Budget Jones' Diary

In our short six months as homeowners husband and I have done some updating to our 90 year old haus such as installing a closet storage system, putting in a new garage door opener, and installing a new ceiling fan. I would say we were in the minor league when it came to home improvement. But all that is about to change. We are moving up to the big leagues people because in 4 short weeks the dreaded kitchen remodel begins.

Kitchen remodeling is notorious for being a gigantic stress ball of a mess, but in theory it doesn't have to be. If you have a budget you are sticking to, a clear vision of what you want, a plan to get there, patience, and a contractor that keeps showing up and doing their job, it should go pretty well. Unfortunately at least two of the aforementioned items usually don't happen.

One would think that because I am a professional interior designer, I should have no problems with my own haus, but not so much. Just like everyone else I had this little freak out moment of, "How do we even start this?" So I thought that in these last weeks of clarity that I have before demolition and renovation begins, I would share my experience and advise on how to go about remodeling a critical part of your home.

Step 1: Establish a budget

This is easier said than done. Figuring out a reasonable budget for the kitchen you want and the amount of work to be done is a daunting task. The cost of a kitchen remodel varies with the scope of work. If you are doing fairly minor things such as refinishing the cabinets, installing new hardware, appliance upgrades, or changing your counters, expect to shell out anywhere from $5 to $10K. A more comprehensive remodel such as replacing your cabinets, counters, flooring, lighting, and appliances will generally run more around the $10 to $30K range. Major remodels like gutting and reconfiguring the layout, tearing down walls, and adding on to your haus can run over $40,000 easily. These numbers have been known to cause panic attacks, but realize that 80-90% of the costs are typically recouped when you sell your lovely home with it's gorgeous kitchen.

Tip#1: Budget calculators rock! I found this fabulous one about 6 months too late, check it out here.

Tip #2: Keep the neighborhood in mind. A costly addition could put your haus out of price range for potential buyers.

Tip #3: Keep the neighbors in mind. Let them know what you are doing and tell them a completion date, even if it is tentative, so they can plan for the extra noise and traffic. Trust me, they will appreciate it.

Tip #4: Figure in a contingency which is a fancy word for an oh sh*t fund. On most projects this is around 10-20% of the budget.

If you hire a designer or architect keep in mind they generally charge 5-15% of the total project cost. I think we're worth it, but honestly we're not necessary for the facelift/refinishing type of stuff. If you are painting your cabinets white, you probably don't need an interior designer to suggest a shade. However if you are ripping off the back of your house you will need some help. Not to toot my own horn, but professionals can offer expert advise, catch problems before its too late, and get more competitive bids from contractors. Protect yourself, not all of us are as wholesome and sweet as I am. Be sure to see previous work, get a detailed bid and references and require proof of licenser for whom it applies.

If you are going at it on your own, the first thing I suggest doing is starting a spread sheet so you can easily and clearly see what you are going to spend your money on. I found a terrific template here. {you will need Excel, but the template is free} Begin with a general sum of what you want to spend in mind {see budget calculator in Tip #1}. As you start researching how much things actually cost, fill in the spreadsheet and see where you stand and either adjust the scope of the project or your budget {if you are able} accordingly. {Example: My dream of having soapstone and husband's dream of having stainless steel countertops were both crushed pretty instantly so we compromised with quartz}

A lot of people would suggest starting the process by looking through magazines, websites, blogs, books, etc . . . to get an idea of what you want. Once you have that, you can compare your dream against what you can afford and "value engineer" it down. I couldn't disagree with this more. As a designer I pretty much knew what I wanted. Figuring out that you have champagne dreams and a beer budget can be pretty discouraging.

Starting with your budget first, gives you the freedom to dream within your means. Being realistic about what you can actually have sounds like a total downer but its a much better feeling to discover that you can upgrade than it is to be slapped in the face with a a price tag you were not expecting. Trust me, there were a lot of "okay, that price is insane so what are our other options" moments for the hubby and I.

Figuring out the scope of your work also includes deciding how much of the work, if any, you are willing to take on yourself. Be honest. Yes, not hiring a contractor can save you around 30% or more, but do you really feel comfortable rewiring your kitchen by yourself? We have an old haus who's floor, that I know from where my dog's ball rolls when he drops it, is not level. Because of this, we are going to hire a contractor to install our cabinets. Taking them out, we can do ourselves. But, making sure all our cabinets are level, flush, and true so the counter installs seamlessly and onions don't roll off when you try to cut them, that's for someone else to figure out. There are also things you will find you could do yourself but don't want to, such as drywall. This is the time you need to consult your spreadsheet and decide what is more valuable to you. . . your money, or a job well done?

Tip #5: Dwell has a great article about how to hire a contractor. Read it.

You are probably already noticing how quickly things add up and how complicated this all can be. To make it easier and because I'm a gigantic nerd; I've put together some charts of what typical items in a remodel will cost you. Click on them to make them legible. {keep in mind these are averages and can vary by location, I live in Nebraska not San Francisco}