<p>Like this one… pebbles are not natural rounded shape. They are ‘sliced’ to have flat surface</p>
<p><a href=“Rio Carrara - Dune - white river pebble mosaic tile - Tropical - Mosaic Tile | Houzz”>Rio Carrara - Dune - white river pebble mosaic tile - Tropical - Mosaic Tile | Houzz;
<p>Cb, have you considered slate veneers for your fireplace? My concern with tile pebbles is that this “hot” trend would pass in a few years. Not sure if the buyers in your area are after the hottest trends…</p>
<p>FYI, Skinner Antique Auctions got back to me very promptly via email and said “Unfortunately this item does not meet our $500 minimum”. OK, I’ll keep searching for someway to figure out date of pieces and value.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear that, CB. :(</p>
<p>Might Bonham’s be an option? <a href=“Bonhams : Decorative Arts & Furniture”>http://www.bonhams.com/departments/CAT-DEC/</a></p>
<p>I have a friend who’s been to their LA auctions.</p>
<p>There is a grand old tradition of rustic cottage fireplaces being surrounded by a facade of rounded stones.</p>
<p>I can see that the pebbles might be thought of as trendy, but I don’t think they are any trendier than the glass tiles and mosaics one sees everywhere. :)</p>
<p>Here’s another way to treat the fireplace: do the stucco-like treatment over all, and embed spaced tiles that echo the arch. That way it doesn’t matter if they stick out a bit.</p>
<p><a href=“Eads Residence - Mediterranean - Patio - Orange County - by James Glover Home, Inc. | Houzz”>Eads Residence - Mediterranean - Patio - Orange County - by James Glover Home, Inc. | Houzz;
<p>Are you planning to install a mantel of some kind?</p>
<p>Consolation–I like that picture very much. Am visualizing the tiles found in Turkey.</p>
<p>I am enjoying this thread.
Consolation- I like your latest houzz link. The embed tiles I think works well in California style homes.</p>
<p>I’m in the market for a new house and I’ve been looking at a lot of flips. It’s obvious to me in reading these threads, @coralbrook, that you put a lot more thought and care into your remodels than most flippers seem to. Can you capitalize on that somehow through branding? I’d be happy to pay more for a property remodeled by someone with a reputation for excellence but it is really hard to get such information in today’s marketplace. And, it is hard to assess the quality of the work at a glance. Have you started to build a recognizable brand among realtors in your area? </p>
<p>Window Design Crisis!</p>
<p>Now that kitchen cabinets are ordered, I have to work on the next major purchase that has a long lead time.</p>
<p>Remember my vision for the window on the north side of the kitchen out to the view deck??</p>
<p><a href=“Historic House - Traditional - Kitchen - San Francisco - by BCV ARCHITECTURE + INTERIORS | Houzz”>Historic House - Traditional - Kitchen - San Francisco - by BCV ARCHITECTURE + INTERIORS | Houzz;
<p>Well, I have spent days calling manufacturers trying to get these folding windows. I am in love with the folding windows with a countertop out to the deck. These are not available from standard window manufacturers and I have received quotes from the few companies that make them. Quotes range from $2,500 to $3,500 for a 6ft span of windows. I have reconfigured the window to align better with the view and we have a single 6 ft span now (which caused the sink cabinet, dishwasher and trash cabinet to be switched around - sink is further to the right now) Of course this is all driving the guys crazy opening up walls and installing new headers everywhere. Not to mention stucco repairs on outside of house! I just can’t be happy with the single old window opening that was in there 
</p>
<p>I could put a simple large sliding window in there with a clear view. It would provide a 3 ft slide opening to pass through to deck. It would only cost about $450 and be easy to install.</p>
<p>So, have to make decision on whether it is worth spending $2,000. Is there so much Wow factor with the folding windows? Will anyone even notice if they aren’t coming through during an Open House where they are opened up really pretty? Will someone pay $2-3k more for a house because of these windows??? Probably not. Probably should give up on my dream and spend the money making the little back courtyard gorgeous.</p>
<p>Rut roooh… that’s pricey. Personally I would not immediately recognize the appeal of the windows. Perhaps others would. </p>
<p>Do you think anybody would want a screen on it? (That would mean slider better). </p>
<p>Not worth $2K, imo. Cute, but not that cute. Gorgeous back courtyard would mean more to me.</p>
<p>Nottelling,
How exciting that you are searching for a new home. For some people it is arduous, for me it’s like shopping in a beautiful store - so many choices!</p>
<p>There are very few remodelers/flippers who are ‘branded’. There are the guys that have TV shows and they use the TV shows to ‘brand’ themselves. But they mostly also use the TV shows to get name recognition because they move on to Get Rich Quick with Real Estate seminars where they sell their ‘secret system’ for thousands of dollars. </p>
<p>There is another reason I would never want to get near the TV show drama because I truly think that the majority of buyers do not want to see the rats, mold, trash, poop, foundation issues, etc that were in the original house. There are many people who will never believe that it all got remediated and cleaned up.</p>
<p>Yes, I have received some recognition for excellent work and, more importantly, for standing by my product. But, the reputation doesn’t really spread very fast. If I am selling only 4 houses a year, that is really only 4 buying agents that have seen the product and been through a transaction. Not a huge ‘word of mouth’ type of marketing 
And, I don’t really stay in one specific neighborhood where maybe all those agents would recognize the product.</p>
<p>How do you know whether a flipper did a good job? Here are ways that I check out my competition…</p>
<p>1) Does the listing tell you that the HVAC is replaced? Roof replaced? New electrical? New plumbing? New water heater? Cheap flippers will never touch these things and prefer just to offer a credit or something if the buyer’s home inspector finds an issue. These are huge costs that are not apparent to a buyer walking through the house. They are hoping that Buyers will fall in love with the house and skip over these important infrastructure items.</p>
<p>2) What type of kitchen cabinets did they install? Are they the off-the-shelf cabinets from Home Depot or Lowe’s (you can see those online at their websites)?? That tells me that they didn’t even really think about the best way to use the functionality of the space they had. They just crammed stock sizes and shapes into the kitchen. Do not shy away from Ikea kitchens, they offer incredible functionality. Just as long as it is higher IKEA quality.</p>
<p>3) Do the kitchen cabinets have a lot of functionality? Did they spend the time, energy and dollars to put lazy susans into the corners, silverware drawers, trash pull outs? Is it a kitchen that has every functionality you want?</p>
<p>4) Did they replace the windows with energy efficient windows?</p>
<p>5) Flooring - did they just shove in cheap laminate floors? Laminate floors are actually very good if you have a busy family and dogs. But there is cheap laminate, ugly laminate and then there is thick nice solid laminate. Are the baseboards installed really nice - corners really nice? This is a dead give away on the workmanship.</p>
<p>6) Finally, one of the key things I spend my free time on (if I ever have any) is tracking my competitors and what they buy, how long they take to turn it around and the photos in their sales listing. If you like a particular house that was flipped, ask your agent to find every other house done by the same flipper over the last 2 years. Does every house look exactly the same? Are they turned over really fast? This means they just slam the same stuff into every house - they have a formula. And usually their formula is very ‘outdated’. They are still putting travertine tile into the bathrooms and flooring. They are installing dark countertops with medium tone wood cabinets. If you see this ’ formula’ you know that they didn’t love the house, didn’t give thought into what was right for the house, didn’t care.</p>
<p>cb, I appreciate your thoughtful insights, especially #5 about the flooring. What does your agent have to say about the accordion window. I love it and think that having a splurge or two can really make a difference in buyer perception. I have a galley kitchen and when I gutted it two years ago, my splurge was a white cast iron farm sink that was far more expensive than a stainless farm sink. My sink is directly in the line of sight of the side porch door into the house and it is rare that someone comes in and doesn’t remark on what a great sink I have. I kind of feel that the window would get you that response, but it’s easy to tell you to spend your money 
</p>
<p>Cb, I looked at the window. No, I would not pay $3k extra for that feature. If, however, there was a deck door, I would pay extra for a nana wall over a slider! </p>
<p><a href=“Bed / Bath | NanaWall”>Bed / Bath | NanaWall;
<p>Granted, these are typically installed in higher end homes. </p>
<p>Wow, Coralbrook, thanks for the very helpful advice!!! Really useful!!</p>
<p>I love the windows but sadly I don"t think they justify the extra expense. I would definitely use the money to transform the courtyard into an inviting outdoor room.</p>
<p>And I can’t wait to hear more about the deck with the view! That’s what is going to sell the house in my opinion!!</p>
<p>Uggh… my agent is saying to buy the windows. She thinks it will be a Wow factor because there will be a ‘bar’ outside the window, like a breakfast bar. Who the heck is going to sit up at that bar outside and eat breakfast?? They might be out there with cocktails </p>
<p>cb, my sister lives in your area so I know the weather – it’s perfect about 95% of the time. So on the one hand, I think the window would add a big wow and would actually add a lot of functionality, as people will really sit outside. On the other hand, what else have you figured out yet in the house? I imagine that making the bathroom spectacular will provide big payback as well. Just wondering about your overall vision. It’s easy to say, “Splurge on the window!” without knowing what else there is to spend on, and what the ultimate realistic list price for the house might be.</p>
<p>It has some “wow” factor but I don’t believe it will pay for itself. Most buyers IMO have little imagination and are not really going to be able to visualize how they will use it because they will not have experienced anything like it before.</p>
<p>I’d trust the agent. </p>
<p>I’m trying to picture the layout in my mind. Where are the doors to the deck in relation to these windows? If you think the windows will increase the indoor/outdoor feel with the view deck, maybe they are worth the extra expense. </p>
<p>Now that I think about it, it would be nice to have those windows open because then people on the deck could really interact with people in the kitchen. The kitchen is so small that people will not be able to congregate there. But having the 6 foot opening to the outside could really help with the flow and interaction. </p>
<p>Im talking myself into it! But it is not my cash!</p>
<p>How high are the windows? Would the bar on the outside side of the window be deep enough to use to put platters of food for a buffet?</p>
<p>What would the inside and outside countertop surfaces be? Would they be level with each other? Just trying to picture it.</p>
<p>Really developing this feature could get very expensive fast!</p>