Lol. We probably have the same mentality. I told Mr. that we are not replacing the appliances in the kitchen one by one… every dang thing goes… and the bath would have been gutted out if it did not have a great layout and nice ceramic tiles that looked like they were installed just a few years ago. It definitely helps to cut down on the $$$ as we do a lot of work ourselves, and I am managing contractors. 
But here… oy. That existing vanity is a disaster.
Yes, that’s were most of your savings are from - doing the work yourself. We couldn’t possibly even if H had the skills. He simply does not have the time due to his job. Even small doable things - like painting -he won’t do anymore. I also don’t want the little down time he has to be spent taking care of house stuff - especially now that we can afford it because of #lifeaftertuition.
It’s just a shame that grandma and grandpa aren’t doing the whole house the right way. Such a beautiful location and a house which looks like it’s got great bones. It wouid be one thing if it were a young couple, with limited resources, not doing the whole house at once, but this is just crazy, imo.
I’m curious about the extension cords everywhere. Do they plan to have all of their furniture in the center of the room? The rooms don’t look THAT big!
We have no ceiling lights in our LR or any of our bedrooms. We use lamps…and we have no cords…anywhere.
We know we should redo our entire kitchen and adjacent laundry room - aside from it being very outdated, the refrigerator door blocks the kitchen entry when its open. But I decided DH and I would have so many arguments over what should be done that I’d rather stay married than have a new kitchen. :)) Maybe when the fridge fails -which is inevitable at some point…
I do love carousel horses - maybe there’s an outdoor area under cover where they can be displayed? We still have a charming wooden rocking horse that we got when DS was little; it doesn’t really fit anywhere but I like it anyway.
Our old blue carpet looks much better than that green carpet.
@marilyn I don’t have any issue with their love for carousel hourses…but geez…these Olk’s have three pods. Why didn’t they get a fourth for all the crap they have loaded into this being renovated house?
And couches? Plural? You have to wonder…where do they think this stuff is all going to go??
There are 4 couches coming into this house. An old forest green leather sectional monstrosity coming into family room, 2 white couches and some kind of oak and chenille thing. I’m just ignoring the “dacor” and tschotzkes (spelling?) at this point. I’m going with "none of my business " and out of sight out of mind
I don’t mind the carousel horses but they are painted Miami Vice color scheme. Pink,mauve and seafoam greenish…just ignoring them
There are photos of bathroom vanities and countertops in the flickr group photos
OMG, @coralbrook! I feel your pain. We have a friend like that… when they bought a brand new house, they moved their dilapidated furniture right in. It looked terrible - stained shaggy couches in a new house with gorgeous millwork. Sometimes it is lack of resources, sometimes it is just stubborn frugality.
OK, somehow I had missed the pink bathroom and 4x4 tiles. I’d be on my hands and knees ripping that flooring out with my fingernails if I had to. The countertop looks like what I’m replacing this week. That I could live with and just dislike, but the flooring would have to go. But the customer is always right, or at least always the one who has to be willing to sign the check. Smile, nod, drink.
There was a WSJ article a few years ago where someone was quoted as saying she didn’t understand why someone would want to move their old furniture to a new home. It floored me, as I had never considered a move that wouldn’t include the furniture, but suddenly it mad a whole lot of sense. Let it go. What a concept! That’s why I read, so I can learn things that are blindingly obvious to others.
In our younger days it wouldn’t have made sense to leave a sofa behind, because we had little money and just making house payments was a stretch. But next time, nothing is moving that won’t look great in the new location. (The rest of it will go to storage, because DH would never agree to throw anything out that wasn’t clearly hazmat.)
Are there two Flicker pages? I thought I had seen the pink tile at some point, but don’t see it now; may be user error! Can you repost the link?
I can see moving SOME of the old furniture…but this couple is not purging at all, it seems. They are brining it all.
But as said…smile and nod…and drink!
It’s one thing to move old furniture into a remodeled house and another thing to ignore updates when a crew is there. A cheap bathroom update will cost much more when there isn’t a remodel crew on site…
We disposed of most furniture when we bought House1. This time around, we ARE moving our furniture. It is Stressless - no way I am dumping my favorite leather couches. Keeping the granite top tables. And the bed… I looked hard to find that kind of quality… not happening. Heck, our Tempur is only 2 years old. The guest bedroom furniture and the kid room furniture the buyers can have for free.
I think it depends on the furniture and the design of new house. That being said, my inlaws built 3 houses and carted all the original furniture they bought when they were young married and they’ve been married 70 years! It looks ridiculous in their very contemporary townhouse. It’s all going to go right in the bin once they are out of there. They still have the “boys” bedrooms exactly how they were in their very first house!
I have an eclectic mix of antiques (some inherited from my Nana) and contemporary and it works in my house.
In a recent article about elitism and classism someone mentioned that Winston Churchill had been disparaged by a gentleman as “the kind of man who has to buy furniture.” As opposed to the kind of man who inherits furnished houses, I suppose. It cracked me up that someone thought this was worth looking down at someone else for, but there I go judging judges.
My inlaws crammed 4000 sq Ft of furniture into 2000 square feet of new space. It looks awful and crowded…and dark.
Our refrigerator door blocks the entry to the dining room, as well as the stove. Can’t open the fridge and stand in front of the stove, much less have the fridge and oven doors open. The poor design has become more obvious with S2 living here, as we are all in the kitchen at the same time and there is no room.
Just replaced falling-down kitchen cabinet with cheap stuff. The whole kitchen is falling apart, but we need cabinets for the interim. Told DH that the next big thing that happens in this kitchen will be a remodel. He agreed. I should have taped the conversation.
The door to the guest bathroom hits the toilet. Think the prior owner installed a low-flow toilet and didn’t measure the elongated bowl first.
CD, see photo #12 - that is a great solution for your door/toilet problem 