Yesterday we did a big "selection day" for the new house. For those of you who haven't built a new house, "selection day" is when you choose so many upgrades and new things that the cost of the house doubles.

First stop... kicthen and bath. We went to a kitchen and bath showroom to choose stuff. It was pretty fun, actually. And, the "standard" stuff my builder now offers is much better than he did two years ago. This was good, since it kept the cost down and we didn't have to upgrade much. We ended up choosing a nice maple wood with a cherry finish for the kitchen cabinets. The 3 bathrooms will also have maple, but a lighter finish on them. We decided to not do granite for the kitchen counter. Mainly because it's hella expensive. I keep giving Suzy a hard time that if she didn't insist on the "premium" lot, we could have put 2 layers of granite on the counters :-) But, these days, there are some great formica counter designs. From even a few feet away, they can really look like granite. So, that's what we went with.. upgrading to a nice beveled edge. The one we chose was actually on display, which was good because those little 3x2 sample chips do nothing for me.

Let's see. We also added an "appliance garage", to hide a few things in. I have them adding a tilt panel in front of the sink so I can put sponges in there (I hate them laying on the counter). And, we actually had her do the design with taking a wall out, and adding a panel so the fridge slides in, and you don't see the side of it. Yes, removing a wall. We lose 2 cabinets, but there are already a crapload of cabinets (then a seperate pantry), so the openness into the great room would be better. We still have to talk to the builder about that wall, though. Hopefully, it's not load bearing :-) I have some computer printouts of the kitchen... I should scan them in.

For the bathrooms, we get a regular "cultered marble" vanity tops. But, we upgraded to this new marble which looks exactly (even up close) like Corian. But, for a fraction of the cost! They really look nice, and isn't something I've seen anyone else do.

From there, we went to the other selection center for the builder. There we chose house color (it's called "cactus" and is some sort of soft green), tile for the 3 bath rooms, carpet (color is "gourmet mushroom".... I call it "beige". It's a tight shag which is comparable to Berber. Suzy doesn't like Berber), landscape plan, kitchen sink, etc... This is the soup to nuts stuff. We spent something like $1,200 on fauctes alone! Damn faucets. Every time they told me the cost of one I'd say "What?? Holy crap.. it only gives you water, not wine." But, I do know they aren't cheap even if you go to Home Depot so I had to suck it up. The "standard" faucets are crap. We also upgraded the master bath to have a jetted tub, which will be nice. At least, I guess it will. I'm not a bath person, since you sit there in your own filth. I guess it'll be nicer when that filth is bubbling all around me.

All that's left now is the lighting choices, and electrical. The builder used to put in these mushroom lights as standards. Now, he gives a "lighting allowance", which we take to a lighting store. That'll be cool. I usually just change lights myself, but having the ones I want in when I move will be very nice. The electical comes after the house is framed. Hopefully, not too many new things to add there.

Man, this is all so tiring! But, I think this will end up being a fantastic house.