When Mark and I set out to design our semi-dream kitchen, we never thought it would end up to be an almost-dream kitchen. I say semi-dream because this home, it’s value and location, isn’t quite worth doing a dream kitchen in, so there was a lot of things to consider.

The biggest consideration was budget. How much do you spend on a kitchen remodel and not over spend so that you don’t put in too much money? It’s a cost vs. value equation. You basically figure out the amount you should spend based on the value of your home.

We also had to consider materials. We didn’t think long and hard, we knew right away Ikea was the way to go for the cabinets. They had the cabinets in stock and a really nice quartz countertop. That was probably the first decision to make. Quartz is actually equivalent to granite so there was no skimping on that but going with Ikea cabinets really saved a lot. The color of the cabinets and countertop really is the basis and structure of the whole kitchen.

So we sat at the ikea kitchen planning station and designed our semi-dream kitchen and with a little photoshop, we added in the floors and backsplash to help us see our vision a little better.

Mark’s 29th Birthday Party + new kitchen renovations = picture story time:

So there wasn’t a real theme to the party other than the fact that we didn’t want to use plates. So Holly, myself, Mark, Jasmine and Clarione designed a “grab and go, or stay” menu.

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So far it’s been dusty, very noisy and flat out cluttered. I feel so helpless with this lack of organization through out the house. Other than what’s to be expected, things are going well. Seems a little slow, but I guess I’m stuck with the crap week where everything is being demolished, plumbing and electrical is being added, support beams being put in and nothing really looks good lol.

Mark is taking week 2… the fun week. It’s ok though! I’ve mastered working from home with banging noise all around. It’s called noise cancellation bose headphones

So here’s a pictorial update on what’s going down…

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Mark and I are looking for roommates and we thought we’d ask around the network of friends before we post something on Craigslist. Most of you know the area we live in, but email me if you don’t know. Here’s a quick break down of the home:

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