The Journal — Read Before You Renovate
Materials, budgets, upkeep — the lessons we've learned, written down.
59 articles
Week 5: The Day the Plumber Showed Up & Everything Stopped
The day our plumber arrived in week 5 and the entire kitchen project ground to a...
Mid-Reno Budget Check: We’re $3,100 Over
Honest mid-project budget check: we are $3,100 over the original $38,000 estimat...
Reader Question: How Do You Keep Dust Out of the House?
Honest answer to the most common renovation question we get: how we actually tri...
Flooring That Survives Kids, Dogs & Red Sauce
The exact waterproof luxury vinyl plank we chose for a family kitchen—why it bea...
Countertop Install Day: 2-Hour Window, All-Day Ordeal
The countertop template was perfect. Install day was supposed to take two hours....
The First Real Meal: Kitchen Finally Works Again
The first proper meal we cooked after the counters went in—what we made, how it ...
The After Tour: 10 Weeks, $41,400, One Kitchen
The full after tour of our finished kitchen—10 weeks, a final total of $41,400, ...
Final Cost Breakdown: Every Line Item to Dried Caulk
The complete final cost breakdown of our kitchen renovation—every category, ever...
Post-Reno Honest Review: 6 Months of Actual Use
Six months after the final caulk dried—honest review of the cabinets, counters, ...
What I’d Do Differently If I Started Over
If we started the kitchen renovation again tomorrow, here’s exactly what I’d cha...
Is It Worth It? The Question Every Homeowner Asks
After $41,400, ten weeks of chaos, and six months of real use—here’s the honest ...