Oct 10, 2011

Shopping around

Hi everyone, and happy Monday! Anyone else have the day off like me?

We spent some time this weekend shopping around for some things for our laundry room project. We're not quite ready to make a purchase on anything like cabinets or countertop, but we wanted to see what our options are and start firming up our budget before moving ahead.

Here again is an inspiration photo for our laundry room, since it captures a lot of the elements we're going to include: a utility sink, some vertical storage on the left side, and cabinets along the top.


First, we stopped at our local ReStore to see what they had. They had some wall cabinets in decent shape for about $20 each. They'd need to be refinished, and the shelves were in rough shape so we'd have to build new ones. But they were definitely good options.

But...we've never actually bought cabinets, so we had no idea if the ReStore prices were good or not. So we went to Lowe's to see what they had.

These ready-to-finish cabinets were about twice the price of the ReStore ones, but happened to be 20% for the weekend. We didn't make a decision about buying from the ReStore or buying new. We definitely want to save some mula, but since the ReStore ones would need new shelves, and if we could get the new ones on another sale, we might decide to go for the Lowe's ones instead. We also have a couple Lowe's coupons to use, making a new cabinet purchase more economical.


We also priced out laminate countertop, because we really want to install one over the washer and dryer, as a nice flat surface for piling folding laundry. A four-foot section was only $54, and I really liked the gray one on the left.


We weren't really sure what kind of vertical storage we were looking for -- did we want a couple cabinets stacked? Open shelving? But as soon as we spied this tall, multi-purpose cabinet, we knew it was just what we wanted. It comes with shelves or rods for hanging clothes, which would be handy to hanging those wrinkle-prone shirts when they come out of the dryer. It's also only $108 -- a great price!


I'd definitely switch out those handles for something jazzier, and even contemplated adding some trim to make it look a little nicer. I'm fine with white, and no matter what cabinets we get, they'll need to be painted, so we'd paint the other cabinets white to match.

We also checked out the doors, since we'll need one. We found these pre-hung, primed doors were only $70, about the same price as a used door at the ReStore that didn't even include the framing. (Where are these incredible ReStores where all these bloggers get amazing deals?!).


We still have to finalize the layout of the room, so we're not 100% sure yet how long a countertop we'll need, or how many cabinets. But now that we've taken a look at everything, it looks like we'll probably spend aat least $1,000 for the whole project, including everything for the plumbing, electricity and the pump we need to be able to put the washer and dryer down there in the first place. But we think it'll be money well spent.

The only thing I did buy at the ReStore? This big bulletin board, for the office, for $10. But now I'm really wondering whether or not it was a good deal. Oh well. I'll be rehabbing it somehow -- I'm thinking of painting the frame a glossy white and covering the cork part with some fun fabric. I also really loved how Aubrey & Lindsey gave theirs a nailhead trim, so I'm pondering that too. Stay tuned!


Annnnd...I'm still working on fall-ifying the living room (can you believe it?!?). Hoping to wrap it up today...here's a sneak peek!


I'll leave you with a shot of the trees in our yard, which are starting to show off their fall loveliness. If only the weather would cooperate and give us that scrumptious fall chill...it was practically 80 degrees over the weekend! No, that is not normal for Maine. 


Have a great day!

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