e83d5a48   
   From: one-if-by-land@concord.com   
      
   "RicodJour"  wrote in message   
   news:95c39eca-42e9-4901-97f9-aa4c051848e6@j28g2000hsj.googlegroups.com...   
   > On Feb 17, 12:33 pm, "MiamiCuse"  wrote:   
   >> How are you supposed to match things up if you don't want to buy   
   >> everything   
   >> from the same manufacturer-series-model?   
   >>   
   >> I am simply confused by the variety of finishes avaialble on something   
   >> like   
   >> plumbing fixtures you have...chrome, matt chrome, brush nickel and these   
   >> are   
   >> pretty standard and been around and now they also have velour chrome,   
   >> satin   
   >> chrome, satin nickel, brush nickel, Satinox, platinum, matt platinum,   
   >> silver, polished silver, high grade matt steel, polished steel...   
   >>   
   >> Is this a conspiracy, so you will always buy the entire group from them,   
   >> once you buy a matt platinum shower mixer trim, you are stucked, you   
   >> can't   
   >> buy a matt platimum shower head or a matt platinum diverter form another   
   >> manufacturer, they don't have it or if they do, they don't match.   
   >> Nothing   
   >> wrong with not matching, but if they are "close enough to be slightly   
   >> different" is the worst!   
   >>   
   >> and merger and acquisition is not "merging".  So Kohler takes over   
   >> Porcher   
   >> and Robern, but their finishes don't even match, did you notice that it   
   >> is   
   >> possible to have the same manufacturer with two different products in a   
   >> bathroom, both finish = satin nickel and they look slightly different   
   >> because they were different companies but now under one name?   
   >   
   > What is your suggestion?  The Henry Ford model?  "You can have any   
   > color car you want - as long as it's black."  There are certain   
   > companies that work off of the Kohler color schemes and match their   
   > products to it.  That's fine when you have an 800 pound gorilla of   
   > bathroom fixtures, but what do you do in a kitchen or any other room?   
   > Nobody else has a dominant market share.  "Standard" finishes, such as   
   > US10 and the like, are not uniform across manufacturers and product   
   > lines - never have been.  Most of the time it isn't really an issue.   
   > If you have more stringent requirements about exact finish matches,   
   > then you're working backwards.  You're choosing a finish from a   
   > manufacturer and letting that drive the rest of your purchases, hoping   
   > that their products have the features you want (they don't) and that   
   > the overall price won't be greater (it will).   
      
   There were 3 primary things I was wanting in bathroom sink faucets and this   
   is what they were in order of importance.   
   1) single handle, I hate the double handle units which seem to be the norm   
   these days, unless you're willing to put up with the cheap ass Delta-Moen   
   builder grade stuff with the cheezy clear plastic handle.   
   2) gooseneck, I'd like to have a little more *lift* in the waterflow which   
   facilitates hand washing, teeth brushing, etc. Its easier to swish the   
   toothpaste out of the cave if the faucet is higher. Alas, there doesn't seem   
   to be such an animal, gooseneck with single handle. We have a gooseneck on   
   our laundry room sink but its double handle. The Kohler Fairfax model we   
   chose has a little more *lift* to it than the others.   
   3) Traditional look, whatever that means. I'm not into the swoopy curves or   
   squared off truncated look thats become popular.   
   4) The finish was the least important, though it was going to be in the   
   *silver* range of color. I prefer the clean look of polished chrome but I   
   also like some of the nickel stuff thats out there. And it price and   
   function were proper I'd even consider some of the more *out there* stuff,   
   like copper or that nasty dark stuff that looks like farmhouse fixtures that   
   are 300 years old. Chrome seems to provide the best options for the   
   accessories. Yes, I even want the shower doors to match. I'm funny that way.   
   Details, man, details. Pulls the whole package together.   
   5) Price. We ain't cheap but we ain't Rockefellers either. The Kohlers we   
   bought were $88 at Lowes and thats about all I'm willing to pay for. The   
   shower package was $148 I think but we got ripped cause we had to pay for a   
   tub spout which we won't be using. They had no package in that line up for   
   just a shower, without the spout. I'll fashion a garden ornament out of it,   
   or a wind chime.  =D   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)