Today is Day #1 of our kitchen remodel.
People go overboard on kitchen remodels. Usually the kitchen they have is perfectly fine, but as a culture we seem to think we absolutely must have tens of thousands of dollars in upgrades in order to make dinner.
So does that make me a hypocrite?
I hope not, although I suspect this is one of those projects where it’s all relative: What is overboard to someone else is necessary by me.
Here’s why I hope it doesn’t: When we bought this house 8 1/2 years ago, it was in dire need of pretty much everything. It had been sorely neglected by the prior owner.
Where ‘improvements’ had been done, the quality of craftsmanship and material was laughable (read: particle board cabinets, cheap linoleum, paint without primer).
Through the last 8 1/2 years we have tackled everything from window upgrades to all new plumbing, gas, and electrical systems to exterior shutters (my favorite one so far) to well you get the idea.
The kitchen we were saving for (almost) last.
Why?
Because the one that came with the house worked perfectly fine, although it was cheaply put together, and we wanted to wait until we were closer to the end of all the other projects so we had more experience with what we wanted, and so that it would be closer to a sale date (we are someday going to sell, or at least want the option to easily do so).
So today is the day. We have spent the last 6 months sourcing material, picking a contractor, and bracing ourselves.
We have spent alot of money: The whole project will be about $80,000.
And then we will have a kitchen that fits more in line with the rest of the house and will make it easier to sell one day in the future whenever that may be.