Those prices all seem very reasonable to me! If the $1250 price for painting includes different colors for different rooms (2 coats) and different trim color, that is a steal. Yes you can do it yourself later but your time is money also. It is also a lot easier when the house is empty. If the $1250 is one color for the whole house the added price is probably for edging out the trim. FYI It cost me $1000 in Maryland just to get my hallways, ceiling, and trim painted on 2 floors with relatively cheap painters ($550 per day for 2 painters). I'd def get all the pre-wiring. The kitchen island can always be added later, agree with that. $1400 for INSTALLED faux wood blinds for 19 windows and a sliding door is also a steal. It is about $500 for labor, estimate 2 hours per window since you are a novice and you will be paying about $10/hr labor. Even $20/hr is a good price for labor imo. It's all cost vs your labor.

this is very helpful, because i can see now that that is a door rather than a corner that is usable..which it appeared to be in the diagram..so yeah..my idea wouldn't work there. but your diagram looks like it would be very useful..i see you appear to have a small freezer too..could it be tucked into the closet area maybe with a pantry beside it..remove the closet doors..don't crowd the freezer too much..but if you put it in there and a maybe bookcase beside it too..that could hold a t v..there or a flat screen on the wall where the freezer is could be seen by the entire kitchen.. the sofa/loveseat there would work out well.. i see you have your brooms hanging on the wall..they could be put into a broom closet in that closet area beside the freezer too..to eliminate the visual clutter as an interior designer i'm going to throw out some advice you can take or throw away..one thing..your cabinets having 2 colors add too much contrast to the room..and the dark color closes it in..try painting everything a lighter color..say a soft warm buttery yellow, or pure white, off white or a soft grey..or something similar..or if you want a charcoal grey similar to your stainless steel appliances would blend them in and make a less chopped up look..this would save having to buy a lot of new cabinets..unless you plan to do that anyway..if you do..go with something that will blend away .. your wall color is nice and if the cabinets were all the white trim color that would be more uniform as well.. the metal wall backsplash around your stove is very distracting..it would cost very little money to buy some white subway tiles and some adhesive and grout and do a lovely backsplash around the wall space..and it would be fresh and lovely.. until you get things changed..try slipping a white bookcase under the end of the counter across from your stove..or build in some white shelves there..then you can get the appliances off of your countertop and give you more room and less visual and actual clutter.. if you go with plain white cabinets..you also could buy some small wall hung ones for very little money and hang them over your refrigerator and over your freezer (best in the closet i think) ..and that way you can hide some of the visual clutter that is ending up on top of them..and they'll just disappear. what needs do your diagrom not meet, you said it wouldn't meet all of your needs..a sofa bed there would sleep the overnight guests..the freezer in the closet with some more storage there will amaze you at what you can store if properly outfitted..the moving of the range will give you a fairly good work triangle but i would be slightly concerned over the frig placement outside of the triangle.. an option would be to make a really thin 2x4 drywall wall behind the sofabed and put the frig there..and use the opposite wall for just floor to ceiling cabinetry or counter with cabinets or shelves above..a simple 2 x 4 wall would be very easy to install and it would give you not only a great wall behind the sofa..but also hanging space on both sides for shelves..cabinets or utensils or artwork. it could be a partial wall only behind the frig if that was all you would need..or it could be only as high as the top of the frig with a shelf on top for plants or just to allow airflow. your windows are at a great height to be over a counter.. can't wait to see what you come up with..and hey that corner stove idea might work too..just make sure it doesn't block any drawers or cabinets that would have to open..that can be a problem with things near other things.

My husband and I are both in favor of a one-butt kitchen. We both cook, but we don't like to do it together. We like a sitting spot across the bar from the cook, but we're solidly united in our desire for something small, just for one person. People say such different things about floors. Let's analyze this: What type of pets do y'all have that have /have not damaged this floor or that? Or, coming at it from a different point of view: I have a small dog now (Beagle). 25 lbs. I anticipate always having a dog his size or smaller. I'm kind of in love with a friend's miniature Daschund. I also want to get another cat in the future -- specifically, I want a RagDoll. Or a Maine Coon. Or both. And possibly another small dog. And which is easier? Storing away an extra box of engineered wood planks so a damaged board can be pulled out /replaced ... or sanding /refinishing a whole room? Neither is a job I could DIY. And, yes, you're right -- I'm not quite 50 yet. My kids are in college, and my husband and I aren't tough on things. How many times am I realistically going to need to refinish those floors?

You generally have to pay good money to get Mrs Petes level of advice. Her floor sketch is a very smart, efficient layout that does everything your current plan does, at maybe 25% less total building cost. But I think it can get much better. Mrs Pete, I have noticed your helpful posts on other threads as well. You obviously put a lot of much time and effort into your advice, so nice to see. Aw, y'all're gonna make me blush. https://www.builderhouseplans.com/plan/1408-square-feet-2-bedroom-2-00-bathroom-2-garage-sp213638 At a glance, I'd make a couple changes, but it's not a half bad plan ... if you add the basement. Without the basement, it's a bit small. We're still waiting to hear from the OP if basements are common in his area. With the strong gradients and expansive soils which he has described, basements may be potential trouble-makers and very expensive to properly construct. Yeah, no one in my area has a basement, and it's not happenstance. They just don't work here in my part of the Carolinas. They're not the money-savers that they are up North, where the frost line and the soil make them cheap. Throughout this process, the idea of a mother-in-law suite was an afterthought. Basically speculating about something I might need one day but have no current need for. Yesterday we learned that my mother-in-law may have Parkinson's. It's going to cause me to rethink some things. First, something we say around my workplace: Don't bleed 'til you get shot. That is, don't put loads of worry into something until it's verified. Twice in my own life I've been told, "I think you have ___", and it's turned out to be false. Wait for the tests before you go overboard with worry. Second, in terms of housing, I don't see that this diagnosis changes things. You were already considering a space for her in your home. Whether she has Parkinson's or not, you need to think through a space that'll be elder-friendly, and that tends to go hand-in-hand with illness. I'd say either plan a second master suite for her OR plan two bedrooms /a bath that would allow her to use one as a sitting room /one as a bedroom ... but be sure everything's accessible. Last thought on a spot for your mother-in-law: We are also planning for aging-in-place, and we're doing a two-story house (actually 1 1/2 story) ... the idea being that everything we NEED on a daily basis is on the first floor, and the second floor (two bedrooms + 1 bath) will be for our youngest child, who intends to come home after college for a few years. When we're old and may need care, this upstairs space could serve a child /grandchild who comes to live with us, or it could be for a paid caregiver. We're putting in larger closets /a nicer bath than are typically found in children's bedrooms -- not crazy big, but large enough for an adult. We're thinking that a space that's set-aside /provides some privacy would be more appealing. f you have most meals at the island and don't plan on using the dining room often, I think it's okay to have it a short walk away. Do consider that island-seating doesn't tend to be elder-friendly. Of course, this could vary. I have the nicest bar stools, which my husband bought used -- 3 for $25, and my mom loved sitting at my peninsula after her hip replacement. As long as my Mom was exercising she did fine. She had to stop for several months because of a wound that wouldn't heal and that's when she started to go downhill. Parkinson's or not, this is so typical of an elderly person: He or she is doing fine -- moving more slowly perhaps, but perfectly capable of living alone, etc., etc., etc. Then something happens. A fall seems to be the most common, but a wound could have the same effect. For my grandmother, it was a stroke. Then things snowball, and the elderly person just can't "get back" to where he or she was before.