Stopping the backsliding… a family of four no longer living beyond their means

Baileys_Babe

Those bedrooms look wonderful, the majority of the costs are for things that will last years so will not need to be replaced any time soon.

amber03

Bedrooms look brilliant, will last them for years, so a good investment.xx

joedenise

I actually think that was a good price for everything that you and Red have done.  The beds look brilliant and will last a very long time.  Certainly a good investment.

Bluegreen143

I think you’re all right. I chronically underestimate the cost of this kind of thing. My head is still in the past, when timber was cheap and we always bought everything second hand/made do because we were totally skint. To actually properly redecorate is expensive! 

I told Red I don’t want to do anything to the house next year 🤣. Our kitchen and bathroom both need replaced tbh (both like a decade plus old) but that will NOT be happening this year. It is a luxury, not essential. Red wants to do the kitchen himself when we do it but again we need to be realistic about the cost of materials. 

greenbee

Wood is often cheaper if you buy it as second-hand furniture sadly. But worth thinking about restoring/repurposing old furniture rather than building from scratch. I saw a fabulous kitchen made from pallet wood which I'd love to have done myself, but didn't have the time (or skills!). However, if you keep an eye on FBMP/Gumtree, you may find someone getting rid of a perfectly good kitchen. If it is significantly bigger than yours, you'll have plenty of scope for rejigging things. My DB & SIL got a beautiful handmade kitchen this way and then sold the leftover units individually for more than the paid for the whole thing! The downside is you may find you have to do the uninstall, but that's often a bonus if you're installing it yourself. 

Bluegreen143

It is definitely something we are considering for the kitchen.

Red generally won’t build with scavenged wood from pallets/furniture anymore (well he does fixes using wood like this but not building new pieces). That’s all he did for years and years but now we have more £ he wants to take pride in what he builds and enjoy using nicer materials. He does buy reclaimed wood from his favourite wood recycling shop when it works but I think his days of dismantling pallets or furniture and taking all the nails out are mostly past! 

I can’t blame him as I also would rather knit just a couple of projects a year with really nice yarn I’ve bought to fit the pattern than have a big stash of scavenged or cheap yarn to use up and always feeling the end result is a bit of a compromise.

Sarahwithlove

Is it the actual kitchen structure or just the doors? As you can buy new cupboard fronts as a potential way to spruce it up until you can afford a total refurb. 

Time2count

Wow, well done to Red, you have a good one there 😉 
Thanks for sharing the pics, I understand the reluctance but it's nice to see the finished product after reading about it for the past few months.
Like others have said, the cost for what you have and how long it'll last is really good - if they last 10 years you're looking at £60 per room per year - bet that feels better 😂

fionaandphil

Those beds are beautiful, what lovely rooms

dawnybabes

The rooms look fantastic 👏👏👏👏