His + Mine = OURS

Yep, after 5 years we are finally taking the big plunge. You heard it right, Joint Home Ownership. My S.O. Mark and I are selling our houses and buying one together. We listed in the second week of June and already both have accepted offers. The place we want to buy is larger than either his or my house and the property is far superior. We sort of met in the middle on the location. I can't wait to get there and start decorating!

It's going to be an interesting transition for this Type A to co-habitate with a very confirmed bachelor with A.D.D., but with a little compromise and a lot of talking it out we should be just fine.

Did I mention the new place has a hot tub?

Ours

$1800 Kitchen Remodel - Lotsa Bang for the Buck!

I turned by dark and dingy kitchen into one of my favorite rooms for under $2,000. I will give a cost breakdown at the end of my post. It took some time and effort but I am quite pleased with the results. I painted inside and out of the cabinets with a semi-gloss latex paint, I removed all of the old hardware, including the hinges and replaced it with brushed nickel, I put in new counter tops, light fixtures, a deeper stainless steel sink and faucet. I scraped the acoustic ceiling and put up a light orange peel texture, and painted the entire room. I used leftover tile that I had from the apartment remodel project and finally I purchased a new LG refrigerator.

LG Refrigerator $900 - Sears
8 inch double stainless sink $150 - Madison Lumber
Faucet $100 - Home Depot
Countertops $350 - IKEA
8 inch tile for accent $200 - Island Tile and Marble
Grout, paint and plumbing supplies $100

Grand total $1800

I'd still like to put up a back splash but I haven't found anything I am in love with at this point. Home Depot carries faux stainless panels that I am considering and I would be able to install int for around $150, and I would still remain within my original $2000 budget. I believe I have added 5-7 years of life to this kitchen. Not bad, quite a bit of bang for the buck, which is what I am ALWAYS looking for.

The high cost of being WARM in Alaska

The furnace went on the fritz shortly after I moved into Heneghan, and the first oil bill was $1500 for the months of September and October. I decided to make a pretty bold move and heat the upstairs with the wood stove that was already in place, wood was cheap and/or free depending on your level of motivation and I couldn't see putting any more money into that ancient furnace. With that plan in place I needed to figure out how I was going to heat the apartment during the remodel process. I decided to install a Toyo Stove, I picked the Laser 56 model which stated it heats up to 1100 square feet of area. For those of you not familiar with Toyo Stoves, they are kerosene vented heaters. They are quite popular in Alaska and their specs state that they are 87% efficient. Well luckily Mark, my S.O. is a pretty talented guy and was able to install this puppy for me, free of charge. It works like a champ and the heating bill averages out to be $60 per month. The stove and plumbing supplies, and new oil tank ran about $1700. I don't work for Toyo, but they definitely get a pretty good plug from me, I have since purchased the Laser 73 to heat the upstairs unit and am just as pleased with it. The oil bills for the upstairs average out to $75 per month. Not a high cost to stay warm in Alaska!

More apartment before and after pictures

The Apartment - AKA the dungeon

Can you say wholly panelling and gold appliances. This was actually my starting point in September 2008. I moved in and started ripping out cabinets the same day. I actually refused to spend a night there until we ripped out the shag carpeting. I was scared of what we couldn't see in the nearly 30 year old flooring.

HENEGHAN STREET DUPLEX - Good, Bad and Ugly - Main Living Area

About 3 years ago,I had a property mid-life crisis and purchased a run down 70's styled duplex. I have spent about every spare weekend and dime I've had bringing it into the new milenium. Wow, if I knew then what I do now about scraping popcorn off of virtually every room in the place, I might have reconsidered that idea. I still have a ways to go, but here are some examples of what a little elbow grease and determination can do (oh yea and a few extra bucks couldn't hurt.) Anyway, I am creating this blog as a way to track my progress because sometimes it doesn't seem like there is any.