>Homesick Dragan?

Et tu?

>Designer faucets are typically not available in the mass-market shops (Home Depot, KMart, Walmart, Lowes).

What's stopping the manufacturers from applying a nicer design on the cheaper pieces? They have to have some design anyway. Are you saying they are intentionally ugly so to justify the price of the designer pieces? Stratify the customers by aesthetics as well? Mmmm...

Because the nice pieces we found back home (yep, that first home) were bought in the ordinary shop. Yep, the conspiracy of the darn communists to produce designer pieces for the masses. Maybe, but I have to say that I was happier with the choice of the affordable pieces then. Actually, the expensive ones were ugly kitsch pieces for the nouveau riche (we had those, too, not as rich but equally taste free), imitation of this or that style.

> Same with light fixtures. Same with kitchen flatware and stoneware (have visited specialty shops for those?). Have you checked out the pricier shops for kitchenware?

All imitations of previous centuries. Nothing even resembling the mid-XX century design, or anything newer. I don't want to look like a plantation owner, I'm a geek. Furniture? As if I'm walking into the office of a Faulkner's big local kahuna.

>Cars come in a multitude of colors, but are typically only available in what has proven to sell (driven by market).

No. I was complaining about this for a few years, nope, all gray. Last summer, all of a sudden, nice colors spring everywhere. Market accidentally changed its mind all of a sudden? C'mon. Someone already mentioned there's an industrial body which streamlines the color scheme for a number of years in advance, and most of the industry adheres to these standards. The word I got there is "fashionable car color will be matte white, like chalk - waxing would ruin it.. just wait a few years".

So, market, ha, ha. It may correct a few extreme flops (new Coke, Edsel) but it's very malleable (Hearst, Microsoft, PT Barnum, wonder bread, bottled water, depleted jeans).

> There are too many black, red, blue, and burgandy cars out there). I prefer white. :) There is also every shade of silver and beige available not to mention copper, pale greens, etc. Are you maybe getting color blind? :o)

I don't consider r=g=b a color. It's the protective layer of paint, just like they apply on ships and gates. If it's so unsaturated, it's probably a camouflage, to fit in somewhere between dirt, asphalt and concrete and not be noticed too early before a collision.

>Most electronic equipment is made overseas.
>
>Funny, your impression is so much different than mine. In all my years overseas and down south, I've never come across more choices than are available here.

It's both an illusion and it's a personal POV. Even in Ceauşescu's Romania the shelves were full. Full of what is what matters. I don't really care how many kinds and packages of sugar water or dog food they sell - we don't buy either, and they occupy a nice chunk of space in every grocery.

What matters to me is when you know what you need, how much will the choices come close to your wishes. For instance, there's a seemingly huge choice of countertop covering... but they are in all geological colors, i.e. they all looked like finely ground stones. Grey, greyish, spotty, brownish... so we eventually just gave up and went for plywood and ceramic tiles - white (not exactly white, that doesn't exist, but as close as could find) with dark blue (about #000030 or so).

Or... charcoal. There's seemingly a large choice, but it usually goes down to zero or one. Because it's not really charcoal, it's pressed charcoal dust with some phosphor or whatever they use for ignition. Actual charcoal... in one out of four places, not all the time.

Steam cleaner. A whole range from $80 to $400, with this or that option... except that after half an hour with the salesgirl we understand that it's actually not steam. It's hot water at about 60C, in better models maybe 75C. Bought online.