I'm really happy with how everything turned out despite all of the noise and dust. Two weeks post-construction and I can vaguely remember how bad the dust really was. I think about how amazing it is to look at our "before" pictures and see the difference we've made, especially since 80% of this project was DIY!
After: To modern classic! (Don't mind the first apartment furniture!)
Here's the recap:
We demo'ed the room to the studs, took down a load bearing wall, and added a beam. We outsourced the beam building and our HM also stuck around to teach DH and I how to remove the existing wall and replace it with the beam.
We breezed through the remaining items on our to-do list after the drywall mud dried. Once dry, we sanded, painted, added molding, designed and built the wainscoting.
I can't wait to create a dining room inspiration board and find great furniture! I really want a round dining room dinner table and funky chairs.
What do you think?
Dollars and Cents
Yep, I admit it, I blew my budget. But there is good news; we finished the project on time! Well almost, we still need to caulk the crown molding seams.
We blew our budget by $500 not factoring in the estimated $500 we lost in materials in the coffered ceiling debacle. So $500 isn't really that bad right?
Where did our $3500 go? A large chuck of our budget went to the expected big ticket items including the load bearing wall ($1300), the removal of the construction material ($500), and recessed lighting ($400). A big chunk also went to the expensive crown molding ($350) DH fell in love with while traveling on our honeymoon. Insulation, paint, drywall, the remaining molding and wainscoting cost an estimated $950.
Was it worth it? Definitely. The removal of the load bearing wall really opens up the space and flow and it's a great solution to the 600sqf addition that would take forever to save for.
