Spoiler alert: Our kitchen is finally finished and we love it.
This was a combination of hired in and DIY.
Let me tell you something, HGTV is not reality. It is nothing like real home improvement or renovation projects. I mean, it's similar in that at the end you may have a new room, but one travels a very different road than those shown on the HGTV.
13. Not one person wore safety glasses.
This was a combination of hired in and DIY.
Let me tell you something, HGTV is not reality. It is nothing like real home improvement or renovation projects. I mean, it's similar in that at the end you may have a new room, but one travels a very different road than those shown on the HGTV.
13. Not one person wore safety glasses.
12. Not one of the tile or cabinet guys were "television attractive".
I'm not saying at all that another human is ugly, but you know what I mean.
No Property Brothers or Paige Davis. Which is probably good,
cause that would have been distracting.
No Property Brothers or Paige Davis. Which is probably good,
cause that would have been distracting.
11. We wore our work clothes.
There were no hoop earrings or wearing my good jeans.
I mean, really.
I mean, really.
10. Most of the time, there was no more than two people
working in my house at the same time.
I did not, at any time, have a team of neighborhood volunteers show up to
demo cabinets or rip out tile. I did have a friend show up and help me clean,
though, and that was life-giving.
I did not, at any time, have a team of neighborhood volunteers show up to
demo cabinets or rip out tile. I did have a friend show up and help me clean,
though, and that was life-giving.
9. None of the couples I've seen on HGTV ever seem like they are
needing a marriage counselor.
Listen. Two truths:
My Spouse & I have a solid, happy marriage.
There were times in this process that murderous glances were exchanged, words were spit out rather than spoken and there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.
8. We are spending 100% of our own money.
There is no going "over budget". We don't have a sponsor.
7. Major decisions aren't usually left up to an 11 year-old.
7. Major decisions aren't usually left up to an 11 year-old.
By major decisions, I mean she got the final say on how to
cut the corners of the granite, whether or not we were going to cut off part of
the counter, that sort of thing. Maddy is the real deal about designing and decor and whatnot.
So, when the cabinet or granite guys had a question, sometimes I deferred to her.
When the tile guys wanted to know what pattern we wanted the tiles to lay,
I interrupted Spanish for 5 minutes to ask my 6th grader.
Yay for homeschooling, cause I'm not sure that would have been an excused absence.
cut the corners of the granite, whether or not we were going to cut off part of
the counter, that sort of thing. Maddy is the real deal about designing and decor and whatnot.
So, when the cabinet or granite guys had a question, sometimes I deferred to her.
When the tile guys wanted to know what pattern we wanted the tiles to lay,
I interrupted Spanish for 5 minutes to ask my 6th grader.
Yay for homeschooling, cause I'm not sure that would have been an excused absence.
6. Our DIY parts are truly DIY.
There is no one standing over us guiding us along, giving us expert advice.
We have to consult Youtube for expert advice. :)
5. The workers on HGTV show up on time.
Enough said.
Enough said.
4. HGTV projects almost always finish on time.
3. When the project manager and the homeowner disagree,
the homeowner doesn't usually take a "mental health break" at the beach
to preserve said project manager's life.
This happened. The fact that I'm not writing this post from a
jail cell proves that the beach break was a good call.
No murder charges for me. Yay!
This happened. The fact that I'm not writing this post from a
jail cell proves that the beach break was a good call.
No murder charges for me. Yay!
2. Most homeowners are not living in the project home.
It's awkward having strange men in your house working all day.
We work in our home, so it was just weird.
It's awkward having strange men in your house working all day.
We work in our home, so it was just weird.
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| The makeshift school room. I failed to get a picture of the bookshelf with the toaster oven & microwave on it. Good times. |
1. Our home improvement project is actual reality.
We did not stage it. The photos below are our ACTUAL
new kitchen that I really want to kiss on the mouth.
We did not stage it. The photos below are our ACTUAL
new kitchen that I really want to kiss on the mouth.
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| This was the original kitchen. |
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| Cabinet construction. |
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| You haven't lived until you get your jelly from the fridge in the living room. |
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| Progress. |
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| We have counters! |
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| This was my only decision I made that I went against Maddy. She chose the backsplash on the left. She didn't hate the blue, it just wasn't the "safest" choice, so she was leaning toward the neutral. I took a chance a went with the more coastal looking blue. |
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| We wanted to do as much of the work ourselves as we could, and since my Spouse can do anything, he put the backsplash up. This is pre-grout. |
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| Here it is! |
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| Pretty snazzy. |
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| We went coastal with the napkin rings, too. |
I love the kitchen. Love it. This townhouse is still a work in progress, but we are progressing!
So far, we've had ceilings retextured & painted, all painting done (every square inch), the kitchen & dining, new blinds throughout...There's more odds & ends, but I can't think of them right now. :)
The girls' bathroom is nearly finished. I'll get y'all some pics of that when I can.
For now, I'm enjoying this kitchen!
Thanks for stopping by!
