Make Your Fixer-Upper Fabulous on a Budget

Castle Antiques Hello,

We are Castle Antiques. In an effort to collaborate with Home Stagers, we are offering some specials, that include one month of free rental up to $10,000.00 worth of exquisite antiques.

Although we have been in business since 1975, we recently have made a jump from wholesale to retail, and in doing so just want our name out there.

We feel that collaborating with some of best in the business could help, and that is why we are willing to loan our items for a month for free.

Please feel free to contact us at (818) 765-5000

Thank You,
Castle Antiques

olldbobbi The "to-do" list - does it ever end? Or even get any shorter? It seems like every time I turn around there's another project crying out for me! I need to stop turning around, I guess.

Amanda When the to-do list around your house includes everything from "new roof" to "gut kitchen" and "buy furniture" (and you could easily pour your entire budget into just one room- i lol at that. Been there, done that :)

nanaanne This was a great article. I have two recurring expensive problems in fixing up "new" homes. First, I am always in a hurry to get everything done. As a result I often make some bad decisions, and often don't make changes as inexpensively as I might have. My advice to others with this problem is to go over and over your ideas. Make drawings of how each room/yard will look. Show the drawings of your ideas to friends and ask for honest opinions and advice. Talk to knowledgeable people at stores where you might buy stuff. Above all take your time. My second problem is somehow becoming wedded to an idea and refusing to change it no matter what. Just remember two words: that's ridiculous! I found one helpful answer for people like me -- I had an e-design done for one room, and it was wonderful. It helped me with the above problems and the service was not very expensive. The design ideas were much better than what I had come up with and I spread my purchases out over around 8-9 months. I still have 2-3 pillows left to buy for the day bed.

frenchdecor Is there any pills from continuous creativity and improvements? Mentally I would turn upside down my house but control myself re-doing everything bit by bit, can't stop, as result it feels some lack of cohesiveness. I'm a DIY though and have fun. Every time I hire professional the service is so expensive, seems I work almost for free. Here is my question. I have steel black semi-gloss out doors I want to re-paint (they were newly replaced by house sellers). Never liked them, luckily our puppy scratched them (he is grown now, it's safe to re-paint). I tried gloss spray paint on unvaluable furniture, it's blotchy. Need advise. Thank you in advance.

tcufrog My biggest piece of advice would be to live in a home for a couple of seasons (warm and cold) before you make any safety or nonstructural changes. Until you've lived in a home at least that long you won't know how you'll want the home to be for the long haul.

For example, when we moved into our current home we planned to decorate the small formal living room with a love seat, two armchairs, and a coffee table but we ran out of money before we did so. Luckily we didn't because it turns out that the room is much more functional as a play space for the kids and an exercise space for me. I also inherited a lovely console my grandfather purchased in Mexico that never would have fit physically and aesthetically if we had purchased the furniture.

Some friends of mine bought a house during the summer and planned to rip out the dated master bath as soon as they bought the house. They didn't realize at the time though that the bathroom was surprisingly cold in the winter. They are glad they waited until the following spring because freezing in the bathroom over the winter changed their plans. They had more insulation blown into the walls and added a heated towel bar and heated floors and slightly downgraded the tile to compensate. Now the master bath is a warm and cozy retreat instead of the freezing but visually luxurious space it would have been.

aklassicdiva I love these ideas!!!

tcufrog I meant in my previous comment to wait to make any changes that aren't safety or structurally related.

JAN MOYER I find my youngest clients are always those in the biggest hurry, which is odd ... in that the clients who shouldn't be buying green bananas are happy to dawdle along!!! :)
For all, there is an old saying with a lot of merit "DECORATE IN HASTE, REPENT AT LEISURE." I think much of the rush comes from some misguided notion that a home is supposed to be photo ready on move in day, and the rest of the impatience from a desire to not be disrupted, particularly with young children. This can lead to huge mistakes, and huge wastes of money. One young couple dove right in before our scheduled appointment and before they moved in. I arrived at the home (I decorated it for the prior owners) to find the master bath gutted, a buddy bath gutted, and some extremely unfortunate carpet that they HATED.... already installed, in rooms that should simply have had the carpet cleaned. They had ripped out the beautiful neutral high quality, and replaced with far less! Now what?!?
Of course paint is relatively a fast and inexpensive fix, anything you can scrub and scour to life is worth the effort. I would say simply exercise caution. Even small amounts of money tossed here and there in 200.00 and 400.00 dollar increments, can eat the resources and over time, keep you from getting an important, lasting, improvement. Like a roof!
When someone says you will need a roof in a few years, it is a bit like the mechanic who says you have three months left on your tires. You never have three months! More like three weeks till you skid in the downpour!
First homes are usually not last homes, and even new homes need to be lived in to reveal their needs and yours. Plan, save, and take your time.

olldroo tcufrog, it isn't just the functions of the room, there is traffic flow to consider and also the aspect and the lighting for chosing colour schemes. I had to decide colours for my home for the builders to paint before we moved in and being quite experienced at the time I chose a pretty mauve for a girl's room not realising the room, despite large windows, only got limited light and no sun. Even in the middle of summer the room was cold and depressing. A coat of white paint and lots of cheery yellow and green and it was a totally different room.

nanaanne, two words for you - hasten slowly!!! Very hard when you are keen and eager to get started. I have been planning total house renovations for well over 12 months now and am still changing my mind. Even worse is when an idea comes to me that is so obvious, I can't believe I didn't think of it in the first place. I would love to have the hours I have spent on this website actually doing work on the house, but I am really grateful for the disasters I have avoided and the ideas and inspiration it has given me.

If you choose to paint kitchen cupboards PLEASE paint the inside of them too. I have seen many homes jazzed up to sell where the owners have quickly painted the outside of the cupboards - and then you open the doors ......................

olldroo Jan Moyer, maybe those of us who shouldn't be buying green bananas (love that phrase) dawdle because we have been around long enough to know the really important things in life and understand the real priorities. Thankfully there are still some benefits to getting older although I wish I could combine it with the energy and ability to shin up and down a ladder I had 30 years ago.

JAN MOYER On painting cupboards: Paint the INSIDE of the door. Even brand new cabinetry is often maple on the inside, unless there are cabinets with glass door fronts. You don't want to paint the shelves inside, as paint will not hold up well dragging items in and out. The doors will be closed! The frames , door fronts and backs is sufficient. It really is.

JAN MOYER Hey groovy granny..... I buy the GREEEENEST bananas I can find! Oh for thirty!!!!

olldroo I meant the inside of the doors, Jan, although it does depend on the construction of the cupboards. I have just painted my bathroom vanity to update it a bit, it was made from a timber veneer which was on the inside doors and side walls as well. It definitely made a huge difference painting the inside walls, otherwise it looked too patchy and cheap. Shelves definitely will not take to being painted, not only do they scratch but things can stick to them and either not come off or take the paint off with them. A timber or composite shelf can be scrubbed or lightly sanded back and a clear poly finish applied to make them easy clean.

astraea For both of my homes, I've had a priority list of projects, categorized as required/repairs, upgrade/livability, and optional/furnishings. There are always big $ projects coming down the pike when you're a homeowner, so I do like the idea of doing some smaller “fun things”, to remain motivated, when the unglamorous must-dos demand the big $! The idea of saving money on “cool” vintage appliances .. with their low efficiency & difficulty in obtaining parts, seems short-sighted to me.

designerjulia I enjoyed this piece very much and it gives some great tips. I would have loved to see some contrast between the painted fireplace and wall!

beverleyc nannaanne - which e design service did you use?

patricia beharry Groovygranny, I had my kitchen cabinets custom built in my garage, and installed one at a time to make sure they fit perfectly. When they started to paint the inside of the cabinets I stopped them. I thought i was doing right. Now you have me second guessing my decision.

olldbobbi One word on painting the insides of cabinets - the inept flipper who did our house painted the cabinet insides - if he hadn't, we would have pull out shelves that still pull out.

olldroo Patricia, if they are new cabinets then they could look fine. Only you can see. I was more referring to older cabinets where you can have totally different finishes or colours

Pity in a way you didn't discuss it in depth with your builder, sometimes they have a valid reason for doing things based on experience other times it is just their personal preference, which may not be yours. I have just finished my ensuite and through the whole work the builder and I were in constant discussion over things, many times I deferred to his knowledge and experience and was glad I did, other times he just loved my suggestions and the result and commented that he had to remember it for future jobs. End result is a lovely job, one happy builder and one satisfied client.

The worst update I ever saw was done by some friends who updated their 60's kitchen with cabinets on legs by nailing timber panelling to the doors and extending it to the floor. I cringed every time they opened a door and you saw the laminate with 8 inches of panelling hanging off it.

Britastina This is the best discussion yet. The consensus seems to be SLOW DOWN. I couldn't agree more. I am in the middle of an entire house facelift. I started a year ago and have about a year (or so) to go. In order not to live in a construction zone, each project has a logical start and stop. I can get back to normal, breathe, calm down and think about whether the next project (color, tile, fun stuff) will work. After all, we're spending real money and will have to live with it for a loooooong time. You may not believe this, but houses talk, they really do. You make hasty decisions at your peril. Your house will rebel, get sulky, and make your life miserable. If you want to paint a bedroom, do it. Do not at the same time go out and buy all new bed linens, lamps, throw pillows, art work. You and the room may hate the color you put on the walls. You may have to spend another agonizing couple of months in the paint department. You will have to return all of your purchases (if you haven't already laundered them). What's the hurry? Your house wants to shelter and comfort you. BREATHE

brant3 Cabinets are essentially 80% cabinet doors. Shop and keep shopping because there is a wide range of pricing out there. Doors can be shipped a long distance to you at relatively low cost too.

patricia beharry Groovegranny, Thank you for clarifying, I think I made the right decision. My husband thanks you. LOL.

JAN MOYER I notice that clients are paint obsessed. Here's the good/ bad news. It isn't a FUN project. Try as much as possible, to have your main fabrics/carpets.rugs chosen for a room, and AN IDEA at least, of adjacent rooms. You can mix a paint to complement a fabric, to the teeniest fraction of a shade of a color! I do NOT want to be in your bedroom, when you announce to hubby, that he has to spend the weekend RE-PAINTING... because you can't find a single thing to complement the paint color that looked so great in the store.......could be grounds for divorce!!!!

Britastina Of course we are obsessed. We have put something on the walls. If we are wall papering, same obsession. The only fun part is when it is done and the room feels right.

Beth Photos of kitchen #2 chalk painted refrigerator and #3 with the black and white check floor which became a wood floor are interesting.

The placement of the refrigerator made me look closer, and then I realized that were the 'staged items'not on the chest of drawers that one could indeed remove something from the refrigerator and set it down. And isn't it amazing the difference in stove style makes per before and after?

Would be interested in if they have any movable island because of the distance between stove and sink.

State Wide Construction & Remodeling Great tips for homeowners!

http://www.swhomeremodeling.com/

enmc Those 2 sconces look ridiculous...if you're going to use sconces in place of a typical bathroom light fixture...place them where sconces are normally placed...flanking the mirror. Otherwise, what's the point? Why even bother to forgo a typical bath light fixture look if you then place another type of light fixture in its place? Not only that.. they look totally out of scale and are placed too high. The whole setup sconces, mirror, faucet looks just plain awkward!

JAN MOYER Have to agree on the bath! Too many small things. I am sure the bath is tight on space as the door barely clears the sink, but wall faucet, wall mounted soap dish, too small a mirror and the sconces too high ...all looks like clutter on the wall. Solutiion... Larger mirror, and maybe a narrow wood stained frame on it to help "center" it, bring sconces down, or (add recessed and skip them altogether) and ditch the wall mounted soap for a sleek chrome or stainless stand on the floor near the sink, with a nice pump.

Beth For those who think the two sconces in the bathroom look ridiculous........consider this. A small small bathroom painted all white can benefit from sconces being up higher if there is no window in the bathroom, as this allow the light to hit the white ceiling better and thus give off better light in a small room better. I speak from experience.

kdoyle196 Had to laugh at Britastina's comments about a house talking to you...and sulking when it doesn't like your decisions. During the 8 years and 3 large remodeling projects that we have been in our house, we decided that our house "hated us" because it seemed so resistant to some of the planned changes. After we revamped some of the plans to embrace our home's natural flow, our house loves us again and we love it. Weird huh?

olldroo Jan Moyer - Great advice, looking at the big picture is most important before you begin. I am trying to put my new lounge room together and I know from experience blues are the best colours for the west facing room to cool it down and wanted creams or whites to go with it to keep it looking fresh. I put every blue room I could find on this website into my ideas book to get started and then went shopping. First carpet - salesman suggested I should get my lounge first and match the carpet to it - ignored him and checked out carpet shades anyway and brought some samples home to check them in the room - half of them were a disaster and they were all shades of cream!! Then found a lounge that suited - salesman suggested I consider what colour I would paint the walls before I chose fabric - ignored him too and checked all available fabrics in blues/creams and ordered samples. Went to paint shop for paint chips - salesman suggested I chose my carpet first and paint accordingly and yes, he can match any small piece of colour, which I already knew. Of course I ignored him too and picked up every chip of blue paint in the store. Then I went to a fabric store and collected more swatches for curtains and lounge. The end result, I cannot get a blue fabric in the shade I want, it just isn't "in" at the moment, so will have to go for more a seaspray/blue colour. I had to go back to the paint shop to pick up another lot of chips in the blue/green shades and I now have a row of paint chips sitting on the backs of my existing lounges and fabric swatches draped over them so I can check it all out everytime I go into the room and anyone visiting gives helpful comments and suggestions. Fortunately, I have two bathrooms to be totally gutted and I am not bringing anything into the house until that mess is finished so I have plenty of time to really study colours and furnishings. It is a long slow process, especially when you mentally put everything together and then can't get the product or colours you want.

With respect to the small bathroom under discussion, I know I am quite anal about storage, but wouldn't this be even more important in a small room. There is no storage on or under the sink, in fact nowhere to put anything, so why would you not consider a mirror doored shaving cabinet for some storage. It is nice to have things looking pretty, but practical seems to be going out the window.

zombieknit Great discussion. I totally agree with the idea of slowing down, and also talking to people about your plans. I was telling a co-worker about the really high (12') stud in our dining area and he suggested a ceiling fan to push down the heat in winter, that would otherwise stay up way there. We did it.

Waiting a whole year can give you the chance to see the difference made to the angle of the sun, and also how shade from deciduous trees changes as they lose and grow leaves. Plus, as mentioned, whether you really, really need better insulation.

When it comes to curtains, I looked for ready made ones in a post-EQ clearance sale, but our windows were a non-standard height and width, so Plan B was to regularly check on my favorite shop that regularly has big discounts on decent lengths of fabric. I picked up all the material for curtains at 50 to 80% discount, including a perfect match for the deep blue color I really wanted for our bedroom.

JAN MOYER Groovy granny,
I'm not sure where you live, but I will give you a tip on blue: In most climes, it looks BEST in very unequal proportions in a room. So very often, if you are dying for that "particular" shade on the walls, you can make a hugely successful result without repeating the exact shade anywhere else and keeping fabrics complementary, but not matching. Your curtains and bedding could be mostly creams, "that" blue could be echoed in a painted bench( a tint of the walls) at the foot of your bed. That blue shade could re-appear in some art in even the smallest proportion. Check out petti-point and needlepoint pillows online, as they often will have some off colors in them and can be a lovely accent on a neutral bed or chair. Depending on the shade of blue- greens, yellows, all look great as well. Truly, once you wrap the room in Your Particular Shade Of Desire : )....you will love it more by not diluting the result with too much of it in the room. And you will significantly freshen the blue!

JAN MOYER One more tip on blue walls: When looking at the paint chip, have it mixed at 1/3 strength of the chip color you desire. While true of a few colors, none seem to intensify more than blue. Pale blue walls will appear white as it rolls on the wall..... and all of a sudden as it dries....BLUUUUUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! I have been called to the house by clients who will be convinced the painter has erred.... only to get there and the wall has dried to...you guessed it! Very Blue! Deep blues, to inky navy are exceptions of course.

olldroo Thank you so much Jan, you have really helped a lot. If you look at my ideas book you will see the one for the lounge room with all the photos I have kept for ideas and the type of colour scheme and effect I am trying to achieve. I presently have the walls painted very pale blue, so I know it is right for the room, in fact the immediate difference it made to the room was amazing, but I matched the paint to some blue fabric I had for curtains. I have one wall of curtains, one wall of timber and the other two are painted. The problem with the room is that while it gets glaring sun in the afternoon the morning light is minimal so I have to watch it doesn't go grey looking - too cold and miserable in winter and I don't think the blue curtains helped there.

I have a very soft cream for curtains this time that I think will brighten the morning room up and I will do a separate sunout lining for the afternoon that should stop the cream being too glary. I am going for a cream carpet, there isn't a lot of other choice. For the lounge I found a mix and match fabric range in quite a few shades of blues and aquas and cream. The fabric I want to use for the lounge is very hard to describe, it is called seaspray, all the colours are in it but not in an obvious pattern at all, it looks plain till you get up close but is more a green blue than a blue green. One of the complimenting fabrics is a cream with a tiny blue/green spot I love, would be perfect for a single chair except I'm not having one so will resort to some cushions and the other is a cream background with a floral in all the blues and some green that I am having made into an ottoman in lieu of a coffee table. Initially I found a barely blue paint that does blend with the lounge fabric well, but everyone tells me to go for the more seaspray colour and I found a very pale shade that also looks good but I am concerned it is more likely to go grey in dull light and I have to avoid that. From what you say now, I feel more confident with the first colour I found. I will get some sample pots and check it out properly before I decide and can check on how it dries that way also. The colour chips for the paint I use are really true, I have never been disappointed with a colour yet. The big problem at the moment is that the ottoman fabric is in short supply and I can't get a sample swatch which gives me a better idea of the shades of blue I can use.

I'm also thinking of bringing in a few pops of yellow to cheer the room up if it looks too monchrome. I haven't decided on art work yet, I love photography and got some great ideas on a recent photoshoot at some nearby beaches but those decisions will be made when eveything else is finished. That is my part of hasten slowly too. Again, many thanks.

JAN MOYER Groovygranny,
Sounds like you have quite a few fabrics. You mentioned a timber wall... I assume a wood tone? First, stand eight feet back from all your fabrics, as that is the way you SEE a room. Beware too many tiny repeats. And you could acknowledge that timber wall too.... a small scale leopard or cheethah fabric ( browns) on the ottoman could work. It doesn't all have to match, and the thing that "doesn't go" is likely to be the item that brings the room to LIFE. Animal patterns are great for that.... they go with nothing and EVERYTHING ; )

olldroo There are 3 fabrics for the lounge part of the room. The lounge will be like a sectional in the corner opposite the entrance to the room so the ottoman will be towards the middle of the room and be the impact piece and I'm looking at a few cushions in the spot which is very soft to tie in the drama of the floral with the plainness of the lounge, if you get my drift. I wish I could send you a link to the fabric website but for some reason they don't have the fabric featured. The timber wall is Tasmanian Oak panelling and is on the same wall as the entrance. I am having Tasmanian Oak storage and TV unit built to go on that wall and will also have some side tables made to match which will acknowlege the wall. I am also having a hall table made which will be just outside the lounge room, in the front entrance and again backed by a wall of the panelling. I am not into animal prints sorry, I get what you are saying. I love beach inspired accessories or greenery and modern type florals - I like colours fresh and clean, animal prints don't do that for me, I think they would actually be too heavy for the room.

natashadermatology I cannot figure out this room. It is a disaster. The fireplace haunts me especially the meat-colored marble. And it is the first room you see when you walk in to my house. Trying to figure out a central point window vs fireplace vs ... Stuck...

JAN MOYER Darling, I think the "meat "colored marble is the least of the problem. The walls are too void of color for all the dark sofas. Are walls white, pale grey or pale blue??The rug is too small. The tv is lonely on the big blank wall and I assume that is your dining room to the right. So, some questions? Is this your major television room? Are the sofas fabric or leather. What is your budget?

Beth natashadermatology The fireplace surround colour is to much like the wall cover, and the mirror above is to small and to close in size to the size of the tv set. The tv set seems to be sitting to low or it could be the photograph.

I can see colour in other areas off this room which suggests this room need a colour change that will provide interest as well as a nice flow from the other yellow (?) walls.

The window coverings are also to white and they simply make the room look cold and bland. Slip covers are my best friend when it comes to changing furniture without spending a months worth of pay.

natashadermatology Thank you to both! The honesty is refreshing.This is the main living room. The post-toddler changes: original rug destroyed with juice, same with the lighter color furniture and the glass table broken thus these side tables. Everything is second- hand from friends , the chairs upholstered by us. I will lighten the walls. But limited with the furniture budget. These couches are super comfy, tweed, but dark. No windows on that big wall. Will start...

mywonderfulbeautifulhouse I just have two question: Where did Katherine and Conan get their stove for $45, and in which century?

Beth mywonderfulbeautifulhouse you asked : I just have two question: Where did Katherine and Conan get their stove for $45, and in which century?

We got a similar stove for $75 off our local craigslist when someone was remodeling a house their grandparents gave them and wanted all new stainless appliances. A friend got their vintage gas stove FREE off their local freecycle.org group.

astraea I would think that if you buy a vintage appliance from a private source, you also have to add in the cost of transportation (which you probably wouldn't have with a commercial seller), and the cost of fixing it & making sure it's currently safe for use. So for a single woman like me, that would probably be the "cheap" purchase cost of $45, PLUS at least $100 for transportation, and $100/hour for a technician (not including parts).

brant3 Where are those hanging wire fruit baskets to be found in the 2nd photo?

JAN MOYER fruit baskets
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/three-tier-hanging-wire-basket.do?camp=ppc:GooglePLA:none:goobase_filler&gclid=CLTPnv6Q27MCFU-d4AodbEYAmQ

JAN MOYER brant3
more below...
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-195943/?affsrcid=Aff0001&mr:trackingCode=CC471AD8-BC21-E111-973E-001517384908&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=27794345381&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=24156051701&origin=pla

brant3 Wow! Jan, thank you very much!

JAN MOYER brant3
Don't thank me thank Google. Daaaaahling, just make Google your "home" page....! Every simple question gets an answer in a flash "hanging fruit baskets..." TADA!!!!! LOL. The BEST.

mattvswild Great list!