Keith and I spent the weekend working on some decorating details. Once upon a time I reveled in the details of architectural design. But today I find the details tedious and 9 times out of ten my “heart’s desire” or choosing based solely on esthetics is entirely out of the budget. I mean – $77 for a toilet handle to match the faucet is ridiculous, right? Same matching towel bar is $196, TP holder is $113. Um….NO.
We have spent an insane amount of time resourcing products both online and locally; bathroom fixtures, lighting, tile, hardware, countertops, etc.. We try to purchase locally as much as possible, but if we can benefit from significant savings then we do what we must.
FACT – prices are all over the board. For instance, I’m shooting for a traditional casual look and this weekend I finally chose a dining room light fixture. I first discovered the fixture
at Joss & Main, but by doing a google image search I found the fixture at Home Depot, Wayfair, and Overstock and could compare prices/shipping/guarantees. Do you know about google image search? It’s a great way to shop, especially for manufacturer’s items, because the dealers use stock photos.
While shopping, copy the url of the product image (right click – select copy image address), then go to google images here, select the camera icon in the search bar, and paste the copied address. Ideally the search will return a list of other places where the item may be for sale.
Joss & Main was by far the cheapest on this particular fixture by over $200! It really pays to shop, however, it is time consuming. But the winner for the most money saved sourcing this weekend is Keith! He saved $701 on this Whirlpool 
French Door refrigerator at Home Depot! We’ve had our eye on this particular model and Keith has watched the appliance sales for months. We’re over the ice and water in the door feature. We enjoyed the filtered city water at our old address, but our well water has been tested and is superb! We’re drinking pristine clear, ph perfect well water right out of the faucet.
Next week I’ll be sharing progress pictures. The new windows and doors are being installed in two days. The new plumbing and electrical began this week followed by HVAC, piping for gas, sheetrock, new cabinets and fixtures. Then interior finishes; painting, trim and refinishing floors. Exterior Hardy Board will be installed and then Keith and I will finish painting both cottages.
Here are some other purchases we made this weekend to be incorporated into the house design. Select the pictures to view full size and see explanation.