Marion, I don’t think the guys on this website are going to care about this stuff…

Despite evolution, cabinets, flooring, countertops, etc., will generally remain the domain of females and gay men.

As a female, I would like to have my next floors be bamboo, countertops soapstone, and cabinets refinished antique wood. My house right now is the epitome of early 2000’s boringness–greenish-brown granite tile, birch cabinets, brushed nickel hardware, light birch floors and 16″tile in the kitchen and dining room. Travertine fireplace surrounds and tumbled marble in the bathrooms. We bought the house from an enterprising real estate agent-cum-flipper who did a pretty good job of gutting a 1965 rancher and making it pop–but the appeal really had more to do with the second bathroom and the lack of carpeted surfaces (we have 3 dogs) than anything else for us at the time. The house looked like all of the slapped-up new houses getting built in Natomas and Elk Grove, but without the commute.

Next time, I am trading customization and acreage for a little bit longer commute.