The Kitchen – Final Estimate and Finishes

I mentioned in last week’s post that the Lowe’s kitchen design estimation process included soft estimates after each of our major meetings in the store. During those meetings, we added and deleted cabinets in our layout, and we nailed down a few important details such as flooring and the countertop material. The soft estimates helped us determine if we were going in the right direction with the project or if we should make different choices. However, in order to sign contracts and pay for the work, we needed a concrete estimate.

After we made all the final tweaks to our kitchen renovation project, we had one last meeting at Lowe’s where we received the final estimate and a project binder which included that estimate, the scope and sequence of the work, and all of the finishes that we were purchasing from Lowe’s. I attended that meeting alone because Andy was at work. When it was all said and done, we were around $5000 over budget. Insert sad trombone music here.

Andy and I knew that we needed to stay firm on the maximum price that we would pay for the kitchen. In this old house, the potential for overruns was real, and we needed to account for that possibility by not overspending at this stage.

It was difficult telling Lowe’s that the estimate was too high because by turning down that price, we were further delaying our project by weeks or even months. However, a budget is a budget. No amount of wanting makes more money appear.

The next step was to comb through the project and cut costs where we could. Some things were easy to cut. I had no real opinion on having a fancy edge cut on the Silestone counter top. Removing the beveled edge saved $200. We also made some changes to the island. Rather than put cabinets on the back side of the island, at Karen’s recommendation, we decided to just build out the extra space with a box frame and trim. We had plenty of storage in the kitchen. That saved around $700. Choices quickly became more difficult. There was no wiggle room in the basics or the labor of the project. We needed new walls, insulation, plumbing, gas line, and electrical work. We could not compromise on that. The finishes were on the chopping block, and it started to feel like we were “cheaping out” rather than making smart choices that could reduce the overall project cost. I was standing in front of the lovely slide-in 5-burner gas range that I had chosen, certain I was going to have to let it go, and I decided I was not willing to cut anymore. Choosing low-end products in order to save a couple of hundred bucks was not worth it for Blake Hill House. BHH is a high-quality beauty. I was not willing to compromise anymore.

It was all well and good that I was putting my foot down, but that did not change the fact that we were still over our maximum budget by around $3000. Here is the not-so-secret secret of working with Lowe’s. They have rebates and promotions all the time. One of Janet’s primary jobs was to call us when they were running rebates and promotions to tell us how it would affect our estimate. There are typically deadlines for those promotions, and we passed on several because the savings still put us over our maximum budget. After our cost-cutting meeting, Andy and I communicated to Janet that we were not willing to compromise our choices anymore, but if there were rebates and promotions that would bring us under budget, to give us a call. It became Janet’s mission to bring us to or under our budget, and she did not let us down.

In March, she called regarding a promotion that was coming up. It included opening a Lowe’s consumer credit card as well as combining rebates and promotions from various products on our project list. Typically, we are not the type of people who open consumer credit cards on a regular basis or to save a few bucks. However, we have excellent credit, and this seemed to be a good use of a ding on our credit score. Using the card along with the combined promotions and rebates, brought our estimate to $3000 below our maximum budget. This was a $6000 savings on the current estimate. Yes, please! Andy and I jumped on the deal, and the day the promotion started, we walked in, signed the contracts, and paid the bill. Our receipt was over eight feet long. It was like a CVS receipt on steroids.

For some reason, the length of the receipt made Andy and I laugh a lot. It just kept printing and printing from the cash register. It really was not that funny, but we might have been laughing because we were trying to suppress the disconcerting feeling of shelling out a small fortune all at once. Paying for the project triggered the cabinet and flooring order. From that point, it was all just a waiting game.

I promised last week that I would share all of the finishes that we chose. We are still determining the lighting, faucet and the exact replica hardware we will use. However, here are all of the basics including the appliances that we chose:

(Sources: Dishwasher :: Gas Range :: Cabinets :: Tile (purchased at Overstock, but now available at Wayfair) :: Flooring :: Counter Top)

I actually fell in love with the 8″X8″ cement tile first, and the rest of the colors fell into place. The cabinets are slightly less creamy yellow than my monitor displays. They perfectly match the white in the tile which is brighter. In our dreams, we hope that the wood floor under all the vinyl and linoleum is worth salvaging. However, if it is not, we are installing a durable wide plank bamboo floor. Bamboo flooring is not authentic to BHH by any means, but it will stand up to everything our busy family can possibly do to it. We are not always the most careful people. In the future, we could replace the bamboo floor with real hardwood.

Next week, I should have some demo pictures for you and a first-week progress report. Be sure to follow us on Instagram for more real-time photos each day. We thought Lowe’s would start this week, but our official start day is next Monday. If that date gets pushed back, I will post about the arrival of the cabinets and the timeline of the project from start to finish.

Do you have any questions so far? I believe I have covered all of the pertinent information, but I may have left something out. Please feel free to ask your questions or leave comments. I enjoy the feedback.

This post is also linked at Thoughts of Home on Thursday.