Earlier this year, I took possession of my grandma's house. No worries! She just decided it was time to live with my parents full time and I happened to be in the market for a house. I was fortunate enough to not have to worry about a down payment or closing costs, but I did have the money set aside for such things. What I was able to do instead was use that money to make the house my own. It is a modest ranch in Cheektowaga built in 1963 and it had not been updated since. I had a lot to do!
Obviously painting walls and refinishing floors is a fast way to make a huge difference in a house. However, the big ticket rooms are the kitchen and bathroom. They are the most costly and permanent so you want to get it right the first time. All I can say is this, take your time but not too much time. Think about the big things that are really important to you. This should be more about how the space needs to function for you. It is far too easy to get lost in a sea of options so narrowing things down based on needs over wants is the perfect way to start.
- Does your tub need to be jetted because you have aches and pains?
- Do you need to do a walk-in shower because it's too hard to step over a tub?
- Is a skirted toilet the way to go so you aren't down there cleaning all the little grooves?
- Do you cook with a lot of big pots and pans?
- Do you like to fill up one side of the sink with soapy water and rinse on the other side?
What works for one person, doesn't always work for the next. What things look like is important, absolutely; but more important is how these things can make your life easier. When all is said and done, you don't want to be left wondering why you spent a week deciding between light grey and medium grey. You can and will drive yourself crazy stressing over the little details that you won't even notice when everything comes together in the end.
For me, the selection process was easy. I knew what I needed and I know what I like. I also knew not to do anything too crazy. I don't plan on making this my forever home so I kept resale appeal in the back of my mind. Generally a good rule of thumb is the 10 year mark. Less than 10, think resale. More than 10, do what you want because trends will shift and the next guy will likely change it no matter what you do.
Starting in the bathroom. It is the only bathroom in the house so I knew to keep the tub. This keeps your resale market open to young families because it is the perfect starter home. For faucet finishes I went with the brushed nickel. I prefer softer tones and I don't care for the starkness of chrome. (purely personal) I wanted to do something neutral since fashion finishes aren't for everyone. I decided on the Moen Wynford collection (again, just personal preference). I like Moen's brushed nickel because it has a warm undertone and the Wynford is a transitional collection with smooth graceful lines. The only difficulty that came with this is the uniqueness of the finish. Rather than sweat the small stuff and try to match it, I just threw in some matte black accents and it worked great! Mixing finishes is an easy way to relieve some of the stress you may encounter while trying to match finishes from different manufacturers. So often we see situations where a customer will buy a gold light (for example) that they love. They will then proceed to drag it all over town trying to find a gold faucet that matches it perfectly (I may or may not have encountered this on more than one occasion). Perfect does not exist, so just make your favorite piece a statement and find things that compliment it.
Moen Wynford widespread lav faucet in brushed nickel {T4520BN}
Moen Colinet two globe light in matte black {YB0562BL}
The most important aspect I sought out when making my selections was cleanability. The bathroom is the worst part of the house to clean so every decision I made was based on the premise "is this easy to clean?"
- The smooth lines of the faucets
- A plain tub
- Ceramic one piece vanity top
- A vanity with high legs so it's easy to get under
- Skirted Kohler toilet with Revolution 360® and Continuous Clean®
- Transolid smooth shower walls (they're anti microbial)
- LVT click together floor tile (waterproof and durable)
Transolid Expressions in Bianca {EWK603672-41} with Kohler Archer tub {K-1946-LA-0}
Kohler Corbelle {K-5709-0} with Reveal Nightlight seat {K-75792-0}
Fairmont Charlottesville 48" vanity {1511-V48A} with ceramic top {TC-4922W8}
Moving into the kitchen, I approached everything with the same mindset. What is going to make my life easier? I selected the Delta Esque single handle pull down faucet in matte black. I have found the matte black does not show the soap and water spots as quickly which is great for a kitchen faucet. This particular faucet was desirable to me because it features their ShieldSpray® technology to cut through the baked-on food particles. Unfortunately, the Esque has been discontinued but Delta still offers other great faucets that also feature ShieldSpray®. I do a lot of cooking and meal prepping so I went with a deep single bowl Elkay quartz undermount sink. The quartz is a wonderful material because it is heat, stain and scratch resistant and comes in a multitude of colors. My countertops are also quartz because it is a man-made stone which is typically more responsibly sourced than marble or granite. It also does not have to be resealed like natural stones. I selected another LVT floor in the kitchen. I really liked the LVT as a solution because they offered options that are completely waterproof. It is also very durable which was a must in order to stand up to my one year old Doberman's nails and high energy.
Delta Esque faucet {D/C - see a consultant for other options} w/ soap dispenser {RP50781BL} on Elkay Quartz Luxe undermount {ELXRUP3620SM0}
Don't get me wrong, my project was not without issues. Anytime you start opening walls (especially older homes) you're bound to find anything unexpected. Like a giant beehive or water damage from a leak that happened ten years ago (yes, that really happened). Plan to go over budget and then plan that into your budget. As I said before, nothing is perfect and things will go wrong. But if you plan what you can, everything will fall into place in the end. We all go through it, don't sweat the small stuff and as always, come to Buffalo plumbing Showroom for help!
