Renovations

I had the great idea to remodel my kitchen -- until I found out how much it would cost. My son's girlfriend, who has quite the flair for interior design, was helping me decide what changes would be good to make, and then she told me that kitchens were the most expensive rooms to renovate. "But I'm not getting new appliances," I said. Apparently it doesn't matter. When my handyman came over yesterday, he said that a kitchen renovation runs about $300 per foot, and that's just for cabinets and countertops. Oh, and the reason my handyman was there in the first place is that my air conditioner is having problems again and needs to be replaced. My plans for kitchen renovations have been scaled way back.

My new plan is to repaint my kitchen cabinets (they had already been painted white when I moved in and have started to chip), get new "toe-kicks" (I found out only yesterday that the baseboard-type part of the lower counters has a special name), and (maybe) splurge a little on countertops. I can do the painting myself, although it will take a very long time. I can also update the look with new hardware on the doors and drawers. I saw some terrific sun knobs on ebay a few years ago; maybe I can track those down again. I have a feeling that a new coat of paint on the walls, along with the aforementioned improvements, will make a big difference. And I can use a change.