(No, I still don't get HGTV with my cable package--but my mother does!)
Mum and I sit there and criticize--or praise--these home makeovers. And unlike ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, these other makeovers take a lot longer than seven days to complete (and probably have a much longer life expectancy that the buildings that are whipped into existance in so short a time).
So what's my point?
All these makeovers (especially in a kitchen) are making me unhappy with my outdated kitchen. (And I want to totally revamp our summer cottage's bathroom, too.) There's just one problem.
A lot of readers make the mistake of thinking that authors make tons of money. The truth is, 94% of us don't make enough to live on, let alone give us extra cash for renovations. Unfortunately, I am not very handy, and neither is my husband. (Those skills died with our fathers.) So why torture myself with those TV shows and magazines and their ceramic farm sinks with sculptured aprons, soaker tubs, and $50,000 makeovers?
I must be a masochist. (How about you?)
Yep, I love to dream about what I would do if I had the money to renovate my place. Who knows, maybe I'll win Mega Million and then my dream could become a reality.
ReplyDeleteI, too, had (still have?) an out-of-date kitchen. Add to that, it's SMALL, but the cabinets (put in when it was updated (!) in the 50s) were in GREAT shape. It was just that they were a kind of dark oak, in a dark kitchen, and had an area for a refrigerator that couldn't be expanded without MUCHO $$$. I grumbled and groused and watched HGTV religiously (until @#!$ Cablevision's feud axed them this Jan 1). Anyway, I'm not that handy with tools, but a sander, a power screwdriver, and paint brushes can help. I started with sanding & painting a primer coat on the cabinets & then we hired a handyman/carpenter/painter to do the major work. I researched the stove top I wanted, the cooktop vent, the sink, the dishwasher, the new counter tops, and the new built-in oven. I made my choice for paint for the cabinets, the walls (after the flowered wallpaper was removed), and after an EXTENDED search, found a refrigerator that would fit into the built-in area already there. (That was a major task.) So, for less than $3,000, I have a kind of new kitchen. One that is a lot brighter, has newer appliances, and is better than what I started out with. True, no granite counter tops or ta-DA! fancy stuff, but it works, it looks good, and I can cook in it without cursing every time I turn around. If you don't have the budget for an over-the-top redo (:sigh:), go for the smaller, but almost as satisfying, major touch up. Then, when you land that million-dollar contract, you can splurge!!
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I can't see paying up to $20,000 for new cabinets, but I figured I could go for a facelift easy enough. (They're dark brown Formica now. Ick!) I need new countertops and a new floor. I have a friend who works in the "biz" and I should ask her to look at it. Thanks to her, my brother did a refit for about $3K and he put in his cabinets himself. I could probably swing the same amount. It's putting in the time to get it all done and arrange that hangs me up. (The flour would be the most expensive. It's already ceramic tile--but it's horrible stuff that shows every speck, it's got cracks and chips, and is deadly slippery when wet. To demo that would be a bear.)
ReplyDelete