Moving into New Home

We got LG -washer dryer and dishwasher and they are all wonderful. COuldn't be happier! Congrats on the new house!!!!

For any and all appliances (from toasters to tvs, washers to cars)

www.consumerreports.org/

It is WORTH it

Hi T.

I am an interior designer and strongly advise you to plan carefully what you are going to do before you buy. The biggest mistake many people make is buying furniture that is too big for the room or too much furniture. Measure the room and do yourself or have someone do a space plan for you. Then decide what pieces and fabrics and paint colors you will use so you have a plan when you go to shop.

If you have questions you can ask them for free on my blog: www.coloursandconcepts.com

Good luck!

J.

I bought the Whirl pool front loader.....DO NOT recommend them! Stains dont come out of clothes like they use to, I can't get that fresh laundry smell. Unfortunately I read the reviews after I started having problems...they have a class action lawsuit for the problems like mold and mel dew:( My girl did do research and bought the LG and says they are great!

Arizona leather has really nice furniture. You can pic a style sofa, and pic leathers or fabric to cover it in! Good Luck w/ur new house:)

I can't answer teh washer question because well even though I dream of those washer's and dryers its not in my budget..yet. LOL but I love your paint idea. We just bought a house and I did our bedroom in a gray color scheme. I looked them up online and I loved one that was black, gray and fuschia. I went to home depot and got the paint samles and slapped them up on the wall. I painted accent walls instead of the whole room, and with gray I opted for a flat color, instead of anything glossy (the glossy ones looked weird in the gray colors). I also kept the trim of the windows and doorframes bright white, so there is definately a color contrast. We have an office and my husband wants it along the same lines, so that room I am planning. I was thinking of gray, light blue, and white. just play with the colors and see what you like! I was a renter for 10 years so the first thing I wanted to do was paint! Congrats on your new house and have fun making it your home!

I don't know about front vs. top loading as I have only ever had a top loader. I want to give some advice about all the 'new' gadgets/cycles on any of the appliances. My mother always said that the more gadgets, the more there is to break and go wrong! She is 100% correct. For the washer you need settings for cold/warm/hot water, variable water level, and normal & delicate cycles. For the dryer you need low/med/high heat settings, it's nice to have an air dry (no heat, just tumbles). You can pay a lot of money for all the whistles and bells, and most of the time, you will never use them. Buy good quality (don't need best) fairly basic machines and get good value for your money.
For furniture, check out estate or moving sales. May take a little more time, but you can find some great "gently used" furniture at really good prices.

I have LG front loading machines. there are pluses and minus'. you need to leave the washer open when not in use, other wise it smells bad. really bad. i do not have the pedistals-and it is a long bend to get laundry out. and the loads take a long time to wash.

pluses....i can do HUGE loads of laundry, uses very little detergents, and cleans really well. plus the water/energy savings.

i would do it again!

on paint-i really like Behr paint from home depot. and costco hs great furniture deals

Don't get a front loading washing machine if you like to throw laundry into the washing machine at the last minute. Once you start it, you can't throw a couple more things in.
I found Sears to be a lot more helpful than the Home Depot and Sears carries more in stock. The Home Depot doesn't carry very much in stock, which is not convenient if you have a truck and you can hook up the washer and dryer yourself.
I bought most of my furniture at Mor Furniture. They have very reasonable prices and great service. I have shopped at Jerome's in the past and had a much better experience with Mor Furniture. My only complaint with Mor Furniture were some inexpensive chairs that I found at the front of the store that I liked a lot. All the great deals seem to be at the front of the store. The only problem was, this furniture is not immediately available and you have to wait a long time for delivery. I had to wait about 6 weeks for my chairs, which would have been fine if they were custom furniture, but they weren't. Obviously, they advertise these great deals, and then people end up buying the more expensive furniture because they can have it right away. I my case, I found the chairs I wanted at a great price, and it was worth it to me to sit in beach chairs in my living room for 6 weeks rather than spend more money or getting something I didn't like.
Congratulations on your new house. I moved into my first place in December and I am so happy too!

I have used my friend's front loader that cost them a small fortune and my clothes NEVER end up clean. At least clean enough for me. My mom bought the new low water ones and she HATES it. The clothes don't come as clean as she likes and the detergent never seems to come all of the way out. Her bleach has ruined more than a few things.

I'm pretty good with color and designing. Grey gets drab and a little depressing after a few years. If you want a dark color, then maybe a dark brown with a lighter trim or a lighter brown with really dark trim and dark garage doors might be what you are looking for.

We foudn a ton of our furniture at Stuart Roth's Oak Connection (Fountain Valley?) - even though we bought no oak. All plain cherry wood and leather for us. We were pleasantly surprised with their selection, but it may not be your style if you are into all Lawrence.

Have TOO much fun!

We have a front loader washer (purchased 3 years ago), and a really cheap dryer (bought at the same time). Front load washers are known to have mold problems, since I have been leaving the detergent tray and door open after washing, that has helped so much. I do like my front loader, but hope that they have improved in the last couple of years. Our dryer is the best, and like I said, really cheap. It only has two settings, but one dries faster with less heat (less shrinkage too). So spend your money on the washer and don't worry as much about the dryer. If you have to match (I didn't care), then it won't matter.

For the gray paint, we just painted our office a pretty dark gray and it really works in there. We have some good windows/light, without the light it would be way too dark. We decided to bring in color through some bright red curtain valences, and posters/pictures on the wall. The little pops of color really stand out on the gray. I wouldn't want my whole house in gray, but I do love the one room. Our desks are glass with silver trim, so they sort of blend in to the walls, but it works. This is a pretty large room as well, I think a smaller room with less light would not work. We painted our bedroom a really pretty mocha color at the same time (a lighter color, but still darker than most walls), took me a while to get used to that one, but I really like it now. Everyone always tells me, you can just paint it again if you don't like it (except that we have textured walls and it takes forever), maybe you could try one room and see what you think. Or get a small can of paint and just do a section. I would avoid shades of the same color throughout my house, but I like variety, and each room has a unique feel with its individual color.

Congrats!

I love my front loaders, BUT....with 2 grubby toddlers who trash their clothes and cloth diapers, I really wish I had kept my old top loaders for a few more years just so I could soak my clothes! For what it's worth.

As far as your grey house, I would drive around and find one you like and ask the owner what color they used. Most of the time they will know. I've just seen too many grey houses that look like battleships or cars that have been primed!

Check out Mor furniture...we always buy used or antique, but I know people who have gone to Mor and liked it.

There is a huge furniture store on Main Street in El Cajon that my cousins just got all new furniture from (and they are snobby!). The prices were great, the quality is good and they customize. Here's the link: http://www.furnishforless.net/

Good luck and congrats!

Front loaders are great in energy/water savings but cost much more than top loaders.For years we had Kenmore brand and when that died after 11 yrs my husband shopped around. Kenmore had become expensive with fancy add ons. LG provided a decent compromise cost/value (Best Buy). I would recommend a large/medium capacity one - not the smallest size - more practical. Cons - Unlike top loaders, these develop a foul odor. Should keep open front door and detergent compartment until dry. Shop around for a bleach alternative detergent to keep odors away. Congratulations on your new home.

I love grey as well and have used it in both my current and last home. Martha Stewart has an excellent palette of colors (I used her old palette from Sherman Williams - but the new one is good as well). She combines accent colors in a great way that can help with accent pieces, throw pillows, etc.

I'd stay away from Maytag front loading washers. They have a mold problem, were sued about it, and haven't fixed it. It washes great, but the mold (which doesn't come off - google it) is a continuing problem. Congratulations and good luck.

Congratulations on your new house. We, too, have just purchased a new house and I did a LOT of research on front loading washers and dryers. Basically, I came to the realization that they were not a good choice for my family. I spoke to many people who had them constantly breaking down. Not to mention the moldy ODOR I was told came about from water accumulation in the doors. We have decided to purchase the Whirlpool Cabriolet washer and dryer. They are still environmentally friendlier than a regular top loading machine. Also, the size is cavernous - so you can wash large loads for a big family! Plus - Consumer Reports rated them very high as well! Good luck with your new home!

I have an absolutely great Bosch front loader. Front loaders are so much gentler on your clothes that I machine wash *all* of my delicates and woolens. The stain removal cycle works a treat as well.

So, big pros are easier on the environment and on your clothes, and cheaper to run. Cons? More expensive to buy, and cycles run a lot longer, which is a problem if you have a weekly washing day. I tend to just run a load or two every day.

We have an old Kenmore front load (10 years) and it has the moldy smell unless you leave the door open. Also, the special detergent is more expensive (you need to use it for the suds). It takes an hour to do a load, and you can't over load it because the stuff in the middle never gets properly wet. It was fun having it when it was just the 2 of us, but now with 4 there are twice as many cloths. My husband wonders why it takes 2 days to do 10 loads of laundry. We have it in the garage so it doesn't matter that it leaks everytime when I empty it because of the leftover water in the sealer ring.
Our next washer will be top load.
Congrats on your new house.

Hi T.,
If you like Lawrence Furniture but it's too pricey for you, check out Plummers. They have reasonable pricing and contemporary/modern furniture. Get the furniture first before painting as it might end up changing the direction you think you want to go. If you paint first,your limited to what will go with the paint color.

Good luck.

C. D.
Interior Desinger

All I can say is that be VERY careful of your toddler kids playing near it. Some brand have the buttons so it will automatically start after you close the door. I know of a mom that had her 2 or 3 year old actually set it up, crawl in then close the door and it automatically start up. The little one was ok, because mom heard the little one scream but if she had been too far away or it had started to tumble... well, that little dear would not be alive today. The knobs/buttons are very low and if a 2 year old can get them that is not good. even if the type is not the presetable type then you could still have issues if you have 2 kids play with it. To me it is too much of a danger.

I have no idea....Im a renter ! BUT just wanted to say congrats!!!!!!! Enjoy that new house !

When we were shopping for front loaders, all the salesmen that we talked to said to stay away from LG simply because if something breaks they are VERY hard to get parts for. If it breaks down you are probably looking at several weeks until you can get the parts in. So you might ask about that at the store where you shop. With small children going weeks without a washer/dryer just wasn't an option for us. We got a GE pair and we like them okay. You do have to be very careful to put in a balanced load. You can't just wash one blanket or it is unbalanced and will start jumping all over the utility room. It is better to have two blankets. Annoying, but once you figure that out you can at least plan for it.

We purchased new Samsung Front load washer/dryer set with silver care from Lowe's. It has the Vibration reduction technology so it doesn't have the unbalanced load issues mentioned by one of the other responses. Also, the silver care makes the whites seem whiter. I do love the set!

It is alittle disconcerting at first because you don't set the water levels like you do with top loaders. You do also have to keep the door to the washer open after you remove the load to avoid any mold issues (same with all models). We just leave it open anytime its not in use.

Cons are with this model, you can'd add the liquid in advance of doing the load that I've been able to figure out. It leaks in the tub after a few minutes. Its not a problem if you are doing laundry right away, only if you are trying to set it for a later start.

Also as someone else mentioned, as with all front loaders, there isn't a "soak" feature that you would get with a top loader.

Best of luck to you and enjoy your new home!