Well, lookie here... The formerly cluttered closet is looking mighty purdy.
There appears to be a friendly color on the wall. And its name is Sour Lime.
How did I find this color? I already had a can of it from a previous project and loved it.
Laundry is such drudgery. A pretty color in the room really helps, doncha think?
There is no reason to reinvent the wheel and find the perfect color all over again. If you have a color you've already fallen in love with in the house, go for it. Slap that paint on the wall.
And what in blazes is on the wall? Could it be the beginning of cabinetry?
Oh my. Storage. Sweet, sweet storage.
Okay, now for the brass tacks.
Let's talk about how we like to remodel without shipping our children (or bank account) to a faraway land. Here's our five areas to consider: Labor, Cost, Time, Childcare and Marriage-Care.
1. Let's Talk Labor
There are a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) shows out there. And I love them.
But sometimes one needs to hire a contractor.
We hired a great contractor because he could do plumbing more quickly and more safely than us.
We did the cabinetry and painting ourselves.
2. Cost: The "Alrighty" Dollar
The cost of a contractor was worth it to us.
We paid him. Because he was worth every penny.
And if you want to know how much, I'll tell you this: more than a dollar.
The cabinetry was important to us, too. We wanted to make use of ALL the storage area possible and that is only possible with custom cabinetry in this small space. So we did some research (read: chatted with friends) and decided on I*KEA cabinetry. We're both impressed with the quality and were pleased to use our own labor: Us. :)
3. Time
We used a holiday which backed up against a weekend. It was ideal.
Also, we pretty much plan on a project taking one more day than we expect. That's just life.
4. Childcare:
I hired sitters to watch the children while I emptied the clutter from the closet. Aside from that, Dan and I tag-teamed on watching our precious munchkins.
5. Marriage-Meter: Okey-dokey
At one point in the process when both children were resting, Dan and I donned our paint clothes and colored the laundry room together. There was paint fumes. There was laughter. And at the end of the day, we put our tuckered out heinies in bed together.
There were days when we planned to do more with our laundry room but we could tell that we were too tired. So we stopped.
Also, on high-remodel days, we order dinner in. It's one less thing to plan.
