, etc. I assume those are at the low price end, and that just underscores the need for a person to confirm the product number of a faucet they like, and not go on looks.

P.S.: What is your source for the statement that these faucets aren't sold anywhere else than the two big box stores?

Sounds like you have champagne taste as many of us do, BUT, you need to be realistic and stay in your budget range. I would never pay $500-$1000 for a pendant. That’s insane. I believe I paid around $100 each for my pendants. Just keep looking and pass on anything that blows your budget. You may be able to find a very similar/look alike item for a fraction of the high end item.

zorro-

I have friends who always equate paying top dollar with the highest quality. When remodeling their condo they paid $10K for a designer track lighting fixture for the living room. I didn't say anything, other than "Nice fixture," but I've seen an identical fixture that was equivalent in appearance and build quality from a name brand manufacturer that was in the $300-400 range.

Kudzu9 - it was on the delta web site that I saw that. I was looking for some different lines in brushed nickel & came across a few that said “only at Lowe’s” or “ only at Home Depot”, eg here is one called Sandover:

https://www.deltafaucet.com/bathroom/product/35748LF-SPPD#specsTab

Course it could also be that their web site is out of date :-)

D Walker-

Thanks. Useful info.

We have remodeled five houses in our lifetime. We always use HD or Lowe’s. And we start at basic to see if it functions as well as it looks! That way you end up with High:Low and control where you spend your money. My fave products have been SubZero fridge, high end Bosch dishwasher, high end lighting. These have been work horses for us, and get raves when we sell. Just sayin’.

PS: we do all our own work; UBS is a Chemical Engineer and can and dies do everything on the houses! I design, gofer, and paint! Lol! Good luck and keep your walker close!

Hubs not UBS! Oops!

PPS: and Koehler toilets!

If you want a warranty and liability coverage on installed fixtures, you will no doubt have your GC order fixtures.

My experience was that my cost for much of the higher end stuff I used in my recent remodel was much cheaper because I ordered through my designer and the retail markup on stuff is quite high so even with her markup, the prices were lower or at most the same as the lowest prices I saw on the internet. I know this was true of the Toto washlet I bought (for example) but also other stuff like sconces, knobs and pulls etc.

Not everyone has the ability to do DIY for a variety of reasons ranging from physical limitations as well as time limitations. For many of us, it's just not worth using leisure time rather than just paying a plumber of other tradesperson to get it done. It would never be worth it for me to invest the time to master and actually attempt to install a faucet and I get a sense of accomplishment from other pursuits versus DIY projects :-).

“If you want a warranty and liability coverage on installed fixtures, you will no doubt have your GC order fixtures.”

Huh? The warranty comes from the manufacturer, regardless of who orders and installs the fixtures or appliances. For my kitchen reno, I ordered the appliances, faucet, sink, disposal, electrical outlets and UCL myself, and GC or electrician installed. Made no difference in the warranty.

It is more work for the homeowner to do this rather than have the GC order everything, that is for sure. I got better prices ordering myself than from my GC. The “contractor discount” is a myth. You will get better prices shopping carefully yourself. However, the “cost” to the homeowner is time, a lot of time. Up to the homeowner to decide if they want to spend the time to save money. If they have a job with long hours, or parenting that doesn’t leave any time, then better to have GC order. But if you have the time, you’ll save money and won’t affect warranties by purchasing yourself.

ulisdone-

I’ve installed many a faucet, plumbing fixture, etc. and none of them have required installation by any kind of licensed professional. I've seen some tankless water heater manufacturers speak about licensed installers, but they acknowledge that there are no warranty problems as long as an install passes inspection. Installation instructions often talk about having a professional do the work, but I’ve yet to hear of any of them refuse to honor a warranty because of this. The last time I needed a Moen faucet replaced, all they wanted was a photo to see that it was actually in my kitchen; I had a free one sitting on the counter two days later.

The benefit to having your GC or designer order materials is that they are then responsible for all aspects. If items aren't correct - aren't delivered in time for the scheduled installations or any other glitches that normally occur, it's not the homeowner's headache.

This obviously isn't that important if you are just having a single item replaced but it is a significant thing to consider if you are doing a major remodel.

There are numerous threads in which homeowners bought tiles (for example) and the tiles would not have been of the quality that a professional would have purchased. I think it really is a bit of how much one wants to replace your professional designer and or G/C and how much one wants the peace of mind knowing that responsibility lies elsewhere.

My experience was that I wouldn't have saved much money - if anything - if I ordered items directly as the price I paid for items - even with markup - was less or equivalent to prices I would have paid if I purchased directly. Of course I only was actually looking at prices for items I personally selected - i.e. faucets, toilets etc. as I personally wouldn't have dreamed of attempting to order all of the "rough" materials used. I selected the tiles and the color of the grout - I didn't even attempt to order any materials used to install just as I selected the wood for my floors but didn't research costs for the sublayers (cork and plywood, glue, self leveling) that were used.