Revisiting The Sink

You may recall the stainless steel kitchen sink saga. We are not into the purchasing phase yet of appliances and fixtures. We have remodeled so many houses that now we begin at the budget stage and make choices before they're needed. That way we can swoop in on any great deals and it mitigates the decision fatigue which enters any project like this. So, to recap, we are going to be over-budget on power...DH Matt decided to make cuts in an area less (to him) important; the kitchen. Which, conveniently enough, comes at the end of the project when the budget is always tight.

Once I had move past all of the stages of grief (whining, denial, anger, blame) and into calm acceptance, I sat down and said, "No, this cannot be !" So I sharpened my pencil and began making deals with DH Matt. I found the vent hood for $100 less...that didn't count though, because it was already a trade-off for a style DH and I both loathed. The fridge couldn't go any lower, ditto the range. The washer and dryer, though, I discovered did have a lower model with fewer cycles. Since we tend to use only 3 cycles of any washer, what would it matter if it had 10 cycles instead of 12? And I can live without the luscious red color in laundry appliances that I've been eying for years. I'm actually not certain that I'd still love red in the laundry room in several years. So, $350 saved there. I was on my way.

Next I focused on the sink itself...$40 less on a website which sells only stainless steel sinks. I had to stop and think about that as a business model. Personally I'd be selling at least matching faucets and accessories. That would allow greater customer capture...and I digress. I looked elsewhere for the faucet, and saved $100 there. I was in! Even DH Matt couldn't find a stainless kitchen sink for the remainder. He gracefully conceded the apron stainless steel sink. Yesss!!!

There is an area of the budget which is ominously blank. This is lighting. Frankly, neither DH Matt nor I are emotionally ready to venture into that territory. Because we love lights. We have boxes and boxes of wonderful old chandeliers that we've found over the years. I coo over darling pendant lights with hand blown glass shades the way some women coo in a baby shop over tiny little outfits. We have more unusual table lamps than tables; I'm surrounded by 5 of those lamps right now as I blog. We also live in California, with Title 24 requirements (it must be fluorescent pin, ugly, or not manufactured) regarding lights and lighting. We must do some things to pass code inspection. We cannot do others. This is not fun. We're not feeling the love here.

I suspect that we'll make a last minute run to the big box store, snatch up any fluorescent lighting that's cheap, hang it and smile for the building inspector. And save the receipts. Because, oddly enough, we are making our own power. All of our own power. Running electricity to the property is not an option now or in the future, as there are no power easements. And yet, there is no exception to Title 24 for people who are off-grid. Because some day, so goes the thinking, despite falling prices for off-grid systems and rising prices for power company installation of lines plus the sheer insanity of wishing to pay for power...someday we might be idiots enough to put in electric power connection to the grid. Should that day come, the building inspectors of California shall sleep snugly, secure in the knowledge that they required fluorescent pin fixtures when a CF light bulb would do the same job. Despite already knowing that incandescent light bulbs are being phased out and will some day in our near future be rarely manufactured. This is why California is a leader in this great Nation; as evidenced by its' brilliant business model and the excellent handling of the State budget.