Hey all,
Got the keys today....couldn't resist heading over to take some "before" shots. I took some of every room in the house, but don't plan on sharing all of them till the "after" is ready. I do have to share the pics of the kitchen...just cause you are all gonna laugh your butts off!!!! Enjoy!!!!
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I agree with Arizona don't rush your projects. Live with the space for a few weeks; make note of how conveniently located (or not) your sink/fridge/stove are, what would be your ideal configuration because moving plumbing & electrical can be very costly. Do tons of research on the flooring/counter tops/appliances/lighting etc. If you are going to completely gut the kitchen you could spend anywhere from $25K to $60. Before you spend a dime pretend you've won the lottery & check out everything you would like then sit down & re-visit the wish list & decide what you are realistically willing to spend. If you know the cost going in you will be better prepared for the shocks. My DH almost fainted when he saw the price of a sink he wanted to re-use our old one!!!!!! Keep us posted.
Three hale Marys and no Baileys for a month and you are forgiven!:)
Aw shoot....sorry man. I haven't been around too much lately. Didn't realize we actually have a few gentlemen in our midst these days.
Many apologies.....
Mel
From one who has done a complete house reno that still isn't finished here are my suggestions. Go room to room and make a list of everything you want to do in each of them. Think about how the house will flow when it's all done, you may need to tweak a few ideas or even scrap some at this point so think about the big picture. Everthing you want to replace just mark it down on paper. Now go sit somewhere and figure out how much it will cost to replace.
Things like a French door to replace the big window might not seem that important when you find out how much it will cost and the cost of installation. Certain things you will want no matter how much they cost but hopefully if you don't have the money now you can work towards saving up for it in a few years.
Think about the Home Energy Credit if you have to replace things like furnaces, etc because you need to get those upgrades done within a certain time frame and you have to have an energy audit done first. So your should prioritize everything else around that.
Your idea about getting an Ikea kitchen will save you thousands of dollars. The trade off is your time but there are lots of different ways to get the look you want for less.
Rooms like bedrooms and living rooms can be the cheapest to fix up, just a slap of paint and new flooring so work on a little project now and then until completion so you feel like you have a sense of accomplishment, otherwise you will be living in a construction zone which is not very pleasant. You need to have somewhere to go that isn't a complete disaster. I learnt this from one of my aunts whose house has been worked on by her DH for over 30 years now.
On the other hand don't try and rush yourselves because I have found I have often changed my mind on things and glad I took my time and didn't have to live with a costly mistake.
Hey Mel--- can you post a drawing of the room? I'm sure a lot of people will have ideas. Here ia a pic of a kitchen that I saved for a friend who bought a home with a pine kitchen. I can't remember where I found it but it gave her a visual of what she could do.
Thanks!
:) Mel
[SIZE=6][SIZE=4]Ahem - excuse me please.:)[/SIZE] [/SIZE]We need to modify some perceptions here. Mel, you are not alone. Is that a big enough hint? :cool: ;)
Depends where the french doors would lead to?
I LOVE the french door idea DBD, but DF doesn't....so I guess thats out.
Mel
Mel, you're not giving in that easy, are you? c'mon gals, let's all help Mel out here . . .
To answer some of your questions....yes, the cabinets smell "old". I don't even want to put my dishes in them....but will if I have to...I guess.
I have no idea what the bulkhead is for. And yes, it is angled toward the ceiling. In fact, the bottom cupboards are also installed on a funny angle. Weird. I took a hammer to poke a hole in the bulkhead to see if it had any purpose...its solid wood! So, still no clue as to why its there. Stay tuned as this story unfolds.
Sorry I forgot to take a pic of the hinges. They are actually hidden hinges. I've never seen hardware like it before.
I LOVE the french door idea DBD, but DF doesn't....so I guess thats out. I love the fact that our window is so huge tho!!! A definite bonus.
Thanks again,
Mel
Thanks for all the support Ladies!!!! I have to say, my recollection of the house was a little foggy, because whe we went back in and started ripping up carpets and stripping wallpaper...I was going from room to room saying "OMG..this is SUCH a great house!!" I'm still not sure how extensive our kitchen reno is going to be right away...we are looking into getting a line of credit so we can do the whole thing at once....if not, we'll have to do it a little at a time. The fact that our mortgage payments are over $500 LESS a month than our rent was helps out a lot!
Keep the ideas (and the supportive comments) coming. I'll know after Thursday how its gonna play out finacially. If we have to do a little at a time, I'll need some help from you guys on deciding what to do first...and second...and so on.
Thanks!
:) Mel
It's not that bad at all, you have twice as many cabinets than I did with my orginal kitchen. Do they smell "old"? Mine did, I scrubbed that kitchen including inside the cabinets and kept the doors open to air it all out and it still smelt "old".
I don't mind your light fixture, I find them curiously modern and simplistic now even though I hated them for many years having grown up with them. I put one in my hallway and it just suits the space nicely without all this fussy stuff hanging down.
OOOOOOOHHHH, I like that idea - I can see one long countertop on the left with the fridge stove sink etc., and the usual upper/lower cabs, and on the right a 12" or 15" deep floor-to-ceiling pantry - think S T O R A G E !!!!!!!
Looks to me like the state of the art 1960's kitchen that has been painted and had a DW installed where the fridge used to go. I bet it's a good sized room that has room for a table and chairs and you'll have all sorts of options if you want to reconfigure it. Even just updating the counter and floor will go a long way to bringing it up to date as I bet those cupboards are solid wood.
Really, the nice part is you didn't pay for a house that had a remodelled kitchen you don't like so you now can do as you wish and it will be exactly as you want. You have to do a bit of work but reap all the benefits.
If I can throw something out there that has always impressed me it, it's think about blowing out that window and replacing it with a French door and putting the counters etc. on the other side. Every kitchen I have seen that done to looks amazing compared to the usual window over sink configuration. It does mean moving plumbing but if you are doing a total gut anyway now would be the time to do it.
So much potential! Have fun! And as I've been reminded many times in the last Rome wasn't built in a day.
wait till you get to see my living-room before shots - there are resons that you haven't yet!
Love it....what a great project this will be!!!
Well - I don't know if I'm laughing my butt off - but I am chuckling. I could show you the before pics of my place - I don't think you would laugh... you might run screaming.
Gotta love the Swedish meatball light fixture and the plaid flooring. NOT.
Actually, it looks like you have a nice space to work with. That's always a bonus.
Are you going to redo the kitchen or are you just going to tackle the cosmetics?
edited to add: Is that bulkhead angled out towards the ceiling??? What's up with that?
WOW! now I understand why you bought the house, it was the plaid floor that you fell in love with!
It's not that bad; unless you are planning a complete re-do of the kitchen, a bit of paint, [I]a new light fixture[/I] and some of your own things in there will make a world of difference. It is functional . . .
Just looked at the big pics, I do love the window, it makes the place nice and bright. FWIW, DH and I actually planned out last kitchen in that kind of shape so that we could both work in there at the same time, and it worked out. Much smaller than yours, of course.
Added the bit about the light, too, after seeing the pics ...
I would like a close-up of the door/hinge areas, I have cupboards that look similar but with the hinges that you can see, and I am wondering if they could look like yours when painted.
These explain the Baileys! But I'm confused are we supposed to laugh our butts off because you bought this place, or laugh because its sooooo white and sterile?:cool:;):D