That might be hard to do as many of us live in different regions/countries and some stuff is best bought locally...

We already haz 1 its called the interwebz LOL.
Casey

laurensmom,

I think this is a great idea. Many of our things were bought locally, but also we have sourced out items online from the US or other areas of Canada (we are in Canada).

Here is what we have bought far from home:

Cabinets: Scherr's -- frameless RTA (North Dakota)
light emitting window wells: Alberta Canada (Wolfa) originally from Germany!
fiberglass windows -- Ottawa, Canada (Thermotech Fiberglass)
manual dumb waiter for kitchen (Silent servant)
Appliances: some local, some from Sears clearance and one from an online source that is out of business. Also got the fridge from a Liebherr showroom
Light fixtures: planning to get from Lighting Direct, Destination Lighting, Circa lighting, Lamps plus
Furniture: mostly local, but considering Joss and Main for a few pieces
Cabinet Handles: (Restoration Hardware)
Siding: Quebec, Canada (Maibec)

Hoping others will chime in with the online or out of town sources they used too.

Carol

I was more than satisfied with the below vendors. Nearly all of these sources are online, and can help figure out how much material you need or even design what you are looking for in the case of Environmental Lights.

Cabinets - local custom
Doors - Baird Brothers
Sliding glass pantry door - slidingdoorco.com
LED strip and rope lighting - Environmental Lights
Recessed LED lighting - Amazon (12 pack of Cree lights have a nice discount)
Veneer - Oakwood Veneer
Appliances - AJ Madison
Door hardware - Emtek (can be found numerous places online)
T&G ceiling paneling and baseboards molding - local
Lighting - Design Within Reach for specific midcentury modern pieces + other general online sources for more general lights. May give Etsy a try next time.
Art - Overstock.com (seriously)
Ceiling fan - Big Ass Fans
Hardwood flooring - Flooring.org (purchased unfinished)
Floor transition pieces - Lumber Liquidators (unfinished)
Floor Finish - Rubio Monocoat applied by a local contractor before cabinets and baseboards were installed
Light switches - tons of Lutron Maestro ones, purchased online
Backsplash tile - local distributor, however ebay also has very good deals if you search for what you are specifically interested in
Front door - DIY projects, the flush hardwood slab door came from Home Depot and I customized it and purchased the windows from a local source
Antique door hardware - ebay
Wallpaper - Steve's Blinds and Wallpaper
Slate flooring - Vermont Slate Depot

This post was edited by schicksal on Sun, Dec 14, 14 at 12:25

Here is who I have bought from and what I bought.

Ebates.com...sign up for it. Earn cash back from qualifying stores.

Build.com. I bought all our door handles, deadbolts, and our front door handleset. They have good coupon codes, live chat, price match, free shipping, and I have found only a few places that have lower prices which as stated above, they'll price match. They are an Ebates retailer.

1800lighting.com- I bought one light fixture from them so far and may buy more. They had good coupon codes, free shipping, and are an Ebates retailer.

Ferguson Showroom- We picked out our kitchen appliances and plumbing from them. We might buy lighting. I will pretty much ask the guy to give me his best price, and if it's cheaper online, I'm ordering online.

It's important if you go to a Ferguson or Morrison showroom to get a salesperson who truly understands your budget because they have a wide variety of high end and moderately priced things. They can help you find what you can afford and like.

We made some of our lampshades...and dont forget etsy and ebay!

Laurensmom,

I love this idea! We also plan to break ground in March or April with my hubby being the GC. I don't have any specifics to add but will be following this post and checking out the suggestions. What part of the country are you building in? We are in North Central Kansas.

AJ

Schicksal~ I see flooring.org is on your list. I just ran across them for the first time last week and am so excited...they have the unfinished hickory I've been wanting at a great price! Did you have a good experience with them? Any suggestions for working with them? I have not seen any reviews from anyone who's ordered from them.
Thanks!!!
Polly

The problem with this is most people buy stuff from local stores as they are usually cheaper. We can make and post lists but a database wouldn't really make that much of a difference. It's not a bad idea at all. i just think it's inefficient especially since we need to coordinate with the site admin/owners to implement it.

The problem with this is most people buy stuff from local stores as they are usually cheaper. We can make and post lists but a database wouldn't really make that much of a difference. It's not a bad idea at all. i just think it's inefficient especially since we need to coordinate with the site admin/owners to implement it.

The problem with this is most people buy stuff from local stores as they are usually cheaper. We can make and post lists but a database wouldn't really make that much of a difference. It's not a bad idea at all. i just think it's inefficient especially since we need to coordinate with the site admin/owners to implement it.

Here's my list, I've done extensive research and have taken into account cost, shipping, customer service and item quality.
Lights-local light lighting store or made myself
Flooring-local mill and/or hardware store
Siding-local hardware store, needed more than originally thought and was able to get from same batch to ensure color match.
Cabinets-local hardware store
Windows-local hardware store
Plumbing, ductwork, radiant heating and geothermal system-all local.

In case you don't get my point, it basically comes down to my preference of dealing with your local business' and contractors because in the long run its better for everybody. I'm not talking big box stores,which are great for ideas, I'm talking about local supply houses and resources. Places that if you walk in and tell them you'd like to build a home and work with them exclusively they'll offer you not only great prices but also services and even installation tools. I bought my entire radiant system from a local plumbing/heating/AC store. Their engineer laid out every duct run, every radiant loop, the heating system from top to bottom and then they lent me a de-coiler for unspooling all the tubing. Then when I was done they gave me no hassle about returning anything I had not used (even took back a 1000' roll of pex that I had pulled off 100' from) without a hassle.
The amish community had not only great cabinetmakers but the wood flooring they could make was not only competitive in price but lumber liquidators wasn't gonna get me 16'-20' peices to so that my rooms wouldn't have a single butt joint.
I get its great to save a few bucks on some unique things you can find online (I bought some register covers that I had an ornate design that I couldn't find locally) in the end if I had been able to see them before I bought them I would have passed anyway. I guess I'm just someone who prefers to see what I'm buying, to really get up close and feel whether something is junk or not. You just can't do that online. Good luck and if anyone wants a headboard made out pallet wood and rough cut lumber etsy has them for $350. Luckily my lumber yard left the same materials out in front of the dumpster for free.

@Pwanna1 - It was a great experience and I plan on buying more from them as I rebuild other portions of the house. Prices were good and delivery was prompt by Fedex Freight.

This is the second time I bought hardwood flooring online and have had much better luck there than in person, probably because I live in a smaller city and have always wanted something specific. Sanding and oil-based finish by a very high quality contractor ran just over $2/sq ft. I handled the installation.

I bought my flooring from Bestlaminate.com
Was extremely pleased with their customer service, pricing, quick shipping etc.
Would definitely recommend them.

Hello laurensmom21, If you wouldn't mind I would like you to send me a quick message. We are going to General contract our home soon in Macomb County and would like to ask you a couple questions.