Another Renovation
We bought this house 7 years ago. Truthfully, not only was it at the top of our large budget, it was over our budget. We bought this house at the peak of the "bubble" when all houses were super expensive. Then the stock market crashed and so did the housing market. Even though we put a large chunk of money down, we still owed WAY more than our house was worth. This bothered Michael to no end.
You see, our house was built in 1991 and was full of 1991 decorating ideas - border wallpaper, honey oak EVERYWHERE, cheap linoleum, cheap fake counter tops, blech. One day we would renovate, but so far everything was still functional.
Our 1991 house started falling apart. The roof needed replacing. The basement flooded and everything downstairs needed replacing. The hot water heater needed replacing. And the list went on and on. So, we were putting money into the house that we owed more than it was worth. Like a lot more.
So, Michael and I decided all cosmetic things had to be put on hold, and we spent a lot of energy paying down the mortgage and keeping the house functional.
Finally the market came up a bit, and our payments had 'paid off.' So, we started saving for some renovations. Our ugly, functional house was starting to get less functional. Little things were breaking, cabinets were splintering, etc.
Finally we had enough to update the kitchen. We talked about giving it a facelift, but I really didn't like the layout. So, we spent a bit more to rearrange it and make it perfect. Then, Michael said if we were doing the kitchen, we needed to update the whole first floor.
It has been fantastic and every single time I look at or walk through my kitchen, I am SO happy. I'm so glad we did it. AND, it has increased the value of our house considerably.
Now we have a new basement (due to the flood from a hurricane that came through here, which cut our power, and made the sump pump not work), and we have a new first floor.
The upstairs had been untouched. We had an appraiser come through when we refinanced, and he said we got major points for the first floor, but our upstairs bathrooms are quite dated. I know. They're losing their functionality too. So, we updated the carpet (which was super cheap and fast and easy), put hardwood floors in the upstairs hallway, and made the stairs hardwood. (And by 'we', I mean we hired contractors - we don't do anything.)
The last things are the upstairs bathrooms.
And it's finally time. We are doing this cheaper - we're saving both tubs and buying inexpensive materials to help save money. I'm testing my decorating skills (thanks HGTV) to make it look like a million bucks.
Here are the first few pictures!
This is all just tile and grout and 1 light. I did a really good job picking out beautiful tile that was super cheap, if I do say so myself. :-) The expensive stuff will just be an accent.
After this, we will have a brand new house! (Well, the only things we haven't fixed/changed are the furnace, air conditioner, and windows. We have a budget in case any of those go!)
I heart renovating.
You see, our house was built in 1991 and was full of 1991 decorating ideas - border wallpaper, honey oak EVERYWHERE, cheap linoleum, cheap fake counter tops, blech. One day we would renovate, but so far everything was still functional.
Our 1991 house started falling apart. The roof needed replacing. The basement flooded and everything downstairs needed replacing. The hot water heater needed replacing. And the list went on and on. So, we were putting money into the house that we owed more than it was worth. Like a lot more.
So, Michael and I decided all cosmetic things had to be put on hold, and we spent a lot of energy paying down the mortgage and keeping the house functional.
Finally the market came up a bit, and our payments had 'paid off.' So, we started saving for some renovations. Our ugly, functional house was starting to get less functional. Little things were breaking, cabinets were splintering, etc.
Finally we had enough to update the kitchen. We talked about giving it a facelift, but I really didn't like the layout. So, we spent a bit more to rearrange it and make it perfect. Then, Michael said if we were doing the kitchen, we needed to update the whole first floor.
Before:
After:
It has been fantastic and every single time I look at or walk through my kitchen, I am SO happy. I'm so glad we did it. AND, it has increased the value of our house considerably.
Now we have a new basement (due to the flood from a hurricane that came through here, which cut our power, and made the sump pump not work), and we have a new first floor.
The upstairs had been untouched. We had an appraiser come through when we refinanced, and he said we got major points for the first floor, but our upstairs bathrooms are quite dated. I know. They're losing their functionality too. So, we updated the carpet (which was super cheap and fast and easy), put hardwood floors in the upstairs hallway, and made the stairs hardwood. (And by 'we', I mean we hired contractors - we don't do anything.)
The last things are the upstairs bathrooms.
And it's finally time. We are doing this cheaper - we're saving both tubs and buying inexpensive materials to help save money. I'm testing my decorating skills (thanks HGTV) to make it look like a million bucks.
Here are the first few pictures!
Michael's bathrooms first - it's smaller and easier. Here it is with all the stuff gone, but the tub:
Here's my new bathrooms in 2 carts from Lowes:
This is all just tile and grout and 1 light. I did a really good job picking out beautiful tile that was super cheap, if I do say so myself. :-) The expensive stuff will just be an accent.
After this, we will have a brand new house! (Well, the only things we haven't fixed/changed are the furnace, air conditioner, and windows. We have a budget in case any of those go!)
I heart renovating.
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