The hardest part of this whole project hasn't been the money or the permits, it's been choosing materials I've never actually seen in person. We're in Dubai and doing a
custom kitchen and bath remodeling in Palo Alto CA on a house we'll eventually move back into, and I swear I've spent more hours staring at tile samples on my laptop than I did picking my own wedding venue. The contractor keeps sending photos of slab options and cabinet door styles and asking for my approval, and I'm like, how am I supposed to know if this quartz reads gray or beige in natural light when all I have is a phone screen? I found kitchen bath palo alto while trying to figure out how other people handle this, and they seem used to remote clients, but I still don't know if I'm making good choices or just guessing and hoping for the best. Does anyone have tricks for judging finishes from overseas? Do you order samples and have them shipped to you, or just trust the designer's eye? I'm half tempted to fly in for a weekend just to walk through a showroom and touch everything, but that feels excessive. Any advice would help because I'm this close to just telling them to pick whatever looks decent and hoping I don't hate it when I finally see it.
