New Build Refresh
I know this sounds crazy…but, we refreshed our kitchen in our 2020 new build.
Before you ask me if it was a waste of money just note, it was a larger project on a minimal scale. Let me explain.
When we decided to build our home in 2020 we had quite a few key points that made the process rather difficult.
We self contracted, never built a house before and had no idea what we were doing.
We had no designer or project manager; just us.
We were in the middle of a pandemic with materials and resources harder to find.
We were working on an extremely strict budget.
So lets start at the beginning where things went a little sideways when it came to our kitchen design.
We had been on a list with a cabinet maker for six months before it was time to get our cabinets ordered. Well, that day came and when I placed the phone call to give the green light, we were notified the company had been sold, there wasn’t a list with our name on it and he couldn’t get us in until a month after our projected move in date. You can imagine the panic that set in when I have zero contacts to anyone else and thought I had this situation on lock down. So, I took to Facebook and made call after call that day, cleared my schedule and met with anyone who would meet me that day. This was not an easy feat as cabinet makers book out months and month in advance. I met with three and within four days had bids back and paid a deposit with the most affordable one…because of said budget.
I was and still am so thankful that this company got me in so quickly. But come install time, things went a little sideways. Cabients had to be remade to account for the wrong height they originally were made, the boxes crown and door were all a different shade of white. The doors were the wrong style door and after six months part of the paint was wiping off. Unfortunately, we had to move in so there was no time to fix all these discrepancies. When things settled down after a couple days I started calling and driving out to have a chat with them and after a year and a half I heard crickets.
I reached out to a reputable company out of the Milwaukee area to get a price on getting my cabinets repainted. It’s not a service that is vastly offered because of the labor that goes into this. So I understood when the price came back over half of what I originally paid for my cabinets. This was a no go for us so I pondered some more on my next move.
Fast forward to fall of 2023 and I was working with a cabinet maker now that I was in the industry. I was talking to him about some of the issues and he said he’d come take a look to see what he could help me with to get things fixed up. Well a miracle happened and the next day the original cabinet maker reached out wanting to hear my concerns he’d heard I had. The end of that week they were at my house and we came up with a game plan to get everything fixed.
By the end of January my cabinets were getting repainted and refaced. At this point I had the option to switch some things up because this service was getting done free of charge. The only thing I had to pay for was the custom cabinet color that under one hundred dollars but worth every single penny of that.
Remember when I said we were on a budget? That meant that the extremely affordable hardware I had I was able to switch out, and the light fixtures that were a rush decision that came in at fifteen dollars a piece I was able to upgrade. I am actually to thankful this happened when it did because I had some knowledge under my belt I didn’t have when we built.
I had found my signature style, sources I never would have known of before I had entered the design industry, multiple large scale projects completed in my short career time and education to back all of my decisions.
In between all this, we were also able to finish out pantry that we originally left blank due to budget durning the initial build and was able to put in custom cabinetry, countertop and backsplash to function perfectly for a coffee bar. I am so glad we waited on this project as well, because I was able to take my time picking out the perfect design and finishes in this area.
So, here are some things we were able to do in a luckily, very small budget for our refresh.
New custom paint color on our cabinet door and drawer fronts, crown and boxes
New door and drawer fronts that are full overlay
New pendant light fixtures
New cabinet hardware
Carried our tile backsplash up to the ceiling
I feel so blessed that we were able to build a home. But I am even more blessed that this opportunity arose the way it did, and I truly have my dream kitchen.
