@CarpenterSF- If I'm paying 5k for painting, they better paint the whole house! Also, there is no second floor over these walls; not yet anyway... that was what my original question was about (and I posted the complete layout). A lot of the work involved I have absolutely no idea how much it will cost, but some things I do know... and your electrical and painting estimates are bizarre (we've already got a new panel, upped the amps, ran a new line to the house, and ran some new 220V circuits for only 5k total). When the quotes come in, we will know what we are in for... @robotropolis - That is exactly what the previous owner did... took part of the laundry room and made it a bath. Although the laundry room was a step down from the rest of the house and he wanted the bathroom at the same level as the house.. that is why the ceilings are low. @the rest - I never asked if I should teardown/rebuild the house or if I should do everything all at once because those are not options that I can afford. You know it is also cheaper and easier if you buy a house all in cash rather than get a mortgage, but people still get mortgages. I have two options open to me: Do the renovations in two phases over the next 5-10 years or move. I am choosing option number one... and I am genuinely getting upset that so many are telling me I should do everything all at once or teardown/rebuild the house. I bought the house for better or worse; there is only moving forwards… I do welcome, need, and greatly appreciate any advice that I can actually use... like any tips on how to make these phases go smoother, codes to check (I already got great advice there, thanks!), things to ask contractors, ways to save money on the phases, or creative layout suggestion for affordably adding a master bathroom/suite or making a great room. That is why I posted. Thanks, Robin

The description of how to do it sounds harder than it actually is. You will need to remove the drywall entirely and replace it with cement board It's easier than replacing it with more drywall as you don't have to mud it flat and the fiberglass mesh tape just needs the lightest skim coat of thinset to set it. To be able to do that job, you will need a heavy bladed utility knife, a flat prybar, a hammer, a T-square, a cordless drill of at least 12v, stainless steel screws, fiberglass mesh tape and cement board. The cement board is 36" x 60" and you will need a way to haul it home. Screw the cement board to the studs, getting the screw heads slightly indented into the surface of the board. Spray the cejent board with water and mix up a small batch of the thinset and use a flat bladed drywall tool to smooth it lightly over the seam. Imbed the fiberglass mesh tape into that smoothly and let dry. To be able to install the tile, you will need the dry mix thinset, a bucket to mix it in, a large paint stir stick to mix it, a notched trowel to apply it, the correct amount of tile, tile spacers and you will need a tile saw. You can purchase an inexpensive one for around $80 and have it for as long as you need it to be able to little bit the project to death. If you rent, you can expect to pay that $80 for a 24 hour rental, so really, it makes more sense to buy the saw and then you can take as long as you need to and you'll have it for other projects. Once the thinset has cured, you will need to grout it. You will need the powdered grout of your choice, another bucket to mix it in, another stir stick, a grout float, a couple of sponges and a bucket of water. Some microfiber cloths to polish off the rest of the residue after it's dried is also a good idea. You will want to seal the grout, so you will need an applicator bottle and grout sealer. Getting the items you need is half the battle. It's also a good idea to practice on a garage sale find and create yourself a small patio table first while you get the hang of how to mix up the thinset and grout.

We prepped our house for sale in June and I thought we'd need to put a lot of money into it. Our realtor said repeatedly, "Do not do anything beyond repairs and finishing projects!" I didn't believe her, but she was right! Our place sold in one day, above asking price. Find a great realtor and do what he/she says is my best advice. If you need a realtor recommendation and know of Dave Ramsey, you could try one of his Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs.) Beyond cleaning, cleaning, cleaning some more and putting neutral paint on the wall you're not going to recoup your investment 100%. You will likely sell your home faster, though. I would check craigslist.org I just did a quick search of our local craigslist and someone is selling a basic, complete white wood 10x10' kitchen with built in oven and a dishwasher for less than $1000. It looks like there are also a lot of complete honey-oak cabinets. A lot of those are in excellent condition, they're just not popular here and people are taking them out. I've read that Habitat for Humanity Restore is a great store for kitchen cabinets as well. There's a good chance there's a REstore near you. I've seen them all over when traveling. Another option is a cabinet outlet. There's a cabinet outlet here that sells super basic cabinets for cheap. I've never priced them out, but you might look into a similar store in your area. We have used prefab laminate counters from Lowes (or maybe it was HD) and I think it was less than $300 for a DIY of an 8x8 condo kitchen. My friends bought their laminate counter in the As-is section of Ikea for a great, discount price because there was a bit of damage on the end of a long run. Good luck!

Cool counters, Alisa. With our last remodel in 2011, we did a white shaker kitchen. I loved it at the time. This time around we are taking a design risk. When researching for our current kitchen remodel, we looked at a lot of MCM/modern kitchens and the vast majority of them either have walnut, rift sawn oak or lacquered white slab cabinets. While those are beautiful, we wanted to do something different. We chose fluted cabinets that were inspired by a piece of MCM furniture we saw. The island will have stainless steel cabinets. I've never seen a kitchen with cabinets like this before, and I'm a little nervous about how they are going to turn out. With a white shaker kitchen, I had a vision of exactly what my space would look like -- it looked like many of the other kitchens on here. With this kitchen, we are going into unchartered territory with a unique cabinet style and stainless, which is not all that common in residential applications. It could turn out great, or it could be an epic fail. But I'm pushing myself to take a risk this time around.