The two bathrooms are almost fully gutted. Hubs has been talking to a host of subcontractors with the goal of acting as the GC for this project. It’s going to save us money, but will take a lot more time and effort. Who knows? There could be some massive screw-up resulting in lots of fingerpointing amongst the crew and that could cost us extra money as well as time.

Uh, yeah, I’m not exactly enthusiastic about this effort. I mean, we started gutting the bathrooms on April 8–more than a month ago. It’s quite likely the renovation of these two small rooms will take as much or more time than our entire Plan A renovation.

On the bright side, our Mother’s Day gathering, indeed the day itself, was wonderful. The gutted bathrooms only posed a problem for one of my nieces.

And, skunk damage aside, we have a front lawn and our window treatments should arrive in the next week or so.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

I’m thrilled to be hosting a family gathering with my husband’s family–including his 90-something year-old grandmother (a neatnik who I hope will not have a heart or bladder attack when she goes to use the bathroom and sees it’s completely gutted), his parents, his sister’s family, my parents and my brother’s family.

And, no, that was not a sarcastic “thrilled.” It’s so wonderful to have a home and be able to share our food, our space, and our love.

It’s also nice to host a family gathering without worrying about someone storming out, making a fuss or causing a food fight. Well, we do have a rambunctious lot of kids ages 6-14, but hopefully they’ll be using their manners.

We’ll be serving salad with lettuce straight from our garden, my classic cucumber-tomato extravaganza,  guacamole, a lemon-cucumber-dill salad, a black-bean-roasted corn-avocado deal, lot of chips, grilled hot dogs, chicken sausages and chicken breast.

If the morning’s mild, sunny weather holds, we’ll be in for a great day.

However you celebrate, happy mother’s day!

And here’s a bit from Kohler introducing the HydroRail, which is definitely a key find. It lets consumers have the luxury of a rainshower head without the mess of tearing up the wall and installing new pipes.

Which of these new products would you like to have? As for me,  I already have a U-Socket on order from ThinkGeek.

*The industry term for cool stuff you can’t afford.

Needless to say our bid was low. The night before we left town our agent called with a counter offer. As I remember it, we tried to put him off until we got back because nerves are running high before a family trip even without the pressure over whether to pay more than we intended for a house.

But we caved and countered. They accepted.

Shortly after our return and another tour of the house with a professional in tow, we cancelled our contract.

Thank goodness.

The house sold 2-3 months later for less than what we would have paid.

I was giving up hope for finding a house. We talked about renting. And then we saw and bought Casa de Renovation and I finally got to finish my video, the all-singing Property Sluts finale featuring an all-star cast on mombloggers, It’s a Buyer’s Market, After All.

I heard a real estate report that said prices are down the levels last seen in 2000, so the buyer’s market continues. This stinks if you want to sell, but if you’re ready to buy, you’re in luck.

Selfish Mom:
We’ve seen houses big and some houses small,
We’ve seen moldy basements and shower stalls.
Though the market is weak, sellers price like it’s the peak, but it’s a buyer’s market after all.

MacaroniKidNYC, Honest and Truly, Jen Rab, SAHM Reviews, and Dancing Hot Dogs:
Chorus:
It’s a buyer’s market after all,
It’s a buyer’s market after all,
It’s a buyer’s market after all,
It’s a buyer’s market after all.

Sweet Life, Rock and Roll Mama:
Interest rates are low, but the prices are high,
Even for estate sales where the owners have died.
The recession isn’t nice, you may need to cut your price
Cuz it’s buyer’s market after all.

Classy Mommy, Me:
Chorus

Same Old Shannon, French Foodie Mom, A Savings Wow:
The housing supply now exceeds demand,
So if you want to sell give your buyer a hand.
Though it’s hard to admit, makes you feel like sh*t, it’s a buyer’s market after all.

MotionSense is great for families and foodies.

It’s perfect for the home cook who finds herself elbow deep in ground turkey as she’s mixing up meatballs or burgers and doesn’t want to touch the faucet with her germy hands.

It’s also great for young children who can’t reach the faucet handle and want to wash hands or get a drink of water.

And it’s pretty useful when washing dishes by hand. Water on. Water off.

Watch the video to learn more about the MotionSense and see it in action. (Seriously, peeps. It’s less than 2 minutes long. If you can’t find the time, you need to read this.)

The MotionSense is EPA WaterSense certified.  It will be available in the fall of 2012 at finer kitchen design outlets later this year. Look for a less expensive version with the same technology at your favorite Big Box in 2013. Chrome, oil rubbed bronze, and “spot resist” stainless finishes will be available with a price of around $650 depending on the finish.

Stayed tuned for more eye-catching favorites from my time at KBIS, the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. MotionSense is the only Golden Hammer recipient from the show, but there will be more Golden Hammers awarded in the coming months, as well as a few Rusty Nail awards, the GH’s evil twin.

No compensation was received for this post. The MotionSense was my top family-friendly pick from the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show.

I’ll spend one full day at KBIS and maybe head back for a second day if I want to see more.

Among the items I’m excited to see:

The Kohler Stereostik sounds cool (as with many items on this list, detailed information may not appear on the website until after KBIS).

Hello kid friendly! I’m eager to check out Moen’s Spot Resist fingerprint resistant materials.

I’m totally geeked out over this Light Integrated Trim (LIT) from Belwith-Keeler.

You need a big kitchen to accommodate this, but how handy would this Galley Sink be?

I can’t figure out why we didn’t get these U-sockets installed all over the house. Except for the expense. Still, why didn’t we put them in a few keys spots?

They’ll be lots of eye candy at KBIS, like these beautiful artisan sinks.

I’ll be back with pics, video and/or links soon!

Our master is very cool and modern without being over the top. The room incorporates many of 2012′s top bathroom trends- heated floor, deluxe shower experience, bench in the shower, layered lighting, a bathroom fan with a timer, and sleek fixtures.

Our modern faucet is part of Kohler’s Loure line, which you also saw in our shower.

It’s paired with a custom vanity top from (wait for it) Crafty Beaver. We got a great price and thoughtful service and I wish we’d thought to get a quote from them on our kitchen cabinets. The top features a wave bowl from Bertch and the cabinet itself is an off-the-shelf piece from the Big Box. It looks nice, but it’s a poor quality piece, something we didn’t realize until it was too late to return.

As you can (kinda) see in the photo below, rather than a typical round spray of water from the tap, the Loure faucet releases a unique flow in which you can see two streams cross in V-shape at the top and then twist and turn as they hit the sink. The fact that the Teen and I are fascinated by this might indicate undiagnosed Asperger’s or something, but it really is interesting and calming to watch.

That said, I do try to save water by not running the faucet while I brush my teeth. Gotta focus on those pearly whites! And the Teen is stuck brushing his teeth in here, anyway.

Perhaps because DH and I don’t share a morning rush, we didn’t see the need for two sinks. Instead, we opted for one and a make-up area for the lady of the house.

Our bathroom paint provided by Benjamin Moore. The color, Smoked Oyster (2109-40), alternates between beige, mauve and purple, depending upon the light.

Speaking of tricks of light, I mentioned that I couldn’t get a good shot of the entire vanity given the natural light, the light fixtures and copious amounts of mirror and glass in the room. Here’s my proof. (Also, I apparently didn’t straighten up the vanity before I shot. I swear it looks nicer in person. BTW, the toilet is behind me.)

We received a discount from Kohler on our fixtures. All opinions, blog posts, videos and cleaning services are my own.

I show off the highlights of the new space in the video.

I’m glad we were able to re-use the old kitchen cabinets. DH brought them upstairs and I had kinda shoved them into the space with the original white laminated top, which fit the cabinets, but was too small for the nook in the laundry room. This was too sloppy looking for my GC, so at his urging, I bought a new budget friendly top and he framed it all out, calling it his Chanukah gift to me. I still need to paint or stain the cabinets, to complete the look, but believe me, it’s so much nicer than my makeshift attempt to fill the space.

As noted in the video, I think our Whirlpool Cabrio is too large. It does a fine job of cleaning the clothes, I just wish wish we’d one with a slightly smaller model. If there’s interest, I’ll provide a more in depth review of the machine.

Speaking of laundry, I heard the siren song of beeps (rather annoying tones, actually) calling me upstairs to finish off a load. Until there’s a machine that sorts, folds and puts away the clothes, I think laundry will always be a drag. DO you have any tips to make it fun?