Things you should do when taking on a new home project

I am going to take you along on this journey with me as I redo my kitchen. When I first found my home it was all about getting a house that fit my budget. I wanted a nice kitchen but I also knew that I could change my kitchen to fit the look that I wanted later on. 5 years later and I’m doing just that. This year I am putting my money into my kitchen. No vacations (unless I win the lottery) doing without a lot of stuff and working overtime so I can finally have the kitchen of my dreams. It won’t come cheap and since none of this is sponsored (yet, putting it out there) I get to take you all on a journey of what it’s like to pay out of pocket for things. If anything is sponsored I will still be telling you the truth about it and will let you know when and if that changes. For now here are things you should do when taking on a new home project.

Things you should do when taking on a new home project

You have got to have a plan mapped out and know how much things will cost so you can know how much money to put aside. That’s the first thing. We can pin and dream all we want but it always comes down to price. That factor is what determines a lot. How much are you willing to put aside? How much are you willing to finance? How much can you save by doing it yourself?

The first thing I did was set an estimated budget. This is how much I’m going to spend/finance and then I went from there pricing the material, getting things measured to see how far my budget would take me before I said whatever and gave up lol. I had 10k set in my mind for the budget y’all after getting everything measured and getting the cost for painting, cabinet fixtures, flooring, and a new countertop the prices I was quoted…. 25k. I was like come again? See being a single woman who knows nothing about DIY or even how to measure something simple I knew I was going to be in for a doozy but I didn’t know how much of a doozy. My poor little budget was a joke. I thought for sure that since I had a small kitchen I wouldn’t need much but countertops (granite or quartz) don’t come cheap and neither does flooring. I wanted my cabinets painted but even that was going to cost. Apparently going from dark to light is costly.

My kitchen is a mess but here is an example of how dark it is (not my kitchen but similar)

vs how I want it

Pic credit

I am tired of going into a dark kitchen. It’s a mood and one that I don’t want to look at in 2022. I want a beachy country type of vibe that reminds me of home and I will have it.

Make a list of what you want to be done for that room. For my kitchen, I have a secret board on Pinterest that allows me to pin ideas and information. I am pinning how I want the floors, my chairs, even down to decor and appliances. While you are making your list do some calling. On this first part of the journey lets talk about the calls.

I live in the country it’s hard to get people out here and since I don’t know anyone its even harder for me to go off what I see on the internet. I prefer word of mouth and only from people I trust. I did manage to find about 6 contractors and of course, I utilized Lowes and Home Depot. This first month I am going through all the contractors and getting their prices listed out so I can see who is the cheapest and if I need to use more than one person for various things. I am also only calling on people who have portfolios of work that I can see. Here are some lessons….

• Make sure you hire someone that has done this multiple times and have more than 10 examples. This is my kitchen and I’m not paying any ole body some money to do a half ass job I want it done to perfection or as close to that as I can have it.
• Don’t always go for the cheapest person nor the most expensive. Sometimes customer service skills play a part in who I hire. Cost is important but so is getting someone who can communicate and answer all of your questions without getting upset
• Since I don’t know anything about how things should look design wise it would be best to hire someone who at least has some knowledge of how to put things together so you don’t look mixed match or even worse, things look off.
• Give yourself some grace because it may cost you more than what you originally thought. Don’t get upset go back to the drawing board see what you can do yourself and think about what you can do over time. Maybe in the beginning you just do the cabinets. Work a little get some more moolah then do the floors, then do the countertops last. Don’t rush things and don’t spend all your money renovating all at once. This is still Rona and you want to still have money in your savings for emergencies. Take your time but do have a timeline. I gave myself 6 months to have everything done even if I take it a month at a time.

Ok that’s it for this month. I have my plan, some money, and some contractors. Who will I pick? How much are the materials? Which company is the cheapest for flooring? All that will be answered in next months post. We will dive deep into the material and which ones I’m picking to save the most money. I will also have my top picks for which contractor and company I will be using for the material.

Listen to the post here