house remodel with a tight budget, any help would be appreciated
Ray
6 years ago
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maddielee
6 years agoRay
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Help! Old tiny kitchen, what to change with tight budget
Comments (23)Agree that you can live with this for now. But I understand the feeling of being in someone else's kitchen unless you can pesonalize this. Curently the countertops are so strong a visual feature that no other feature can stand up to them. They have too much power so your task is to defuse that strength. Agree that a window valence will help--this could be first thing you would see when entering the space and it would draw eye away from the squares.. Don't choose anything that reinforces the grid of the countertop (no plaids, stripes, linear stuff)--choose a vaguely floral pattern or abstract blotches or a textured solid. The black appliances lack echoing blacks elsewhere and have to fight with so many whites; overcome this by integrating black and white with a lot of other colors in the valence. Look for a print that has some gentle splashes of black but also generous amounts of wood color, small doses of white, and plenty of the colors that are accents in your kitchen area (the colors of your dishes or tablecloths or canisters or whatever). Consider fabric that also has a warmer brown but also includes the existing brown. Repeat the fabric on chair seats or napkins or something else, to integrate kitchen and eating area. You don't need to be an ace seamstress--this is not difficult sewing and your work will be good enough for now. Consider paint as an accent color--to the right of the outside of the pass-through, around window, above refrig. Imagine brick-red... or mustard yellow... or celery green...or warm gray or.... Bring in some good happy colors in small items--textiles, houseplants, rug at the sink. Be sure to keep the scale of items small. No big prints or large items. Don't use "ancient" to describe these appliances--it colors your opinion unfairly and it's inaccurate. They aren't ancient. (You want ancient? These could be much older! When we moved into our kitchen the dishwasher was one of the oldest models made for household use. We stored cat food in it until we could afford our first remodel.) A new lighting product on ceiling would be good but I understand that the existing one works and might be a bit tough to replace. If it is inside a plain ceiling niche you could replace the light with something affordable yet mod and play up the niche as a feature; but if there are ugly or difficult features in the niche that you can't remove, live with the lighting for now. Undercab light is cheap and good--get some at Ikea or Home Depot or .... ! If you like severe & mod, consider multi-color blinds--bands of 3 or 4 consecutive slats followed by the next color (black + warm brown or tan + brown of the cabs + white that matches countertop). Otherwise get wood blinds that match the cabs. In time, if you can somehow integrate the color and/or texture of the fireplace stone in the kitchen, that would add to the kitchen aesthetic because the fireplace will always be a visual feature of the kitchen. If you are determined to remove the cabs over the pass-through consider open, backless shelves that will still define the separation of kitchen and adjacent spaces and will add colors of dishware on both sides. New cab knobs are sometimes a good way to banish the old owner. I congratulate you for restraining yourself, for living with functional existing stuff, for thinking harder and better and more ecological. Have fun!...See MoreFirst house remodel, room by room, start with $14K budget, help
Comments (20)Well congratulations on your new home! And welcome to the money pit, er, I mean, home ownership club! I didn't see where you indicated what part of the country you live in. I live in Florida so my priorities might not match yours if you live in a cold part of the country. Generally speaking, my advice is to spend the "hard money" first no matter where you live. The "hard money" is what you spend to protect your investment that doesn't necessarily have any impact on aesthetics. Address structural and infrastructure issues first how is the roof, the foundation, the plumbing, the electricity, heating and cooling systems, windows, doors, floors and walls? It makes no sense to take down a nasty popcorn ceiling and make it beautiful only to have a roof leak ruin it and have to do it again. Likewise I wouldn't get hardwood floors refinished until I knew that my floor joists were sound. So spend the money that seems to go toward invisible things first  this is a major investment in your peace of mind and will help you to avoid spending any money twice. If you didn't have a home inspection before you bought your house, do it now. We bought our house "as-is" from an estate knowing that the seller wasn't going to do any repairs, but we paid for a home inspection to help us prioritize the work that needed to be done and spot things that we might not notice. A good home inspection is worth the money. In the last year, I put on a new metal roof (energy savings and hurricane protection), and all new impact resistant doors and windows (again with the energy savings and hurricane preparedness). The inside is a mess (exposed concrete slab, kitchen remodel in progress, ceiling patches from previous water intrusion). All of my new windows went in with virtually NO damage inside. I did have to touch up the paint job to the outside that was done in March. The new doors were quite another story. But, hey, now that you are a homeowner, you are quickly going to become intimately acquainted with drywall spackle and a putty knife and paint and brush. You can perform minor magic with paint and spackle. That's easy and fairly cheap. Your kid decides to see if a cutting board will fly like a frisbee? Spackle and paint. Fido decides to chew the corner off the wall because you left him at home alone while you went to work? Spackle and paint will fix that, too. Make sure you get enough paint to have some left over when you are done! It comes in handy. When it comes to doing work that is cosmetic, I'd advise you to start at the top and work your way down. If you can get ceiling work  texture and paint  done before moving in, your life will be simpler. Except maybe for carpeting. I have asthma and allergies. Why we didn't pull out the carpeting when we first moved in is beyond me. We've been living with the naked concrete slab for almost a year. Yes, it is ugly. Yes, it spawns dirt moments after it is swept. But I haven't had a asthma attack in a LONG time. Your mileage may vary. You can save a lot of money by being flexible and shopping online. If you "get married" to one specific thing, then you lose options to save money. For example, I knew I wanted a single-lever faucet with a non-polished, white metal finish. I looked at the prices for good brands in person and then I looked to see what I could find online. I found a brushed chrome Price-Pfister single-lever bathroom faucet on eBay for $25; the seller was one I've seen favorably mentioned here. I wouldn't spend over $100 for that faucet, but for $25, I'll pay $10 for shipping, and maybe have to bid on more than one auction to get the minimum bid price. I ended up getting two of them at the minimum bid price in about 24 hours. I didn't get to combine the shipping cost, but I still saved a bundle. Check your local Habitat for Humanity. Mine has a resale store where you can buy building materials for a fraction of retail. I haven't bee there yet  it's probably like thrift store shopping  you never know what you'll find. I was at Blowes today and found fancy white vitreous china bathroom sinks marked down to $19.50 (discontinued item). I don't need a fancy one, but I want white. I can live with the fancy one! My home is not architecturally distinctive in any way, but there is an architectural salvage place not far from here that is chock full of goodies, from door knobs and chandeliers to kitchen cabinets and doors. You can also pick up some good deals by watching Craig's List for your area. Examine everything carefully and use common sense  don't go to a stranger's home to buy something by yourself. Some people have said some very harsh, judgmental things to you. I hope that you will ignore them. I haven't heard you say that your objective in life is to sit in front of the tv and I don't think that it's unreasonable to want ONE orderly space to retreat to. It's not realistic to expect that you will feel like spending EVERY waking moment at work or working on your house. You will need to take breaks and PLAN on down time if you are going to live in your house while you work on it. Otherwise life becomes pretty miserable pretty quickly. You can do this if you want it. Lets face it, you have to live somewhere. You will need to make a priority list that fits YOUR needs. That list can and will change when things happen. Since I moved into this house five years ago, the AC died and had to be replaced ($5K), the power supply to the house died and had to be replaced ($1.5K), my 16 year old dog, 82 year old father in law and 40 year old niece died and can never be replaced at any cost. So I probably spent some time in front of the tv when I "should have" been painting a wall. Don't apologize for wanting some comfort in your life. Best of luck to you. B...See MoreKitchen Update on Tight Budget
Comments (8)Thank you, everyone! You've all given me some ideas to think about. After reading these posts and talking with my BFF, I am going to retract my statement that countertops MUST be first and go instead with flooring first -- for several reasons: 1.) It will require the biggest outlay of money. 2.) It's the one area I feel most decisive about -- i.e., though lovely -- not wood -- nor bamboo, nor cork, nor vinyl, nor granite nor marble (though thank you for thinking about my aching joints!) 3.) Past experience has taught me in order to do such projects-- time, money, and energy all have to come together at once. Right now we have all three and my husband and son are raring to go just as soon as I make the call -- that may not be the case six months from now. (Sigh. Such is the life of a carpenter's wife.) : / 4.) I think it better to lay flooring now before the cold weather sets in -- probably not a good idea to lay slate in the middle of winter. 5.) Once I see how the slate looks, then I can make a decision on the countertops. Yes! You've all helped me realize I am about 98% certain we'll go with slate. I actually have a slate floor in my current kitchen (will post pics later when I figure out photo bucket) and after 13 years I still love it. People thought I was crazy when I chose slate and that was when all sorts of lovely tile was the rage, but my thinking then was similar as now: I want timeless, durable, non-slippery, low-maintenance, practical for our purposes and to still looks nice no matter what the men drag in on their boots. ; ) Hmmm....I never even thought about painting the cabinets -- but I do like the idea, especially milk paint! I really do like the look of milk paint! And I like the fact that the painting could be done "later" -- maybe next summer. Thank you, too, for pointing out there might be too much wood going on if I go with wood countertops. That is definitely something to consider. Have already looked at a number of custom-metal countertop sites (copper, zinc, etc.) but I just can't envision the entire countertops being all one sheet of any kind of metal. Plus while I do like the aged patina look I don't like acid spill spots and scratches and all the dings and dents that come with soft metals. Hubby has actually done some lovely copper work (lamps and planters) and I know he'd do a great job, but you see he's from the Southwest and I'm afraid he'd go a little nuts and get too south-western adobe-ish if I just let him have at it. ; ) Maybe a natural (no stain) sealed cherry countertop with stamped or hammered or beveled copper edges might be a compromise. Then, too, if I go with wood countertops we could always tile over them 10 or 15 years down the road... But enough about countertops for now. I really feel the floor throughout the entire area should be slate. I agree, in part, with the notion of living in a house awhile to see what you want to do. But I thought slate flooring when I first walked into the house and every time I've looked at it online and every time I've been there since. (God willing, the cherry flooring will come later with the living room and bedrooms.) But first things first...I still have to finish packing! :o...See MoreHelp! Tight Budget! Need to Update My Kitchen!
Comments (13)If it's considered an entry level condo - that is a starter home - I wouldn't change anything major. Just paint the walls a neutral color, clean and edit the items on the counter. Remove the multiple towels and dated canisters. If you have a Home Goods or Crate and Barrel nearby check out new stylish towels. Keep the counters totally clutter free. Clean out the cabs and de-clutter. Allow the next buyer to do the upgrades and updates to their taste. The previous posters are right that some upgrades will actually turn buyers off. In my area of middle suburbia, it is granite on old cabinets that have seen better days, especially if the layout isn't great. If your cooktop is older, around 8 - 10 years or going out - this may be an item to consider updating along with matching hood since you already have the SS oven. The newer appliances are a great selling point on an older home. I've bought a couple of houses where the old 1980's stoves were downright scary. Check out clearance, closeouts, craigslist or sears outlet for a good deals. As the others posted, new lighting can help brighten up the space. You don't have a picture of the sink, but if the faucet is old and dated, that could also be a great upgrade for not a lot of money. My personal favorite, the one I currently own is this Moen Brantford: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202998687/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=moen+kitchen+faucet&storeId=10051#.UJvZF6UTBvc I don't know what your lighting and flooring is like, but a neutral color I love is called Autumn Haze. The color is by Glidden. I've staged and sold 3 houses since 2003. The following pictures are the kitchens from the two most recent. Both of these have oak cabinets. The most recent (1st) had 20 year old laminate counters. The wall paint was Behr Sand Pearl. The 2nd one actually had tile counters. It was newer with the original builder paint, except for the blue/green color. I had 2 toddlers and a baby and didn't have time to repaint and neutralize....See MoreMy3dogs ME zone 5A
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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