Well, here's what I wish someone (hadn't discovered GW back in the "old days" in 1990) had told me about kitchen remodeling and managing the all-important "want" list: Certain parts of the kitchen are easy to change and certain things are not. Had I known, for instance, that one must measure the walls at 3 points to get an accurate in-between measurement, I would not, almost 20 yrs later, now be short 1/4 to 1/2" to fit in a pro-style 30" range. I would now have to move a minimum of six cabinets - remember, all of which are in perfect condition but more importantly, aren't made any longer so cannot be easily matched even by custom - in order to gain a lousy 1/2" of space. That's a slight exaggeration, mind you: I'm actually only short 1/8", but I figure some of those pro-stoves get pretty hot on the sides so I'd want a little bit of airspace, just in case. When we replaced our refrigerator in 2002, I found they had gotten bigger and bulkier (Energy star requirements needing more insulation), so instead of a 23 cu.ft. refrig I had to go down to 19 cu.ft. in order to fit in between the surrounding cabs. Thus, I know now that such things as light fixtures (not the wiring), floors, counters, sinks, faucets, venthoods and even DWs, aren't that difficult to replace. But it's a real pain when you're later limited to certain appliances only because you're lacking a few all-important inches somewhere. Once the cabs, electrical/plumbing/gas lines are in, it's costly to change those around. So Ive learned there's a reason for using a few filler strips. I could easily have planned for larger appliances by moving a non-bearing wall we installed in 1990 back another 4". I didnÂt, and can only regret it. I could have put in a good, middle-price stove (just as I did) and gotten 5-10 yrs of service out of it, then replaced it with whatever I really wanted to splurge on. ItÂs a lot easier to spend the extra a few years down the road, when youÂre just replacing one or two appliances, not remodeling the entire kitchen. When I started hearing about the Bluestar, I went to see one and loved it. Could have paid cash without any trouble. But it simply won't fit, unless I change out my cabs. But the Cormatin will fit much better, so I'm willing to give up a little of the BS performance for Lacanche's good looks and still better-than-average performance. If I were remodeling my kitchen top to bottom, and wanted a Cluny but couldnÂt quite afford it, thereÂs a few choices to be made. First you scale down as much as you can (the aforementioned easy-to-change stuff), and shop every sale like a fanatic. Sheet vinyl flooring remnant? Take it! Fight the crowds, serve your family cheap plastic-cheese pizzas, whatever it takes. Save every penny. No more Starbucks lattes, no more Haagen Daz. Bring your lunch, rent a movie instead of going out. Yeah, itÂs awful, but you (hopefully) donÂt have to do it forever. Ask your friends for help, whether itÂs watching the kids or going to the grocery store and taking your list along with theirs, while you stay home and tile your backsplash (after taking that free class showing you how at the local big box store). Promise to pay them back with half-a-dozen great meals cooked in your gorgeous new kitchen (and then be sure you actually do it). If you still canÂt manage the cost, plan properly. Arrange your upper and lower cabs, vent/wiring/gas or electrical, so that youÂll have enough room in the future. Remember my sad lesson of 1/2"  give yourself a skootch more room than you think youÂll need. Figure out what works best as a substitute. A 36" range with a small countertop convection oven as a second? Or maybe the Kenmore/Frigidaire 40" 5 burner? No, they wonÂt make your heart race, but they work, and work well. WeÂre in an incredible time right now, with a plethora of choices available at every price point. Then start saving for your Cluny. YouÂve got a bright shiny goal, itÂs either worth a bit of personal sacrifice or it isnÂt. In the meantime, at least youÂve got a working kitchen that has a better layout and is more beautiful than what you started with. We are all on budgets; some of them larger than others, but most of us cannot afford EVERYTHING we want, all at once. But if you realize that prioritizing your wish list between the "wants" and the "needs" can mean if you're patient, you may eventually end up with what you wanted  and sometimes, something even better than you originally thought.

She did your hair as a stylist and tipping isnt generally decided by who owns the business but by percentage or appreciation. Ive never understood that whole take on not tipping the owner. i jist always tip whoever provided the service. as far as it being from her home. I can see thr point that her overhead is cheaper but does that mean that in a retail space if the landlord gave her a break on the rent that the customers should also see that break in their cost? if the work is good and thats what you are paying for it doesnt seem fair to me to not tip for any reason except not being satisfied and if the work she does is good and how you like it who is anyone to say what she can charge? she can charge what she feels like her work is worth and what her clients think its worth . 🤷‍♀️. just my thoughts. i can totally see both sides of the coin

Hi: we are empty nesters with a City Apt (3 baths 3 bedrooms): where my bath is part of the Master bedrm and hubby uses another one as "his". We also have a rural turn of century country cottage with 3 baths on multi level so we SHARE the master bath (and it is the largest). What you recently described with the split config and some passthru/shared areas resonates and we find has worked well. Since space does not seem to be a constraint, you may, for resale purposes, want to consider a bath-spa. Meaning add some spa elements. I know you said you dont need more humidity or heat...but steam enclosure or ready-to-install-cabinets may not add considerably except for the actual steam generator. Mini dry or steam sauna rooms are great (we have a Finnish-style sauna...it is about 8x5 and is a separate room. Next to it is a small 1/2 bath) Also in our 'hood, a dual bath could count as two and run into code issues. So i am sure you'll be checking out how your town regulates Here is what we've found as best configs we've lived with or had the pleasure to experience: - separated closet areas are ideal..even with a shares common entry. Also our requirements for lengths and drawers are different (just consider the accessories or shoes!) - that said, i dont like the closets being super close to the water. That is humidity from the shower or tub in the very near vicinity. Further, my SIL and BIL rebuilt their master bath with her closet being direct accessed from the bathroom. I found it nice but not really conducive to full dressing...too small and i wanted to be out in the open more where i could stand back from the full length mirror - the real reason we use separate bathrooms is the toilet and you've addressed that. we always prefer bathrooms where the toilets are a little separate...be that a half door or semi enclosed. And we really really treasure Windowed bathrooms. More windows the better - The more isolated the toilet can be from the other areas (layout wise), the better the other areas work and feel clean, fresh,comfortable. some bathrooms we liked even had a small hand washing sink in the toilet area. - A Toto toilet special flush toilet with a SOFT CLOSE lid for us is a MUST!!! once you have it (now others make the soft close lids too) you wonder where its been all your life. Same for the way the Toto flushes low and high volume. Unfortunately their color and style choices are limited but do check out the functionality and try to replicate. The power flush with minimal water use is good. - I am not fond of separate bidets (and we travel abroad alot so we see these) One more thing to clean and plumb etc and addl space taken up for something not very attractive. Instead, the Toto-type bidet function can be added to a hi-end commode. For a price, of course. - two tubs two showers feels odd. And you've addressed this too i think. A large shower with ease of access, open feeling and glass or even outside light is best. A rain head in shower is nice but not in lieu of the regular. We are very eco conscious so we arent into the multi jets --- my BIL recently did a walk in large shower with lots of jets; i cant say that it enhanced my shower experience because i would rather just finish up and not use the water. And i didnt like sloshing thru a large wet area to find a place to dry my feet. So large without everything being subject to water jets was my observation - When i want to use water, well for me its a deep tub WITHOUT jets ---nothing to disrupt luxuriating in hot bubbly scented water A handheld as option with the tub is nice (to rinse off, to rinse hair, etc) - Double or separated sinks are a plus -- really it is the separate mirror each of us is after! plus separated banks of drawers or spaces. My bath has bureau drawers and there I keep my lingerie so that i can dress the underthings right there. That said, some common space for the replenish supplies and for towels. - We love thinner waffle weave towels rather than big thirsty Turkish ones...because the former absorb quickly and in humid weather, we can use 1 a day and not create immense stax of laundry. So, we both like having a stack of towels right there in the bath rather than in a linen closet down the hall. - Lighting is important. Not just the usual over sink lighting that is good for working on the face. Some softer moodier lighting or lights on reo-stats are good. I saw mirrored cabinets spanning double sinks that had soft lighting running along the bottom. Left on, such as the evenngs, it was a nice glow and almost meant i didnt have to turn on lights brightly every time i went in. - Audio or even a small flat panel feed to your bathroom? that will take special planning if the latter. For sure, i love listening to the radio and would love to have some thing in the bath rather than turning up my clock radio so loud! Enjoy

Years ago we raised a home we remodeled but ours was a different situation since we had a crawl space under it. We raised it 10' and then built another floor under it. Talk about some memories.........we lived in it during that time with a 2 yr old! I would be concerned with her choosing the option of raising the whole slab due to unstable soils around N.O. She needs to talk with several contractors and price out all the options. From my experience, I would think the best choice would be to make the lower level a garage/basement and then make the second floor the living area. I would find it interesting if she found raising the slab cheaper than building a second floor since it's often more economical to build 'new' vs restore/remodel. There will be no guarantees as to how much damage will occur within the house. Expect cracks in the walls and tile floors if she raises the slab. When she gets bids on the work, she needs to be sure and include all other costs from other contractors/subs for electrical, drywall repair, plumbing, repair of siding, any possible roof damage, etc. Plumbing will be much more labor intensive with a slab floor. The link below describes the options your DS has for Katrina damaged homes. I'm sorry she's going thru this. So many people don't realize the nightmare of Katrina continues....................... Here is a link that might be useful: Projects