The Journal — Read Before You Renovate
Materials, budgets, upkeep — the lessons we've learned, written down.
60 articles
Why We're Doing This Ourselves (Probably a Bad Idea)
One Utah family's honest manifesto for a mid-budget DIY kitchen reno: the real r...
Our DIY Kitchen Renovation: Real Costs, Real Mistakes, Real Results
Thinking about a DIY kitchen renovation? Here's what ours really cost in Salt La...
Our Kitchen Reno Budget: The $38,000 Estimate
The full $38,000 mid-budget kitchen renovation estimate broken down by phase, wi...
The Before Tour: 1994 Almond Cabinets & a Dream
A full walk-through of our original 1994 kitchen—almond cabinets, buzzing lights...
The First 5 Tools I Bought (And the One I Returned)
The exact first five tools I bought for our DIY kitchen reno—and the one that we...
DIY Kitchen Remodel: What Our $28,000 Renovation Taught Us
DIY kitchen remodel costs, timeline, and real lessons from a Utah family's $28,0...
Last Meals Before Demo: Kitchen’s About to Disappear
The final real meals we cooked in the old almond kitchen before demolition—comfo...
Demolition Day: We Thought 4 Hours. It Took 12.
Full account of our kitchen demo day—what we planned, what actually happened, th...
Demo Surprise #1: Asbestos Tile — The $2,800 Hit
We budgeted for surprises. We still weren’t ready for the asbestos tile under th...
Small Kitchen Renovation Ideas: What We Learned in Our 180-Square-Foot Kitchen
Looking for small kitchen renovation ideas that actually fit a real budget? Here...
Cabinet Order Nightmare: 6 Weeks Late, Two Wrong Doors
Our RTA cabinet order arrived six weeks late with two wrong doors. Here’s the fu...
Kitchen Renovation Before and After: The Real Numbers, Timeline, and Stumbles
Kitchen renovation before and after: one Utah family shares the complete, honest...