Hi Proud M.! Congrats on your first home!
I'm an ASID Interior Designer, and kitchens and baths are one of my specialties. Some questions that I ask clients are:
- How long are you going to be in the house? Less than 5 years? More than 10? If you're going to be in the house a long time (more than 10 years), it's worth putting a little extra money into the porject for higher-quality items.
- What time line do you have in mind? In other words, how long do you want and think your projects should take? Have you broken your projects down into various phases as to what needs done first and foremost?
- Do you and your spouse have similar or very different tastes? What kind of compromises are you both willing to make to get what you both want?
- What is your budget? Have you priced out items already? What have you found regarding prices?
Some suggestions:
- Carpet and flooring can usually, not always, be found at very good prices with local flooring companies. Customer service is often more personal, and local companies welcome and love your repeat business. Having said that, I have a very good friend (a fellow interior designer) who works in the flooring and design department at Home Depot. Both HD and Lowe's carry good quality products at competative prices.
- You can skimp a little on the carpet itself, but do NOT skimp on your pad! I'm a huge fan of the thicker padding that has a moisture barrier. With children and dogs, the moisture barrier prevents liquids from seeping down into the pad and onto the subfloor.
- If you have children and pets, pass on loop berber carpet. Doggie toe nails, toys, and general play can pull the loops. And they are not repairable. Try to find a California berber, sometimes called a frieze carpet. It's a cut-pile carpet that is soft underfoot and can hold up to wear and tear.
- Good cabinetry can be found on the floors of HD and Lowe's. Sometimes this is referred to stock cabinetry. You can customize it with your own hardware, and it does come in a variety of colors/tones. Going this route can save you hundreds of dollars.
- Countertops: if you are going to be in the house a long time, this is a good place to spend more. I lurves Silestone (engineered quartz). It looks like granite but has none of the maintenence of granite. No sealing, it's stone, and you clean it with Windex. Corian is also wonderful, especially for bathrooms. The color runs through the entire product, but heat can melt it. Concrete countertops are also becoming more mainstream. They are very customizable with colors, patterns, etc. But they are very heavy. Look for stock bathroom countertop vanities on the floors of Lowe's and HD. There are tons out there, with even more that can be special-ordered.
- Appliances: With my last two kitchen clients, we found all of their appliances at Sears. Sears, in my opinion, has the best selection and best prices. Plus they often offer rebates on not just delivery, but also for the products. Kenmore appliances are continuously rated highly by Consumer Reports. Go to www.sears.com and look around at the appliances offered. Make a list of the features you want, and then compare that list to what is available.
Other tips:
- Take accurate measurements!!!! I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are looking to do some of the work yourself.
- Shop around. This time of year is a good time to shop since everyone is having a sale of one form or another.
- You buy cheap, you buy twice. My grandfather told me this, and boy, was he right! So make sure you are getting a great bang for your buck.
- If you don't know how to do the job, hire a professional. Ask for referrals and recommendations. A top-notch professional will not hesistate to give you references.
Wow... lots of info here. If I can be of more assistance to you, please don't hesitate to contact me.