When we were building our house, I was drawn to things like cherry cabinets and slate floors and French doors. To balance this penchant for spendy tastes, I am the cheapest person on Planet Earth. This poses problems, of course. I was able to get some of what I wanted by patiently waiting for sales and using discounts, but other things were left at the store for someone else to indulge in. I love our home, and the fact that we didn't pay full price for much of anything in it.
But after five years, I'm thinking it's time to update some things. (I get all HGTV-redo every now and then. It's a curse.) I repainted the living room and dining room last summer, and am now eyeballing the kitchen. It needs a back splash. And we should probably put up the crown moulding that we bought five years ago. I'm thinking less than $200 should get the job done.
Go ahead, laugh with me.
Done yet?
Isn't it funny how one thing leads to another? The laminate back splash morphed into tile, which needs grout and sealer. And if we put the crown moulding on, we should probably change out those cabinets that don't match. And you know what would look really super nice? A wooden valance above the window, with pillars down each side.
For the record, we're talking tile that costs $20/sq. ft. and cherry cabinetry.
Le sigh.
It may be a while before this all happens because finding this stuff on clearance is proving to be harder than I thought. Why is it that the pretty stuff costs so much, when you can do ugly on a dime?
8 comments:
I'm so with ya. I look at my bathroom daily and want to rip it out. But I'm to the point now where I have an appointment on Thursday with a guy to talk through the remodel there. But I keep wondering where I can go to get cheaper stuff. And if we can save the mirror and cut it down into two smaller ones. etc. I'll keep an eye out for the clearances, too. Good luck!
I want pics :)
ROTFL! I just bought paint, 5 gal of 1 coat Kilz, an odd sage green color...because the price was right...$30, and as much as I *don't* love green, I will super love not looking at dirty walls, and the added bonus? My neighbor is a painter, and felt sorry for me while I was schlepping the paint out of my truck by myself, so he has offered to help. The only thing I love more than a deal is a better one.
We actually just put in a $50 (not a misprint) backsplash in our kitchen.
Heeeelllooooo Habitat Restore!
Photos about to be posted over in my blog...
Le sigh-- hah! I have found another thing we have in common. It is KILLING me not being able to tear down the wallpaper and slap on some new fresh paint here. I'm desperate to add a new bathroom suite and rip out carpet. Unfortunately my projects do snowball and this isn't even our house!
Did you get a strange package in the mail in the last few weeks?
Becoming Mommy - What is this Habitat Restore?
The Habitat ReStore is run by Habitat for Humanity (so in addition to getting goodies to renovate, you're helping fund a charity).
They sell donated building supplies, furniture, and appliances at a very low, Goodwill-esque price. It's not all used...building contractors and businesses with 'extra' or a misorder or something will often make donations to the store and you can find beautiful, new items like marble countertop, tile, windows....
Oh, honey I sooo feel ya! Especially the part about how one thing leads to another. We moved into this house with grand plans to do all sorts of things. Now? It's just impossible to keep up with just the maintenance of the original things, much less replacing them with newer, and nicer. What I wouldn't give for a working garbage disposal! Well, actually I know what I WON'T give! ;-)
The kitchen is the only room left in our house that has had nothing major done to it - and OMG do I want to change that! I agree with BM . . . if you have a Habitat Restore in your area (or in the city) it is probably well worth the drive!
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