Naw....I did it. Purchased a home with potters tile in the tub surround. LOVED the dented tiles....but...the border tile was as someone said, "barfy". :0) So I took out the border tile, yes I took the glass down...it can be taken down and put back up. I loved the new rustic tribal tile I put in. You like tribal....? It was timeless and ......I had a tan tile background to work with. Note: The tile was imported and not cheap. I spent 4x what normal border tile costs. note: once the glass is down....you could replace ALL the tile for the same price as just a border tile replacment. It's only easier, less work, if your doing the work yourself and I know you don't do tile work.

Post office box keys are universal. The post man has a key to fit the different models.

Nest is expensive...and supposed to be easy to use. I'd think twice before replacing a Nest system. I know it takes some adjusting to use a new program....none of us wants to keep firguring out new programs....enough already....but....if you've already got the name brand BEST....sit this one out.

Gate locks are obnoxious. I have one at a house that I just can't unlock....but ......everyone else can make it work. It has a spring....and the spring won't release with the pressure I'm applying.

I also purchased a house with the American Shield warranty, good for a year, transferable to me. I called them, gave them the address, they looked me up....I asked for a refund. They sent me a check. Note: the warranty info was provided to me at closing. You can ask for it.

Buying a house is overwhelming.....

Wishing you much happiess in your new home!

Moving is on the bottom of the list of things I like to do and near the top of my do not like to do list.

I've moved a lot over the years, mostly in L.A., doing it myself with my pick-up truck. I would load everything I could into the back of it and drive it on the freeway to the new place each night after work. Unload and organize as much as I could nightly. It would take a week or so to get everything moved over. Pretty easy all things considered.

The hardest move I ever did was into this house, from across the street. I thought it would be my easiest move, but goodness, it was so dang hard I couldn't believe it, and I hired someone to help move the big stuff too. My "what did I learn" from that experience (it was so bad that I had to contemplate what went so wrong), at least for me was that I didn't prep items in the manner I always did for moving. I hope it goes easy for you Lars.

I like your kitchen. It seems very functional. I can see you making many delicious meals in there. I feel the same way as you about the backsplash but I hope in time that feeling might soften.

I'll look at the glass tile stripe in my bathroom again and determine how difficult it would be to remove and replace. I've done tile work myself before - it is not difficult, but I did have to rent a tile cutter. I did my mother's entire bathroom in 1988, right after I finished my design degree, and the style was very 80s - white, black, and red. The red tiles were a lot more expensive, and so I used them only as a border. The black and white tiles were 4x4, and I created patterns that resembled crossword puzzle designs, since my mother likes those. I have photos of this, but I haven't scanned them.

I've moved many times in my life, but when I was younger, I did not have that much stuff, and so I did the moves myself, with the help of some friends. However, by 2009, I started using professional movers, and now I'm really too old and decrepit to do that much of it myself, but I am doing what I can.

For me, the backsplash in the kitchen isn't as bad as the stripes in my bathroom, but I do not want to change the tile in the kitchen until I am ready and willing to do a completely overhaul. The cabinets, while functional, are not ideal, and I would really love to replace the lower cabinets with drawers, like I have now at Salem.

I don't have many, but the pantry here also has pullout shelves and the new pantry at Risueño does not. I also really like my faucet at Salem, but the new one is not bad. In fact, the bathroom sink faucets are nice - it's just the shower fitting that I want to change.

Note: I will start revering to the old house as "Salem" and the new house as "Risueño", which means "smiling".

Congratulations on your new home and beginning to move from one to another. My only advice after a few local moves is to empty a room and completely finish with it (perhaps cleaning as you go) so you don't have to go back into it. It's way too easy to say you'll "go back and finish up" after the local move is complete. Best of luck in your transition!

Lars, IMHO, replacing the stripe won't improve it enough to be worth the effort, mess and expense. If the accent tiles are glass, painting is much more possible. Use glass paint, rather than tile paint. BUT, look at the total amount of tile and the locations thereof. Whether it's painting or replacing, it's a BIG job (spraying, including the grout, would look awful), and having it look cheap and slapdash, or breaking or otherwise damaging the field tiles, is a big possibility. I know it's barfy, but at least it's neutral. Give yourself a month before you do anything. You may come to acceptance, and be able to tollerate it until you can do a full redo.

In my kitchen, I had to install a hood right away. There was nothing. But it left little spackle likes on the wall, and it would end up taking 10 years to gather the money to redo. I ended up sponging on, um, fungus (think crumbling Tuscan wall) in colors that went with the existing paint, using art acrylics. That worked and was better than the shiny white spackle, but it was only a few square feet and took half an hour.

So.... For the interim, I don't know what it costs or if it would be practical, but perhaps a vinyl wrap might work for you? Like my sponged creaping damp worked for me.

Do not remove the glass tile stripe in the shower - you will likely compromise whatever waterproofing is behind it. Removing anything in a shower requires a full gut job, as I understand it, but maybe post on the bathroom forums to check for sure.

You could say you are a glutton for punishment but of course you haven't had much say about this particular move. Life happens and you have to go with it. I had to move often in my past and while it was fine when I was young in my old age I am not a fan.

I am also not a fan of that stripe in the bathroom.

I really get wanting to replace the lower cabinets in the kitchen. Nice deep drawers are the way to go to my mind but they dont look bad. Just inconvenient. I am sure that over time it will all work out. I wouldn't unpack those boxes before you move either. Good luck with the details.

The tiles in the stripe are far from neutral - they are hideous shades of brown, and brown is not neutral. Some of the glass tiles remind me of baby diarrhea and some remind me of dung, and this is because of the particular shades of brown that they are. The cabinet in the bathroom is also brown, but it is a very reddish brown, and I like that shade of brown.

I will of course remove and replace the wooden towel racks (easy fix) and I also want to paint the wood trim around the fluorescent lights in the ceiling above the vanity. I plan to paint that white, to match the walls/ceiling. This wood is another shade of brown that I do not like.

Any color that has a hue is not neutral. Gray, black, and white are neutral because you cannot place them in the color wheel, but brown shows up as having an orange hue, although it is a low intensity orange.

The glass tiles look much worse in person than in the photos. I will find a way to paint them. I don't like painted tiles, as a rule, but I hate the colors in these tiles much more than I hate paint.

Right now I am concentrating more on the kitchen. Yesterday I made an omelet for us for lunch, which is the first meal I've made there. I had forgotten to take salt and pepper to the new house, but I had taken several bottles of hot sauce, which I use much more than I do black pepper, and so I was fine. Instead of salt, I added provolone cheese (sliced) and deli turkey slices, and this provided enough salt to the eggs.

I had also forgotten to take a cheese grater, which is why I used sliced cheese, but I will take my box grater today. I will still have plenty of graters here that I will take much later.

LOL, Everyone likes different things. I consider cream and brown neutral, although I do not like glass tiles. I hate any shade of grey, black, and pure white.

Do you like turquoise for the wall instead of white? That would look good with the cream. big tiles. Then paint the glass tiles white like the tub.

FWIW, I installed this type of drawer insert in my very deep cabinets and really like them. They were pretty simple to put in - other than getting down on the floor to do it - and not very expensive either. They glide smoothly and even have a sort of brake to keep them from banging shut. I found mine at Lowes and Home Depot

There are also solid ones made from wood.

It doesn't matter what the definition of "neutral" is--what matters is that the tiles look like shades of excrement to the person who is supposed to clean up there. I get the urgency. Even bad paint on the stripes would be an improvement given that's the issue.

Your new kitchen looks very light and airy, I like that about it. But it sure could use some color! It's begging you to add your personality! And once you do, that countertop will be much more acceptable. (I'm not sure 'acceptable is the right word here, hopefully you know what I mean). Personally, I feel like tile is a bad choice for a countertop, but I guess if you keep the grout lines well sealed, it is okay.

The glass stripes in the bathroom are a whole 'nother story. I understand your feelings about them. Hopefully glass paint will solve that problem.

Good luck with your move! I think going at an easy pace, and doing the sorting and such after the move is a wise decision.

Rusty

This is why it makes no sense to remodel a house so you can sell it because people have wildly differing tastes. To me the bathroom is fantastic as I live in an old house with the original 1959 bathroom with tan and brown tile (better than pink or blue! of the day). I would think I died and went to heaven if I woke up and found your bathroom in my house! I am not a huge fan of the glass tiles, I wouldn't choose them in a remodel but I wouldn't have any trouble living with it forever! I will live in this old 1959 style bathroom until I die, most likely. But back to my original point, not a good idea to remodel before a house sale because what you may find fabulous, the next guy (you) thinks it's horrendous and looks like poo! HA! If we do sell our house, it will be up to the next guy to fix it up the way they see fit. May not get top dollar but that's OK with me! They can spend $20,000 on a bathroom gut job!

So, there's a whole lot to that. In a buyer's market, neutralizing a house—removing personal touches and bringing thing up to the current standard, light and bright, and not all beige, but easy to live with design, may be the difference between selling or not, or selling at below bottom dollar to one of those corporations buying up all the housing. A period bathroom, so long as it's clean (no scale, etc.) no cracks, level, etc., shouldn't prevent a sale in most circumstances. Deferred maintenance can. In a tight seller's market if you have a good location and a good lot, the structure almost doesn't matter. In the middle, it becomes about price and cost of updating either for seller or buyer.

I guess my point is mostly that people have wildly differing tastes.

I feel for you Lars except my tiles were actually baby sh*t brown. One of my friends is currently renovating her old townhouse for sale. I begged her not to add the stupid brown glass tile stripe. She didn’t listen, just insisted it was prettier in person. She is over decorating it in my opinion.

Someone chose brown splatter tile for this bathroom.

I had it professionally sprayed. Best decision ever.

Joan, you made a huge improvement, and the tiles before look like a diarrhea accident. I just think that brown is a bad choice for a bathroom.

I would love it if my bathroom had pink and blue tiles from 1959, but the house is not that old - I believe it was built in 1989, about four years older than the house on Salem, where I am now, and here's how the shower looks here:

I did not change the sinks/vanity - just the faucets.

I have a small teak bench in natural color. I like brown when it is wood and I can see the grain - this color would be terrible for glass tile, however. The shower is all gray, which is my preference for neutral - it has no hue - and it blends nicely with the brushed nickel fittings. I also very much like the pebble floor, which is good for my feet, since I have plantar fasciitis, and this texture is one of the treatments for that. Also I just like the look.

I had thought about changing the maroon color that was already there, but I do like this color with a silvery gray, and so I left it. If I were going to stay here longer, I would paint it a royal (purplish) blue.

Carol, I will look for those inserts at HD and Lowes. I'll have to measure the insides of the cabinets first. I would like to get those before I start unpacking too much in the kitchen.

I'm okay with the mottled beige tiles on the walls in my new bathroom - it is only the stripe that bothers me, but I will not paint it white - I think black will make a nice contrast. My other choice is dark blue, and I will do some renderings first in order to decide. I wonder if I could get a professional painter to paint the tile for me - I'll ask Lucio (my realtor) about it. He's given me some referrals for a handyman and HVAC. We need HVAC repair at Salem because the heater is having some problems, and we want to get it fixed before we sell this house.

On the subject of bathrooms, here are the before and after photos of Kevin's bathroom:

I removed everything except the tile floor and the toilet. Kevin chose his wall color, which has a slight green tint to it. The vanity is solid acacia wood with a dark stain. Both of our bathrooms was 24"x24" Italian porcelain tiles, with tiny grout lines, and so they are easy to clean.

My new kitchen cabinet countertop have fairly small grout lines, but of course I would prefer to have solid quartz like I have at Salem and had in L.A. I'll have to see if I can live with the lower cabinets once I get the drawer inserts, and if I am okay with that, then I could consider replacing the countertops and backsplash.

One other thing - the upper cabinets extend too low, and the microwave is especially low over the stove, and the home inspector made of point of that.

I'm sure that whatever you end up doing with the new house, it's going to be fabulous! Good luck with it all and have fun getting things to your liking! :) Can't wait to see how this all unfolds!

Edit to add: You know, I bet that a tile company could easily put a different "stripe" in the place of the one you hate in colors that are more pleasing.

Hey, Lars! I hope you and Kevin have an easy, fun move. much better kitchen.

I, forgot, but hope you have a pool with this one. IIRC, I saw photos of the pool.

This looks like a place you will really enjoy. I am happy for both of you.

I've come up with a new idea for my bathroom, which is to decorate it in African safari style. I have a lot of African masks and wood carvings I can use, and because they have a lot of dark brown hues in them, I think they will distract me from the brown glass tiles that I do not like.

I had a lot of my African masks in the living room in L.A., but we will be doing very different decor here. It is one of the ways that I dealt with beige walls.

I've been complaining about the kitchen more than anything else, and Kevin thinks perhaps we should do a total renovation of that before we get everything moved, but I think we could do that down the line a bit. I was looking at it today and came to the realization that it would be fairly easy to extend the kitchen into the TV room, as there is plenty of wall space to extend cabinets into that room for several feet. This would involve moving the peninsula, but if we do a reno, I want all new cabinets anyway, with drawers instead of doors with fixed shelves. The only think I really like about the current kitchen is the double ovens.

Yes, yes, yes! Lars that's the kind of thing I was trying to say. I think you're right that the masks will distract in general and re-contextualize the objectionable tiles. I do think you'd do well to add some color, too. Maybe some frondy green plants?

Re the kitchen, I totally get it. I lived with my old kitchen for eight years while gathering money to get the kitchen I really wanted. If it were me, I'd wait at least until Spring, while you learn how the house breathes and flows. And remodeling in Fall can be a nightmare competing with everybody who all of a sudden decide they need to remodel to have new done for the holidays.

I would just caution; be sure the masks won't be affected by all the moisture in a bathroom.

"Kitchens and baths sell homes" hahahahahaha

I'd think, in the desert, the moisture in the bathroom would be good for the wood, but I could be wrong...

Moisture will not be a problem, and in fact, it would be good for at least one of them. As Plllog said, in the desert moisture is rare. After I take a shower, I barely need to use a towel to dry off, except for my hair, and this also makes it difficult to shave. Also, when I take a shower, I use very little water, and the mirrors never fog up.

I won't be putting plants in the bathroom - I do not think there is any place to put them. If I do put any there, I think they would be tillandsia. I wish I had kept some of those I had in L.A., but I did sell some of them before I left.

I think waiting until Spring to do the kitchen would be a good idea, and by then I think we could have our money better budgeted. I can certainly live with it for that long. I think Kevin's main concern is that when we renovate, we won't have a kitchen for a couple of months or so, but I managed quite well with the last renovation and have the equipment to deal with not having a kitchen for a period of time. He was worried about not having a refrigerator, but I told him that we can just move the fridge into another room temporarily (and we have the room now, as the new house has 600 more square feet), and this is what I did at our old house at Salem. I also have two portable induction burners I can use for cooking, and I have already bought pans to go with those.

We discussed color schemes for the kitchen - Kevin wants black quartz countertops, and so I suggested that we could have red cabinets below and perhaps light gray upper cabinets. I was trying to think of what will go with the tile floor that we have, which we both like. Maybe something like this. In any event, I want a modern Italian style kitchen.

Kevin mentioned that the dishwasher is in our current peninsula, which might make it more difficult to move, and so we might leave it where it is. We could still extend the upper cabinets a bit, as they currently do not extend as far as the peninsula.

You can see the extra space on the left here.

I'm sure you know what you want by way of colors but my niece remodeled her kitchen and got black countertops. While good looking, she found that when she would set her glasses down, she could not readily find them again. It is harder to see things on a dark background. I prefer lighter colors myself.

Lars, that sounds dramatic! I'm sure your design will be gorgeous. One caution, however— the light in the desert can mess with the appearance of dark decor (impact, not phyical fading or such like, which is another story, and can be planned for. And I'm pretty sure the yellowing of the resin won't really show with black quartz). Maybe do a large scale test in the space before you commit to the actual colors.

For the bathroom, plants was just a suggestion because the space looks big, they'd look nice with the masks and they'd like whatever moisture reaches them from the running water. Some kind of color contrast would relieve the monotone, and set off your collection, IMO. And there are always stands or ceiling hooks, if you really want plants, though color towels, or some African cloth on the walls, or any other thing you like would do it.

ETA—I'm imaging the masks. If you got quarter yards of a few colorful African prints and framed them in the same colors wood — just plain wood, or distressed, not fancy frames—as the masks, smaller than the masks, and set them on point, diamond style, as filler between, and maybe add a chunky necklace, or feather, or any little African things to provide texture, it could look awesome. But I don't know if that would be to your taste. A more restrained way to highlight the masks, and make them bigger if there's so much blank wall it looks empty, would be to paint an outline of each mask 1-2” outside of it.

I have some African cloths, but they are not the right colors.

I had black quartz countertops in Los Angeles and loved them - I had no trouble seeing glasses or anything else. There is really good lighting in the kitchen now, including under the counter lighting, which I would want to keep. Right now, the space between the cabinets and the counters is only 14", and between the microwave and stove is 13½", which is another reason for doing a complete renovation of the current kitchen.

I also want to do something about the fluorescent lights in my bathroom

To start, I might just paint the wood trim white. I will also replace the towel racks with the wood backboards - they look much worse in person, and will be easy to change.

Lordy! Fluorescents! No woman designed that! Yes, yes, PDQ, de-’80’s the trim and the towel racks that so don't go with the vanity! If the actual light bothers you, they make fluorescents now for which you can adjust the color temperature. Or do what's in my kitchen, and wrap the tubes with theatrical gels. Can lights are terrible to dress by, and removing the soffit would be a big deal, but adjusting the color temperature is an easy fix. That might greatly improve the appearance of the tiles, too!

Designers/decorators are what they are, how does gender matter?

We fired a female "kitchen designer" with sterling references who didn't have the slighest idea of how to lay out a kitchen to be very functional to prepare food in. We were building a kitchen in a room of blank walls, previously a family room, and her ideas should probably have not been used beyond decorating a bedroom. Absolutely clueless.

We later saw other work she'd done for people we knew. Abysmal. I would never say "what do you expect from a woman", it had nothing to do with that.

If the tile goes under the peninsula, I'd move the DW to the left of the sink and add an island. An L plus island is my favorite layout. An island would give you a landing place for the ovens and more drawer storage.

I hate islands - they are just obstacles as far as I'm concerned. I don't want to have to go around an island to get from one side of the kitchen to the other, and I like open space in the middle of the kitchen. I would consider a rolling island, but not a permanent one.

I found a contractor in Cathedral City that I think can do what I want for a decent price. Here's a kitchen I like, although I would change the colors. I also do not want the entire backsplash to be tiled - I need space to add my magnetic knife holders - I have three of them.

The tile does NOT go under the peninsula, but there are some extra tiles in the garage, and I think we could buy some new ones to match.

Moving the dishwasher next to the sink is a great idea - I should have thought of that! Thanks for suggesting it, and that makes moving the peninsula an even better idea.

For the bathroom light, I plan to take out the plastic diffuser and see how easy it would be to put an entirely different fixture in. I was thinking of something like this. I would have to keep the plastic diffuser - at least for now - but at least the light would be better.

My personal pet peeve for kitchens is having the microwave over the stove. I prefer to have a good quality, externally vented fume hood there and have the microwave elsewhere.

Cool! I didn't know about the LED tubes. Or...maybe those are the ones that can be color adjusted?

EJF, I wasn't talking about designers! Agreed that bad design knows no limitations, including gender. Most women, however, who are choosing their own bathroom lighting wouldn't choose traditional fluorescents because both the color of the light available in the '80's, when this kind of lighting was being put in houses, and the organization of the light itself, and the flippin' flicker!, would make them look awful while they were getting ready to dress--and at all other times! Still, if you want a genderish component, this is definitely a builder special, and what's generally known as "guy design", though it could have been perpetrated by a woman for other considerations, like price, than whether she'd look good in the mirror. "Guy design" does not mean design by male designers. Nowadays it would probably be called "bro design". It's what you get when an untrained man (or occasional woman) thinks he knows better without any instinctive taste or proper training.

We will find out if we can get a proper vent above the cooktop - that is something I wanted as well. Not sure where we will put the microwave, however, but perhaps outside the kitchen, or on a shelf in the butcher block table. I don't use it enough to need it to be at my fingertips.

Incidentally, I have come across more women than men who think they know more about design than I do, and I refuse to work with them when that happens. This is sort of what happened with the first realtor that I met with for selling our house in L.A. She lost a huge commission because she argued with me about design, but I still hired a woman to replace her. In Palm Springs, I have only dealt with male realtors so far.

Lars, You've had some awesome remodels to show us in the past. Looking forward to this next one.

I will be meeting with a general contractor on Friday to discuss details and initiate a quote for renovating the kitchen. I found some photos of red cabinets that I like:

Décoration Maison · More Info

Lux Black Cherry · More Info

I only want the lower cabinets in the "U" shaped portion of the kitchen to be red, but the peninsula would be red on all three sides. I want to use black Cambria quartz for the countertops (no waterfall like shown above - I never liked that) and for about four inches of a backsplash. I want the rest of the backsplash to be painted, so that I can hang things on it, similar to the photo above. I would prefer to use Vicostone black quartz, but it does not appear to be available here - the nearest dealer is in Dallas, I think.

I haven't gotten around to drawing the floor plan and elevations for the kitchen, but I will try to start that tomorrow. We've been going back and forth a lot lately, and I have not yet found my installation disc for my Turbocad program. I might buy a different program that would be easier for me to use and just get a one year's license. Otherwise, I might just draw everything by hand.

I'll also start a new thread on this renovation but will not post it on the design forums, as I am not looking for advice at the moment. I might decide to use dark blue for the lower cabinets and white faux marble (like my kitchen here) for the countertops. In either case, I will probably use gray for the upper cabinets, which I already know many people here hate, which is one reason I will not post on the design forums. Anyway, styles in Palm Springs are very different from what most people on Houzz have, and I am going to keep things as minimalist as possible.

This kitchen design shows a black countertop with red cabinets.

I also like this kitchen.

Okay, I get it, and I'll stop talking about design except for just this since I brought up testing the colors: Both kitchens you posted have a LOT of light, and a lot of white. You can make it work! I just meant to test the colors in your own kitchen and be aware of how desert light and shadow will affect it, especially in the daytime when the lights are off and you're just walking through. That said, I'll just say congrats on finding a contractor and getting into the serious bits, and good luck on the project.

I have Vicostone, installed in 2011. We got it through Pental in Seattle and Portland. I have seen it sold as Pentalquartz. It could still be Vicostone with their label or Pental could have gotten their own brand. I see that Pentalquartz is available throughout Southern California. Vicostone is made in Viet Nam.

https://arcsurfaces.com/quartz/pentalquartz/

Pentalquartz does not appear to have the solid black color of Vicostone - their version of black has brown veins in it, and I do not want that. Cambria might be closer in color, but it does not have the same shiny finish. I had black Cambria countertops in L.A., but I chose a black that had green and beige specs in it because I had those colors in my kitchen there.

Vicostone is available in Vancouver, butI do not see outlets in Seattle or Portland. I prefer not to try to get something that is going to be difficult, but the kitchen table we have here

Cathedral City Kitchen · More Info

was made in Minnesota (top) and Wisconsin (base), and it took several months to get.

Los Angeles is closer to Vancouver than it is to Dallas, but I don't want to have to get involved with international shipments.

I might decide to go with Verona Quartz "Pure Black", which is not pure black, but at least they have slabs in inventory in Los Angeles. I like the mixture of charcoal gray and black and think that would look good with red cabinets.

Lars, please remember that it is your kitchen and you are the artist,here and always. excellent taste—-you. westy

If anyone posts on the design or kitchen forums, they get told that they must change all light bulbs to 4000.

I have "Black Butterfly" granite in the kitchen in this house. Or "Ubatuba" from Brazil is nice. DO you like either of those? I do like anything by Cambria. I've used that brand and loved it too.

Pental has renamed itself as Architectural Surfaces. They are selling their quartz as Pentalquartz. I don't know if it's manufactured by Vicostone. You'd need to call them. They have two California showrooms. You can get their quartz where you live.

Regardless of who makes it, Pentalquartz has solid black but it's honed. They also have Coastal Gray, which is a dark gray. That would look nice with red base cabs and gray uppers. Better than black imo.

https://arcsurfaces.com/find-a-showroom/

Nicole, I do like black granite, especially Absolute Black Granite, which is what we used at the furniture company where I worked, but I would prefer to get quartz, since it is easier to maintain.

Here's a photo of the Vicostone Pure Black Quartz:

which is my first choice, if I can get it.

The Verona looks good also, but is more gray:

but is close enough to black to be acceptable. I'll have to look at samples in person before I can decide.

I did get a call yesterday from the first company I contacted (also my first choice), and they will be meeting with me tomorrow at 3:00 PM. I have another appointment with the first company that called me (my third choice, but still acceptable, I think) at 11:00 AM, and I think this gives me enough time so that the appointments do not overlap.

Here's a kitchen that the first company (JL Construction) did that I like:

I like the chartreuse color, but I still want to use red, with silvery gray upper cabinets.

Here's a photo of the Cambria quartz countertop we had in L.A.

You can see that this color has a lot of beige in it, as well as green specs (which matched the wall color), but it was not as shiny as granite and had more of a honed looked. I want something shinier this time.

Lars, your feelings on brown mirror mine. I love brown wood (natural or stained) as long as I can see the grain and see that it's real wood. Or real leather that has some variation and interest. But the moment something is plain brown (painted or glass or whatever), I get a "yuck" response too. To me, the bathroom is the worst possible place for brown because it definitely makes me think of bodily waste.

JoanM, those brown splatter tiles are so terrible and your white painted fix looks so much better! I think I had similar tiles in my old 1970s home, but the splatters in one bath were yellow (also a gross color for a bathroom in my opinion) and pale blue in another (not so bad).

I'm going to have the contractors look at my bathroom while they are in the house and see what they recommend for fixing the tiles and also for getting rid of the fluorescent fixture. There is one in Kevin's bathroom also.

Lars, love your choices and I love that you are not following the all white kitchen trend. Im so tired of seeing white cabs with white counters and a white backsplash. Its blinding!

Yes, somewhat unconventional and highly adorable!

“Silvery gray” upper cabinets and red lowers had me thinking what about straight up silver uppers. Then I started thinking, if you had a slab door in a neutral or black color, and a sheet of acrylic mounted to it with standoffs creating a 1/8” gap, you could slide sheets of any desired color into the gap to, effectively, change the cabinets with your mood or the season. Christmas: green or gold. Halloween: orange if it didn’t clash too terribly with the red. Everyday: silvery gray. Partytime: disco mirror!