{House} It’s a Learning Process

I was young, eager, and green at the beginning of the year when I declared this the year of the kitchen.  Even though I had grand plans to do most of the paperwork before my exam, I didn’t get in regular contact with the property manager until June.  Since then, we’ve talked every week, and she’s been my go-between with the co-op board.  While I believe I have the skills, know-how, and can-do spirit to renovate the kitchen myself, the board is not so optimistic.  Now I’m on the hunt for a general contractor to supervise the job.  I’m hoping to find a GC that will allow me to work alongside them.  Then, fingers crossed we’ll be able to start the project sooner rather than later!

As part of the process (both for me and the board), I created a major to do list for the kitchen!  I even published it under “The List” for safe keeping.  I marked it with items I expect to purchase, as well as approximate costs.  I’m budgeting $15-20k for the whole remodel, but it will probably be on the higher end, given that I need to hire a GC now.

In the mean time, I’ve ordered my cabinets!  After some research, I’ve decided to use Ikea’s high-gloss white cabinets, as they’re DIY friendly, and cost effective.  Ikea’s summer kitchen sale ended this past weekend, and after confirmation from the property manager that the cabinets were fine, I plopped down a few grand on half the cabinet order.

I’ll be back soon with more details on the kitchen!