Our kitchen renovation project begins in just 48 hours.  Am I excited? Yes! Am I filled with dread? You betcha. Just now, Muttka and Kittka are blissfully ignorant of the fact that their world will be turned upside down for the next few weeks. We’ll muddle through the noise and confusion somehow. Meantime, let me show you the new cabinets and appliances that arrived the other day!

The delivery crew from Lowe’s Home Improvement Center probably assumed the gargantuan kitchen gear would go in my garage until installation time.

Ha ha ha.

I don’t have a garage.

Here’s the “Lazy Susan” corner cabinet. It makes a dazzling presence in my entrance hall.

And here are just some of the new upper cabinets and shelves, loafing around in the dining room.

Still more cabinets — one of which will house a pair of wall ovens — are lingering in the north end of the music room. Who knew that corrugated brown would pair so nicely with red window hangings? You might like to copy this decoration scheme in your own home.

On another note, I have lots of work to do before the kitchen renovation begins. I’m making a batch of spice cookies today. And tomorrow, I’m signing copies of my cookbook and serving the aforementioned cookies at the Kinderhook Memorial Library (4PM; please stop by and say “hello” if you’re in the area).

And then…

And then…

I must remove the plates, silverware, glassware, sacks of flour and tins of whatnot from the cabinets that are going bye-bye. Where to temporarily store these items, I haven’t a clue.

May I borrow your garage?

xKevin, Mr. Fox, Avery the Muttka, Tiger the Kittka, and Camille the Other Kittka

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http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2018/05/countdown-to-the-kitchen-renovation/

According to a study by Houzz.com, the average kitchen remodel is between $25K and $50K, which is such a crazy range that only goes to to show how ridiculous the question is anyway. Only 4% of people spend less than $5000.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the 4%.

Deciding to renovate your kitchen is kind of a big deal. The kind of big deal that, when you tell people about it they say phrases that would do just as well if you announced you were had decided to perform heart surgery on yourself. “Ohhhh, good luck with that.” Or “Wow, that’s ambitious.” And, very practically, “By yourself?!”

But doing it yourself pays big dividends.

To create this look we reformatted some of our cabinetry, painted it ourselves, tiled the backsplash, created corbels, installed a new sink and faucet, built a sink bump out, added new lights, laid new flooring, and took on the many other little details that go into a remodel.

And all in just six weeks as part of the One Room Challenge hosted by Calling it Home and House Beautiful.

The only part of this kitchen remodel that we did not do ourselves was the quartz countertops and a little bit of the electrical. And while my husband and I are not new to any of it, there is really no reason anyone who wants to cannot roll up their sleeves and do the same.

Once more, let’s take a look at that before.

The big problem was the orange. As in, it was all kind of orangey. To fix that, and to refresh the worn cabinetry, we painted the cabinets using a Wagner Flexio 4000 paint sprayer. Prep work took forever, but the actual painting only a few days, including the doors.

We used Sherwin Williams latex enamel paint in Alabaster from their Emerald line. I honestly never even tried another color. It is a popular choice and it looks fantastic.

Newly refreshed cabinetry meant new hardware as well, right? We used to have those bar pulls that are so ever-loving popular and, sorry-not-sorry, I hated them with an eternal loathing. Maybe it’s my height (or lack thereof), but I got my clothing caught on those darn pulls on a daily basis. So if there was one thing that was certain, the new hardware had to be non-catchable. It’s a thing.

I got these Liberty Brand Mandara pulls from D.Lawless Hardware. They go with the Kichler Moorgate lights so well they were clearly meant to be.

Next, we decided to widen the doorway and demo the laundry area outside the kitchen to create a butler’s pantry with hidden laundry right off the kitchen.

Now, technically, this was part of a One Room Challenge, but I figure a pantry is part of a kitchen, and I only finished the part that actually shows from the kitchen. And anyway, it gave me a chance to include these Piper lights from Kichler Lighting in that space, and they are so fantastic I think I would remodel an entire room just to use them.

I have to say here that this look will change a little. The beam up top is faux, and it is everything I hoped and dreamed. We have temporary spacers in the walls on either side where faux pieces that match that beam were to sit to create a cased opening. But the wood they sent was the wrong color, so we quickly painted the sides to make it work until the new pieces arrive. There’s always something, right?!

In the fourth week we tore out our engineered brazilian cherry wood floors and replaced them with Select Surfaces luxury laminate planks in driftwood. We will actually be continuing these floors throughout the entire main level of our home. Laminate is a fantastic option that is durable, affordable, and looks amazing. I love how the floor brings in a rustic vibe to this space.

Then it was time to focus on the details. These tiles are from Home Depot. Patterned tiles are so popular right now, and give that cement tile look without the high cost. These tiles are super budget friendly. I believe we spent about $250. Compare that to the $1000 it would have cost us to use cement tile. We ended up needing to pick these tiles up super last minute, so I was thrilled to find something attractive in stock. If we had had another week I probably would have gone with this option instead, but we are happy with how it turned out!

Solid maple floating shelves help break up the space, and are echoed in the butler’s pantry. They are also a great place to display a bit of color in an otherwise monochromatic space.

I had been looking for an excuse to purchase some of these Dorotea plates and bowls ever since I saw them and learned they are made by an artist here in the pacific northwest. Aren’t they just fantastic?!

The corbels on the kitchen bar are custom and are inspired by an Eastlake Victorian corbel I picked up at an architectural salvage store. I carved the corbels on my X-Carve. Each uses four pieces of wood which are glued together to form a beefy but beautiful corbel. I’ll have the tutorial available soon, including the files to create one using Inventable’s free software, Easel.

And did we really shiplap that bar? You better believe it. This home used to feature a lot of shiplap behind the walls, so it’s totally okay to add shiplap. There’s some sort of rule about that, I think…

The crown on the entire renovation, and my personal favorite part of the entire thing, is the lighting. I’ll share more about that in a follow up post, but I think you can see that the look would just not have been complete without them. All of the lights you see here are from Kichler Lighting.

The chandelier and pendants are from the Moorgate collection.

The undercabs are dimmable LED strips that are hardwired into the home’s electrical system. They were actually really easy to install, and they look aaamazing against that tile.

The ceiling lights have been retrofitted to LEDs as well, and are kind of everything. I’ll talk more about that very soon.

Be sure to check out Kichler’s collection of gorgeous lights. Do you need new lights? Oh, you know you do!

What a ride it has been! Let’s check out a before and after, shall we?

I want to thank my sponsors and partners for helping create this space. They help make these tutorials possible. I only share products I love and actually use in my own home, and so I can do so with confidence. Be sure to check them all out, and feel free to ask if you have any questions about the products I used in my own renovation. Of course, and as always, all opinions are my own.

If you missed any of the first five weeks, check them out at the links.

Week 1: How to renovate a kitchen

Week 2: How to paint kitchen cabinets the right way

Week 3: What HGTV won’t teach you about home renovation

Week 4: Why you should choose laminate flooring

Week 5: How to add vintage charm with a DIY reclaimed wood sink cabinet

Coming soon!

Don’t go away! There was just too much to include in the short time frame, but there is more to share. In the coming weeks I will share how to create custom crown molding without actually having to cut crown, a template for custom corbels, how to create floating shelves, and how to build a custom pantry or laundry area.

Also, tomorrow, join me as we focus on the single element without which the renovation would have fallen flat. I’ll share our lighting and how you can create a lighting scheme in your home that will dramatically transform your space.

Is tackling a kitchen renovation in your future? I hope this helps! Already renovate a kitchen? Share a photo! Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Happy renovating!

(Psssst! Pin this! )

The post DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal appeared first on The Created Home.

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DIY Kitchen Renovation Reveal

Phew! I survived Monday’s start of our kitchen renovation project. I also survived the previous day’s chaos: emptying cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, and then transferring their myriad contents (all by my lonesome) to another wing of the house. Boy was I exhausted after the 100th trip.

Fortunately I perked up just in time to sign copies of my cookbook at a local library on Sunday afternoon. And as a personal reward, I downed a couple of Tito’s Cosmos after the book-signing event. A Tito’s Cosmo contains Tito’s vodka, lime juice, orange liqueur, and, for healthful reasons, a rejuvenating splash of cranberry juice.

You might find that cranberry juice alone is an excellent pick-me-up.

You be you.

Anyway, the work-crew arrived promptly at 8AM on Monday. They reluctantly posed for a photo, after I promised not share the photo on this blog.

As you can plainly see, I am a man of his word.

(Just kidding here. I used the photo with the group’s permission.)

Job number one: protecting the floors. The crew rolled up the entrance hall carpet, and then taped down a path of “FloorShell.” FloorShell is a heavy-duty construction “board” made of 100% recycled fibers. The same material was used to cover my entire kitchen floor.

Next, kitchen doorways were sealed with plastic, and a special exhaust fan equipped with a HEPA filter was put in motion. Although the fan wasn’t particularly loud, it was definitely effective! As demolition progressed, I neither gagged nor wheezed while working in my writing room. It’s a private room that adjoins the kitchen.

Demolition included the removal of low-end cabinetry and counter tops we purchased back in 2002…

And the busting and breaking of a tile backsplash.

News flash! I might not use any tile at all in the “new” kitchen. Sheet rock, if painted with highly-washable paint, makes a fine  backsplash all by itself. And the color can be changed to suit the cook’s mood.

One day I am yellow, one day I am blue.

Some plumbing and electrical work was also accomplished on Monday. I’ve a new sink coming, and the current dishwasher is being relocated.

The crew left the place in tip-top condition before they departed at 4:30PM. Even the kitchen floor was free of dust and debris. So far, I’m delighted with this skillful team.

As for Avery and the cats, well, they were not happy to have strangers in the house. I put Avery in the library/den, and gave her lots of walks and two trips to the dog park. Tiger and Camille and their must-haves (litter box and food and water bowls) spent the day in a guest room upstairs. I can’t risk losing these precious family members during a kitchen renovation!

I’ll write again tomorrow, with Tuesday’s progress report.

x (still-exhausted) Kevin

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http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2018/05/kitchen-renovation-week-1-day-1/

Personal loans are flexible financial tools that give you money when you need it. You can apply for a personal loan for nearly any purpose.

One common reason to apply for a personal loan is to finance home improvement projects.

Home improvement can be expensive, so you might want to take out a loan to pay for it.

You might be tempted to consider a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or home equity loan. These can be good options, but a personal loan can also fit the bill because of how customizable they are.

If you have a home improvement project in mind, this article will cover the ways in which a personal loan can help you pay for it.

Best Personal Loans for Home Improvement Projects

You can find personal loans from a huge number of lenders, but some lenders offer a better deal than others. We think these lenders offer the best personal loans for home improvement projects.

SoFi

SoFi is an online lender that focuses on flexible, low-cost loans. You can borrow as little as $5,000 from SoFi, or as much as $100,000. That makes it easy to borrow exactly the amount you need to pay for your project, which makes it easier to avoid going over budget. SoFi also doesn’t charge any origination fees or early repayment fees, making their loans even cheaper.

If you’re worried about losing your job and being unable to make loan payments, SoFi offers some protection against that. If you lose your job, you can pause your loan payments.

Interest will continue to accrue, but if you stop making payments, it will not impact your credit. This can reduce some of the stress of taking on a loan.

SoFi Personal Loans Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
No origination fees or prepayment penalties Potential for a low APR Instant pre-approval	Requires excellent credit for the best APR No co-signers allowed

Earnest

Earnest is another online personal lender. It touts its ability to more accurately gauge the risk of borrowers when compared to other lenders. This means that Earnest can approve loans that other lenders won’t. It also allows Earnest to charge lower interest rates than other lenders do.

Earnest is able to gauge its risk so well by looking at more than just your credit score. Earnest will look at your saving patterns, investments, and career trajectory. If you have mediocre credit, but a lot of promise, Earnest might be able to offer you a loan when other lenders won’t.

Earnest offers loans ranging from $5,000 to $75,000. It does not charge origination fees, early repayment fees, or other hidden fees.

Earnest Personal Loans Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Low borrowing minimum No fees or prepayment penalty Loans funded within 2 business days	Requires excellent credit for lowest rates Restrictions on how personal loan can be used

Lending Club

Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending website that offers personal loans to borrowers. Peer-to-peer lending sites do not loan money directly to borrowers. Instead, peer-to-peer lending sites connect potential borrowers with people who want to invest in personal loans.

When you apply for a loan from Lending Club, the anonymized details of your loan are posted for investors to see. Investors can look at your loan and decide if they want to help fund it. Investors can contribute as little as $25 or as much as the full amount you’d like to borrow.

Once your loan is funded, you’ll get the money that you need. When you make monthly payments, your payment is split between the people who helped to fund your loan.

Lending Club offers loans to people with very poor credit as a way to give its lenders an option for a high-risk, high-reward investment. If you’re having trouble getting a loan from a traditional lender, Lending Club might be able to help.

Lending Club Personal Loans Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
No prepayment penalties Investors in your loan include regular people	Potential for a high APR One-time origination fee applies

Why to Consider a Personal Loan Over a Home Equity Loan or HELOC

There are a few reasons to get a personal loan to fund improvement instead of using a HELOC or home equity loan.

No collateral required

One benefit of a personal loan is that you don’t have to provide collateral.

With a HELOC or home equity loan, your home serves as collateral. If you start missing payments, your home could be repossessed.

Avoiding the need to offer collateral reduces your risk.

Faster to get, less paperwork

HELOCs and home equity loans require a lot of paperwork to open.

Personal loans are much easier to apply for, and you can get the money you need in days.

If you want to get started on your project sooner rather than later, a personal loan can get you the money you need quickly.

Longer repayment term

Some personal lenders offer loans with a long repayment term.

This can make it easier to find a monthly payment that you can manage, even if you’re borrowing a lot. HELOCs and home equity loans can be more restrictive when it comes to repayment terms.

Just remember that longer repayment terms result in higher total loan costs.

How to Choose a Personal Loan for Home Improvement

When you’re comparing personal loans to work on home improvement, you should mostly compare these three things.

Interest rates

The interest rate on any loan is one of the most important things to take note of. A loan’s interest rate will determine both the total cost of the loan and the size of your monthly payments. All else equal, you should look for the loan with the lowest interest.

Your credit score can have a significant effect on the interest rate of the loans you’ll be approved for, so try to boost your score as much as you can before applying for a loan.

Loan terms and borrowing limits

If you need to borrow money to fund a home improvement project there’s not much point in borrowing less than you actually need

All you’ll have is an unfinished project and no money to finish the project with. Make sure that you can get a loan that is large enough to pay for the whole project.

Also, see what kind of loan terms the lender offers. Longer terms loans have lower monthly payments, but cost more in total. 

Go with a lender that offers a loan with a long enough term that you can handle the monthly payment.

Fees

Many personal loans charge origination fees, which are added to the balance at the start of the loan.

This and other fees will add to the total cost of your loan. Try to find a lender who charges no or low fees.

Common Personal Loan Fees

Type of fee	Typical cost
Application fee	$25 to $50
Origination fee	1% to 6% of the loan amount
Prepayment penalty	2% to 5% of the loan amount
Late payment fee	$25 to $50 or 3% to 5% of monthly payment
Returned check fee	$20 to $50
Payment protection insurance	1% of the loan amount

Can You Deduct Interest Paid to Finance Home Improvement?

There are situations in which you can deduct the interest you pay on home improvement loans, but you cannot deduct the interest on a personal loan, even if it is used to finance home improvement.

For a home improvement loans’ interest to be deductible, it must be secured by the home being improved.

How to Increase Your Chances of Approval

There are a few ways that you can improve your chances of getting approved for a personal loan to fund a home improvement project.

Increase your credit score

The biggest factor in your application’s approval is likely to be your credit score. Your credit score is a numerical representation of your financial trustworthiness in the eyes of lenders.

Your credit score is a numerical representation of your financial trustworthiness in the eyes of lenders.

The most important factor in your credit score is your payment history. The second most important factor is the amount of money that you owe.

Unfortunately, your payment history is the hardest factor to improve. You’ll need to make on-time payments on your debts over the course of months and years to improve it. A single missed payment can have a big effect on your credit score.

In the short term, you can give your score a small boost by:

• Paying down existing loan balances
• Avoid using your credit cards in the lead up to your application
• Don’t apply for other loans before applying for an important loan

Lenders that consider more than just credit scores

Nearly every lender will look at your credit score when making a lending decision. 

However, some lenders will look at more than just your credit score. If you have poor credit but have a way to show that you’re working to improve your finances, look for this type of lender. They might be able to offer a loan where other lenders won’t.

If you have poor credit but have a way to show that you’re working to improve your finances, look for this type of lender. They might be able to offer a loan where other lenders won’t.

Autopay for a rate discount

Many of the lenders that offer personal loans are banks. Banks like to create long-term customer relationships, so they often offer relationship discounts on loans.

One common type of discount is the automatic payment discount. 

If you get a personal loan from a bank that you have a checking account at, you can save as much as 0.25% off the interest rate of the loan by signing up for automatic payments.

Conclusion

Home improvement projects can get expensive very quickly. If you need help paying for home improvement, a personal loan can be a quick way to get the money that you need.

If you need help paying for home improvement, a personal loan can be a quick way to get the money that you need.

Source

https://www.mybanktracker.com/personal-loans/reviews/best-personal-loans-home-improvement%2F-277418

After the winter snows have melted it’s time to take a good long look at both the inside and outside of your home. Home Improvement Month in May is the ideal time to consider home remodeling projects and make necessary changes to your house.

“This was a brutal winter for people across the country,” says Tom Kraeutler, host of , the nation’s largest home improvement radio show and podcast. “Many house exteriors took a hit from high winds, severe cold weather and excessive snowfall. Now is the time to look at your home exterior — like the roof, gutters and siding — to determine if any products need to be replaced.”

Tips for Smart Homeowners

Kraeutler, who serves as a frequent contributor to , recommends that when replacing products, both inside and outside the home, it’s smart to research newer home remodeling products with more enhanced features and benefits.

“As an example, if your home has original windows, or windows that were replaced decades ago, it’s most likely they’re not very energy efficient,” says Kraeutler. “Now when people go window shopping they should look for ENERGY STAR qualified windows that are custom made to handle the weather conditions a home experiences in their very specific geographic area.

“Choosing upgraded products for home remodeling projects makes life easier every day while enhancing the value of your home.”

Home Remodeling Projects Pay Off

With 20 years experience as a home inspector and another two decades providing as a radio show host and expert, Kraeutler knows there’s dual value for those making upgrades to your home.

“You should always make improvements based on what you truly need for your home and what will give you day-to-day enjoyment,” says Kraeutler. “Reinvesting in a home with top-quality products will always be a win-win situation for homeowners.”

Consider a New Composite Roof

When it comes to a home remodeling project that adds style to your house while increasing its resale value, nothing compares to a roof upgrade.

On the exterior of the house, no product works harder to help protect your home than the roof. Mother Nature takes full aim at the roof every day with everything from searing sun’s rays to rain, winds, hail and snow.

While asphalt shingles, wood cedar shakes, natural slate and other products are seriously impacted by these relentless weather conditions, composite roofing materials laugh at Mother Nature. Made to withstand severe weather conditions, composite shakes and slate roofing tiles, like those from , have a Lifetime Limited Warranty. That’s because the products are made to last.

Each durable roofing tile is crafted to resist curling, fading, impact, hail, pest infestations and fire. Available in 49 colors, plus the company’s new Black Oak, Aged Cedar and Mossy Cedar options for multi- and single-width shake tiles, DaVinci composite roofing material adds both strength and beauty to your home. And, as an extra bonus, many insurance companies provide a hefty discount on homeowner’s insurance if you use our attractive composite roofing tiles.

During Home Improvement Month, think about a home remodeling project that really pays off. Contact your local roofer and ask to see samples of durable DaVinci shake and slate tiles. And, for more home improvement tips and ideas, visit The Money Pit at .

Source

https://blog.davinciroofscapes.com/blog/tips/remodeling-insights-home-improvement-month/

Source

http://militarytimes.com/home-hq/2018/05/08/watch-for-these-5-red-flags-to-avoid-home-improvement-scams/