Hello,
Well, I have been working away on this condo update for almost TWO months now! I have blown my original time frame out of the water. My original plan was to be done by February 28th, with the intent being to get the condo listed before the market got glutted with new listings in the spring. I think I may have missed the boat on that one 🙁 Although I am still a ways off from buying, I keep my eyes on the listings all the time, and there was pretty much nothing out there between December and March, now it’s getting busy again.
However, I can only work on this project as fast as I can, since I am doing it evenings and weekends. I try to do about 1-2 hours a night, and about 4-5 on the weekends. Unfortunately, I am stuck working for a living so the projects need to fit in where they can.
That said, I am definitely making progress! Here is what I have gotten done in the kitchen:Here is my starting point:
I have completed the following upgrades so far:
- Refinished the counters with Make it Stone paint and Envirotex epoxy
- Remove plastic cupboard covers and paint cabinets. I did the uppers in white and the lowers in grey
- Painted the kitchen walls
- Tiled the back splash
- Replaced the floors. I used laminate to cover up the ugly old filthy vinyl
Here it is at this point:
I am currently installing the baseboards and purchasing bits and pieces for staging. Greg purchased the new sink, and he attempted to put it in on the weekend, however we had to re-cut the hole for the sink, as the new one didn’t quite fit in. So, I taped the heck out of the counters, to make sure my epoxy didn’t chip, and we (that would be him cutting and me yelling orders :)) re-cut the hole. Now the sink fits, but it’s not yet installed. Hopefully this week!
I am still working on convincing him to replace the appliances. The ones that are there now are 23 years old! And you can tell. All of the formerly white plastic on them has yellowed over time. They look terrible. Seems sort of silly to me, to go to all of the trouble to make the room look fresh and new, and then put the ugly old appliances back in. I don’t even think it’s necessary to purchase new ones. Just NEWER. It’s easy to find decent white appliances, as everyone is looking for stainless. I have even seen a lot of them for free.
In the bedroom I have done all of the painting. I painted the walls in my favourite colour of the moment – Behr’s Graceful Grey. And painted all of the trim, which was pretty yellowed looking in Behr Frost. And scrubbed the window, closet doors and blinds. The bulk of the transformation in this room is the staging, and I have been shopping like mad. Sit tight and wait for the reveal, it’s going to be so pretty!
The bulk of this renovation is in the kitchen and bedroom. For the rest of the space it’s just cleaning, carpet cleaning, painting trim and staging.
Greg has some tasks that he needs to complete as well. The shower needs to be repaired and the hot water tank replaced. This is holding me up a bit, as there is no point in staging the bedroom, which I am ready to do, until the carpets are cleaned. And no point in cleaning the carpets until the hot water tank comes out (as it lives in the bedroom closet).
So, I have accomplished quite a bit, but still have a ways to go. I have booked my realtor to come by on April 3 and have a look. I will still have him come by whether I am done or not. But hopefully that will motivate me to get more completed by then.
I can’t wait to show you the bedroom once it’s done!
Until later
D9
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