The Good, the Bad, and the Price

Welcome to Week 6 of Makeover Mondays! The good news: we got the price. The bad news: we got the price. The first estimate was substantially more than we’d hoped – the cost of our remodel was looking about 60% higher than in my dreams. Having said that, my own estimate was exactly a dream; it was a complete stab in the dark which had everything to do with how much money we’d set aside and nothing to do with, you know, what this would actually cost. So overall, it could have been way worse – I mean, I could have been off by 200%.

Getting to this estimate involved a two-day series of nail-biting missed calls and vague texts from both Mr. C and me.

When we finally spoke, of course, our plan now includes compromise.

While I was logically prepared to compromise, emotionally, I was not. I want all.the.things. But that’s looking unlikely.

What IS looking likely is that we’ll have to defer (never deny!) the bookshelf and open shelving between the living and dining room; as I shared last week, here’s our dream shelving, inspiration courtesy “lepetitchouchou“:

Here’s our wall divider inspiration which, sadly, appears to be just a dream – at least for now

The news wasn’t much better on the appliance front. I saw some pretty cool retro appliances that I really liked, until I saw the prices. All I can say is: OMGOMGOMG.

• Stove: $5,000.
• Fridges (worse): “Call for price.”

We do not live in that world! So it’s back to the drawing board on the appliances.

The Mad Thoughts Running Through My Head

At this point, here are the mad thoughts running through my head:

• Do we really need new appliances?
• Do we need appliances at all? I mean, it’s just the two of us – maybe just a dorm room fridge and a toaster oven? I mean, we have the grill outside! That’s it! MINIMALISM at its best.
• Do we really need new flooring? I mean, this stuff is only cracking in, like, 50% of the living room (kidding, mostly; I just hate it).

Real questions:

• Can we do the painting ourselves?*
• What are we going to do instead of the bookshelves?

*We’ve certainly done enough of our own painting, and especially since all our furniture will be out of here, I’m seriously contemplating painting ourselves. This will save us a decent chunk of money, so we might even be able to get, you know, a stove.

OK, I’ve Composed Myself Again

Anyway. Once I finished vomiting, I came to my senses, and started thinking about something more productive – like how to tell my husband about where we are. Naturally, he’s finally starting to get a little excited – no, that’s a lie. He’s dreading it less. But still, I hate to ruin the little joy (or lack of dread, anyway) that he’s starting to feel!

Stay tuned for next week – adventures in packing!

If you’re just starting the series and would like to binge-read and get caught up on Makeover Mondays, here’s the series:
Week 1: Avoid These 10 Remodeling Mistakes
Week 2: 23 Questions for Your Contractor
Week 3: The Countertop Contenders
Week 4: How Many Flooring Choices Can There Be?
Week 5: Is Our Favorite Countertop a Weapon in the Wrong Hands?
Week 7: It’s My Remodel, and I’ll Pack Like I Want To!