On July 27, I finalized my selections, except for the bar and low-voltage (lighting placement, hdmi and ethernet cable runs, etc). At that time, I gave Toll another check for 20% of the cost of the interior options that I had selected. I also made a few last minute(well, I had been thinking about them over the previous week) changes. I decided to go for a much grayer master bathroom tile and listello, and changed from "lady's choice" (a tannish/off-white color) carpet to "thunder" (a light gray that is still standard level) in the bedrooms. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the new tile and listello , but here's a picture from the internet. It's "Gray Stone" in the in the "Castle De Verre" series of DaTile. I like the stark contrast that the white toilet and tub will make, and I won't be blinded in the mornings by light reflecting off of light colored tile.
Overall, I found the costs of the interior options to be a lot more reasonable than the structural options. I did decide not to buy a refrigerator through the builder. I found that I could get a matching refrigerator for $500 - $700 cheaper, even after delivery costs if need be. I also didn't buy a washer and dryer from the builder. Pretty much everything else, like tile, faucets, etc, I compared to pricing online and found them to be comparable, especially if I were to pay someone to come in and install these things. I did go with the default bath accessories and lighting fixtures throughout without shopping around because they didn't have the styles I am interested in, and those things aren't hard to change out. Aside from the appliances that I mentioned, I took a pass on the closet organizers and blinds that they offered. Their selection in these areas were really limited, and over priced. I know that like the fireplace, as long a they could source it, they'd install it, so I could have chosen products outside of their selection choices, but these things are easy enough to replace after the fact.
