Some of my other entries were accepted for This Old House's 2012 Reader Remodel Contest under the category "Budget redo." You can click HERE to see other entries on their website. Unfortunately, you have to scroll through tons to see mine on there- and there are some pretty ugly entries on there...oh well, improves my chances! ha ha.
Bright, Fun Laundry Cabinet
Sent by: Kara K., Prairie Village, KS
The hardest part: We had to have plumbing brought from the kitchen area to the new laundry spot by saw-cutting into the slab and digging to connect plumbing. We filled the trench with gravel and concrete, framed the closet, drywalled, mudded, painted, and made the countertop ourselves. Hired plumbing and electrical.
How we saved money: We did all of the work besides electrical and plumbing ourselves! We also reused an old cabinet from our bathroom (pre-bath remodel), painted it and hung it for detergent. We made the countertop with MDF and formica (so easy to clean), and spruced up boring bi-fold doors with cheap wall decals!
Other comments: We created this space by bumping into the back area of the garage off of the breakfast space inside.
How we saved money: We did all of the work besides electrical and plumbing ourselves! We also reused an old cabinet from our bathroom (pre-bath remodel), painted it and hung it for detergent. We made the countertop with MDF and formica (so easy to clean), and spruced up boring bi-fold doors with cheap wall decals!
Other comments: We created this space by bumping into the back area of the garage off of the breakfast space inside.
After: New tile backsplash in kitchen
Before:
Remodel timeline: Less than a year
The hardest part: Sanding, de-glossing, priming, and painting all of the cabinets was not fun. Now I wish I had invested in a paint sprayer; it would have been way faster and easier! My mom and I do tile work, so the backsplash was no problem, but grouting was a little trickier and took longer than anticipated.
How we saved money: We reused the cabinetry but spruced up with paint, did the paint and tilework ourselves, and replaced the sink and faucet with more mid-range options. Although I would have loved quartz, the price of countertops were kept down by using corian in a concrete color look-alike.
Other comments: The washing machine was actually in the kitchen where the recycling containers now are. We moved it into a new laundry closet we built (another project entry!) so that we could have extra counter space! We used this new area for glasses to hang above as a drink station and recycling bins beneath.
Before:
How we saved money: We reused the cabinetry but spruced up with paint, did the paint and tilework ourselves, and replaced the sink and faucet with more mid-range options. Although I would have loved quartz, the price of countertops were kept down by using corian in a concrete color look-alike.
Other comments: The washing machine was actually in the kitchen where the recycling containers now are. We moved it into a new laundry closet we built (another project entry!) so that we could have extra counter space! We used this new area for glasses to hang above as a drink station and recycling bins beneath.
Bright Remodel Livens Small Bath
Sent by: Kara K., Prairie Village, K
Image 1 of 6: After: Finished bathroom
Remodel timeline: Less than a year
The hardest part: Learning how to mud/tape drywall was quite the experience! I had to have a friend come and redo the horrible mudding job I did! Demolition was fun, but harder work than I realized. Knocking down all of the old shower walls/tile was labor-intensive — even just hauling the heavy stuff to the trash!
How we saved money: We did the demo ourselves, had a friend waterproof and tile the shower and floor, attempted to drywall ourselves, and did the caulking and painting! We got our plumbing/lighting fixtures from local hardware stores and floating shelves from IKEA.
Other comments: We also saved money by keeping the cast-iron tub, reusing the old sink cabinet for a workbench in the garage and painted the upper cabinet over the toilet for our laundry room! Another trick we used to make the room feel larger was taking the tile all the way to the ceiling in the shower!
How we saved money: We did the demo ourselves, had a friend waterproof and tile the shower and floor, attempted to drywall ourselves, and did the caulking and painting! We got our plumbing/lighting fixtures from local hardware stores and floating shelves from IKEA.
Other comments: We also saved money by keeping the cast-iron tub, reusing the old sink cabinet for a workbench in the garage and painted the upper cabinet over the toilet for our laundry room! Another trick we used to make the room feel larger was taking the tile all the way to the ceiling in the shower!
1 comment:
FUN!! Let me know how it turns out!
Post a Comment