Kathy's Remodeling Blog

Kitchen renovation under $1,000 in 2 weekends

Above: After

Below: Before

See the whole story.

Tip of the hat to The Kitchen Designer.

Making my home my own: A Capitol Hill renovation story

Nearly two years into the renovation of her DC row house, Benny has had many headaches but few regrets. 

The health care researcher, who prefers not to use her real name, bought the 1901 row house in Capitol Hill with her husband in December 2007. 

They had been renting part of the three-story, three-bedroom property when their landlords put it up for sale, and they jumped at the chance to buy.

See the rest of the story via dc.urbanturf.com

In Sicily, renovating a cave

Modic, Italy — Amid the fabled 100 churches that line the sun-cracked streets of this Sicilian city, the New York architects William Brockschmidt and Richard Dragisic found a second home.

By modern standards the property is no ordinary dwelling. It includes a centuries-old cave in the area’s volcanic rock that once was a place of worship and may have even been used as a tomb. The couple does not know exactly when the cave first became a living area but “the caves of Modica have been inhabited as troglodyte dwellings since the time of the Sikels,” Mr. Brockschmidt said, referring to some of the earliest inhabitants who gave the island its name.

via www.nytimes.com

After planning for 12 years, a remodeled bath in 5 days

Donna Bankowski has some good reasons why it took her 12 years to remodel the cruddy main bathroom of her Moorpark, Calif., home, a feat she finally pulled off. 

"I'm taking my time," said Bankowski, who bought the fixer-upper with her husband, Leroy, in the 1990s. 

Indeed, since buying the 1970s tract home, the couple has made steady progress on its upgrades — replacing the wood on the front of the house with brick, redoing the driveway and walkways, adding a back patio, replacing the windows and doors, replacing the roof, scraping off the "cottage cheese" ceilings, installing Pergo floors, painting the walls and adding thick crown moldings and baseboards. 

As the rest of the house rose up out of mediocrity, the bathroom upgrade kept getting delayed. 

But it wasn't for lack of need. The bathroom had a dropped ceiling consisting of plastic panels on a rusted frame over fluorescent tubes. Plus, the dark oak vanity was not at all in line with Bankowski's French-Country palette. Worst of all was the cracked and dingy fiberglass tub enclosure. 

 See more pictures and the whole story 

See more baths

See more remodels

Home's green remodel gives mother and daughter space

See all photos

Charles Darwin might have found an interesting research subject in the Burke family's Goleta, Calif. home, which has evolved over the last 47 years as the family has changed.

Chuck and Harriet Burke purchased the five-bedroom tract house in 1962 as a place to raise their five rambunctious kids. As the children grew, the Burkes added a 425-square-foot family room in 1967 and a swimming pool in 1971.

The house became a post-child-rearing retreat for the couple in the 1980s and '90s. The kitchen was updated with granite counters and a slate floor, and two bedrooms were combined to make a grand master suite.

Then, following Chuck's death in 2006, the house evolved once again into an environmentally sensitive, solar-powered, intergenerational home for Harriet Burke and her oldest daughter, Kathy Scheidemen, 52.

The latest improvements -- completed last year in seven months for $300,000 -- include solar water heating, operable skylights, woods from sustainably managed forests, drought-tolerant landscaping, doors from century-old homes and a mirror salvaged from the Santa Barbara Biltmore.

"I'm really proud that we did it," said Burke, whose only regret is that her husband, who was involved in the early planning, did not live to see the remodel completed.

Do you want your remodel good, quick or cheap?

There's a common ditty in the remodeling industry that goes like this:

"Do you want it done good, quick or cheap? Pick two."

While you may want all three (and maybe you've actually done that), there's a certain amount of truth to the fact that you won't likely get all three. I'm not saying this to be a mean girl, but because it's the reality.

I was reminded of this reality this morning when I received a funny email from a reader in Pasadena, California. He took exception to the prices in a recent Pardon Our Dust article. He wrote:

"Your July 6 article on bathroom makeovers gave me pause: $30,000 for the master bath, $14,000 for the kid's bath . . . WOW!

"As I gazed into my 6-by-7 1/2-foot bathroom, (and mentally uttered 14 grand), then gazed at my checkbook, I found the only improvement we could afford is moving up to 2-ply toilet tissue, as opposed the old and antiquated 1-ply relic."

Well, I'm glad he can upgrade his toilet paper. That's a good start.

But for those of us with higher aspirations, here's how the "pick two" scenario would play out:

Good and quick (but not cheap): We saw this played out on Sunday in the newspaper and here on this blog. The homeowner wanted two bathrooms done with a minimum of stress and she wanted it done well. But saving a few thousand bucks was not at the top of her list. So she paid top dollar ($30,000 for the larger bathroom (pictured above), $14,300 for the smaller one), and in exchange she got a trouble-free, stress-free and very speedy job done. In this case, preserving her serenity is linked to good healthy, so it was a good deal.

Cheap and quick (but not good): I saw this scenario when a homeowner in Long Beach hired a guy who normally remodels low-rent apartments to do his house. Whenever you remodel low-rent apartments, you're probably not going to use the highest-grade materials or do a job that would satisfy Donald Trump. It's all economics. So when this contractor did this Long Beach house for a very low price, and used some of the materials he had on hand, they were not the best. But for this homeowner, price was everything. Funny thing was, he told me a few years later that he wishes he hadn't put in the cheapest pressboard cabinets made. But at the time, low price was his god.

Good and cheap (but not quick): If you were hiring someone talented to do your remodel, you might get a cheaper rate if you were willing to have your job on the back burner until time was freed up. Let's say you hired a talented carpenter to put up a house full of intricate moldings. If he or she was to stay on your project for days or weeks on end, he or she would have to be paid top dollar. But if the carpenter could swing by and do some work whenever there was lull in the high-paying work, you could potentially get it done cheaper. I'm not saying this common or desirable, just something I've heard of. Or, you hired someone with a known drug or alcohol addiction who worked cheap, you might get part of the work done before he or she went on a bender, and then the rest done when he or she sobered up. This strategy is way more common than you might imagine. Also, if you want to do the work yourself, and it takes you forever and you happen to be a perfectionist, you'd get it done good and cheap but not quick.

Bonus round: You can also get just one of these attributes in a remodel. It can be super good, but not cheap or quick. It can be cheap, but not good or quick. And it can be quick, without being good or cheap. But ideally, you would get two of the three.

(Photo: Rod Foster)

From boring patio to tropical delight . . . and on a budget

You may have seen the delightful sunroom above if you read Home magazine, where this picture appeared on the cover.

If not, I'd like to introduce you to this wonderfully economic makeover.

The house is in Miami Lakes, Fla., and is owned by interior stylist Maria Fernanda Molinari and her husband, Rafael R. Lopez.

You can see the room after (top photo) and before (bottom photo).

 When the couple bought the house, this space was little more than a bland covered patio with a tile floor.

After the transformation, the space exudes an exotic classiness, yet done on a budget. Of particular note:

• The seating platforms are simply plywood boxes topped with bed mattresses. Isn't that so amazing? You have places to sit, with the side tables built in, and also places for guests to sleep if necessary.

 • Also, note the coffee table. It is likewise made of plywood covered with seagrass mats on the sides.

Where the money went for platforms and coffee table

Plywood and molding used to make daybeds and coffee table - $232

Wood stain - $30

Twin mattresses - $110

Slipcover fabric - $70

Seagrass mat (inset on coffee table) - $1

To see the whole article and a full list of costs, go here.

Plus, Maria has made the building plans for the platform seating available for purchase for $5. Go here to buy the plans.

(Photos: Home magazine)

Bathroom makeover was due

My latest Pardon Our Dust feature in the L.A. Times, about a small bathroom in Venice, has the most gorgeous photos ever to accommodate one of my articles. 

Check out the story here. And check out the photos here.

Angelo's kitchen remodel

See the before photo here and read the story here.

Two complete baths in 14 days

How is it possible for a remodeling company to completely gut and remodel two bathrooms in 14 days? Can you even wrap your mind around that?

Check out the full story here.

(Photos: Rod Foster)

Coming Sunday: commodes and cancer

I want to let you know about the Pardon Our Dust feature coming up Sunday in the Real Estate section. It's about two bathrooms that were gutted and redone in 14 days. But I also want to share with you something that did not fit in my article but that touched me personally as I reported and wrote the story.

As you'll read on Sunday, Meg Moreta, a mother of two small daughters, was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer, and then breast cancer, while still in her 30s. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but after what she had gone through, she really needed a fresh start with her bathrooms, which were reminding her of bad times.

While I sat and talked with Meg at her pretty and peaceful Los Angeles home (her two daughters were on a play date), I was astonished at what she had gone through. And what she continues to go through. Late-stage cancer, chemotherapy and radiation really take a toll on a body.

Talking to Meg reminded me of how important it is that we all stay on top of our healthcare. Meg's advice to readers: Request your medical reports. Read them and ask questions. And keep your records in a binder. In other words, take charge of your own health.

(Photos: Rod Foster)

The $5 starting point

Isn't this bedroom yummy? It's in the Rosarito Beach vacation condo that Don and Gigi Maurizio remodeled.

Gigi, an administrator with the Glendora Unified School District who lives in Claremont, told me she found the headboard (which is really a footboard) for $5 on closeout at a Pier One Imports store. That was the starting point for the room.

To make reading in bed more enjoyable, Gigi's husband, Don, a professor in the technology department at Cal State L.A., mounted the headboard at an angle. He joked about spending more on the lumber to mount the headboard than the headboard cost.

I love what Gigi did with the "canopy" treatment. It looks so cozy, but it's really just two rods sticking out of the wall with a piece of fabric hanging from each, and tied back at the wall. (Click on the photos for a larger view of this.) And the starfish hanging overhead came right from the beach just beyond the condo patio.

On the floor are ceramic tiles that look like slate; this tile is found throughout the house. To the right, you see a small table and chairs that might not seem in sync with the rest of the room. Those pieces were not bought new (as were most of the pieces for the remodel) but hold great memories for Gigi: The table is where she wrote her PhD dissertation.

Just above the table, the curtains — with seashells tied onto them — are quite in tune with the sound of the ocean waves just outside the window.

(Photos: Los Angeles Times)

Where the money went: Rosarito Beach condo remodel

How Don and Gigi Maurizio spent the money on their Rosarito Beach remodel:

Construction

Demolition: $3,000

Scraping textured plaster walls: $500 (labor)

Staining beams: $500 (labor)

Cabinets: $7,200 (materials)

Tankless hot-water system and connections: $1,800 (materials)

Tile for floor, patio, shower and bath countertop, including grout: $7,700 (materials)

Granite countertop in kitchen: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Tube-type skylights for bathrooms: $500 (materials)

Glass block for windows, shower: $250 (materials)

Exterior doors, windows, screens: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Interior doors and hardware: $2,100 (materials)

Mirrors, mirrored closet doors: $700 (materials and labor)

Closet shelving systems: $300 (materials)

Sinks, toilets: $1,000 (materials)

Plumbing fixtures: $900 (materials)

Lighting, bathroom fans: $1,900 (materials)

Forced-air heater, ductwork and specialized vent covers: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Window coverings, shutters: $1,000 (materials)

Appliances: $3,200 (materials)

Fireplace gas logs and propane adapter: $340 (materials and labor)

Change/move plumbing and gas lines: $1,200 (materials and labor)

New electrical wiring, outlets and switches: $1,100 (materials and labor)

Painting: $1,500 (materials and labor)

Additional labor: $5,000

Miscellaneous and hardware: $5,200

Related costs

Duty fees to declare items at the border: $1,000

Gasoline/insurance for weekly trips: $4,000

Termite fumigation: $200

Lodging until condo was habitable: $2,000

Furniture and electronics: $6,800

TOTAL: $66,890

Rosarito Beach condo remodel

How did Don Maurizio puzzle out the cabinet installation in his Rosarito Beach kitchen? Click here to read the whole story.

Coming Sunday: Rosarito Beach condo remodel

If you've ever wondered how a school administrator and college professor from Claremont would remodel a condo in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, I've got a story for you. It will be in Sunday's Real Estate section.

Above, you see the view from the front porch. Referring to wages earned in academia, the husband of the couple said: "You know that house in Malibu? It's never going to happen."

But this beachfront home -- and a $70,000 remodel -- did happen. Check it out Sunday.

Look to neighbors for ideas on vintage architectural details

The nice thing about remodeling an older home in a neighborhood of such homes is that you need simply walk around the area with your eyes open to find ideas for exterior architectural details.

That's what Aaron Raymond did when he remodeled his 1942 French Normandy home in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles. While previous owners had taken off the decorative corbels on the front porch, Aaron noticed them on other homes in the neighborhood that had similar architecture. So he asked his carpenters to re-create them.

He used a similar tactic when thinking about his second-story addition. In other homes of likewise vintage, he noticed the second story hung over the first by several feet, with decorative corbels visually tying the two together. See that here.

We're not all lucky enough to live in neighborhoods with older homes, but if we are so fortunate, the homes themselves can be a great inspiration.

See the whole story of Aaron's remodel.

(After photo: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times; before photo: Aaron Raymond)

Bachelor homeowner currently off the market

I guess I'm not a competent matchmaker, as I seem to have violated a major principle in the art form: timing. (Or, as comedian Steve Martin pronounced it in one of his routines, ti-MING.)

My gaffe was in telling the story about bachelor Aaron Raymond, seen here showing off the travertine backsplash he had installed in his kitchen, but not checking up on his dating status just prior to the article running last Sunday in the Real Estate section.

Funny thing is, an editor suggested that because I was making such a big deal in the article about Aaron expanding his home to accommodate a future wife and family, that I should contact him and check on his singlehood situation. I rejected that idea as I didn't want to embarrass him, but in hindsight it would have been wise.

After getting several inquires from professional women about Aaron's status, including a homeowner who said she wanted to throw her hat into the ring, I decided it was time to ask Aaron: Are you seeing anyone?

Brace yourself ladies: he is. Between the time I interviewed him for the story and the time it ran, he had resumed dating a former girlfriend. And although he's very flattered and intrigued by the attention he’s getting from others, he wants to give this a chance. That's what decent guys do.

If other bachelors reading this post wonder how to attract quality women, I'd say a whole-house remodel and second-story addition with about 100 square feet of empty closet space is a good place to start.

(Photo: Kathy Price-Robinson)

Bachelor expands his 1942 home in Windsor Hills

Want to read about a really nice man who wants a family? Here's the story.

Click below to see more photos of Aaron Raymond's home.

(After photos: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times; before photo: Aaron Raymond)

Ceiling detail of the $20,000 kitchen remodel

I got a bunch of questions about the original ceiling and archway of the $20,000 kitchen remodel in the latest Rate This Remodel feature. So I thought I'd show the old and new compared here:

What's neat about the story, for me, is that Dani had a lot of time to think about her kitchen. The archway detail into the breakfast room is something she had thought about for years, and she was clear on the molding she wanted. Because of all of this planning, her contractor said, she was one of the easiest clients he has ever worked with.

So if getting the funds to do your remodel is taking longer than you'd like, put that time to use the way Dani did. The eventual remodel will be much better for it.

Rate This Remodel: $20,000 Northridge kitchen

First, here are the facts:

• The kitchen remodel in this 1971 Northridge tract house cost $20,000 and was done in three weeks. (Click on the photos to get a larger view)
• Homeowner Dani Taylor did none of the work herself, but hired a contractor well known in the neighborhood.
• Dani had many years to imagine how she would improve her kitchen as other remodeling projects and additions to the house took priority.
• Rather than investing in new cabinets, Dani had her cabinet boxes refaced and got new doors and drawer fronts.
• She added an amazing amount of extra counter space by designing the new, angled cabinet section you see on the right of the remodel photos.
• While most of the appliances are new, she opted to keep her dishwasher, which worked fine, and got a new panel for the front.
• A few concessions were made to keep within budget, including keeping the existing tile floor and not pushing the kitchen into an adjacent breakfast area.
• But Dani did not have to give up her dream of granite counters, which were fit into the budget.

Here's a chance to offer some feedback:

Creating a flow in Mar Vista

You may not often see the words "slate" and "flow" in the same sentence. But it was by repeating the use of slate throughout her Mar Vista remodel that Janet Mitsui-Brown created a harmonious flow through her home.

Above you see the slate used on, clockwise from top left, the living room fireplace, gate posts, family room fireplace, garden deck and fountain, master bathroom floor and walls, and the chimneys.

When I toured the home, a calmness came over me as I experienced the same materials and colors repeated throughout the two-story home where Janet lives with her husband, daughter and mother. There was none of the herky-jerky feeling you can get when every room is different and you have to shift and adjust to each.

She also repeated the use of marble for the countertops in the kitchen, bathrooms, office and a smaller kitchen her mom uses at the back of the house.

And here's perhaps the best part: Janet saved a load of money buy purchasing the slate and marble in bulk, by the pallet, rather than buying a little here and there for each project.

Saving money is good, but the repetition part goes against my nature, which is to mix things up, try new textures and colors, get creative. But I do crave the harmony I feel in homes where there's a theme and repetition. So that’s my dilemma.

How about you? Do you prefer consistency or variety in your home?

(Photos: Top right, L.A. Times; all others, KPR)

Rock and roll kitchen remodel

You may have read the story about this Glassell Park kitchen remodel. You may have checked out details of the budget.

Now, here's the whole story in pictures, set to music. Enjoy.

And if you're doing a remodel, or will be soon, please take lots of photos so I can set them to music and we can share them with the world. E-mail me and let's discuss.

Tile artist's home is her canvas

Back in the 1980s, Michelle Griffoul chose her home for one reason.

"It had forklift access to the backyard," said Michelle, who bought the home, in the Santa Barbara County community of Los Olivos, when she was a fledgling ceramic-tile artist with a very large kiln. "The house itself was irrelevant."

But the sage-green house with eggplant-colored trim has become relevant over the last 24 years, serving as a canvas of sorts where Michelle has tried out and lived with her whimsical ceramic and bronze tiles. Today she makes her living designing and manufacturing tiles sold in 140 showrooms nationwide.

Michelle's own tile projects -- in her bathrooms, on fireplaces and walls, on furniture and in and around a sumptuous swimming pool and spa -- remind her of the stages of her life: a first marriage, motherhood, divorce and remarriage. And they also chronicle her emergence as an artist.

Envy in Santa Ynez

In all the years I've been writing about remodels (nearly 20) and in all the gorgeous homes I've visited (more than 500), I've only felt envy three times.

One of those times was as the Santa Ynez Valley home featured this week in the L.A. Times Home Section: Pastures that echo the South of France.

I visited this property in 2003 to write an article about it for Santa Barbara Magazine (pictured here).

The home's owner is furniture designer Hélène (pronounced EY-len) Aumont, and it's a rustic yet cultured 1940s farmhouse. She lived there at the time with her now-ex-husband Patrick, and a few darling offspring. Of course, they were making cookies when I arrived.

My envy was painful. The objects of desire:

• Extensive gravel pathways. Ah, the sounds of crunching!

• Lavender everywhere

• Horses and a barn

• A living room that feels like a French apartment

• Several covered porches

• The white kitchen with a marble countertop fashioned from an antique pool table top

Ironically, as I review photos of Helene's home, I realize I'm going in that same direction of a white and luminescent kitchen.

My current thinking: Don't get so caught up envy (on those rare occasions I experience it) and feel ashamed of it and try to shut it down. Rather, ask myself:

What is so beguiling about this place? And how can I create some of this for myself?

See a photo gallery of the gardens in the Home Section

(Photos: Hélène Aumont)

Eagle Rock kitchen gets a fresh look

Although the sleek new kitchen in Bethany Orlemann and Danny Miller's vintage Eagle Rock bungalow took only eight weeks to build in the summer of 2007, planning it was a three-year affair.

The couple's meandering path to a new kitchen took a series of twists and turns that began with Orlemann researching design magazines and drawing out her ideas. It switched directions when the couple, both assistant film editors, hired an architect to create what turned out to be an overblown design, which included a giant island that didn't suit their needs.

"It's just the two of us," Orlemann said.

The planning then came full circle with Orlemann designing the kitchen herself with the goal of matching the quality of the $100,000, architect-designed kitchens she saw featured in the magazines -- but for half the price.

"I was determined to show that an assistant film editor could design an equally beautiful kitchen for a lot less," she said. And, Orlemann said, she has no regrets about the extra time it took or the final result.

"Every step we took," she said, "moved us to the next point."

See the photo gallery
See more kitchens
See more SoCal remodels

Where the money went: Eagle Rock kitchen remodel

Where the money went: Eagle Rock kitchen gets a fresh look

Construction (covered by general contractor: plumbing, electric and cabinetry): $43,000

Includes: demolition gut to studs, remove interior walls, framing new doorway and windows, drywall, rough and finish electrical (includes replacing old knob and tube wiring, relocate and upgrade new service panel), rough and finish plumbing (includes moving water lines for sink, dishwasher and laundry, as well as moving gas lines for stove and dryer), materials and installation of custom cabinets and installation of windows, doors, lights (interior and exterior) and appliances.

Countertops: Silestone Quartz Verde Aqua, 10% off sale: $3,463
Backsplash tile: $50
Tile installation: $450
Interior painting: $1,600
Hardwood flooring: includes tie-in to existing flooring, white oak: $2,900
HVAC: includes relocating air conditioner/heat vent to toe kick space beneath cabinet): $600
Window: $525
Door: $575
Refrigerator: Kenmore stainless steel, from OSH, bought on "no sales tax day," plus 20% off sale, plus LADWP rebate $65): $1,178
Washer/dryer: front loading Frigidaire, on sale, plus manufacturer’s rebate, plus LADWP rebate of $150): $849
Drain pan: $100
Stove: Frigidaire slide in, on sale: $1,200
Range hood: Chimney style stainless Broan, bought through Ebay, MSRP $578: $334
Faucet: Hansgrohe Pullout, MSRP $538, bought through Ebay: $100
Garbage disposal: Insinkerator, MSRP $320, bought through Ebay: $100
Spice rack/base cabinet filler: MSRP $153, bought through Ebay: $88
Sink: Kindred single bowl stainless steel, MSRP $500, from Costco.com: $300
Lighting fixtures: $60
Hardware: cabinet knobs, satin nickel, from Target: $50
Hardware: door latches, deadbolt, screen door hinges/pull: $50
Prep table: John Boos butcher block, MSRP $580: $360
Barstools: pair from Crate & Barrel: $180
Subtotal: $58,112
Sold: old refrigerator and stove through Craigslist: -$500

Total: $57,612

Pardon Our Dust Classic: Not just a tract house anymore

While Gretchen Zee bought her 1960s tract house in Santa Barbara for its lush one third-acre ocean-view lot overlooking an oak-covered hillside, she had to go outside the house to get any sense of nature.

The house was, in fact, backed up to the views, oriented to offer visions of the driveway from the family room's picture window.

In theory, the kitchen, at the back of the house, offered canyon views. However, besides a small window over the sink, the stove and cabinets stood between the people and the panorama.

"They just plunked these houses down without any sensitivity to where anything was," said Gretchen, who bought the house in 1988 with her husband, Tony, a physics researcher and professor, and their two young sons, Peter and Andrew, then 5 and 11, respectively.

Gretchen, an architect, wanted to remodel the house right away. The money to do it, however, was not available.

But the house helped bring about a remodel when, in a short period, the roof wore out, the kitchen sink cracked, the stove broke, and the dishwasher headed for its demise.

The logical response would have been to simply remodel the kitchen. But Gretchen, even with her fertile architect's mind, couldn't imagine simply upgrading it.

Finally, it occurred to her that the kitchen had to be moved to the driveway side of the house, where the family room was, and the family room moved to the view side of the house.

At first, Gretchen had no idea how exactly she would transform the space. Night after night, as she pondered the "new" house, her eyes settled on a large, abstract painting by Tony Zee's sister, Chicago artist Stella Zee.

As Gretchen took in the painting's large, sensuous forms swirling round with blues, yellows, browns and grays, she decided to use it as a starting point for the new color scheme.

Architecturally, the new space feels at once contemporary (unique ceiling angles, unusual colors), Asian (clean lines, use of red color) and a bit traditional (thick baseboard moldings and wooden floors).

Today, the newly positioned dining room and family room overlook the canyon through a walls of glass doors and windows, and both have high, slanted ceilings that were pushed up into the home's ample attic space.

Removing a wall to create the great room required, for structural stability, a supporting post near the entryway. Gretchen installed a large red post, which, in husband Tony's native China, is said to bring fortune to a family.

With Stella Zee's painting as the visual centerpoint, the ceilings are painted a pale gray, with the slightest touch of lavender, while two walls are a buttery yellow and two are a dusty green.

The subtle colors end at the new kitchen. While the baseboard cabinets are maple, the ceilings and counters are bright white and the glass-fronted wall cabinets are stained bright red, with the whole illuminated by a large, glass skylight.

The entire project cost $40,000 and took four months to complete Gretchen has no regrets, especially none on the red cabinets, which she said would be considered "too risky" by most of her friends.

"What's the big deal?" she said. "If I don't like it, I can just paint it."

(Photo: Jennifer A. Robinson / Homestore)

The new kitchen? 'It's 100% us'

The new kitchen? It's '100% us'

A Glassell Park couple get personal in their latest redo -- down to the cat-feeding station.

As Kristina Johnson and David Franke discovered while remodeling their Glassell Park kitchen, taking charge of the job -- drawing the plans, buying materials, supervising contractors for some work and doing a portion of it themselves -- can not only save money, but it can also lead to a highly personalized result.

"The kitchen is 100% us," Johnson said of the room, which features a granite-covered windowsill and backsplash to accommodate pots of orchids, a cat-feeding station notched out of a bottom cabinet, and three subtly different shades of sage green paint.

"We didn't build it with an eye for resale or with anyone else in mind."

The couple, both 39, took on the remodel in the summer of 2006 after a string of other successful upgrades, including updating the exterior, landscaping the backyard and redoing the lone bathroom.

Their overriding goal for the kitchen, as well as the adjacent service porch and dining room, was the same as it had been for the tiled bathroom: to add modern conveniences while retaining the character and craftsmanship of the 1941 home. (See old kitchen)

After months of planning, the couple got an equity loan and set a $30,000 budget. Summer was chosen because that's when David, a teacher at Eagle Rock Elementary, had time to tackle what would be the couple's biggest project so far.

Where the money went: Glassell Park kitchen

Where the money went (for the Glassell Park kitchen remodel):

Appliances: $3,750 (including front-loading washer and dryer, refrigerator and stove, minus several rebates from utility companies)

Cabinets and hardware: $4,000 (note: half the cabinets were original, half were custom made to match)

General contractor: $14,700 (included: demolition, raising the sunken floor, all the plumbing and electrical work, installing a new back door, removal and patching of a window, sink installation, tile-floor installation in the laundry and powder rooms, installing the old laundry room sink in the garage, and installation of a tankless water heater.

Fixtures: $1,420

Hardwood flooring: $2,870 ($1,800 for flooring, $1,000 for installation)

Granite: $3,075 ($1,100 for two slabs, $1,650 for kitchen fabrication, $325 to fabricate counter for laundry room)

Paint: $480

Misc.: $764

Total: $31,059

Style, grace and a budget: Some guys seem to have it all

Carl Balton, who bought and remodeled a beaten-down Mar Vista home, is an accountant type who is good with money and numbers. And frankly, I'm a little jealous of his numbers acumen.

Then, he did a totally organized and low-cost remodel that is filled with easygoing grace. Again, green envy.

And then, to top it off, a reader identifying herself as Carl's ex-girlfriend just posted a comment about his house saying how Carl always did have style and congratulating him on this remodel. I mean, does it get any better than that?

So I thought I'd look closely at before and after photos of Carl's remodel (click to enlarge) and point out some of the upgrades that he did himself, or with various friends that he paid to help him. Carl also hired pros when that was the wise thing to do. Knowing when to spend the money and when to not spend the money is key.

Part of Carl's strategy was buying a sound house that already had good features like a nice tile roof, hardwood floors and a workable floor plan. Therefore, he did not have to spend thousands of dollars shoring up a bad foundation, for instance, or tearing out rotted walls. Most of what he spent his time (eight weeks) and money ($25,000) on added much to the visual beauty of the home.

You can read the whole story, and see where the money went.

How do you think Carl did with his remodel?