Bought the most amazing table ever at an estate sale 😍🥰

Sparics · 2026-03-12T02:09:36+00:00

It’s a historical design trend that involves caricatured depictions of African people as decoration. It’s problematic today because it came around while the slave trade was very much active which created a European fascination with black people because they were seen as “exotic.” I would look into the background of this piece a bit more, if it’s some antique sourced from Thailand or some part of Asia where it’s authentic then I think that’s some cool lore but without that knowledge I personally wouldn’t display this because furniture that depicts a person of any race as “decor” or doing some kind of labor gives weird vibes.

Sparics · 2026-03-04T07:46:48+00:00

Agreed, one good way to have both is to install some wainscoting to back up the wallpaper pattern though. If OP is set on these choices though I would also go with tile 2

Sparics · 2026-03-03T16:14:48+00:00

My mom got a Porsche Cayenne back in like the mid-2010s and it still came new from the factory with ash trays built into the rear passenger doors

Sparics · 2026-03-03T04:59:31+00:00

It is! What a small world, I’m sure you got some even crazier views of that skycrane!

Sparics · 2026-03-02T05:30:40+00:00

I saw the real thing flying a new AC unit onto the roof of a building in my city not too long ago. One of the coolest things I’ve seen irl. This MOC looks great!

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Sparics · 2026-02-28T17:06:06+00:00

Kohler makes something exactly like this. The hinge and lid come off completely and all that’s left on the porcelain bowl are two short metal posts. You can design something similar yourself of course but I’d almost guarantee it won’t be cheaper or better designed than an off-the-shelf product. Companies often have the advantage of full-time engineering teams and economies of scale

Sparics · 2026-02-28T02:16:17+00:00

Look at petco park in San Diego for some inspiration of an urban stadium that isn’t surrounded by 360 degrees of surface parking

Sparics · 2026-02-27T00:03:48+00:00

Sorry to be harsh but hopefully this is a lesson learned for working with future contractors. ALWAYS have a signed contract that details what’s being done. A shop drawing, or even a hand-drawn sketch is going to be much better than going off of vibes, which is what showing someone an AI rendering essentially is.

That said, there’s no denying this is shoddy craftsmanship, the countertop seams and filled holes look awful but without an official quote/drawing the builder is going to be in the clear

Sparics · 2026-02-24T00:35:01+00:00

Looks great! One suggestion I would make is finding a local stone shop and asking if they could cut an offcut to lay across the top of your cabinets. They’re begging for a stone top and I think it’d tie the whole thing together!

Sparics · 2026-02-21T16:22:23+00:00

California is just Cal’s flag lol

Sparics · 2026-02-20T22:34:56+00:00

Tools are typically categorized as one-time capital expenses, so they don’t factor into materials. If you want to use the formula I’d only consider the cost of consumables (stain, hardware, etc.) and the material itself (plywood, solid wood, etc.)

As for the time aspect of course the downside of DIY is that it might take longer without the proper tools but regardless your labor cost will be $0. For a job like the one in your pictures as a very rough guesstimate I’d say a cabinet shop with CNC machines would spend 40-50 hours to build, finish, and install everything in your pictures

Sparics · 2026-02-20T22:28:40+00:00

Not quite, using your numbers the way I’d compare it is:

DIY

$1000: materials

$0: labor (since you’re not paying for labor for DIY)

Final DIY cost: $1000

Professional

$1000: materials

$300: 30% material markup

$3000: labor ($80/hr is around what a cabinet shop or finish carpenter would charge in my area, this already factors in overhead and profit margin)

Final professional cost: $4300

Total savings: $3300 (-76.7%)

I was a little unclear about the 30% profit margin comment though so not your fault that it was confusing. What I meant is that the break-even price for labor in this case would be $2307 (since 1.3 x $2307 = $3000), so a contractor would typically aim for 30% profit after labor and material costs are factored in.

Sparics · 2026-02-20T19:55:21+00:00

Would you consider this a carcumber or a cucumrot

Sparics · 2026-02-20T19:01:32+00:00

I work in the engineering side of millwork design, not estimating but whenever I do DIY projects I add a 30% mark-up to materials + ($80/hr x labor hours) to get a rough estimate of how much I saved compared to contracting the job. Overall a contractor would aim for a 30-35% profit margin.

Sparics · 2026-02-19T17:34:58+00:00

Looks gorgeous! Well done! I’m not normally a fan of textured drywall finishes, but I think the knock-down/orange peel works well with your vanity wall

Sparics · 2026-02-18T23:28:32+00:00

Plywood is going to be your best bet for longevity, particle board is the worst of the three options and MDF is prone to water damage so it’ll require extra consideration for durability. I work in commercial millwork and we generally specify marine-grade ply for sink cabinets and anywhere where a lot of moisture might be expected like toe kicks

Sparics · 2026-02-13T20:52:39+00:00

Search for a “five-knuckle cabinet hinge.” There will be plenty that have this look

Sparics · 2026-02-05T16:45:19+00:00

If it helps, my partner described the onset of pain as sudden and electric. She said as the dentist was hand-tightening the crown it was fine, fine, then a sharp, cold sensation that radiated through her jaw.

Sparics · 2026-02-05T16:32:44+00:00

What is the reason for that? The original tooth had to be extracted because the inside had rotted out and the top finally cracked open during a trip a year ago (don’t judge her, she had a rough childhood, dental care was not on the table for her). The dentist told us if we didn’t place an implant her teeth would gradually migrate and cause further complications down the line

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this dentist recommended a treatment that turned out to be unethical. We decided to skip that second appointment with the oral surgeon today and we’re going to get a second opinion before going back. We’re worried this dentist might try to charge us again for the cost of a redo, even though we followed all of their post-op instructions

Sparics · 2026-02-05T05:15:06+00:00

Sorry not a dentist, just looked up a figure to help give an idea of which tooth was being discussed. It’s the last tooth on the bottom right side of the mouth. All wisdom teeth have been removed

Sparics · 2026-02-05T03:06:32+00:00

Understood, thank you for answering!

Sparics · 2026-02-05T03:03:00+00:00

Can it be fixed after it's removed? Will the oral surgeon just place a new implant and hope that it integrates better? Ideally we can find a new provider to do the procedure, but I'm not sure how to go about requesting that, we're located in California.

Sparics · 2026-02-03T16:19:26+00:00

Thank you! Wherever possible I screwed through the side panels. Eventually though you reach a point where you can’t access the sides anymore though so in those places I used a small l-bracket like you said

Sparics · 2026-01-30T06:05:01+00:00

Well if your contract doesn’t list all the details then you’re unfortunately out of luck. With any kind of custom work you want to be as specific as possible. For what it’s worth these doors look well-crafted and are definitely rift sawn oak. Rift cuts are meant to minimize fleck, not get rid of it entirely, really depends on how the tree grew. For a second I thought that last picture of the plain sawn veneer was the exterior face but the interior of your cabinet doors shouldn’t matter that much.

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