Hey Friends ~
All your encouraging words before and after this big project have been the wind beneath my wings. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be sitting there looking helplessly at those dark brown cabinets, the appliances on their last legs, and the sad, worn out flooring.
And speaking of the wind beneath my wings, I asked my husband what he learned now that we've completed our kitchen re-do. Tim's a long-time Habitat for Humanity home builder and is exceptionally handy when it comes to trouble-shooting, tinkering, and fixing stuff. I respect his experience, abilities, and his pro-active smarts.
Here's what he told me (and I've added my two cents underneath his rather matter of fact statements.)
1. Don't get hung up on a few dollars. Quality matters.
We're always looking for ways to save a buck. But when it comes to a kitchen or bath, you want to get the best you can afford. This will involve putting money away well ahead of time, knowing prices, looking out for deals, comparison shopping 'til you drop, and skimping on non-essentials so you can invest in what will matter most in the long run.
We're always looking for ways to save a buck. But when it comes to a kitchen or bath, you want to get the best you can afford. This will involve putting money away well ahead of time, knowing prices, looking out for deals, comparison shopping 'til you drop, and skimping on non-essentials so you can invest in what will matter most in the long run.
We splurged on professionals to paint, lay flooring, and install the backsplash. We saved money by using leftover wainscoting from other projects, buying the cabinet hardware from Amazon (these and those), and refusing to go with outrageous quotes from hucksters.
2. You don't have to have it all planned out when you start.
Yes, you have to know where you're going. Enjoy tearing out pics from magazines, bookmarking online room ideas, or creating a Pinterest board. If you spot a design detail that brings a smile or a deep sigh of satisfaction, take note, especially if you find yourself repeatedly gravitating to similar elements.
Yes, you have to know where you're going. Enjoy tearing out pics from magazines, bookmarking online room ideas, or creating a Pinterest board. If you spot a design detail that brings a smile or a deep sigh of satisfaction, take note, especially if you find yourself repeatedly gravitating to similar elements.
Refuse to make decisions on every last detail before you begin. You'll just get frustrated, discouraged, and find yourself dragging your feet.
3. Start with the cabinets. The other things you can change your mind on.
The cabinets set the stage for a kitchen. We were happy to keep ours because they were in decent shape and we refused to change the floor plan. Once you figure out what you want to do with them, focus next on appliances. Trust me, everything else will fall into place.
PLUS ...
Educate yourself. Talk to everyone you know who's survived a kitchen remodel. Ask where they shopped, what worked for them, who they hired. Look for professionals with lots of five star reviews and don't be afraid to pick their brains and ask for free estimates. If they don't respond in a timely manner or they act like they're doing you a big favor, say good-bye.
In the process be patient with your partner/family. Be prepared to negotiate with big doses of kindness and give lavish grace when you disagree. Relationships are always more important than home improvement projects.
Lets talk about your fixer-uppers, renovations, and house updates ... the good, the bad, and the ugly! What brilliant takeaways do you have for us? And what disasters should we avoid?
Linda
Want more?
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How We Saved Six Figures on our Kitchen
The Nester (my all-time favorite home guru)
The Nester (my all-time favorite home guru)
71 Best Backsplash Ideas for Kitchens
House Beautiful
House Beautiful
It sure helps to have a husband who is handy dandy. Jo doesn't. Can I borrow him for a bit of kitchen work, fix up work, and maintenance? Love the kitchen Linda (and hubby).
ReplyDeleteHe would love to come over and give you a hand, Bill. It's his favorite thing to do. Too bad Indiana is so far away. All you'd have to do is give him a cup of coffee and the two of you would be good to go.
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Not that we have any plans for big renovations any time soon, Linda, I did appreciate this retrospect from Tim and you so much. The biggest improvement we've done in our kitchen was accomplished several years ago when we had granite counter tops installed. We haven't regretted it for a minute! The next project we are contemplating is installing a walk-in shower, but we are saving our pennies for that one.
ReplyDeleteAgain, your kitchen looks perfect! Blessings!
A walk-in shower is looking better and better as we get older, isn't it, Martha. These are the kind of things worth saving for, aren't they ...
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I would recommend that readers document their befores and afters better than I did. We tore our kitchen down to the insulation with new cupboards, a different floor plan, and ended up tearing out the bathtub in the adjoining bathroom because of some rotten flooring we discovered. It was extensive and wonderful, but I can hardly remember what "the old" looked like now even though it's been only five-ish years.
ReplyDeleteI like that you're able to combine the words 'extensive and wonderful' in one sentence, Michele! And aren't you relieved that you found that rotten flooring before the bathtub fell into the basement?!
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"If you spot a design detail that brings a smile or a deep sigh of satisfaction, take note, especially if you find yourself repeatedly gravitating to similar elements." These are all very helpful tips when it comes to any new home project or renovation. My husband is a past home-builder, so very much a fan of spending on quality. Currently he is in the midst of a she-shed project for me that includes a patio with a fire pit and surrounding new landscaping. The grounds been levelled, but he's not quite satisfied with his original plans for the firepit, so he is outside scratching his head a lot. lol! But taking the time to rearrange even the pre-plans leads to a desired result, as you mention!
ReplyDeleteOh ... a she-shed! A fire pit! Fresh landscaping! This sounds awesome, friend. I hope you'll be sharing pictures. Wonderful.
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I enjoyed the comments from your last post - everyone loves the backsplash! Also my favorite part. Good words of advice from both you and Tim, lots of thought and work went into the kitchen and it is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI know! Wasn't that the best conversation ever? Check out the link in today's post for more backsplash ideas.
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I think I could count on one hand the number of times we've ever hired anyone to do anything. My husband is a skilled guy for sure but wow, does it take a lot loner when you do it all yourself. We built our home just over 20 years ago and while we've made some small changes along the way (like finishing off our basement and building a who mini kitchen down there) I find I'd rather sell the house and start again than tackle a huge remodel project (like I know we should!). Your kitchen transformation truly is inspiring though.
ReplyDeleteI hear you about tackling a huge remodel, Joanne. The whole idea is daunting. And yes, I hear you about when our husbands are able to do all these things and how long it takes and the toll it takes on everyone involved. Maybe the good thing about aging is that we're more willing to hire a pro who just might be able to do something better than we can do ourselves.
DeleteA hard decision for the guys, yes?
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I agree very much about buying quality. I used to be of the mind that it was good stewardship to buy the cheapest of anything. Not so!
ReplyDeleteI've collected photos (first from magazines, now in Pinterest boards) of rooms and spaces I like. There are so many choices variable today, it helps to look at options and hone in on what continually appeals to you.
We haven't done any major renovations in a while. Our very first house was a fixer-upper, which was the only reason we could afford it. My husband could do most of the work, but the house needed so much. It was exhausting. Someone who bought it after us put $100,000 in it, and that was three decades ago. That's what it needed, but not what we had! But our youngest two sons were born while we lived there, so there are lots of happy memories.
Something we want to do, which I hope my husband has high on his list of upcoming retirement projects, is expanding our back patio and adding a pergola. We need to paint the interior--we've only done a bathroom and two bedrooms so far. But I dread having to take everything off the walls and put it all back up again.
Interesting comment about good stewardship, buying cheaper or choosing quality. A few times in the process I wondered WWJD?
DeleteI'm thinking there's a difference between perfection and excellence. Things will never be done perfectly but doing whatever we do with excellence is always the goal.
And I hear you about putting that stuff back on the walls. The painters were supposed to leave the nails in place ... but that didn't happen. Time to measure and re-measure and get the hammer and nails yet again.
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For those who aren't so handy (like us!), we purchased our kitchen (sturdy white cabinets, simple hardware, granite countertops, and dependable appliances) from Home Depot. An in-store designer helped us plan the layout. That was nine years ago and we still love our kitchen. An estimate from an independent designer came in much higher, of course, and I don't think we'd be any happier in the kitchen she presented.
ReplyDeleteOh I feel a sigh of relief from me for you ... and I'm thinking that your good experience is going to be a real encouragement for other readers. Don't you just love a one stop shop?!
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Yes indeed! In our case it worked very well. Must add that the backsplash tile came from elsewhere. That was the one item I couldn't find at Home Depot that fit my "vision!"
DeleteYeah, once you see it in your head, you know it when you see it in person! And sometimes, nothing less will do.
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Twenty years ago we took our garage and turned it into a new kitchen. It was the summer before our son started his senior year in high school. We had no kitchen for three months. As a designer, I designed it all and hired all the contractors. I look back now and it is funny how we survived it, but not funny at the time. Twenty years later my kitchen is still wonderful and truly the heart of our home. Thank you for sharing what you learned.
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth about it not being all that funny at the time. Designing and being the general contractor of your own major home project is no joke and three months is a long time to be eating sandwiches off paper plates.
DeleteIsn't it a blessing that twenty years your kitchen is still such a warm and inviting hub of your home. Thanks for giving us a bit of a long-term perspective, Pam.
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Good lessons but I am one who wants to plan everything out from the beginning and am frustrating when you can't. I hear the wisdom though in the words. Thanks for sharing, Linda!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like a good start-finish plan, too, Jean. But I find it more overwhelming these days and need to take small steps to get to the same place. Embracing what method works best is our key to getting those projects to the finish line. You go, girl!
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I love all your lessons, Linda, especially the advice about avoiding hucksters and not wasting time with subcontractors who don't respond or who act all uppity. Pretty sure Randy and Tim would get along great. ð I had fun going back and reviewing a post I wrote about lessons from our kitchen project a few years ago. Two that stuck out the most? The mess is the means to the end, and sometimes you need professional help. The painter we hired to do the exterior of our home had us meet with a Sherwin Williams color consultant to help us pick a color scheme. We asked her to take a peek at our kitchen while she was there, and she gave us wonderful advice about colors and countertops. If we'd tried to do it ourselves our outside would NEVER have gotten painted and the kitchen would have been cold and uninviting.
ReplyDeleteLois, I headed right over to your site to find that post ... what fun to re-read all about your project. You were so brave to deal with all that tile work. I would have gone start raving mad.
DeleteI'm happy to share your journey here ... thanks for getting us moving in that direction three years ago, friend!
LIFE LESSONS FROM A KITCHEN RENOVATION
https://www.loisflowers.com/life-lessons-from-a-kitchen-renovation/
BEFORE & AFTER: OUR REAL-LIFE KITCHEN RENOVATION
https://www.loisflowers.com/before-after-our-real-life-kitchen-renovation/#more-7363
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Great advice Linda, and I appreciate your two cents. Thanks bunches for sharing this great information with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun.
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Thank you for these helpful tips! I hope to renovate my kitchen within the next 5-6 years...
ReplyDeleteSomething to look forward to! I know how you love your kitchen, friend ...
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