Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the finer things in life. Its just that there was a time when money WAS an object. It still is for me.

I think the use of high end materials was directly correlated with the fantom equity that made even a lowly condo owner feel rich. Without this equity in the marketlace I think the market would have developed lower priced alternatives to update ones home.

I just don’t want to pay for anyone’s irrational exuberance, neither for buying an inflated asset nor remodeling one.