@nnigrt thank you for your response. Houses in my neighborhood go from 800k to 1 mil+ ours is on the lower end, plus we have no intention of moving. Our current floor plan has us paying for rooms (I.e. Formal living and dining) that we never use. We also love to entertain and as I am sure you know the kitchen is where the action ends up in. Also, as soon as I posted I should have realized that I did not ask if this size kitchen would be better left to a pro who specializes in kitchen design.

Work with a reputable contractor who has done work like you want done and has done it well - good references and can show you past projects. Then, are you overbuilding for your neighborhood in which case you might not get your investment back. If that is the case then you might want to sell your present home and build new. However, if you love your present location so much you really want to stay there, go for it.

I am surprised a house only 13 years old needs a total remodel. If you don't like the style anymore, maybe it is time to move.

I agree with jhmarie. That's a lot of work to do on such a 'new' home. Can you get out of your home what you have in it so you could afford to buy something more suitable? I ask because a renovation takes a huge toll on your relationship, especially if you stay in the house while the work is being done. But moving out is going to have it's own stresses so think it over very carefully, and go house hunting to see if you can find something that would suit your needs better at a price you can afford.

Thank you for your comments. Yes, the house is only 13 years old, but the original owners had to pay $200k lot premium and they could only put builder grade options in the house. We purchased well below market value as they were in a poor financial position. The day we moved in, we gained $50k in equity. This is our daily view

Another view during the day.

Hi,

The best way to get a sense of what your budget will allow is to talk with reputable remodelers in your area.

Best wishes for a successful project.

Regardless of the brand of cabinets you get, don't skimp on the installation. Great installers can make builder grade look good and high end look exquisite.

here is what i know. it's cheaper to buy what you want than to build it. when we bought this house 5 years ago we could have bought a slightly larger house for $50K more instead of spending the $100K we did to add a room. there were reasons we did what we did, and of course one never expects to spend that much building "its just one room".

your house has to be so special and no other house like it that it makes your head spin to not consider looking around at whats on the market before plowing $300K into your house.

It sounds like you got a good deal on your house and there are million dollar homes in your neighborhood. So if spending $300k doesn't cause you to put more into it Than it's worth and the location is ideal then it seems like it makes sense. Also water view is finite so maybe where you are it's hard to over invest. I live in a historic neighborhood walking distance to a great downtown. It is hard to over invest. People routinely do renovations approaching the scale you are talking about because there is either nothing available to move to or even million dollar houses are fixer uppers because of the age.

@nnigrt, if you can find a lot like ours, then by all means we will move. In fact, we did look for a similar lot, but in our area (DC metro) there are few lots that are on a pond overlooking a golf course with full views of the western sky. Those that do exist are in the $1.5 mil and over range. The 300k budget is to cover any cost over runs. If we can achieve our dreams for less than we will and sink the remainder into another rental property. We have plenty of room, but want to enjoy even more than what we currently have. Thank you.

you are welcome.

like intown, we are "in town". we bought the house not for views but a walkability score of 88. but there were other houses too..... but it was a big move for us, out of the suburbs after 35 years there, and we didnt want to overspend (as opposed to overbuy....).

hindsight, there was a house for $50K more that would have saved us a bundle. just didnt realize at the time it was the thing to do.

I have a family member building a David Weekley house in a planned community. They love to entertain and the house plan is designed with that in mind. Maybe you should google him and look at photos of some of their model homes, particularly kitchens.