Penthouse Plunge: The End of an Odyssey

They say it ain’t over ‘til it’s over and the Penthouse Plunge was no different. Purchasing combined penthouses 18-A and 18-B was barely an inkling of an idea in January 2019. It took until September 2019 to close on the purchase and until December 2020 for the new occupant to move into the A-side.  In between was the renovation of 18-A, its sale in September 2020, and finishing the customizations for the new occupant.

Why do I keep saying “occupant” instead of owner? Because 18-A is owned by a trust for a foreign estate for the use of the occupant.  Convoluted?  Yup.

While you’ve read a lot about the project and its travails, let’s look at the final pictures while you read my final thoughts.

The Contractor: Jekyll to Hyde

I said in the beginning that I have never used the same contractor twice. Until November of 2020, I would have said I’d broken that streak. That all changed when I saw their quote for a bathroom renovation for 18-B. I’d warned Par-Mor Construction repeatedly that I could not afford the same budget on “my side” as I’d spent on the flip (I know rookie mistake spending too much on a flip). Their quote was shocking and they were unwilling to work on it (and that’s fine, sometime the price is the price – whether you can afford it or not).

Since I had already been in Hawaii for weeks when their quote arrived, the window of getting the work done before I returned was closing. I used my time to seek out other quotes. Par-Mor found out and their response was so bizarre, acidic and threatening, my opinion went from recommendation to “I cannot in good conscience recommend” to anyone.

Thanks Where Due

Other relationships didn’t sour.  I purchased the Thermador and Gaggenau kitchen appliances from Factory Builders Stores’ Grapevine location. They carry all the appliance brands from Frigidaire to Gaggenau plus several lines of kitchen cabinets (which I used in my Athena renovation several years ago). Throw on a mask and head up to Grapevine to see their large showroom.  Appliance rep Shannon McCurdy was so great, I’ve already referred business to her. Whatever year I can afford my kitchen renovation, I will use Shannon.

German Kitchen Cabinets – in a flip!

Given the ultimate price 18-A would sell for, I felt I had to up my game and went for German Leicht cabinets. I settled on German Kitchen Center who stuck with me through the trials of the 18-A kitchen cabinet ordering at the very beginning of the pandemic. There were delays, boo-boos and more delays. These things happen (pandemic and all). What matters is how you fix them. When initial issues arose with a wrong-sized cabinet, they sent in the regional VP to check things out – but Shahid Sardar and Nicholas Skyles had already acted to get things fixed.  Even now, almost a year since the initial order, after everything was finally fully installed, one trim piece didn’t match – without missing a beat, Nicholas said he’d order a replacement.

…and the kitchen looks great, of course!

Stonecraft Counters

First, I have to give Jennifer Voss from Stonecraft thanks for storing all my stone. If you recall, I made a quick purchase of MANY slabs at the IMC closeout sale in January 2020. Stonecraft stored the slabs until they were needed – and continue to store kitchen slabs for my eventual renovation. The storage alone is worth a huge thanks.

On top of that generous service, the countertops in 18-A look great!  All the counters in the two-and-a-half bathrooms as well as the kitchen and pantry (with full backsplashes) were all cut, polished and installed by the Stonecraft team – for a very reasonable price. It’s a phone number I won’t lose!

Acres of Tile

Ann Sacks’ rep Ashley Kim alerted me to an annual sale in 2019 that allowed me to shellac 18-A in gorgeous Ann Sacks tile – everything from a Kelly Wearstler marble mosaic that went in back of the master bathtub to a silvery/gold diamond mosaic in the powder room. True story, I wouldn’t know Kelly Wearstler if I fell on her, but the occupant did. Initially he didn’t like the tile behind the bathtub but when I said Kelly’s name, he suddenly liked it. 

Not everything was Ann Sacks though. One shower floor marble came from eBay and another from Floor and Décor. I have to say while not the high-touch experience of Ann Sacks, Floor and Décor has a lot of good tile at reasonable prices – and even some of the high-touch was fixed in 2020 when they opened a Design Center showroom in the Design District.   

Does Anyone Still Use eBay?

Yes. They’re great for mass-produced items and there’s not counterfeiting on plumbing.  In addition to that marble shower tile, without eBay, there would not be Dornbracht faucets, tub filler, and showerhead in the master bathroom and Dornbracht faucet in the kitchen.  Nor would there be Kallista faucets in the guest and powder bathrooms. My average savings were 75 percent off retail prices.

Not Rich? Scrounge for Quality

I’ve written repeatedly about my high-style cheapness while questioning why anyone would pay retail.  There are ways of achieving the look you want with the quality you want if you have patience and perseverance. Sales and eBay finds should be hunted down early in the renovation process.

For another example, stone tile can be expensive. With no great Ann Sacks sale this year, I had to look elsewhere. I found Century Mosaic, a factory in China that produces loads of mosaic marble tile at astoundingly low prices. Trust me when I say ordering and pre-paying, sight-unseen, for tile that has to be shipped across the world fills me with dread. Pics are a poor substitute for seeing and handling tile. But with loads nifty marble mosaic patterns available for $6-10 per square foot (the most expensive brass inlay was $22 per square foot), it’s a plunge I think I’ll take.

It’s a new year.

You’ve lived in your house for too many hours of the day in 2020 and face at least the first six months of 2021 doing exactly the same thing. Are there tweaks or full renovations you can do to your home to make it your dream home again?  Or do you just want to get another house?  Either way, don’t look for it to be a non-competitive process for workers or homes.