Home Remodeling.

My BF and I paid for the complete bathroom remodel in cash when we first moved in. It had waterproof vinyl walls with gold trim from the 1970's, the original 1951 tub complete with mold, mildew, and rust, and the toilet was held up by a 2x4 (that is, until you sat on the toilet, then the wood gave way). We made it completely modern, completely redone from the studs, including labor, for only $5k. New tub, toilet, walls, trim, tile walls, tile floor, sink, plumbing pipes, water faucets, lighting, light switches and outlets. Nothing survived, yet I still can't understand how people can spend $25k in a BATHROOM. I got some pretty pricey, name brand items too. And I love them!

Now that we've lived here for almost a half year, I've gotten an itch to remodel the kitchen. It had original 1950's STEEL cabinets on top, and the 1980's remodel white laminate bottom cabinets with a cheap sink and gold flecked formica countertops. The appliances haven't been replaced since the early 90's, but the oven was disgusting and the W/D were broken, so we replaced them before moving in. I have this small obsession with Ikea, so we bought uppers and absolutely love them, so we're going ahead and redoing the whole kitchen in the same cabinets, and replacing the dishwasher with an energy star one that won't leave spots on everything. I found the prettiest Wilsonart laminate countertops to match the white appliances (laminate and white! amazing, I know) and gray walls. I estimated it will all be around $4,500 doing it ourselves with the help of my father. That's rounding up, as I know there are always surprises!

I knew it would be a fixer upper, which is why i was able to negotiate it $30k under market value, but I had no idea it would only cost us $10k to fix everything we wanted/needed to! We had a clog in our main water pipe last week, which was $500 to unclog, but it was worth it for a piece of mind after they sent the camera down there to make sure it was clear. It was backed up for a long time (the PO hadn't lived there for almost a year after his wife passed away) so we weren't completely surprised some problems would arise down the road.

This afternoon I actually set up a separate account in my Emigrant savings account for my Kitchen Remodel Fund. I told BF once it hits the estimated cost goal we can start shopping. I can't wait!!