HOME RENOVATION TO SELL CASE STUDY WEEK 1
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Are you ready? Week 1 has been full of exciting changes. As I mentioned previously, we have 3 weeks to get all the renovations completed, house cleaned, and staged so it can be ready to hit the market the first full weekend of June. Strap on your seat belts because things are moving quickly here...A few days before the major work began, the cabinet refinisher came to pick up all the cabinet doors to bring back to his shop to transform. Then he will return to refinish the cabinet frames on-site and hang the new and improved doors. The homeowner was with us when this was taking place so I advised her to take this opportunity to go through everything in the cabinets and start purging and packing. The funniest part was when she pulled out a rolling pin and asked me what it was. Clearly, it was never used. She also pulled out a tire pressure gauge asking the same question. I'm sure you can relate...we all tend to keep things that we don't really need. Moving is when you're forced to eliminate the excess, but take a cue from this homeowner's experience and take some time to go through closet, cabinets and drawers and really decide what should stay and what should go. You'll thank yourself in the long run!
DAY 1: The painters arrive to remove the popcorn ceiling from the family room and living room (they were the only 2 rooms that still had popcorn).
Popcorn free ceilings...hooray!
The faux brick paneling is removed and the china cabinet is in the process of being removed and patched! We had originally thought of refinishing it like the kitchen cabinets, but upon further examination, removing the brick paneling would affect the cabinet and it was dated anyway and some of the mirror was cracked, so rather than invest the money to update it, I decided to get rid of it and make it a solid wall.
May the brick paneling rest in peace!
The wallpaper and mirrors removed in the entry!
I also went to visit the cabinet refinisher and got to see the doors in progress. The glaze looks so good. Unfortunately, the pictures don't nearly do it justice...can't wait for the finished result!
DAY 2 - ceilings are painted throughout and the electrician centered the light fixture in the front bedroom.
DAY 3 - Crown molding is installed in the family room and kitchen, and new baseboards are installed throughout the house. In all honesty, we waffled on installing new trim because of the budget, but there was different baseboards in every room and cheap trim used for crown in the family room that really needed to be changed. There was strange paneling on the wall in the family room that did not go all the way to top of the ceiling so the trim was needed to disguise the gap. In the end, I'm so glad we installed new trim. It completely changed the feel of each space.
DAY 4 - Walls are painted! This is my favorite day because you actually see color and personality start to emerge. I'm so happy with the color I chose. It elevates the feeling of the house and provides a very nice contrast against the freshly painted doors and trim. Like the homeowner says, "it looks expensive!"
No more antique TV!
The entry looks so much more spacious without all the distractions...but it became very clear that the old flooring that we were considering keeping needed to be replaced. As I suspected, all the other upgrades makes what seemed acceptable to keep look pretty shabby. I'm also going to have the painters paint the door white on the inside to match the other doors and maybe stain the front of the door a darker color.
And look at the painted fireplace...looks a lot more contemporary right? The painters pulled out the big, bulky fireplace insert to paint the brick and now I don't want it to be replaced. The fireplace looks like it lost 50 lbs. because it did...I'll just put a standing screen in front of the firebox and call it a day! Are you shocked that the homeowners never used the fireplace once in 13 years?!
Check out this before & after...not bad eh?
Remember the Brady Bunch rec room? It's been time warped...what a difference!
DAY 5: This is something new that I tried - reglazing the tub, tile and vanity countertop. I've seen pictures but I had not seen it in person and until I did, I couldn't take the leap. To stay on budget, we couldn't afford to gut the entire bathroom as originally planned. It's not just about purchasing the new tub, and the new tub wall surround, but it also includes the labor to remove it and put it back together. I've never gotten so many bids ever! I also received conflicting information. One contractor told me we couldn't replace the fixtures without removing the tile and then I had other opinions that said I could. In the end, I found a replacement trim kit that allows me to change the fixtures without having to touch the valves (the plumbing guts inside the wall). Pheww!! Take a look at this...I was amazed and would recommend if you're on a tight budget! It looks so clean.
Compare the BEFORE with the AFTER!
And take a look at this sink...amazing! I had purchased a replacement solid surface countertop but I'm going to return it cuz the glazing just saved me $70!
Can you believe everything we were able to accomplish in just one week? What you don't see because it happens behind the scenes during this same week is I got bid after bid for work to be done on this house to really make this budget work. I got 4 paint bids, 4 countertop bids, 4 contractor bids, and at least 6 reglazing bids. I played with those numbers more than I cared to, but it's imperative to stretch that budget and squeeze as much into that budget as I could. Additionally, I sourced and shopped for all the materials - lighting, countertop, backsplash, chose baseboard and crown, chose paint colors, faucets, shower fixtures, knobs, pulls, hinges, appliances, and much more. I also visited the job site twice a day to check on the progress and answer questions about what needed to be done. This is how we can complete such a project in just 3 weeks, because it's a full-time job and having me as the professional to design, run and manage the project is worth every penny. Week 2 is all about the kitchen and the baths so stay tuned for those transformations. It's guaranteed to be good!!
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