<p>Likeminded people here- what it is worth, not just what you can afford mentality plus a lot of life experiences. “Wonderful” journey?, hmmm…</p>
<p>You really appreciate the “little” things- such as cooking in a kitchen, even without running water/dishwasher. What- a refrigerator in the kitchen along with the rest of the food instead of going from the living room to another room to… just to gather supplies? It was a treat to load up the upper cabinets before the counters came. Spent time in the guest bedroom (wallpaper removal in master, plus m bath redo)- remember why we got the king bed and have a separate shower (and 2 sinks)…</p>
<p>Remember to check online prices via Amazon as well as Lowes and Home Depot if available in your area. I crosschecked items with the manufacturers’ websites as well. Not like 20 some years ago when there was no internet to do so (nor any of those stores in our area). The devil IS in the details- I have reasons for every purchase. Door handles that won’t lock you out (Kwikset). Showers that you can adjust temp and pressure separately (Delta). Deepest top cabinet drawers (Kraftmaid). Stainmaster carpet. Learn which are manufacturers’ sales and which specific to the store. Corian ran a free sink offer, Kraftmaid had a ton of freebies (one reason to lump several projects- savings with quantity on things you were doing anyhow).</p>
<p>Choose your general contractor wisely- his (her) choices will dictate how smoothly the project goes. Options are so local.</p>
<p>We tried to save as much as we could- mirrors, shower door and other style details. No matter what you do to your house it will still be x+ years old, not brand new. I can live with the mainly popcorn ceilings and let the next owner do those- cost and inconvenience factor. New interior doors made a huge difference, however, in cheerfulness. Just decided cleaning the louvered closet doors was good enough- too much work or money to repaint or replace.</p>
<p>Once the final details are done no more needing to be up by the time construction workers arrive- this from a night person who doesn’t always dress for hours after getting up late.</p>