If you consider yourself frugal, help advise on home reno

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The layout is functional and we would also replace backsplash and all lighting. The cost savings of new cabinets (vs the old) would nearly pay for our master bath…

Doubtful. Your master bath is going to cost a lot more than you imagine right now. And any paint job (even offsite) won't be durable for 7+years. If you're literally re-doing everything else, get new cabinets too. We did a reno and addition last year and my approach was to be frugal whereever possible, but to make sure that we did things right. Spending all that money (new counters, appliances, backsplash) on a kitchen and keeping 30 year old cabinets is a dumb way to economize. It's not just style - it's the hinges and drawer slides and your old cabinets probably don't include many drawers, which are better for storage and ergonomics.

If you did a reno/addition last year then sadly you and I are on different financial planets. And my cabinets have already been replaced once so they are not 30 years old, not that it matters much. But we do have hidden hinges and bottom drawers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The layout is functional and we would also replace backsplash and all lighting. The cost savings of new cabinets (vs the old) would nearly pay for our master bath…

Doubtful. Your master bath is going to cost a lot more than you imagine right now. And any paint job (even offsite) won't be durable for 7+years. If you're literally re-doing everything else, get new cabinets too. We did a reno and addition last year and my approach was to be frugal whereever possible, but to make sure that we did things right. Spending all that money (new counters, appliances, backsplash) on a kitchen and keeping 30 year old cabinets is a dumb way to economize. It's not just style - it's the hinges and drawer slides and your old cabinets probably don't include many drawers, which are better for storage and ergonomics.

If you did a reno/addition last year then sadly you and I are on different financial planets. And my cabinets have already been replaced once so they are not 30 years old, not that it matters much. But we do have hidden hinges and bottom drawers.

Probably not. We lived in what some people might have considered a tear-down and saved for 20yrs. I don't waste money. Painting old cabinets while spending thousands on counters, backsplash, appliances etc is a waste of money. But it sounds as though you have your mind made up. So why post here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lovely suburban home built in 1992. At some point prior to our purchasing the home in 2013, the prior owners renovated the kitchen. They made quality selections, but they were older and not the most stylish. Appliances are black, counters are ubatuba granite, and the cabinets are nice solid wood, but raised panel and stained a medium brown with some cherry hints. They also did not remove the soffits.

We consider ourselves to be sensible and frugal and not wasteful. We like our house and our neighborhood and plan to stay at least 7 more years until our youngest graduates and possibly more beyond that as we assume our kids will attend VA instate colleges.

There are numerous other updates the home needs (original bathrooms and floors) so a full scale $75k+ kitchen remodel just seems like a tough pill to swallow. Will we regret just updating the counters and appliances and having the cabinets professionally painted (offsite by a cabinet specific company, not a random painter)? This will free up funds for bathrooms and floors.

I purposely did not post this on the home reno forum because I feel like they always recommend spending more, not less.

Thoughts?

I would paint the cabinets and change the appliances as they break. Do you have a nice backsplash? I might add one if the kitchen didn’t have one. That would be it. Call me crazy, but I think black granite is lovely and durable. My aunt has a cream kitchen with black granite and has had it for 20 years and I think it doesn’t look dated at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lovely suburban home built in 1992. At some point prior to our purchasing the home in 2013, the prior owners renovated the kitchen. They made quality selections, but they were older and not the most stylish. Appliances are black, counters are ubatuba granite, and the cabinets are nice solid wood, but raised panel and stained a medium brown with some cherry hints. They also did not remove the soffits.

We consider ourselves to be sensible and frugal and not wasteful. We like our house and our neighborhood and plan to stay at least 7 more years until our youngest graduates and possibly more beyond that as we assume our kids will attend VA instate colleges.

There are numerous other updates the home needs (original bathrooms and floors) so a full scale $75k+ kitchen remodel just seems like a tough pill to swallow. Will we regret just updating the counters and appliances and having the cabinets professionally painted (offsite by a cabinet specific company, not a random painter)? This will free up funds for bathrooms and floors.

I purposely did not post this on the home reno forum because I feel like they always recommend spending more, not less.

Thoughts?

My frugalnesss would not replace anything. As the appliances broke down and were not fixable I would buy the color I wanted until all the appliances were replaced- that is what we did with our kitchen. I am not a fan of granite, but I would suck it up until we moved. In addition to being frugal I also like using things to the very end of their lives to reduce waste (energy and landfill).

[Anonymous]

Wait another year as prices are coming down. This is the dead cat bounce of contractors over charging

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lovely suburban home built in 1992. At some point prior to our purchasing the home in 2013, the prior owners renovated the kitchen. They made quality selections, but they were older and not the most stylish. Appliances are black, counters are ubatuba granite, and the cabinets are nice solid wood, but raised panel and stained a medium brown with some cherry hints. They also did not remove the soffits.

We consider ourselves to be sensible and frugal and not wasteful. We like our house and our neighborhood and plan to stay at least 7 more years until our youngest graduates and possibly more beyond that as we assume our kids will attend VA instate colleges.

There are numerous other updates the home needs (original bathrooms and floors) so a full scale $75k+ kitchen remodel just seems like a tough pill to swallow. Will we regret just updating the counters and appliances and having the cabinets professionally painted (offsite by a cabinet specific company, not a random painter)? This will free up funds for bathrooms and floors.

I purposely did not post this on the home reno forum because I feel like they always recommend spending more, not less.

Thoughts?

My frugalnesss would not replace anything. As the appliances broke down and were not fixable I would buy the color I wanted until all the appliances were replaced- that is what we did with our kitchen. I am not a fan of granite, but I would suck it up until we moved. In addition to being frugal I also like using things to the very end of their lives to reduce waste (energy and landfill).

Same. Our frugality has taught us not to fix it if it isn’t broken. We’re frugal with our money and our time so we wouldn’t take on the time- or money-headache unless it was necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that inflation has driven up prices to staggering levels, OP. It's not that posters on here are telling you to add extra fancy things. It's that the most basic jobs are outrageously expensive these days. You can get a few quotes and see what happens.

I'm frugal, and not planning on renovating anything this year. Hopefully next year with the recession, contractors will lower their prices.

OP here. I’m not taking about now vs later or overall inflation. I’m essentially asking about the expense of buying new cabinets/changing layout vs. keeping existing cabinets (and painting them) and existing layout. Also keeping soffits if we do that.

I am a frugal and conservative with money (A government Accountant) and I would advise to enjoy your home and do a nice renovation, not a piecemeal one. It is much less expensive to renovate than to move and you have at least 7-10 more years in your home. Buy quality cabinets with pull outs to make the space more efficient. If you like your current layout, keep the same layout, and that will save you a ton of money, but don't just paint your cabinets and replace counters, you will never be satisified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lovely suburban home built in 1992. At some point prior to our purchasing the home in 2013, the prior owners renovated the kitchen. They made quality selections, but they were older and not the most stylish. Appliances are black, counters are ubatuba granite, and the cabinets are nice solid wood, but raised panel and stained a medium brown with some cherry hints. They also did not remove the soffits.

We consider ourselves to be sensible and frugal and not wasteful. We like our house and our neighborhood and plan to stay at least 7 more years until our youngest graduates and possibly more beyond that as we assume our kids will attend VA instate colleges.

There are numerous other updates the home needs (original bathrooms and floors) so a full scale $75k+ kitchen remodel just seems like a tough pill to swallow. Will we regret just updating the counters and appliances and having the cabinets professionally painted (offsite by a cabinet specific company, not a random painter)? This will free up funds for bathrooms and floors.

I purposely did not post this on the home reno forum because I feel like they always recommend spending more, not less.

Thoughts?

My frugalnesss would not replace anything. As the appliances broke down and were not fixable I would buy the color I wanted until all the appliances were replaced- that is what we did with our kitchen. I am not a fan of granite, but I would suck it up until we moved. In addition to being frugal I also like using things to the very end of their lives to reduce waste (energy and landfill).

Same. Our frugality has taught us not to fix it if it isn’t broken. We’re frugal with our money and our time so we wouldn’t take on the time- or money-headache unless it was necessary.

+1. I would not renovate anything simply to change the color. If things are breaking or the layout is bad, then yes renovate, but just to change the color of the cabs, counter, and appliances? Nope.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We don’t have the budget for a full reno - that’s not a choice with all the other things we need to do. But you’ve given me a lot to think about so maybe we just don’t do anything to the kitchen if what we are proposing will look bad. Bummer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a lovely suburban home built in 1992. At some point prior to our purchasing the home in 2013, the prior owners renovated the kitchen. They made quality selections, but they were older and not the most stylish. Appliances are black, counters are ubatuba granite, and the cabinets are nice solid wood, but raised panel and stained a medium brown with some cherry hints. They also did not remove the soffits.

We consider ourselves to be sensible and frugal and not wasteful. We like our house and our neighborhood and plan to stay at least 7 more years until our youngest graduates and possibly more beyond that as we assume our kids will attend VA instate colleges.

There are numerous other updates the home needs (original bathrooms and floors) so a full scale $75k+ kitchen remodel just seems like a tough pill to swallow. Will we regret just updating the counters and appliances and having the cabinets professionally painted (offsite by a cabinet specific company, not a random painter)? This will free up funds for bathrooms and floors.

I purposely did not post this on the home reno forum because I feel like they always recommend spending more, not less.

Thoughts?

I would paint the cabinets and change the appliances as they break. Do you have a nice backsplash? I might add one if the kitchen didn’t have one. That would be it. Call me crazy, but I think black granite is lovely and durable. My aunt has a cream kitchen with black granite and has had it for 20 years and I think it doesn’t look dated at all.

I agree - I'd try to keep the counters! I think you could make them look fresh and updated with some touch ups around the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We don’t have the budget for a full reno - that’s not a choice with all the other things we need to do. But you’ve given me a lot to think about so maybe we just don’t do anything to the kitchen if what we are proposing will look bad. Bummer.

Why not just try changing the handles/pulls and backsplash, and painting? That's a pretty inexpensive refresh and might make you fall in love with your kitchen.

But you're allowed to renovate if you want to! Just because someone else wouldn't do it doesn't mean you can't. Plenty of people buy a new dishwasher because they want stainless instead of black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that inflation has driven up prices to staggering levels, OP. It's not that posters on here are telling you to add extra fancy things. It's that the most basic jobs are outrageously expensive these days. You can get a few quotes and see what happens.

I'm frugal, and not planning on renovating anything this year. Hopefully next year with the recession, contractors will lower their prices.

OP here. I’m not taking about now vs later or overall inflation. I’m essentially asking about the expense of buying new cabinets/changing layout vs. keeping existing cabinets (and painting them) and existing layout. Also keeping soffits if we do that.

I am a frugal and conservative with money (A government Accountant) and I would advise to enjoy your home and do a nice renovation, not a piecemeal one. It is much less expensive to renovate than to move and you have at least 7-10 more years in your home. Buy quality cabinets with pull outs to make the space more efficient. If you like your current layout, keep the same layout, and that will save you a ton of money, but don't just paint your cabinets and replace counters, you will never be satisified.

Exactly this. Painting cabinets is ALWAYS a bad idea unless you are painting them just to stage the place and the next owner will have to deal with the terrible looking painted cabinets.

Now, re-staining solid wood cabinets professionally is something I can get behind.

[Anonymous]

I am frugal and I wouldn’t change a thing that is functional. I definitely wouldn’t get rid of working appliances just because they aren’t my preferred color! And I wouldn’t paint the cabinets or swap out the counters. Non-factory-painted cabs wear out quickly, and new counters would be so wasteful. I’d just count my blessings that the former owners used quality materials and save the renovation for when things actually start to fall apart!

[Anonymous]

Why don't you do the bathrooms and floors first, and wait and save to redo the kitchen? Then you can replace the cabinets if you want.

However,

The truly frugal response is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously I don’t know how big your kitchen is, but you could easily spend $15,000 on the counters and $8-10,000 on appliances and $5000+ repainting the cabinets. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it? How much do you hate your current kitchen? Of course he will save money by not replacing the cabinets, but if your kitchen will still look dated, would you be better off doing it all (or none)?

How functional is the layout? I really wouldn’t sink money into cosmetic upgrades if the layout is poor.

What? This is craziness. You do not need to spend 15k on countertops. For an average sized kitchen you can get granite countertops for 5k from Home Depot. Likewise you do not need to spend $10k on appliances.