One of the frustrating…

One of the frustrating things about this housing search is that early on, we saw one place I loved, but which was a little too small and a little too far from the train -- and I keep comparing everything else I see to that in my head. Most of what I love about it is the finishes; a dark red wood floors and kitchen cabinets, a stainless steel staircase, all very striking. Kevin keeps telling me that these things are replaceable, while size and distance are not, which I know, but still. A lot of the places we're looking at are fairly new, and I think I'd have a hard time being willing to replace new floors and cabinets just to create a version I find prettier. It would feel super-wasteful. But this morning, I got some good news, poking around on the web -- it turns out that the Brazilian cherry finishes we're seeing in lots of the brand-new places should actually turn to a much darker red about 2-3 months in with exposure to sunlight. Yay!

I'm still not sure if they mean direct sunlight only, or just ambient sunlight/light to effect this change. I'm more hopeful now, though, that we might find a place with the finishes I like. That's not a requirement, but it'd be nice.

Example of color change. And from an advice website:

The color change of Jatoba or Brazilian Cherry as it is more commonly known is pretty severe. When first installed it has a organge/salmon color, over the next month or two it changes to a dark brown red color with exposure to the sun. After that, it will probably darken slightly more. Just know that you will get most of your color change within 60 to 90 days. You don't have to wait a year to put those area rugs down.

Now it is similar for North American Hardwoods like above. American Cherry and Walnut will darken in service, but woods like Oak get lighter, Maple and Hickory get yellow-er, all woods get effected in some way by the suns powerful rays. If you do put down area rugs, just move them an inch or two every couple of months, so you don't have such an obvious line.

All these things I don't know. It overwhelms me sometimes.